Wikipedia

Please (U2 song)

"Please" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the eleventh track on their ninth album, Pop (1997), and was released as its fourth single on 22 September 1997 by Island Records. As with "Sunday Bloody Sunday", the song is about The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The single cover for this song features pictures of four Northern Irish politicians – Gerry Adams, David Trimble, Ian Paisley, and John Hume (clockwise from top left). Two months before the release of the single, live versions of "Please" and three other songs from the PopMart Tour were released on the Please: PopHeart Live EP in September 1997.

"Please"
Single by U2
from the album Pop
Released22 September 1997 (1997-09-22)
GenreAlternative rock
Length
LabelIsland
Composer(s)U2
Lyricist(s)Bono and The Edge
Producer(s)
U2 singles chronology
"Last Night on Earth"
(1997) 		"Please"
(1997) 		"If God Will Send His Angels"
(1997)
Music video
"Please" on YouTube

Live performances

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This song was played live during every performance of the PopMart Tour, with an outro similar to the drumbeat of "Sunday Bloody Sunday". Each performance segued directly into "Where the Streets Have No Name". During the Elevation Tour, the song was initially played in electric form before being played acoustically by Bono and the Edge at about 20 different shows. The song has not been played in full since the final show of the Elevation Tour. However, it was frequently sampled along with "The Hands That Built America" during "Bullet the Blue Sky" on the Vertigo Tour.[1] It was later sampled in the outro of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" on the U2 360° Tour to lead into the beginning of fellow Northern Ireland Troubles song "Sunday Bloody Sunday".

Critical reception

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Kevin Courtney from Irish Times commented, "Still in subdued mood, Bono remonstrates with an imaginary lover about imagined wrongs, begging her to "Please, get up off your knees". The song is steeped in an atmosphere of suppressed sexuality, and The Edge restrains his guitar lines, as though dying to break loose from the chains of repression."[2] British magazine Music Week rated the song four out of five[3] and Alan Jones wrote, "U2's "Please" has attracted more attention for its sleeve — depicting Northern Ireland's political leaders in Warholian style — than it has for its musical merit, which is a shame, since it's vintage U2, eschewing the dance beat which they have pursued of late in favor of a more traditional style. It's helped on its way by some fine guitar licks, and some nicely judged percussion work."[4] David Fricke from Rolling Stone noted Bono's "arcing anguish" on the track.[5]

Formats and track listings

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Cassette release
No.TitleLength
1."Please" (Single version)5:36
2."Dirty Day" (Junk Day mix)4:41
International CD release
No.TitleLength
1."Please" (Single version)5:36
2."Dirty Day" (Junk Day mix)4:41
3."Dirty Day" (Bitter Kiss mix)4:32
4."I'm Not Your Baby" (Skysplitter dub)5:47
American CD release
No.TitleLength
1."Please" (Single version)5:36
2."Please" (Live in Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands, 18 July 1997)7:11
3."Where the Streets Have No Name" (Live in Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands, 18 July 1997)6:33
4."With or Without You" (Live in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 14 June 1997)4:38
5."Staring at the Sun" (Live in Rotterdam, South Holland, the Netherlands, 18 July 1997)5:33

All lyrics are written by Bono & The Edge

To Love And Only Love digital version
No.TitleLength
1."Please" (single version)5:49
2."Dirty Day" ("Bitter Kiss" remix by Butch Vig and Duke Erikson)4:34
3."Dirty Day" ("Junk Day" remix by Butch Vig and Duke Erikson)4:42
4."I'm Not Your Baby" (Skysplitter Dub)5:50
5."Please" (Live from Rotterdam, 1997)7:11
6."Where the Streets Have No Name" (Live from Rotterdam, 1997)6:35
7."Staring at the Sun" (Live from Rotterdam, 1997)5:33
Total length:40:14

Note

B-sides

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The "Please" singles were backed with the following B-sides:

"Dirty Day"

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Two remixes of "Dirty Day" from Zooropa were made for the single, both by Butch Vig and Duke Erikson of the alternative rock group Garbage.

"I'm Not Your Baby" (Skysplitter Dub)

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This song was recorded for the soundtrack for Wim Wenders' The End of Violence, in collaboration with Sinéad O'Connor. The version featured here is an instrumental remix, with few differences from the original version.

