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"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 Wale ...
band U2. It is the opening track on their 1997 album, '' Pop'', and was released as its lead single on 3 February 1997 by
Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...
. The song exhibits influences from
electronic dance music Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
, characteristic of the band's musical direction in the 1990s. The music video, directed by Stéphane Sednaoui, was set inside of a mirrorball and featured the band members dressed as members of the
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
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 and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...
. "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.


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 between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart and reached number one the following week. It was certified
Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...
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, 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 ''The Best of 1990–2000'' is the second greatest hits album by Irish rock band U2. It was released on 5 November 2002 through Island Records and Interscope Records. The follow-up to '' The Best of 1980–1990'' (1998), it was issued as both ...
'' 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 the Irish 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 ...
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 piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...
remixes of the song, 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 musi ...
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 advertis ...
'' 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 ...
'." 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 tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...
-
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 ...
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." Kevin Courtney from ''
Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...
'' commented, "U2's much-touted "dance influences" are right to the fore here, with Larry's drums laying down a strident beat reminiscent of " The Fly", and The Edge mixing distorted guitars with crazy compressed electronic effects. Bono's disembodied, doubled-up voice squeezes into the cyber-spaces, sounding frazzled and frantic at first, then going all grungy and growling. The atmosphere is one of taut stretched out tension as though the song was being pulled apart in four different directions, but then everything suddenly goes slack, resolving into a fluid, delayed-effect guitar lick by the Edge." 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 m ...
'' commented, "Bono and the boys continue their historical process of deconstructing—and reconstructing—
rock music Rock is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in the United States as "rock and roll" in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of styles from the mid-1960s, primarily in the United States and the United Kingdo ...
, 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 We ...
'' 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 (list of non-water floods, 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 of significant con ...
successfully combining an electronic-sounding Bono vocal with a dark, yet undeniably funky backing." David Sinclair from ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' 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 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 music video for "Discothèque", which was directed by the Frenchman Stéphane Sednaoui, the band performed in what seemed like the inside of a mirrorball. They alluded to several elements of the
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
era, including disco-style dancing and the film ''
Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...
''. U2 further and directly alluded to 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 and Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the re ...
, 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 the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
), 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 a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...
), an American sailor (
Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock music, rock band U2. Born in Oxfordshire, England, he lived in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland after his family moved to ...
) and a cowboy ( Larry Mullen Jr.). ''
Stylus A stylus is a writing utensil or tool for scribing or marking into softer materials. Different styluses were used to write in cuneiform by pressing into wet clay, and to scribe or carve into a wax tablet. Very hard styluses are also used to En ...
'' magazine described the video as "sublimely bizarre". Prior to the video's debut on
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
, the channel aired a 24-hour marathon of 13 U2 music videos.


Live performances

The song was performed at every show on the
PopMart Tour The PopMart Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the Irish 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 ...
. 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 the Irish Rock music, 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 w ...
in 2001, normally containing the snippets of " Staring at the Sun" and
INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...
'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 To ...
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 the Irish rock music, 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 pla ...
, 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", 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

*
Bono Paul David Hewson (born 10 May 1960), known by the nickname Bono ( ), is an Irish singer-songwriter and activist. He is a founding member, the lead vocalist, and primary lyricist of the rock band U2. Bono is known for his impassioned voca ...
 –
vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...
*
The Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is a British-Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist o ...
 –
guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
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 us ...
*
Adam Clayton Adam Charles Clayton (born 13 March 1960) is an English-Irish musician who is the bass guitarist of the rock music, rock band U2. Born in Oxfordshire, England, he lived in County Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland after his family moved to ...
 –
bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
* Larry Mullen Jr. –
drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...
,
percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Release history


See also

* List of covers of U2 songs - Discothèque * List of ''RPM'' Rock/Alternative number-one singles (Canada) * List of number-one dance singles of 1997 (U.S.) * List of number-one singles of 1997 (Ireland) * List of number-one singles in 1997 (New Zealand) * List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK) * List of number-one modern rock hits (United States) * Number one modern rock hits of 1997


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.