"Ordinary Love" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It was written to honour

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and is included in the biography film '' Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom''. The song received a limited 10-inch vinyl release on

Record Store Day Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...

on 29 November 2013, less than a week before Mandela died. "Ordinary Love" peaked at number one on the Top Digital Download chart in Italy, where it was certified platinum by the

Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana (FIMI) is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy. It was established in 1992, when major corporate labels left the previously exist ...

. U2 won the 2014

Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song The Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song is a Golden Globe Award that was awarded for the first time in 1962 and has been awarded annually since 1965 by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. The award is presented to the songwriters of a ...

, and in January 2014 the song was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

, but it lost to "

Let It Go "Let It Go" is a song from Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney's 2013 computer-animated feature film ''Frozen (2013 film), Frozen'', whose music and lyrics were composed by husband-and-wife songwriting team Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert L ...

" from '' Frozen''. An alternate version of the song, titled the "Extraordinary Mix", was included on deluxe edition of the band's 2017 studio album, ''

Songs of Experience ''Songs of Innocence and of Experience'' is a collection of illustrated poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases: a few first copies were printed and illuminated by Blake himself in 1789; five years later, he bound these poems with a ...

''.

Writing and recording

U2 had been friends with

for several years, having played concerts in South Africa. When movie producer

Harvey Weinstein Harvey Weinstein (; born March 19, 1952) is an American former film producer and convicted sex offender. He and his brother, Bob Weinstein, co-founded the entertainment company Miramax, which produced several successful independent films inclu ...

invited the band to write a song for the soundtrack of the Mandela biography film '' Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'', they responded with a quick "yes" according to Weinstein. After seeing early cuts of the film, the group were inspired to write a song reflecting upon Mandela. The song was mixed at

Electric Lady Studios Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten ...

, New York City.

Release and reception

It was revealed on 17 October 2013, the band had written a song specifically for the film '' Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'' entitled "Ordinary Love", after receiving an invitation from movie producer

. Subscribers of the band's official website were able to hear it first on the same day. It was reported that the song was to get a full preview on U2.com on 30 October but instead a news bulletin was released stating the song was to be released on a 10-inch vinyl. On 21 November 2013, U2 made the previously announced lyric video available for paying subscribers via their official website. The video was directed by Mac Premo and Oliver Jeffers. On 30 November, the song was made available as a free download on the band's website to paid subscribers. "Ordinary Love" was released on 29 November 2013 as part of the

's "Back to Black Friday". As a limited release, only 10,000 10" vinyl copies were made. During the recording of ''

No Line on the Horizon ''No Line on the Horizon'' is the twelfth studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Brian Eno, Daniel Lanois, and Steve Lillywhite, and was released on 27 February 2009. It was the band's first record since ''How to Dismantle an A ...

'', U2 worked on two sets of lyrics for " Breathe". The first version was about

, and the second was "more surreal and personal". Whereas the second version was included on ''No Line on the Horizon'', they decided to include the first version about Mandela on the vinyl as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

for "Ordinary Love", entitling it "Breathe (Mandela version)". Weinstein has said that he believes U2 have done a "brilliant job honouring the man". ''Rolling Stone'' said, "'Ordinary Love' is about the seeds of dreams, and U2 play it perfectly: down-to-earth, while looking up." As of March 2014, the single has sold 115,000 copies in the United States. U2 posted a new mix of the song, "Ordinary Love (Paul Epworth mix)", on their official

SoundCloud SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...

account on 14 December 2013. The song was performed by U2 with in-house band

The Roots The Roots are an American hip hop band formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots serve as the house band on NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy F ...

on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

'' on 17 February 2014.

Awards

Cover art

The cover art for the "Ordinary Love" single features a "striking painting of Nelson Mandela" by

Oliver Jeffers Oliver Brendan Jeffers (born 1977) is a Northern Irish artist, illustrator and writer who now lives and works in Brooklyn. He went to the integrated secondary school Hazelwood College, then graduated from the University of Ulster in 2001. ...

Personnel

U2 *

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 ...

– lead vocals *

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, backing vocals, piano *

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 ...

– bass guitar *

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 ...

– drums, percussion, backing vocals Additional performers * Danger Mouse – additional synthesisers and piano *Declan Gaffney – additional synthesisers and piano *Barry Gorey –

Wurlitzer The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...

, synthesiser *

Angel Deradoorian Angel Deradoorian (born July 18, 1986), also known mononymously as Deradoorian, is a musician based in Los Angeles, California. She is best known for her work with Dirty Projectors as full-time member from 2007 to 2012. She left to pursue a solo ...

– additional backing vocals Technical *Danger Mouse – production, mixing *Declan Gaffney – additional production, recording *Tom Elhmhirst – mixing *Ben Baptie – mixing assistance, additional recording *"Classy" Joe Visciano – recording assistance *Grant Ransom – additional recording *Barry Gorey – additional recording *Scott Sedillo – mastering *Bernie Grundman – mastering

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Ordinary Love
at U2.com {{Authority control 2013 singles Songs written by Bono Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. Songs written for films Song recordings produced by Danger Mouse (musician) Interscope Records singles U2 songs 2013 songs Number-one singles in Italy Best Original Song Golden Globe winning songs Songs about Nelson Mandela Record Store Day releases