U2 just released a new mix of The Joshua Tree track “Red Hill Mining Town” for the album’s 30th anniversary, and they played the song live for the first time ever when they performed the LP in full at their 30th anniversary tour opener in Vancouver last night. As @U2 points out, Bono explained why they have never done the song live before in an interview with BBC Radio 2 last month:
I used to write songs that I couldn’t sing. And sometimes that was OK because the strains of the notes I couldn’t reach was part of the drama, but occasionally they would really just wreck the next show. So I just left ‘Red Hill Mining Town’ off. But since then, I sing a bit better — or at least I’ve learned how to sing.
In addition to “Red Hill Mining Town,” U2 also played “Trip Through Your Wires” for the first time since 1987, “Exit” for the first time since 1989, “A Sort Of Homecoming” for the first time since 2001, “Running To Stand Still” for the first time since 2005, “MLK” and “Mothers Of The Disappeared” for the first time since 2010, and “One Tree Hill,” “Ultraviolet” (Light My Way),” and “Miss Sarajevo” for the first time since 2011. They also closed the set by debuting “The Little Things That Give You Away,” a new song from the upcoming Songs Of Experience. Watch below.
This article originally appeared on Stereogum.
