U2 "Even Better Than the Real Thing", Stop Sellafield Concert 1992

#U2 #StopSellafieldConcert #1992 #EvenBetterThanTheRealThing

Taken from "Stop Sellafield" concert, G-Mex Center, Manchester. June 19th, 1992.

Concert react here:
https://youtu.be/h6mxQP7HS8A
Give me one more chance
And you'll be satisfied
Give me two more chances
You won't be denied

Well my heart is where it's always been
My head is somewhere in between
Give me one more chance
Let me be your lover tonight

You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing

Give me one last chance
And I'm gonna make you sing
Give me half a chance
To ride on the waves that you bring

You're honey child to a swarm of bees
Gonna blow right through you like a breeze
Give me one last dance
We'll slide down the surface of things

You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing
Even better than the real thing

We're free to fly the crimson sky
The sun won't melt our wings tonight

Oh now
Here she comes

Take me higher
Take me higher
You take me higher?
You take me higher?

You're the real thing
Yeah the real thing
You're the real thing

Even better than the real thing
Even better than the real thing
Even better than the real thing
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
This song began with the title "The Real Thing" during the Rattle And Hum sessions. It's a play on the Coca-Cola slogan "It's The Real Thing." The song was intended to make a statement about commercialism.

In the band's autobiography U2 by U2, Bono explains the song "is much more reflective of the times we were living in, when people were no longer looking for the truth, we are all looking for instant gratification. It's not substantial as a lyric but it suggests a certain sexual tension and desire to have some fun playing in the shallows. 'Sliding down the surface of things.' There is a moment when you want to read a magazine, not a novel. It was nice to take some of the more fun bits of rock 'n' roll. We really needed that playful thing to balance what was at the heart of the album and make the bitter pill a little sweeter to swallow."

The video was directed by Kevin Godley, who with his creative partner Lol Creme, had made a number of groundbreaking videos, including Herbie Hancock's "Rockit" and Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Two Tribes." For "Even Better Than The Real Thing," Godley had camera rigs built that could revolve around each member of the band, creating a constant and unusual motion. They called it "the wheel thing."

Godley also mixed in quick shots of advertising ephemera, including slogans and product shots, ending with a title card reading "WATCH MORE TV." By the end, the viewer has been assaulted with a barrage of constantly moving images, making the point that long exposure to overstimulated media and be harmful to your health. It tied in with the Zoo TV concept.

U2 performed this on their 1992-1993 Zoo TV tour with huge monitors flashing messages and video clips behind the band. This was one of the most daring and technically sophisticated tours of its time, bombarding the audience with a barrage of visuals to parody the way advertising messages were being thrust on the public.

The video marked the first collaboration between U2 and Kevin Godley. He went on to direct their videos for "Numb," "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," "Sweetest Thing" and "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of."

In a Songfacts interview, Godley talked about making the "Even Better Than The Real Thing" video. "It looks like the camera is actually moving around the performance, 360 degrees, up and over them and underneath them, because that's how the track felt to me," he said. "It was quite extraordinary, and what was extraordinary about it was how the band reacted to that setup. They instinctively understood what it was capable of and worked the camera in a mode that would give us the best results, so it was a perfect marriage of a half-formed idea becoming a fully-formed idea, and on the day of the shoot, the performers reacted so well to it that it doubled its potential."

Back when they gave out such an award, this won the MTV Video Music Award for best special effects in 1992.

A single with dance remixes of this track went to #8 in England and was popular in clubs.

Richard Branson asked to use this song to launch his Virgin Cola, a competitor of Coke, but U2 refused.

Видео U2 "Even Better Than the Real Thing", Stop Sellafield Concert 1992 канала Paula Soares