Two Hearts Beat As One / Sunday Bloody Sunday
U2
U2’s 2023 Record Store Day release Two Hearts Beat As One / Sunday Bloody Sunday – The War & Surrender Mixes is a limited‑edition 12‑inch EP issued on April 22, 2023 to mark the 40th anniversary of their 1983 album War. Pressed on 180‑gram white vinyl and cut at 45 rpm, it was marketed as an “RSD First” title and released exclusively through participating independent record stores worldwide, packaged in a single outer sleeve with a plain white inner and an exclusive 600×600 mm poster featuring Bono’s artwork. The EP focuses on two of War’s key tracks—“Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday”—both originally issued as singles on March 21, 1983 in different regions, and long considered central to the band’s early political and romantic themes.
Musically and conceptually, the release pairs history with reinvention. Side A presents the original War mixes of “Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” produced by Steve Lillywhite and remastered under The Edge’s direction for the 2008 War reissue, capturing the urgent, martial rock sound that helped define U2’s breakthrough era. Side B then offers newly reimagined Songs of Surrender versions of the same two songs, produced and curated by The Edge for the 2023 album Songs of Surrender, which revisits 40 U2 tracks in more intimate, stripped‑back arrangements with occasional lyric changes. As a result, the EP acts as a compact bridge between U2’s youthful, anthemic 1983 and their reflective 2023 reworkings, inviting listeners to hear how “Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” transform when shifted from full‑band, stadium‑scale performances into more personal, revisited interpretations.
Two Hearts Beat As One / Sunday Bloody Sunday
U2
U2’s 2023 Record Store Day release Two Hearts Beat As One / Sunday Bloody Sunday – The War & Surrender Mixes is a limited‑edition 12‑inch EP issued on April 22, 2023 to mark the 40th anniversary of their 1983 album War. Pressed on 180‑gram white vinyl and cut at 45 rpm, it was marketed as an “RSD First” title and released exclusively through participating independent record stores worldwide, packaged in a single outer sleeve with a plain white inner and an exclusive 600×600 mm poster featuring Bono’s artwork. The EP focuses on two of War’s key tracks—“Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday”—both originally issued as singles on March 21, 1983 in different regions, and long considered central to the band’s early political and romantic themes.
Musically and conceptually, the release pairs history with reinvention. Side A presents the original War mixes of “Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” produced by Steve Lillywhite and remastered under The Edge’s direction for the 2008 War reissue, capturing the urgent, martial rock sound that helped define U2’s breakthrough era. Side B then offers newly reimagined Songs of Surrender versions of the same two songs, produced and curated by The Edge for the 2023 album Songs of Surrender, which revisits 40 U2 tracks in more intimate, stripped‑back arrangements with occasional lyric changes. As a result, the EP acts as a compact bridge between U2’s youthful, anthemic 1983 and their reflective 2023 reworkings, inviting listeners to hear how “Two Hearts Beat As One” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday” transform when shifted from full‑band, stadium‑scale performances into more personal, revisited interpretations.