Album
Pop
Pop is U2's ninth studio album, released on 3 March 1997 on Island Records. It followed Zooropa and pushed further into the reinvention the band began in the early 1990s, drawing on techno, dance and electronica. Flood, Howie B and Steve Osborne produced it, and the band worked with sampling, loops, programmed drums and sequencing, tools that were fairly new to them.
The sessions were troubled. Larry Mullen Jr. was sidelined by a back injury for part of the recording, and once the PopMart Tour was booked before the record was finished, the band were left racing the clock, even after the release slipped from the 1996 festive season. Lead single "Discothèque" arrived in February 1997, and the album reached number one in 35 countries. U2 were not happy with the final result and later reworked several songs. It's a fascinating, unfinished-sounding detour, well worth hearing on those terms.
Pop: tracklist, credits and charts
12 tracks · 1:00:11Tracklist
- 1DiscothèqueBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.5:19
- 2Do You Feel LovedBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.5:07
- 3MofoBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.5:49
- 4If God Will Send His AngelsU2, Bono, Edge5:22
- 5Staring at the SunBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:37
- 6Last Night on EarthBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:46
- 7GoneBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:27
- 8MiamiBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:53
- 9The Playboy MansionBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:40
- 10If You Wear That Velvet DressBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.5:15
- 11PleaseBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.5:03
- 12Wake Up Dead ManBono, Clayton, Edge, Jr.4:53
- Produced by
- Flood, Steve Osborne, Howie B, Nellee Hooper
- Recorded at
- Hanover Quay (Dublin), Windmill Lane (Dublin), The Works (Dublin), South Beach (Miami), The Hit Factory New York City
- Recorded
- 1995–1996
- Mixed by
- Howie B, Mark “Spike” Stent, Steve Osborne, Alan Moulder, Ben Hillier, Flood
- Engineered by
- Howie B, Mark “Spike” Stent, Alan Moulder
- Label
- Island
- Length
- 1:00:11
Line-up
- Howie B · sampler, keyboard
- Bono · guitar, lead vocals
- Adam Clayton · bass guitar
- The Edge · guitar, background vocals, organ
- Larry Mullen, Jr. · percussion, drums (drum set), sampler
- Steve Osborne · keyboard · guest
- Flood · keyboard · guest
- Marius de Vries · keyboard · guest
Singles
- “Discothèque” · 3 February 1997
- “Staring at the Sun” · 15 April 1997
- “Last Night on Earth” · 14 July 1997
- “Please” · 22 September 1997
- “If God Will Send His Angels” · 8 December 1997
- “Mofo” · 8 December 1997
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1997 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1997 | 1 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1997 | 1 |
| Austrian Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Flanders) · 1997 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Wallonia) · 1997 | 1 |
| Canadian Albums (Billboard) · 1997 | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1997 | 1 |
| Dutch Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| European Albums (Billboard) · 1997 | 1 |
All 24 charts
| Finnish Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| French Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| German Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| Irish Albums (IRMA) · 1997 | 1 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI) · 1997 | 1 |
| New Zealand Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| Portuguese Albums (AFP) · 1997 | 1 |
| Scottish Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) · 1997 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| Swiss Albums · 1997 | 1 |
| Hungarian Albums · 1997 | 2 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1997 | 2 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Platinum |
| Australia · 1997 | Platinum |
| Austria | Platinum |
| Belgium · 1997 | Platinum |
| Brazil · 1997 | Gold |
| Canada | 3× Platinum |
| Finland | Gold |
| France · 1998 | Platinum |
| Germany | Gold |
| Hong Kong · 1997 | Platinum |
| Italy | 3× Platinum |
| Japan · 1997 | Platinum |
| Netherlands · 1997 | Gold |
| New Zealand | 2× Platinum |
| Norway · 1997 | Platinum |
| Poland · 1997 | Gold |
| Spain · 1997 | Platinum |
| Sweden · 1997 | Gold |
| Switzerland | Platinum |
| United Kingdom · 1997 | Platinum |
| United States | Platinum |
| Europe · 1997 | 2× Platinum |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
84.6
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
2.8k
ListenBrainz listeners
130k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
41k
Deezer fans (all editions)
Released the same week
Also released on 3 March
Every year →
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Full discography →
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1979
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1981
War
1983
Under a Blood Red Sky
1983
The Unforgettable Fire
1984
Wide Awake in America
1985
The Joshua Tree
1987
Rattle and Hum
1988
Achtung Baby
1991
Zooropa
1993
Zoo TV: Live From Sydney
1994
Please: PopHeart Live EP
1997
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1998
All That You Can’t Leave Behind
2000
7
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2002
U2 Go Home: Live From Slane Castle, Ireland
2003
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
2004
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2004
The Complete U2
2004
Love: Live From the Point Depot
2004
Live From Under the Brooklyn Bridge
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U2.COMmunication
2005
U218 Singles
2006
Live From Paris
2007
No Line on the Horizon
2009
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2010
Wide Awake in Europe
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2014
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2017
The Europa EP
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The best of 1997
All of 1997 →
OK Computer
Radiohead · 1997
The Colour and the Shape
Foo Fighters · 1997
Reload
Metallica · 1997
nimrod.
Green Day · 1997
The Rolling Stones Flip the Switch 1997
Flip the Switch
The Rolling Stones · 1997
Around the Fur
Deftones · 1997
The Fat of the Land
The Prodigy · 1997
Be Here Now
Oasis · 1997
Sehnsucht
Rammstein · 1997
Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Limp Bizkit · 1997
Ixnay on the Hombre
The Offspring · 1997
Dude Ranch
blink‐182 · 1997
More on Island
The label →The Joshua Tree
U2 · 1987
Achtung Baby
U2 · 1991
War
U2 · 1983
All That You Can’t Leave Behind
U2 · 2000
The Unforgettable Fire
U2 · 1984
Songs of Innocence
U2 · 2014
Boy
U2 · 1980
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
U2 · 2004
Pretty Hate Machine
Nine Inch Nails · 1989
All Killer No Filler
Sum 41 · 2001
Rattle and Hum
U2 · 1988
Songs of Experience
U2 · 2017
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia + wikidata; also seen: 1997-02-26 (musicbrainz)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 26 February 1997 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 3 March 1997 | |
| Wikidata | 3 March 1997 | |
| US release | 4 March 1997 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 3 March 1997 | earliest UK or European date |
15 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | ZA | Island | 6001210907336 | other |
| 1997 | AU | Island | 731452433428 | other |
| 1997 | US | Island | 731452433428 | other |
| 1997 | AR | Island | 731452433428 | other |
| 1997 | CA | Columbia House | 777495252030102 | other |
| 26 February 1997 | JP | Island | 4988011349737 | original |
| 3 March 1997 | XE | Island | 731452433428 | other |
| 3 March 1997 | XE | Island | 731452433411 | other |
| 4 March 1997 | US | Island | 731452433428 | other |
| 4 March 1997 | CA | Island | 731452433428 | other |
| 3 February 2010 | XW | Island | 00731452433428 | other |
| 20 December 2015 | ES | Island | other | |
| 20 September 2017 | JP | Island | 4988031237342 | other |
| 13 April 2018 | XE | Island | 602557969993 | other |
| 2021 | — | UMC | 00602557667301 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · native: native 2820x2820
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2820×2820 | native: native 2820x2820 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |