Bad ( U2 song ) - wikipedia Bad ( U2 song ) `` Bad '' Song by U2 from the album The Unforgettable Fire Released 1 October 1984 Genre Rock Length 6 : 09 Label Island Songwriter ( s ) U2 ( music ), Bono ( lyrics ) Producer ( s ) Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois The Unforgettable Fire track listing `` 4th of July '' ( 6 ) `` Bad '' ( 7 ) `` Indian Summer Sky '' ( 8 ) Wide Awake In America track listing `` Bad '' ( 1 ) `` A Sort of Homecoming '' ( 2 ) `` Bad '' is a song by rock band U2 and the seventh track from their 1984 album, The Unforgettable Fire. A song about heroin addiction, it is considered a fan favourite, and is one of U2 's most frequently performed songs in concert. A performance of the song at 1985 's Live Aid was a career breakthrough for the band. The live version included as the opening track of the Wide Awake in America EP is frequently chosen for airplay by radio DJs ahead of the studio version. The song is featured on the trailer of Brothers and in the opening and closing sequences of Taking Lives. Contents 1 History 2 Live performances 2.1 Live Aid 3 Discography 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References 7 External links History `` Bad '' began with an improvised guitar riff during a jam session at Slane Castle where U2 were recording The Unforgettable Fire. The basic track was completed in three takes. Of its immediate and live nature, U2 guitarist the Edge said `` There 's one moment where Larry puts down brushes and takes up the sticks and it creates this pause which has an incredibly dramatic effect. '' Producer Brian Eno added the sequencer arpeggios that accompany the song. The early 1980s recession had led to high number of heroin addicts in inner city Dublin. In concert, lead vocalist Bono frequently introduced the song as a song about Dublin. The Edge and the album 's producers, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, were focused on the music and less interested in the lyrics. Bono left the song unfinished. During a July 26, 2011 concert in Pittsburgh, Bono explained before a performance of `` Bad '' that the song was written for `` very special man, who is here in your city, who grew up on Cedarwood Road. We wrote this song about him and we play it for him tonight. '' He was referring to Andy Rowen, whom the song was originally written about in 1984 and who was present at the show. Rowen is brother of Bono 's Lypton Village friend Guggi and Peter Rowen, who is featured on the sleeve artwork for the band 's albums Boy and War. There are other versions of the story from Bono himself. His account from a 1987 concert in Chicago indicate `` Bad '' is about a friend of his who died of a heroin overdose and also about the conditions that make such events likely to be repeated. Bono once commented in another concert ( in the UK ) about people lying in gutters with `` needles hangin ' outta their fuckin ' arms while the rich live indifferently to the suffering of the less fortunate. '' At Eriksberg, Gothenburg in Sweden 1987, he said : `` I wrote the words about a friend of mine ; his name was Gareth Spaulding, and on his 21st birthday he and his friends decided to give themselves a present of enough heroin into his veins to kill him. This song is called ' Bad. ' '' Live performances `` Bad '' is one of the band 's most performed songs. Translating the elaborate and complex textures of the new studio - recorded tracks to live performance proved to be a serious challenge when The Unforgettable Fire Tour commenced. One solution was programmed sequencers, which the band had previously been reluctant to use. Sequencers were prominently used on `` Bad ''. The studio version of `` Bad '' was criticised as being `` unfinished '', `` fuzzy '' and `` unfocused '', but the band found that it made more sense on stage. Rolling Stone, for example, critical of the album version, described its live performance as a `` show stopper ''. A staple of U2 's concert tours of the 1980s, `` Bad '' was also frequently performed during the first four legs of the 1992 -- 1993 Zoo TV Tour. Although not played until the fourth leg of the PopMart Tour of 1997 and 1998, it returned to the normal set list for 2001 's Elevation Tour and saw occasional performances during the Vertigo Tour of 2005 and 2006, sometimes even appearing as the closing song for shows. It made very sporadic appearances on the U2 360 ° Tour and has featured occasionally on the Innocence + Experience Tour. Bono is known for singing a wide variety of snippets during performances of `` Bad ''. Lyrics from over 50 different songs have been included in `` Bad '', ranging from brief quotes of a single line through to multiple verses. These snippets are typically sung after the line `` I 'm not sleeping '' and Bono has included up to six different excerpts in a single performance of `` Bad ''. Performances without at least one snippet are very rare. Live Aid U2 participated in the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium for Ethiopian famine relief on 13 July 1985. They played a 12 - minute version of `` Bad '', which was extended by snippets of Lou Reed 's `` Satellite of Love '' and `` Walk on the Wild Side '', and The Rolling Stones ' `` Ruby Tuesday '' and `` Sympathy for the Devil ''. During the performance, Bono leaped down off the stage to embrace and dance with a fan. In 2005 the girl with whom he danced, who was at the front to see Wham !, revealed that he actually saved her life at the time. She was being crushed by the throngs of people pushing forwards ; Bono saw this, and gestured frantically at the ushers to help her. They did not understand what he was saying, and so he jumped down to help her himself. Bono 's rescue of and dance with the girl was captured on the TV broadcast sent around the world. The performance was so long that the band was only able to play two of the three songs in their set, leaving out `` Pride ( In the Name of Love ) '', which was supposed to end the band 's performance. The concert turned out to be a breakthrough moment for the band, showing a television audience of millions the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences. Only a week later he realized that the dance with the fan became a key image of Live Aid. All of U2 's albums re-entered the charts in the UK after their performance. In 1985, Rolling Stone called U2 the `` Band of the 80 's, '' saying that `` for a growing number of rock - and - roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters. '' Discography `` Bad '' is the first track on the 1985 EP Wide Awake in America, this being a live version recorded at Birmingham 's NEC Arena on November 12, 1984 during sound check. This version includes prerecorded rhythm tracks. There are no other snippets of songs on this version for copyright reasons. Three other versions of `` Bad '' have been officially released by the band. An edit of the version from The Unforgettable Fire appears on The Best of 1980 - 1990 ; with the exception of the hidden version of `` October '', `` Bad '' is the only non-single to appear on the compilation. In addition to the live performance included on Wide Awake in America, a live version of `` Bad '' from 1987 's Joshua Tree Tour appears on the rockumentary Rattle and Hum. Also, the release of The Complete U2 in 2004 produced another live version of `` Bad '' appearing on the digital album Live from the Point Depot. See also List of covers of U2 songs - Bad Notes Jump up ^ `` TourDB statistics - U2 on tour ''. u2gigs.com. Retrieved 2015 - 07 - 08. Jump up ^ Stokes ( 1996 ), p. 58 ^ Jump up to : McCormick ( 2006 ), p. 151 Jump up ^ Graham, Bill ; van Oosten de Boer, Caroline ( 2004 ). U2 : The Complete Guide to their Music. London : Omnibus Press. p. 25. ISBN 0 - 7119 - 9886 - 8. Jump up ^ `` U2 - Bad / In The Garden / Walk On The Wild Side / 40 - Pittsburgh - July 26, 2011 ( Heinz Field ) ''. YouTube. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ `` U2 Setlist - Pittsburgh - Jul 26, 2011 ''. U2tours.com. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 09. Jump up ^ `` U2MoL - Unforgettable Fire - Bad ''. Muorji.se. Retrieved 2012 - 01 - 09. ^ Jump up to : de la Parra ( 1994 ), pp. 52 - 56 Jump up ^ Henke, James ( 18 July 1985 ). `` ' ' Wide Awake in America ' ' Album Review ''. Rolling Stone ( 452 / 453 ). Jump up ^ `` U2 Bad - U2 on tour ''. U2gigs.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2009. Jump up ^ Live Aid : A Look Back At A Concert That Actually Changed The World MTV.com. Retrieved 31 October 2006. Jump up ^ Edwards, Gavin. `` U2 's ' Bad ' Break : 12 Minutes at Live Aid That Made the Band 's Career ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 16 January 2015. Jump up ^ `` How Bono Saved Me ''. Atu2.com. 2005 - 07 - 01. Retrieved 2011 - 03 - 06. Jump up ^ U2-Vertigo-Tour.com, 1985 - 07 - 13, London set list, accessed 20 March 2008 ; McCormick, Neil ( ed ), ( 2006 ). U2 by U2. HarperCollins Publishers, pages 162, ISBN 0 - 00 - 719668 - 7. Jump up ^ Parra ( 2003 ), pp. 72 - 73 Jump up ^ Bono on Bono Jump up ^ U2, the Only Band that Mattered in the ' 80s ? about.com. Retrieved 31 January 2007 References de la Parra, Pimm Jal ( 2003 ). U2 Live : A Concert Documentary. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0 - 7119 - 9198 - 7 McCormick, Neil ( ed ), ( 2006 ). U2 by U2. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0 - 00 - 719668 - 7 External links Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics The Unforgettable Fire track listing `` A Sort of Homecoming '' `` Pride ( In the Name of Love ) '' `` Wire '' `` The Unforgettable Fire '' `` Promenade '' `` 4th of July '' `` Bad '' `` Indian Summer Sky '' `` Elvis Presley and America '' `` MLK '' ← War The Joshua Tree → Rattle and Hum track listing Album `` Helter Skelter '' `` Van Diemen 's Land '' `` Desire '' `` Hawkmoon 269 '' `` All Along the Watchtower '' `` I Still Have n't Found What I 'm Looking For '' `` Freedom for My People '' `` Silver and Gold '' `` Pride ( In the Name of Love ) '' `` Angel of Harlem '' `` Love Rescue Me '' `` When Love Comes to Town '' `` Heartland '' `` God Part II '' `` The Star Spangled Banner '' `` Bullet the Blue Sky '' `` All I Want Is You '' Film `` Helter Skelter '' `` Van Diemen 's Land '' `` Desire '' `` Exit '' `` I Still Have n't Found What I 'm Looking For '' `` Freedom for My People '' `` Silver and Gold '' `` Angel of Harlem '' `` All Along the Watchtower '' `` In God 's Country '' `` When Love Comes to Town '' `` Heartland '' `` Bad '' `` Where the Streets Have No Name '' `` MLK '' `` With or Without You '' `` The Star - Spangled Banner '' `` Bullet the Blue Sky '' `` Running to Stand Still '' `` Sunday Bloody Sunday '' `` Pride ( In the Name of Love ) '' `` All I Want Is You '' The Joshua Tree Achtung Baby U2 Bono The Edge Adam Clayton Larry Mullen Jr. Studio albums Boy October War The Unforgettable Fire The Joshua Tree Rattle and Hum Achtung Baby Zooropa Pop All That You Ca n't Leave Behind How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb No Line on the Horizon Songs of Innocence Songs of Experience Compilations and EPs Three Wide Awake in America Please : PopHeart Live EP The Best of 1980 -- 1990 7 The Best of 1990 -- 2000 Exclusive The Complete U2 Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge U218 Singles Wide Awake in Europe Other albums Under a Blood Red Sky Melon : Remixes for Propaganda Original Soundtracks 1 Hasta la Vista Baby ! U2 Live from Mexico City Live from the Point Depot U2. Communication Zoo TV Live U2 Go Home : Live from Slane Castle, Ireland Live from Paris Medium, Rare & Remastered Artificial Horizon Duals U22 From the Ground Up : Edge 's Picks from U2360 ° Videos and films U2 Live at Red Rocks : Under a Blood Red Sky The Unforgettable Fire Collection Rattle and Hum Achtung Baby : The Videos, the Cameos, and a Whole Lot of Interference from Zoo TV Zoo TV : Live from Sydney PopMart : Live from Mexico City Elevation 2001 : Live from Boston U2 Go Home : Live from Slane Castle, Ireland Vertigo 2005 : Live from Chicago Vertigo 05 : Live from Milan U218 Videos Live from Paris U2 3D Linear U2360 ° at the Rose Bowl From the Sky Down Innocence + Experience : Live in Paris Tours and concerts U2 - 3 Tour Boy Tour October Tour War Tour The Unforgettable Fire Tour Live Aid A Conspiracy of Hope The Joshua Tree Tour Vaillancourt Fountain concert Lovetown Tour Zoo TV Tour PopMart Tour concert in Sarajevo Elevation Tour Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show Vertigo Tour U2 360 ° Tour Innocence + Experience Tour The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 Additional personnel Steve Averill Anton Corbijn Brian Eno Dik Evans Dave Fanning Flood Gavin Friday Howie B Jimmy Iovine Daniel Lanois Steve Lillywhite Paul McGuinness Morleigh Steinberg Willie Williams Related articles Awards and nominations Discography Songs Covers of U2 songs The Million Dollar Hotel ( soundtrack ) Mother Records AHK - toong BAY - bi Covered `` Trash of the Titans '' U2 by U2 U2 Tower Book Portal WikiProject Timeline Singles Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bad_(U2_song)&oldid=797026568 '' Categories : U2 songs 1984 songs Song recordings produced by Brian Eno Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. Song recordings produced by Daniel Lanois Songs about heroin Rock ballads Music videos directed by Phil Joanou Hidden categories : Music infoboxes with deprecated parameters Articles with hAudio microformats All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from April 2014 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français Italiano ქართული Nederlands Polski Português Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 24 August 2017, at 14 : 17. 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Question: what is the song bad about by u2
Answer: heroin addiction