The Bird’s Out of the Cage
The “Red Hill Mining Town” video is finally available for all to enjoy – the video that’s been in U2’s vaults for two decades. If you’re like me, there was something “Holy Grail” like in obtaining this video…in trading circles, anyone who could score a copy of this was guaranteed their pick of the video trade, and in U2’s good judgment, it was wise to wait until now to release it.
OfficialU2 on YouTube has put it up in advance of the 20th Anniversary re-release of The Joshua Tree – so, here it is in all its glory.
I just have one thought – why is it that Larry’s the only one doing the hard labor?
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Im speechless. Amazing video, wait was too long though.
Still wish this would have been a single.
damm bono was hot back then!
oh my goodness… I can totally see why the band hated it. I laughed out loud when Adam tossed those canaries at the camera in slomo. Seriously, a way too literal take on the song, and Bono in full-on super serious mode, daring the viewer to look away from his steely eyes. I’ve always loved the song, but I’m glad they didn’t release this video 20 years ago, or I might have been left with Trip Through Your Wires.
Hm. U2 aren’t exactly known for the best videos around and that one really wasn’t what I was looking for (bad pun, I know). I adore the song, don’t like the video. Solution? Play the song LIVE!!! and release that. On the bright side, more video footage for your own Joshua Tree era music videos.
Bono looks like my mom in dis. Except hes white.
I liked the video (apparently I’m in the minority here). It was a bit OTT serious, but that’s what U2 was all about back then. I’m glad my curiosity has been abated finally.
this video just reminds me how much I miss electrical storm, the video and the song. Such a good track, such a good video, and such potential! I remember seeing that video for the first time and thinking “alright. I like the new U2.” And then we got htdaab. which isn’t bad, but *sigh*
Jaysus, remember when the lads were that good, I still bleedin’ love em, but c’mon, those were the days
Wow, I could have waited another 20 years for this.
Oh my God, what a cheesy, yet funny video. No wonder they kept that locked away from the public for so long. Great song, though.
I never liked that song much because it it is so heavyhanded, both the lyrics and the melody. So is the video, although the birds being released lightens it up — the message seems to be that even though there is an end (the mine is closing, or whatever) it is also a new beginning. Lacks the subtlety of most of U2’s other work, doesn’t it?
But really, I’m with Urania. Well-built glossy-haired 27 year old guys in singlets — can’t get enough.
I’m not watching this on You Tube… the DVD is released today and I will watch it at home on my TV…
Somehow, I think the guy from Creed has seen this video before.
Nice bolt of light through Bono’s legs at the end, ha!
Bono and Larry seemed uncomfortable close for a few moments there, and Adam’s pink wifebeater….an homage to Billy Squire’s earnest “Take Me in Your Arms” video?
Nice to see this finally, thanks for waiting so long!
I’m with Tim.
http://alreadygone.blogspot.com/2007/11/long-lost-u2-video-sees-light-of-day.html
ALWAYS one of my favourite U2 songs. Can’t wait to hear the CD and see the DVD. Thanks, lads.
U2 is the greatest band of all time, but this is their worst video of all time. This should have been kept in the vaults forever! A great song, but all I kept thinking of was The Police’s Canary In A Coal Mine. Compared to the other great videos from The Joshua Tree, With or Without You, Streets, Still Haven’t Found, this one just doesn’t make the grade. Even with that being said, can’t wait to get my hands on the 20th anniversary set!
The video is a bit homoerotic. I’m sure boy george was splitting his pants open with Larry pounding away at whatever…
Until Bono began smoking, he was a pretty good looking guy – now he’s looking whethered and tethered…
I would have left it in the vault, too. Poor Larry, having to stand there and bang on the pillar. Poor Adam, who looks like he’d rather be anywhere else. And the moment when Edge releases the canary in the mine tunnel (canary in the mine tunnel — get it?) is when I dissolved into hysterical laughter.
Moreover, Bono looks like the inspiration for Maks on Dancing With the Stars. On the other hand, a good looking rock star in a wife beater: timeless.
Welllllll, it’s kind of silly. The simplicity didn’t have to hurt it, but just focusing on Bono looking passionate and Larry banging on a steel beam the whole video was kind of boring. The Edge and Adam were barely used…
I do enjoy the time capsule element of it and it’s certainly a good song – so, I’m glad to have seen it, but support their decision only to release it years later as a novelty and promotion for the new release.
Great song! My least favorite U2 video of all time. The video does not do justice to the song. I agree with Clemdiggity, it is a bit homoerotic. One bad apple out of so many good ones is to be expected, even for the greatest band that ever lived. I would love to see the video from “Don’t Take Your Guns To Town” released on DVD. One of my all time favs!
Oh. My. Word. I don’t care about the canaries, I don’t care how over the top it may be, I don’t care about Adam’s pink shirt. All I care about is Bono’s hotness. Call me shallow, but I’m enjoying reliving my youth and how much fun I had scanning videos for those Bono moments that made my heart skip a beat. And the first shot of him in this video nearly gave me a coronary. Not a great video, but definitely worth the wait. (Although Adam and Edge releasing the canaries did make me giggle just a little.)
Great song, full of passion and intensity which is what U2 are known for. Not a great video, not even a particularly good one. But then again, U2’s songs don’t translate to video all that well anyway. It’s just fun most of the time for the fans to see them and let’s face it, Bono is totally hot in this one!! Indeed, those were the days!!! Aside from that, I don’t understand what Larry’s supposed to be doing because it doesn’t look like he’s putting in any hard labour. Adam can get away with his part releasing the canaries because he’s so sage like but Edge looks really uncomfortable and just plain silly. Overall, I’m happy to have seen it but I can see why they didn’t release it for so long.
