Original subtitles

I believe the songs are already written'

and I think the less you get in the way of them the better.

When you take up that pen' the ballpoint or whatever it is'

you start interfering' nearly' with the song.

I don't know if that sounds too spiritual or not' but I feel a bit like that.

Martin Luther King's best speeches were made when he threw away the script.

If I was actually to write out a record'

if I was to take a pen and say "what would I like the next record to be about?"

I would probably be awful.

I would probably be overly concerned about this or consciously humorous.

It's best to let what's in you come out.

Why did you decide to record this album' or the first part of it' in slane castle?

We're here because the sound of this ballroom suits our music.

It's įustthat Ronald Reagan and Northern Ireland'

all at breakfast time' might be a bit much.

Paul David Hewson agrees to be on Good Morning America.

- David Evans. -Adam Clayton.

Larry Mullen Jr.

He said it.

Thank you very much. Good luck with the album.

Sorry about that.

I think we all bring different things to the sessions' but we all bring something.

I tend to bring music ideas.

Bono tends to bring music ideas and lyric ideas.

Adam and Larry bring ideas of their own.

Lines' drum lines' bass lines' approaches.

There's four very active and creative minds at work all the time.

I don't think anyone's interested in taking a back seat.

Everybody's interested in giving as much as they can.

It's very much a four-legged table.

Just go back to the second verse and drop me in.

That's the thing I feel passionately about music'

that it's not me'

it's not U2 that's creating this great art.

That's why I can be so arrogant' or seemingly arrogant about it' what we do.

It's because I don't think it's us' essentially. I think there's...

There's something that works through us to create in this way.

Did it go really far out of time?

-Yeah' įust towards the middle. -At one point it did' a bit.

Sounds like A Flock of seagulls.

I'd just like to state for the record that I want that bit edited.

I think from the moment we met Brian there was an understanding.

He wasn't going to have to push.

We had ideas and we were gonna work together. It's worked out that way.

Shall we go and watch the eclipse?

- Is Quincy Jones here? - He is.

- Is Quincy Jones there? - No' he's not.

I guess you want to see my passport?

- It says "Quincy Jones". - show us it.

Born in New Orleans.

That's where I was born.

Go on.

Look at that.

It's like one of my videos.

- That's all we're gonna see. - It's about the same pace.

In fact' it's a bit fast for me.

Look what you've done with your bloody rock music. You've put out the sun.

You're not coming back to our castle.

- It's gone dark. - Hi' Adam.

How are you doing?

I can't see anything.

Isn't it handy we had a film crew here? I knew they'd come in useful.

-Are you Brian Jones? - I'm not him.

- Quincy Jones. - Isn't his name Brian?

- No' it's Quincy. - I'd better get back to work.

-You can keep my pinhole. - Thank you.

-We're ready when you are. -We're reggae when you are.

My first impression of U2'

and my lasting impression'

was that they were a band in the way that very few people are now.

The music was a result of those four people' not those four instruments.

It was those four people and the particular angles

and differences of approach that they brought to the music.

That was a breach of the rules.

I just rewrote the rules.

With this band the uniqueness is there from the first moment they start playing.

There's something about their honesty as people and as musicians'

and their understanding of their own limitations.

They build from strength and limitation and that's a very good principle.

I haven't seen it in a band for a long time.

I'm sure that all the bands I've ever liked have done that.

Tom' we're gonna start some recording here.

- Say it again? -We're gonna start some recording here.

If you wait six minutes we'll have all this gone.

Danny' can you give him...

I'll do one take' then I'll go and listen' then we can finish it after this.

We'll get rid of the stuff that's all in your way.

We had been experimenting with live recordings.

I had just done a band in my home town'

in this big old library that had been abandoned for a newer model.

But this big old library was a fabulous place

with extremely high ceilings and marble staircases'

everything you could want out of a big old building.

That turned out to be a real success.

The people felt really good working in that environment.

I thought "if we can capture a similar thing with the U2 band in a castle'

that would appeal to me."

So we thought "Let's give it a shot."

We thought "We've done three records inside' in Windmill Lane."

"Do we really wanna go right back in there from the start?"

Also' there isn't a live room here' and we wanted to use a live room a lot.

So we thought "Why not do it on location? Where's a good room?"

Just by chance we were at the castle and we saw the ballroom up there.

It just seemed like the right room to do it in.

That goes back a long way - nearly a year.

I think it was right not to come straight into the studio.

To work up there was really nice.

It meant by the time you got to the studio you were looking forward to it'

whereas if we'd come straight in it would be "We're in the studio again."

Should that be there?

- The last part is all done. - That was the last overdub. It's finished.

- This is the evidence. -What is it?

This is Bono's master vocal "Unforgettable Fire".

U2's fourth album. Got it?

- Do you want to hear it in its... - Entirety.

- So how does it sound? - It sounds pretty damn good.

I hope we don't mind a bit of volume' boys.

We like it' all right.

Lawrence is going' if I'm right...

Let's try one with that.

We'll do the intro and then go into that verse and keep playing it.

That sort of first thing.

