U2's biggest surprises: Two Hearts Beat As One
In this series we look back in time to highlight some of the biggest setlist surprises throughout the touring history of U2. In this latest installment we travel back to 27 July 2015, to the Innocence and Experience tour debut of Two Hearts Beat As One.
The story
Two Hearts Beat As One is a fan favourite from the War album (1983) and featured heavily in the set lists of both the War and Unforgettable Fire tours. The song then saw a hiatus and did not feature at all during the Joshua Tree tour of 1987. The song made a surprise return towards the end of the Lovetown Tour during the second show of the legendary run at the Point Depot in Dublin. This performance was only the second (and last) performance of this song in Ireland and the band played it just as well as they had in years gone by. The fact that this proved to be the final performance of the song for over 9000 days made it all the more special.
In inevitable fashion the song disappeared into the annals of history and wasn't to be seen or heard from again until 2015 during the first leg of the I+E tour. This gap between performances ranks third on the list of longest gaps between performances of a U2 song (behind Scarlet and October). Fan reports from Chicago on June 28th revealed rehearsals behind closed doors however this proved just a tease as the song didn't break cover for another month in New York on July 27th. The song was well received among U2 fans around the world however it featured only twice more on the tour in Amsterdam and in Berlin. There were hopes that it might have featured during the six show residency in London or in Dublin to finish the tour but this sadly didn’t happen.U2 DID "TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE" LAST NIGHT? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? I WANT TO DIE. I WISH I WAS TEHRE GODSDFFGF
— Everything in time ✵ (@revengepsycho) July 28, 2015
The significance
* The performance of Two Hearts Beat As One in New York took place 25 years and 7 months after its previous performance.
* Two Hearts Beat As One was only performed 3 times in 2015.
* Two Hearts Beat As One is only the fourth War song to be played since 1990 (the others are Sunday Bloody Sunday, New Year's Day and 40).
Fan response
In 2015 almost every U2 show was streamed live over the internet via broadcasting services like Mixlr (audio) and Periscope (video). When we take a look at the online reports it was quite evident this was one of U2's biggest surprises:
Still can't believe U2 played two hearts beat as one, first time in 26 years!! 2 more at MSG then they head our way!!! #bringit
— Kevin (@KUEFC) July 28, 2015
https://twitter.com/StrawBarris/status/625829308842536960Two Hearts Beat As One was the song that made me a U2 fan, & I'd never heard it live before, so this is monumental to me. #U2ieTour #fb
— Michelle Perez (@popartist61) July 28, 2015
TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE! Literally just spit on myself! #U2ieTour #nyc6 pic.twitter.com/9Wr6Qx8BFJ
— bethandbono (@bethandbono) July 28, 2015
On the U2start forums, fans discuss each show as it happens, and from the moment the opening notes of Two Hearts were identified the New York topic went crazy:OMG OMG OMG U2 ARE PLAYING TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE RIGHT NOW!!!!
— Drea (@Drea104) July 28, 2015
Originally posted by ASortOfDesire:HOLY SHIT TWO HEARTS
Originally posted by PopmuzikMofo:HOLY SHIT, TWO HEARTS!!
Originally posted by LikeASong:It sounds great. Funky and NOT slowed/watered down like 11OCTT
A personal account (by Sil)
I've always loved "Two Hearts Beat As One" and when I got married in 2008 I decided that instead of having our names engraved on our wedding bands, we were going to have the title of that song.
Not in a million years I thought I would stand a chance of seeing that song being played live. That thought changed, when I heard a snippet of it during I believe the Chicago show (I might be wrong) on the first leg of the IE Tour.
https://www.instagram.com/p/5qiXHSyhyg/?taken-by=silvox2 I never really plan what I will say to Bono when I meet him, and that was what happened before the 6th night at the Madison Square Garden show. When I saw him, I started talking about how much I loved to see Lady Gaga on stage the night before (I'm a HUGE Gaga fan). That somehow and I don't recall why, led to a "request" conversation. Bono asked me what I thought would be the best way to have fans requesting songs for them to play and if that should be an online thing, so I went ahead and told him that he should do like Bruce Springsteen, who always pick a song from the signs that fans bring to each show. He looked at me smiling and said "oh the fucking signs", lol. So I said "well, but I will not need a sign since I'm delivering the message in person for you to play Two Hearts Beat As One". He winked at me and said "I'm taking it ". I also knew that if I were to request something, my odds would be greater if I asked for a song that either they had played before or rehearsed.
It was time for the second song of the night and I swear to God, I thought it was Out Of Control, but it took me about 3 seconds after Adam started with that unique base line, for me to realize that HOLLY COW, they were playing TWO HEARTS BEAT AS ONE, after 25 years! When the song was over Bono said "You happy?". I still have tears in my eyes, every time I listen to that bootleg. One of the most incredible nights of my life!
Conclusion
While Two Hearts Beat As One wasn't a 100% surprise it still came out of nowhere on that evening in New York, the only indication we got was a soundcheck report from a month before. Two Hearts is one of those songs every U2 fan would want to hear live, and sadly it is also one of those songs U2 only revived for less than a handful of shows in 2015. It's a good thing we still have the pictures, sounds, videos and the memories.
U2's biggest surprises
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Two Hearts Beat As One
The article U2's biggest surprises: Two Hearts Beat As One was published on U2start.com by Remy and last updated .
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