Song Stories: U2: One
By 1991, U2 had been through a period of triumph and turbulence. In 1987, they released 'The Joshua Tree', an album that catapulted them into the stratosphere as arguably the biggest band in the world and is widely regarded as one of the defining albums of the 1980s.
'The Joshua Tree' delivered some of U2's most enduring hits, including 'With or Without You', 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For', and 'Where the Streets Have No Name'. The album topped the charts in over 20 countries, including the U.S., where it became the band’s first number-one album, and it set a record as the fastest-selling album in British history at the time.
Building on this success, U2 released 'Rattle and Hum' in 1988, a hybrid live/studio album accompanied by a rockumentary film directed by Phil Joanou. While intended as a homage to American roots music, the project also showcased U2's exploration of blues rock, folk, and gospel, featuring recordings at Memphis's historic Sun Studio and collaborations with luminaries such as Bob Dylan, B. B. King, and the Harlem-based New Voices of Freedom gospel choir.
Despite its ambitious scope, 'Rattle and Hum' drew criticism from some quarters, with detractors accusing U2 of overreaching in their attempt to align themselves with musical legends. Unlike the near-universal acclaim for 'The Joshua Tree', this was the first time the band faced significant backlash, signalling a shift in public perception, especially of Bono, whose persona and ambitions were increasingly scrutinised.
Rather than discouraging the band, the criticism acted as a catalyst for reinvention. Influenced by the emergent sounds of grunge, Madchester, and electronic dance music, U2 set their sights on Berlin, inspired by the city’s transformation after the fall of the Berlin Wall. In October 1990, they began sessions at Hansa Studios, a site steeped in musical and historical significance. Originally an SS ballroom, the studio had hosted David Bowie and Iggy Pop in the late 1970s, resulting in landmark albums such as 'Low', 'The Idiot', 'Heroes', and 'Lust for Life'. Bowie’s composition of 'Heroes', famously inspired by the sight of producer Tony Visconti kissing backing vocalist Antonia Maass outside a studio window, had become the stuff of legend.
The Berlin sessions were fraught with tension. Band members clashed over musical direction: bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. leaned toward the familiar U2 sound, while Bono and guitarist The Edge pushed toward experimentation, drawing on European industrial and electronic influences. Frustration and slow progress nearly led the band to break up.
The breakthrough came unexpectedly during the improvised creation of 'One'. The song was born from a chord progression The Edge was playing in the studio, which sparked a wave of collaborative inspiration. Bono’s lyrics reflected both the band’s internal struggles and the broader socio-political context of German reunification, exploring themes of disunity and reconciliation, though listeners have interpreted the song in a range of personal and universal ways.
The Edge reflected on the moment:
"At the instant we were recording it, I got a very strong sense of its power. We were all playing together in the big recording room, a huge, eerie ballroom full of ghosts of the war, and everything fell into place. It was a reassuring moment when everyone finally went, 'Oh great, this album has started.' It's the reason you're in a band when the spirit descends upon you and you create something truly affecting. 'One' is an incredibly moving piece. It hits straight into the heart."
'One' not only rescued the faltering Berlin sessions but emerged as the emotional and creative fulcrum of what would become 'Achtung Baby', an album that signalled a bold reinvention of U2 and paved the way for the band’s next era of global influence.
The performance itself is a study in emotional architecture. The understated rhythm section and The Edge’s shimmering guitar textures serve as a map for Bono’s vocal journey: from the near-whispered opening “Is it getting better?” through the anguished bridge where he proclaims “love” in a cracked holler, to the soaring falsetto of the outro, a blend of pain and defiant hope.
'One' resonates far beyond the personal or musical. Its creation in Germany coincided with the end of the Cold War, and its subsequent mixing in Ireland imbued it with a transnational awareness. Bono later reflected on the song’s broader context, recounting tours across Europe as the war in Bosnia raged, sometimes performing only 300 miles from conflict zones. When released as a single to benefit AIDS research, 'One' became a universal anthem: a message of unity for families torn apart by disease, a lament for fractured relationships, and a call for compassion and connection in a fractured world.
The breakthrough of 'One' set the stage for 'Achtung Baby', released in November 1991, which marked one of the most radical reinventions of U2’s career. Where previous albums had leaned on earnest, anthemic rock and sprawling Americana-infused soundscapes, 'Achtung Baby' embraced a darker, more experimental palette. Influenced by the European electronic, industrial, and dance music that the band had immersed themselves in during the Berlin sessions, the album combined shimmering synths, distorted guitars, and intricate studio effects, creating a sound that was both modern and enigmatic.
Lyrically and thematically, the album explored fragmentation and duality, love and betrayal, euphoria and alienation, personal tension and political upheaval, reflecting both the band’s internal struggles and the larger global context of a post-Cold War Europe. Songs like 'Mysterious Ways', 'The Fly', and 'Until the End of the World' pushed the band into edgier, more ironic territory, challenging fans’ expectations while demonstrating U2’s willingness to evolve.
'Achtung Baby' changed the perception of U2 overnight. No longer just the earnest stadium-rock heroes of 'The Joshua Tree', they had embraced risk, reinvention, and ambiguity. Critics hailed it as a bold, audacious album, and fans gradually came to see U2 not just as icons but as artists willing to confront their own limitations, experiment fearlessly, and respond to cultural shifts. The album revitalised the band creatively and commercially, setting the template for the ambitious, genre-blending tours and projects that would define their career