A Celebration
U2
U2’s RSD 2022 release A Celebration (40th Anniversary Edition) is a limited‑edition 12‑inch vinyl EP issued for Record Store Day on April 23, 2022, marking forty years since the original single “A Celebration” came out in March 1982. The original track was U2’s seventh single, released between the albums October (1981) and War (1983), and had never been part of a studio album, living mainly as a standalone 7‑inch and later as a bonus track on the 2008 October deluxe edition. For the anniversary, Island Records pressed a 4‑track EP on 180‑gram black vinyl, cut at 45 rpm and limited to around 7,500 copies, available exclusively through participating independent record stores.
Musically, Side A features the original studio version of “A Celebration” (produced by Steve Lillywhite) and a newly released studio out‑take—an alternate rough mix that offers a slightly rawer view of the song. Side B focuses on the single’s B‑side, “Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl,” pairing the original studio recording with a previously unreleased live performance from Cologne on October 18, 2015 during the iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour, where Bono invited a fan onstage to join the band. The package uses new cover art by longtime U2 collaborator Shaughn McGrath, inspired by the original single design, with back‑cover images taken from the early‑1980s “A Celebration” video shot at Dublin’s Kilmainham Gaol. As an RSD release, A Celebration (40th Anniversary Edition) serves as a compact archival homage to a relatively obscure but beloved early U2 single and its cult‑favorite B‑side, giving both songs renewed prominence and adding fresh context for collectors and fans.
A Celebration
U2
U2’s RSD 2022 release A Celebration (40th Anniversary Edition) is a limited‑edition 12‑inch vinyl EP issued for Record Store Day on April 23, 2022, marking forty years since the original single “A Celebration” came out in March 1982. The original track was U2’s seventh single, released between the albums October (1981) and War (1983), and had never been part of a studio album, living mainly as a standalone 7‑inch and later as a bonus track on the 2008 October deluxe edition. For the anniversary, Island Records pressed a 4‑track EP on 180‑gram black vinyl, cut at 45 rpm and limited to around 7,500 copies, available exclusively through participating independent record stores.
Musically, Side A features the original studio version of “A Celebration” (produced by Steve Lillywhite) and a newly released studio out‑take—an alternate rough mix that offers a slightly rawer view of the song. Side B focuses on the single’s B‑side, “Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl,” pairing the original studio recording with a previously unreleased live performance from Cologne on October 18, 2015 during the iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE tour, where Bono invited a fan onstage to join the band. The package uses new cover art by longtime U2 collaborator Shaughn McGrath, inspired by the original single design, with back‑cover images taken from the early‑1980s “A Celebration” video shot at Dublin’s Kilmainham Gaol. As an RSD release, A Celebration (40th Anniversary Edition) serves as a compact archival homage to a relatively obscure but beloved early U2 single and its cult‑favorite B‑side, giving both songs renewed prominence and adding fresh context for collectors and fans.