I didn't feel like we peaked' necessarily.

- How do you mean? - I'm not sure we have actually peaked.

No' that was only a joke one.

Do you want to go out there and peak' then?

It's a very delicate situation here.

I've seen this band play songs to death when we thought we were improving them

and then we've gone with the first take after we've done six or seven.

I would just like to know that we have got a good take.

Even if there are one or two things to repair.

Then we can go on' with less sense of desperation' into doing some other takes.

What do you think? You wanna try a few lines on this?

I'll do some scat singing' if that's any help to you.

- Sounded great. -Yeah?

Fantastic.

- Maybe a bit more passion this time. - lt was a bit restrained' actually.

Maybe you could try standing forth is one.

My only direction is that the first chorus might be more restrained than the others.

But I wouldn't like to in hi bit what you're doing.

You can come to the microphone with finished words and a finished melody

and that's all you'll have when it's recorded.

There was a nice verse in there. A new melody.

That second low verse was beautiful on this.

It was nice to have that almost whispering quality.

I liked it.

I must say' this track is really bringing something out in your singing.

I can't repeat myself' as a singer.

That's why we never overdub my voice' because they can't.

Because it's either that I don't have the sense of timing that I need

or it's justthe way my voice is. I can't repeat myself.

This song is now four minutes 30 seconds long.

It was five minutes 30 seconds at the castle.

But that was because we had a spurious section in'

but it was also because the ending did last longer there.

But brevity is the essence of wit.

That's a good idea to have that commentary through the end'

underneath the final choruses.

Just one word of...

I lost my voice.

It's nice forth is song to be a little shorter than it was before.

Maybe it's just me... I'm just enjoying singing it.

I don't want to stop. I'd have it half an hour if I could.

But itį ust... Also' the notes.

Unless I've been anesthetized by Paul's birthday party.

But I just freel like I could...

There's no top.

I feel I could put my head in the ceiling.

U2 have consistently refused to trivialize what it is they do'

because of their own very strong feelings about it and their belief in its worth.

There were times when' by any pragmatic judgment'

we would have been advised to get out there and have a hit single

before people forgot about us.

No band member was ever tempted to do anything uncharacteristic of the music.

We would never have turned our backs on that hit single

had it come about in the right way.

But frequently'

the financial pressure to do something to fit the times

might have overcome another group' but never overcame them.

I don't hear it as fast' but...

I hear it... It's funny. It strikes me as structural problems.

It's obviously the tempo of the song.

You're in the chorus before you're in the verse.

You've finished the chorus before you've started it.

It's like as if the song's over before you begin it.

You know what it's like? "I'll tell you a story about Johnny McGordy."

"Shall I begin it? Well' that's all that's in it."

My father used to tell me that' when I was a kid' to put me to sleep.

I don't know if it's the fact that it's late at night' but it įust doesn't seem grand.

- It strikes me... -Why don'twe try slowing it down?

Does that sound like about a semitone to you?

So the question there is whether we should do Edge's guitar tonight'

which will allow us to use this sound' or whether we go for a new sound.

I think we could get a better sound'

cos slowed down' this is even more murky and less rhythmic than before.

I'm pretty tired. It's been a...

- It's been a good two days. - It's been an intense' long day.

And I'd like to bang off couple of cassettes of some other things anyways.

Have you heard from Adam?

Adam's lost in space somewhere. Remember that series' Lost In Space?

- Great series. - That's where Adam is.

Sorry. I got engrossed in the meeting. Where do you want me?

- Up against that wall? - It has to be a plain background.

Right. There's the camera. It's pointing that way.

This uncomfortable side of that uncomfortable chair.

Do I sit with that between my legs?

If you wanna put a cushion underneath to save yourself.

I think the thing to look is very honest and hardworking.

-You don't smile. - straighten your T-shirt.

How about that?

The other thing I want to talk about is "Pride".

- The bridge structure in "Pride". - some things have been swallowed.

Have we still got that tape up' Kevin?

Of course.

I'm gonna argue strongly forth is new bridge technique.

- Do you prefer it? -Yes' it's so good.

It's the same entry from the chorus.

-We need another... - it sounded great.

...verse to make that right.

Does it go four' three and then in?

We're fading before the end.

That was what I missed so much.

We put them in and took them out again. You can hear them this time.

There was a point when I was going "It's going to happen now. It's gonna take off."

-What do you think' Paul? - I heard that months ago

and it's the best thing. I don't think anyone should lose their nerve about the length.

It's great.

Somebody's bound to say "Can't you make it three minutes?" Forget it.

Paul says it's the best thing we've ever done. And I think he's right.

- I wanna freshen up. - Call Lawrence as well.

-You think we're getting there? - I explained.

I slept it out for you.

L-a-r-d-e-n-c-e.

It's Lawrence. Turti highlights.

- Hi' fans. - Is that your impression of Cliff Richard?

You've done this a few times on the record.

- Do you want to hear it in its... - Entirety.

- So how does it sound? - It sounds pretty damn good.

I hope we don't mind a bit of volume' boys.