"Discothèque" is a song by Irish

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band U2. It is the opening track on their 1997 album, '' Pop'', and was released as its lead single on 3 February 1997. The song exhibits influences from electronic dance music, characteristic of the band's musical direction in the 1990s. The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

, directed by

Stéphane Sednaoui Stéphane Sednaoui () is a French director, photographer, film producer and actor. Over the years, Sednaoui has redefined his artistic approach to focus on his fine-art and cinematographic projects. New and existing work have been exhibited r ...

, was set inside of a mirrorball and featured the band members dressed as members of the

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

group the

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the release ...

. "Discothèque" peaked at number one in several countries, including Finland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, and it also reached number one on the American and Canadian dance and alternative charts. The song received mixed reviews from critics.

Release history

A 30-second sample of "Discothèque" was leaked to the Internet on 26 October 1996. By 27 December, the entire track had been leaked, after which U2 moved the release date forward. "Discothèque" debuted at number three on the US

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...

chart and reached number one the following week. It was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) on 7 April 1997. The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number 10 but dropped off the charts after only four weeks in the top 40, becoming the band's sixth and most-recent top-10 single in the US. The track debuted at number one on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, remaining on top for one week and spending 11 weeks in the chart. The song was remixed for U2's '' The Best of 1990-2000'' greatest hits album, released in 2002. The new version has a longer intro and subtle use of the techno-sounding drum beat that figured prominently in the opening of the original track. The new "Discothèque" sounds similar to the way U2 performed the song during the

PopMart Tour The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 1997 album '' Pop'', the tour's concerts were performed in stadiums and parks in 1997 and 1998. Much like the band's previous Zoo TV Tour, PopMart w ...

in 1997 and 1998. The version on most versions of the single was the 12-inch version, which altered the introduction's instrumentation and vocals. It was also slightly shorter than the album version.

Reception

U2 were criticised by some reviewers for the large number of

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

remixes used as B-sides, suggesting that it was an attempt to "jump on the dance (music) bandwagon." However, Stephen Thomas believed it to be indicative of the growing influence of remixes in music.

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' wrote, "Twenty seconds into this playfully experimental single, and you'll find it hard to remember that this is the same band that recorded '

Sunday Bloody Sunday "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1983 album ''War'' and was released as the album's third single on 21 March 1983 in the Netherlands and West Germany. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" is noted f ...

'." He said that the song "wriggles and writhes with tripped-out

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

intensity" and that the hook "sneaks up on you while you are twitching to the percolating dance beat or snarfing up the tasty guitar scratching offered by the

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

". Flick concluded, "'Discotheque' may start its life at modern rock radio and in clubs, but it sure does sound like the kind of fun and unique record that top 40 desperately needs." Dominic Pride from ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' commented, "Bono and the boys continue their historical process of deconstructing—and reconstructing—

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

, fusing a trippy beat with their trademark chattering guitars and a clear, echoing lead hook." He added, "This time around, Bono's vocals lie farther back in the mix than in the past, and anyone expecting a traditional verse and chorus structure will struggle to find it here. Not, of course, that this will stop most radio formats embracing this from day one." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it five out of five, declaring it as a "stunning new single which, echoing the spirit of The Fly, sees producer

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

successfully combining an electronic-sounding Bono vocal with a dark, yet undeniably funky backing." David Sinclair from ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' wrote that the Irish superstars "make a bullish and overdue return to the fray with an impressively noisy groove." Commercials for the 2003

Toyota Matrix The Toyota Matrix, officially referred to as the Toyota Corolla Matrix, is a compact hatchback manufactured by Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada in Cambridge, Ontario and derived from the Corolla. Introduced in 2002 as a 2003 model, the Matrix w ...

used the Hexadecimal remix. In a 2006 article by ''Stylus'', the magazine had trouble trying to classify the genre of the song, calling it "sheer WTFery" and "permanently unclassifiable".

Music video

In the accompanying

for "Discothèque", which was directed by the Frenchman

, the band performed in what seemed like the inside of a mirrorball. They alluded to several elements of the

era, including disco-style dancing and the film ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American dance drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian-American man from the Brooklyn borough of New York. Manero spends his ...

''. U2 further and directly alluded to the

, a popular disco era band, by similarly adopting the guises of various professions: a motorcycle police officer (

Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by his stage name Bono (), is an Irish singer-songwriter, activist, and philanthropist. He is the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Born and raised in Dublin, he attended M ...

), a gay-fetish biker (

the Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

), an American sailor (

Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-born Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock band U2. He has resided in County Dublin, Ireland since his family moved to Malahide in 1965, when he was five years old. Cla ...

) and a cowboy (

Larry Mullen Jr. Laurence Joseph Mullen Jr. (; born 31 October 1961) is an Irish musician, best known as the drummer and co-founder of the rock band U2. Mullen was born in Dublin, where he attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School. In 1976, he co-founded U2 ...

). ''

Stylus A stylus (plural styli or styluses) is a writing utensil or a small tool for some other form of marking or shaping, for example, in pottery. It can also be a computer accessory that is used to assist in navigating or providing more precision w ...

'' magazine described the video as "sublimely bizarre". Prior to the video's debut on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

, the channel aired a 24-hour marathon of 13 U2 music videos.

Live performances

The song was performed at every show on the

. It opened the encore and was followed by "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" (bar three shows). A somewhat abbreviated form of "Discothèque" was played during the first two legs of U2's

Elevation Tour The Elevation Tour was a worldwide concert tour by Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2000 album ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'', the tour visited arenas across North America and Europe in 2001. Contrasting with the extrava ...

in 2001, normally containing the snippets of " Staring at the Sun" and

INXS INXS (a word play, phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian Rock music, rock band, formed as The Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney, New South Wales. The band's founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboar ...

's " Devil Inside". A more rock-sounding version of the song was played twice on the

Vertigo Tour The Vertigo Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2004 album ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'', the tour visited arenas and stadiums between March 2005 and December 2006. The Vertigo Tour ...

accompanied by an elaborate stage lightshow. It has not been played in full since 20 September 2005. In the 2010 European leg of the

U2 360° Tour The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Staged in support of the group's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon'', the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. The concerts featured the band playing "in the round" ...

, the band began performing an extended snippet of Discothèque during their remixed version of "

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is the fifth song from U2's 2009 album ''No Line on the Horizon''. The song was released as the album's third single in a digital format on 25 August 2009 and in a physical version released on 7 Sept ...

", with Bono singing several verses of the song during the intro and the outtro, and Edge mixing its guitar riff in at the end.

Track listings

* UK and European CD single # "Discothèque" – 5:08 # "Holy Joe" (Garage Mix) – 4:21 # "Holy Joe" (Guilty Mix) – 5:09 * US 12-inch single :A1. "Discothèque" (DM Deep Club Mix) – 6:58 :A2. "Discothèque" (Hexidecimal Mix) – 7:21 :B1. "Discothèque" (DM Deep Instrumental Mix) – 6:58 :B2. "Discothèque" (radio edit) – 4:34

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Discotheque) 1997 singles U2 songs Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Island Records singles UK Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Finland Number-one singles in Italy Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Scotland Music videos directed by Stéphane Sednaoui Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr.

Release history

Reception

Music video

Live performances

Track listings

Personnel

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

See also

References