"A Celebration" 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 was released as a non-album single in March 1982, between the records ''

October October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars and the sixth of seven months to have a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old calendar of Romulus , October retained its name (from Latin and Greek ''ôct ...

'' (1981) and ''

War War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

'' (1983). The song's music video was filmed at the

Kilmainham Gaol Kilmainham Gaol ( ga, Príosún Chill Mhaighneann) is a former prison in Kilmainham, Dublin, Ireland. It is now a museum run by the Office of Public Works, an agency of the Government of Ireland. Many Irish revolutionaries, including the leade ...

former prison in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. The single reached number 47 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 ...

and number 15 on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are bas ...

. "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl", commonly shortened to "Party Girl", was released on the single's

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 ...

. It later became a live favourite with fans. U2 have re-released "A Celebration" on a few occasions: in 2004 with the digital box set ''

The Complete U2 ''The Complete U2'' is a digital box set by Irish rock band U2. It was released on 23 November 2004 by Apple Computer on the iTunes Store. It is the first major release of a purely digital online set by any artist. It contained the complete se ...

''; in 2008 on a bonus disc with the remastered edition of ''October''; and in 2022 on vinyl for

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 ...

Composition and theme

"A Celebration" runs for 2:57. According to

Universal Music Publishing Group Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) is a North American music publishing company and is part of the Universal Music Group. It was formerly known as MCA Music Publishing until it merged with PolyGram. Universal Music Publishing is the worl ...

's sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is played in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

at a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 157 beats per minute in the

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes neede ...

. The vocals extend from a low note of A₄ to a high of B₅. In a 1983 interview, lead vocalist

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 ...

indicated that the song was the source of controversy due to misinterpretation of the verse "I believe in a third World War / I believe in the atomic bomb / I believe in the powers that be / But they won't overpower me" by fans who questioned his motives. The singer explained, "all I was saying was that the realities of the bomb must be faced".

Release

"A Celebration" was released on 22 March 1982 as a non-album single. The song "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" was featured on the B-side of the single, except in Japan, where the song "

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" was included on the B-side instead.McGee (2008), p. 58 "A Celebration" was absent from any of the group's compilations until the digital box set ''

'' in 2004. The song was also included on the remastered release of ''October'' in 2008. "A Celebration" was reissued on

on 22 April 2022 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its original release. It was pressed on 12-inch, 180-gram vinyl and contained four tracks: two versions of "A Celebration" on the A-side (the original version and a studio outtake), and two versions of "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" on the B-side (the studio version and a live performance from 2015).

"Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl"

"Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl", commonly known as "Party Girl", was the B-side to "A Celebration". The song runs for 2:32 (2 minutes, 32 seconds). According to Universal Music Publishing Group's sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is played in common time at a tempo of 152 beats per minute in the key of D major. The vocals extend from a low note of A₄ to a high of E₆. In contrast to the A-side, after its live debut on at the first War Tour concert, "Party Girl" became a regular during the encores. This happened despite the fact that after the initial performance,

stated "that is the first and probably last time we play that song." It continued to be a regular for the next couple of tours (earning an inclusion on the live album ''

Under a Blood Red Sky ''Under a Blood Red Sky'' is a live album by Irish rock band U2, produced by Jimmy Iovine and released on 21 November 1983. The record's eight tracks were compiled from three concerts during the group's 1983 War Tour, including two songs from ...

'' and the concert film '' U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky'') and has appeared sporadically at U2 concerts since then, usually for special occasions such as the birthday of a band member. The only two tours on which it was never played were 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 1997–1998 and

The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 and The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 were two worldwide concert tours by rock band U2 commemorating the 30th anniversary of their 1987 album ''The Joshua Tree''. The 2017 tour visited stadiums over four legs: North America fr ...

, and it is the most frequently performed b-side in U2's live history, and the only b-side to be played more than a hundred times. Only one non-album song has been played more times, the 1980 single "

11 O'Clock Tick Tock "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It was released as a single on 16 May 1980, and was produced by Martin Hannett. It followed their debut Extended play, EP ''Three (U2 EP), Three'' and the single "Another Day (U2 s ...

". On numerous occasions in the band's live history, U2 have invited fans on-stage to perform the song by playing the acoustic guitar part. "Party Girl" can also be found on the 2008 deluxe edition bonus CD of ''October'', the live albums ''

Live from the Point Depot ''Love: Live from the Point Depot'' is a digital live album by U2 released through the iTunes Music Store on November 23, 2004 as part of the digital box set, ''The Complete U2''. The show was recorded during U2's Lovetown Tour on New Year' ...

'' and '' Live from Paris'' and the compilation albums ''

The Best of 1980–1990 ''The Best of 1980–1990'' is the first greatest hits compilation by Irish rock band U2, released in 2 November 1998. It mostly contains the group's hit singles from the 1980s, but also mixes in some live staples, as well as one new recording ...

'' and '' Medium, Rare & Remastered''.

Music video

The song's music video was filmed at Dublin's

, a former prison, in April 1982, and it was directed by

Meiert Avis Meiert Avis is an Irish music video and commercial director. Avis has directed videos for artists such as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Avril Lavigne, Paramore, Alanis Morissette, Flyleaf, Jennifer Lopez, New Found Glory and Josh Groban, ...

. Drummer

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 ...

said of the music video in 1983: "We did a video of it. We went to this prison in Dublin, where the 1916 uprising took place, called Kilmainham Jail, and filmed it with the idea of breaking out. It was very much a look at ourselves. Like when we were in school and everyone was telling us 'you're crap' and we couldn't get a record deal, it was the triumph of breaking through."

Live performances

"A Celebration" made its live debut in late February 1982 and sporadically appeared at concerts throughout that year until it became a regular of the Pre-

War Tour War is an intense armed conflict between State (polity), states, governments, Society, societies, or paramilitary groups such as Mercenary, mercenaries, Insurgency, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violenc ...

during the month of December. It then appeared at some early dates of the War Tour in February and March 1983. Its last live appearance was on November 30, 1983, in

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Formats and track listings

Charts

References

Footnotes Bibliography *

External links

"A Celebration"
lyrics at U2.com
"Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl"
lyrics at U2.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Celebration, A 1982 singles CBS Records singles Island Records singles Music videos directed by Meiert Avis Song recordings produced by Steve Lillywhite Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. U2 songs 1982 songs