I really flipped when I learned this video had been released after seeing a few tantalizing screencaps here on @U2. I immediately rushed to see it, and my God, does Bono ever deliver! The video as a whole isn’t that great, and the guys look a bit unconvinced (Aside from Bono, who seems to be trying very very hard to “feel” it.) But still worth the wait!
I really flipped when I learned this video had been released after seeing a few tantalizing screencaps here on @U2. I immediately rushed to see it, and my God, does Bono ever deliver! The video as a whole isn’t that great, and the guys look a bit unconvinced (Aside from Bono, who seems to be trying very very hard to “feel” it.) But still worth the wait!
I, for one, was happy to see lots of Larry! “Hard labour!” LOL!
Bono did his classic caged-animal performance and, sadly, there was very little of Edge and Adam. Is Neil Jordan gay? (Am I allowed to ask this?!) I mean, really, Larry and Bono were extremely hot at that time (and Larry still is!), so it would make sense that he focused on them for the video.
It was great to see it, after all this time, though! It’s my second favourite song on the album.
Thanks, lads, for this Christmas gift!
What memories! Twenty years ago I drove through the coal mining road of WV many, many times from Beckley to Cabin Creek to Charleston and on through “Poison Alley” to Huntington to go to craft fairs in OH, KY, MN, MI, IN. “The Joshua Tree” was always in the cassette player in my van and this song writes the same story as of the mines in Wales. Gone now, mostly, or going. Then, you could still see the railroad tracks that ran along the river through the mountains, still hear the echo of the Chessie’s whistle. Heartstrings of steel…took the coal away to far off destinations far away from these towns still clinging to the valleys and the train. Gone, now too. Tracks rusted. Overgrown. Pulled up. But the mining towns and the people who built the WV Turnpike are still there. No, the cananries flew away to freedom; they don’t have to work in the mine either. No work for anyone. The folks watch the cars flying by on the highway and I guess wish they could leave too. I still drive through the road occassionaly and I still hear this song in my mind. I wrote to U2 then and asked them to come and to play somewhere near that area and they did. Thanks for finally letting me see the video for which I’ve waited all these years.
this video is hilarious…i gotta give it to our boys, they really knew that something was wrong with this video when they decided not to release it 20 years ago. i’m as big a U2 fan as any of you guys, but i think this video should’ve stayed in the the ol’ U2 vault. Bono was almost a parody of himself! The Edge reminds me of Snoopy’s cousin, Spike!
http://img108.imageshack.us/img108/9069/spike8zl.gif
Anyway, it was fun(ny) watching it.
This video shattered the unintentional comedy scale. Just ridiculous! I agree, just play it live. I have a feeling they’ll be throwing in a few Joshua Tree gems on next year’s tour.
I was never a huge fan of the song but I really love the video for it. All that up-close Bono and Larry YUM!
Leo said it best! It was very funny and fun to watch. I love my boys and that is why the performance cracked me up. They were smart to keep this one out of the the way, but I’m glad it is finally out there. If you are like me, you love them for everything that they are and have been over the years.
Should we talk about the bird release scenes?? Better just leave it alone now!
Enjoy!
That was awkward! If they think their old mullets are embarrassing, I can’t imagine how they feel about this video now. It’s a great song–great!–and seeing a new video of them from back in the day was a treat, but, gosh, this video was hard to watch. Would have made more sense if they all had been playing a fake instrument, not just Larry. (Don’t throw shoes at me, but this reminded me of the strangeness of Journey’s “Separate Ways” video.) Edge looked a little goofy with his hands in his pockets…or throwing canaries…or walking around the corner. Bono’s rrrroooOWW is very appealing and he certainly knows how to play to the camera–although at one point he seems to be singing to the canary.
I do miss those Joshua Tree days…
Incredibly brave of them to release this now. Brilliant of them not to have done it sooner.. Wow. I may have stopped liking them after seeing that!
i have to say, i sat through this with my hands clapped over my mouth- partially from giddy shock, and partially because i thought that laughing at the “holy grail” might be irrevant. irreverance aside, i’m thinking along the lines of a lot of other people: waiting to release this video was a good idea. not because it’s bad, exactly- it feels like the joshua tree, it looks like the joshua tree, and you’d better believe bono’s emoting like it’s the joshua tree- but because it’s visually lacking the total emotional ooomf the song delivers.
despite all that, i still think it’s wonderful that we’re finally able to see and appreciate- in many forms, and for many reasons- this video. i’m going to watch it again, just as soon as i calm down enough to stop laughing every couple of seconds.
One a scale of 1-10 for the Cheese-o meter, this one scores a 64.
I heard a rumor that Chippendales dancers use this as a training video.
A VERY good thing they didn’t release it back in ‘87. Would’ve destroyed U2’s career.
Finally,I can die happy!Ok,so the video wasn’t what I had expected(for some unknown reason I thought it was shot in the desert)but still,I’m glad I saw it.The birds flying was the coolest part and there’s close-ups of Larry which I will always appreciate
Come on guys,give this video a chance!U2 made worst videos than this.
Bono’s looking hot and over-emotional (even for Bono), Larry’s looking like *why the #%&/@$ am I hitting this pillar?!*, Adam and Edge -well, we don’t really see much of them. Except from when releasing the canaries in slow-mo. That was hilarious.
Over all, I think the video is a fun watch; kinda cringe-worthy and preposterous, but I’m glad to finally have seen it
My critique: Major hotness, and If released in the 80’s, this would’ve been considered close to cinematic genius. Everything was cheesy back then. Love it for what it is – Fondue (hot cheese).