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U2 share acoustic version of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to mark 50th anniversary of massacre

The 1983 track commemorated one of the most significant events of the Troubles

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U2 have shared a new acoustic version of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” to mark the 50th anniversary of the titular massacre.

Bloody Sunday was the name given to the 1972 massacre in which the British army shot at unarmed protestors, killing 14 people – the highest number of people killed in a shooting during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

In a new black-and-white video posted to the band’s Instagram page, frontman Bono and guitarist The Edge performed an acoustic version of the 1983 track, which appeared on the album War.

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The last verse saw Bono alter the words. In this version, he sings: “Here at the murder scene / The virus of fiction, reality TV/ Why so many mothers cry/ Religion is the enemy of the Holy Spirit guide/ And the battle just begun/ Where is the victory Jesus won?”

During The Edge’s guitar solo, clips of archival footage begin to be interspersed into the video. “30 January 2022 – With love, Bono & Edge,” they captioned the poignant post. Watch the new performance below.

Last year, U2’s guitarist suggested that the band were working on a new album – the follow-up to 2017’s Songs Of Experience. “We are firmly locked in the tower of song and working away on a bunch of new things,” he said in an interview.

“I’m just having so much fun writing and not necessarily having to think about where it’s going to go. It’s more about enjoying the experience of writing and having no expectations or limitations on the process.”

In November 2021, U2 shared a brand new song called “Your Song Saved My Life”, which was their first new track in two years. The band previewed the new single when they shared a snippet on their then-newly opened TikTok account.

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Meanwhile, earlier this month Bono admitted that he doesn’t like the band’s name, most of their songs or his own singing voice. “In our head it was like the spy plane, U-boat, it was futuristic – as it turned out to imply this kind of acquiescence,” he said of their moniker. “No I don’t like that name. I still don’t really like the name.”

Originally published on NME
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