"Please" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" (Live from Rotterdam)

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This performance was taken from the European première of the PopMart Tour on 18 July 1997 at Feijenoord Stadium, in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The middle eight in "Please" featured the drumbeat from "Sunday Bloody Sunday", and the outro, with Bono's falsetto, segued into the opening chords of "Where the Streets Have No Name", which was updated to an almost techno sound. The end of the performance included some lyrics from another song from Pop, "The Playboy Mansion".

"With or Without You" (Live from Edmonton)

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This performance of "With or Without You" was taken from the first leg of the PopMart Tour in June 1997, at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton, Canada.

"Staring at the Sun" (Live from Rotterdam)

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This performance of "Staring at the Sun", played by Bono and the Edge as part of an acoustic set at the PopMart concerts, was a departure from the version on the Pop album. It was a more subtle, vocal-orientated version, with only the two guitars and some harmonies during the choruses.

Alternative versions

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There are five versions of this song available:

  • The album version, featured on Pop.
  • The single version, on the single and video. This version was more similar to the live performances, with an orchestrated intro and the "Sunday Bloody Sunday" drumbeat on the middle eight. This version was recorded at the Wisseloord Studios in Hilversum, Netherlands.
  • The USA edit, a special edit included on the US versions of the "Please" CD single. It is a more stripped down and shortened version of the single version. Its running time is 3 minutes, 55 seconds.
  • The live performance from the 18 July 1997 concert in Rotterdam, also from the single.
  • Another live performance, from the 3 December 1997 concert in Mexico City. This version appears on the Hasta la Vista Baby! album.

Music videos

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The accompanying music video for "Please" is a black-and-white concept piece by Anton Corbijn. It takes place on a street called "No Name" (a reference to the song "Where the Streets Have No Name") where a beggar is standing, with a sign saying "please" hanging from his neck. Several people pass by on their knees, until a point where this situation is reversed. The band actually does not show up for much of the video, finally making an appearance during the Edge's guitar solo. This video appears on the DVD for The Best of 1990-2000, along with the director's commentary.

Two live videos from the PopMart Tour have been released as well – one video from the PopMart: Live from Mexico City release, and one known as the "Mural Mix", (filmed in Helsinki on 9 August 1997), which was released on "The History Mix" bonus disc from The Best of 1990-2000 & B-Sides.

Charts

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Release history

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Region Version(s) Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom
  • "Please"
  • PopHeart
 22 September 1997
  • CD
  • cassette
 Island [28]
Europe "Please" CD
United States Alternative radio [29]
Australia 29 September 1997 CD
[28]
Canada PopHeart 7 October 1997 Island
Australia 13 October 1997
  • Island
  • Mercury
Canada "Please" 21 October 1997 Island
Japan 25 October 1997 [30]
PopHeart 24 November 1997 [31]
United States "Please" 25 November 1997 [28]

References

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  1. ^ All times "Please" has been played live
  2. ^ Courtney, Kevin (21 February 1997). "U2 Goes Pop". Irish Times.
  3. ^ "Reviews: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 September 1997. p. 14. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  4. ^ Jones, Alan (27 September 1997). "Talking Music" (PDF). Music Week. p. 33. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  5. ^ Fricke, David (25 December 1997-8 January 1998). "The year in recordings". Rolling Stone. Issue 776/777.
  6. ^ "U2 – Please". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  7. ^ "U2 – Please" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  8. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3396." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 3402." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  10. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 41. 11 October 1997. p. 12. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  11. ^ "U2: Please" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  12. ^ "U2 – Please" (in French). Les classement single.
  13. ^ "U2 – Please" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  14. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 14, no. 50. 13 December 1997. p. 19. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – U2". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  16. ^ "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 28 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "U2".
  17. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 43, 1997" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  18. ^ "U2 – Please" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  19. ^ "U2 – Please". Top 40 Singles.
  20. ^ "U2 – Please". VG-lista.
  21. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  22. ^ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  23. ^ "U2 – Please". Singles Top 100.
  24. ^ "U2 – Please". Swiss Singles Chart.
  25. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ "U2 Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  27. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1996" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  28. ^ a b c "Please". u2songs.com. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  29. ^ "Be on the Lookout". Gavin Report. No. 2173. 19 September 1997. p. 56.
  30. ^ "プリーズ | U2" [Please | U2] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  31. ^ "プリーズ～ライブ・フロム・ロッテルダム | U2" [Please ~ Live from Rotterdam | U2] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
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