Setlist Of The Week #1 - 18 November 1989, Sydney

A common belief amongst U2 fans is that Where The Streets Have No Name has been played at every single full tour concert since its debut in 1987, but in actual fact, this is not true. Where The Streets Have No Name was not played at a number of shows on 1987's Joshua Tree Tour along with one on 1989's Lovetown Tour. The first U2gigs.com Setlist Of The Week will focus on the last time Where The Streets Have No Name was omitted from a setlist, on 18 November 1989 at the Entertainment Centre in Sydney, Australia. This concert was the seventh of eight that were played in Sydney on the Lovetown Tour.

In late October 1989, five concerts were scheduled in Sydney to complement the three played in late September, but only two went ahead - October 20 and 21. Illness left Bono unable to sing and the final three shows were re-scheduled for 17, 18, and 19 November, between the concerts in New Zealand and Japan. This was not the end of the saga, though. A bomb threat was made against the concert on the 18th and the entire venue had to be evacuated for ninety minutes so that a thorough search could be conducted.

With no bomb found, the audience were re-admitted to the venue and a fired up U2 took the stage. Bono used humour to make light of the situation, claiming that the audience were sent outside because he wanted to show them the beautiful moon that was out that night. His political passion was also very evident as he modified the lyrics of Bob Dylan's Knockin' On Heaven's Door to address topics as diverse as freedom movements in Eastern Europe and prostitution in Sydney. The other Bob Dylan cover of the set was a performance of All Along The Watchtower to put the version on Rattle And Hum to shame, and it immediately followed a superb and fast solo from The Edge that concluded Desire.

A highlight of the set was the 'transition' between God Part II and Bullet The Blue Sky. This was quite unlike a typical transition, where one song seamlessly segues into another. Instead, as Edge drew his God Part II solo to a close, Bono screamed for the band to "STOP!", and after a second of silence, Larry thumped his drums and the band burst into Bullet The Blue Sky. A humorous snippet appeared in Bullet: Bono sung a line from the theme song of Australian soap opera Neighbours (some other humorous snippets include It's Raining Men during Mysterious Ways at Tampa, 10 October 1997, and the nursery rhyme Christmas Is Coming during The Electric Co. at Brighton, 13 March 1983). Some more notable snippetry occurred late in the show when Bono and BB King snippeted In The Midnight Hour together during When Love Comes To Town.

Finally, it should be noted that Hawkmoon 269 opened the concert. It was played a mere eight times, opening concerts on each occasion. Seven of these shows were in Australia, with this one the last. The only time Hawkmoon 269 was performed outside Australia was when it was played for the eighth and final time on 18 December 1989 in Amsterdam.

The whole concert was filmed, but unfortunately, only a few songs were broadcast as part of a tour documentary shown on television in some countries. The full setlist was:

Hawkmoon 269
Desire / So You Want To Be A Rock 'n' Roll Star (snippet)
All Along The Watchtower
All I Want Is You / Sexual Healing (snippet)
God Part II
Bullet The Blue Sky / Neighbours Theme Song (snippet)
Running To Stand Still
Gloria
I Will Follow
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Bad
Van Diemen's Land
New Year's Day
Pride (In The Name Of Love)

Encore(s):
Angel Of Harlem
When Love Comes To Town / In The Midnight Hour (snippet)
Love Rescue Me
40 / Give Peace A Chance (snippet)

If you attended this show, it's never too late to write a review or submit photos! You can post your review of the show here and upload your pictures here.