"
The Fly" is a song by
rock band
U2. It is the seventh
track from their 1991 album
Achtung
Baby and was released on 12 October 1991 as the album's
first
single. "The Fly" introduced a
more abrasive sounding U2, as the song featured
hip-hop and
industrial beats, distorted vocals, and an
elaborate guitar solo. Lead vocalist
Bono
described the single as "the sound of four men chopping down the
Joshua Tree," due to its departure
from the traditional sound that had characterised the band in the
1980s.
Bono described the song's subject as that of a phone call from
someone in
Hell who enjoys being there and
telling the person on the other end of the line what he has
learned. The song and its video were also a showcase for "The Fly",
a persona that Bono took on for the
Zoo TV
Tour, in which he played the part of a stereotypical
leather-clad rock star known for wearing large wrap-around
sunglasses and strutting around the stage. The song became the
band's second #1 single in the UK and was successful among
alternative rock radio audiences.
Recording and composition
U2 was in
Dublin
for the second phase of the recording sessions for
Achtung Baby. One song, "Lady With the Spinning
Head", later released as a B-side, proved troublesome, but would
inspire portions of three separate songs, "The Fly" being one of
them, and "
Ultraviolet "
and "
Zoo Station" the other two. Lead
vocalist
Bono stated, "One day, [[[Audio
engineering|engineer]]]
Flood had a
different look in his eye. It started to feel good. We recorded
'The Fly'.
Edge's guitar sound was
literally like a fly had broken into your brain and was buzzing
around." Described as a "whooshing,
industrial, beat-driven" piece, "The Fly"
shows a heavier, more abrasive side of U2. The song featured
hip-hop beats, distorted vocals, an
elaborate guitar solo, and hard
industrial edge.
The song was also a showcase for a persona Bono had invented called
"The Fly". Bono recalls that during the recording sessions, Fintan
Fitzgerald, in charge of the band's wardrobe, found a 1970s pair of
wraparound
blaxploitation sunglasses.
Bono would put them on and make everyone laugh whenever they ran
into a problem or disagreement. Bono wrote the lyrics in character
as "The Fly", explaining, "I became very interested in these
single-line aphorisms. I had been writing them, so I got this
character who could say them all, from 'A liar won't believe
anybody else' to 'A friend is someone who lets you down,' and
that's where 'The Fly' was coming from." Bono described the song as
"a crank call from Hell... but [the caller] likes it there." Bono
sings part of the chorus in a
falsetto,
utilizing what he calls the "Fat Lady" voice, which also appears on
"
Lemon" and "
Numb".
Towards the end of the sessions, the band decided that they were
unhappy with the
mix
to "The Fly", which was selected well in advance of the album's
release to be the first single. The band ended up taking the song's
mix, placing it on a two-inch
multi-track tape, and adding additional
vocals and guitars. The Edge and
producer Daniel
Lanois mixed on top of the previous mix live in the studio, an
unusual practice. Edge says the technique would "make studio
professionals laugh" and believes "part of the reason why [the
song] sounds so dynamic is because it was a real hands-on
performance mix." The guitar sounds in the opening were created by
mixing additional guitar on top of the existing guitar, creating a
"really crazy natural
phasing effect".
Bassist
Adam Clayton mentioned that "at
that time, it was impossible to know whether U2 fans would follow
Bono down this particular path, so [the song] was a real leap of
faith. The whole track is a high-energy sonic barrage but with an
angelic chorus. It's a classic example of U2 and
Eno interfacing."
Release and reception
Underlined by this new direction, "The Fly" became extremely
successful among
alternative rock
audiences, though it struggled to find airtime on pop radio. The
song became U2's second #1 single in the UK, following "
Desire". It was notable for ending the
record breaking 16 week run at the top of the singles chart for
Bryan Adams' "
I Do It for You" but it
quickly slid down the chart. In the U.S., it only managed #61 on
the
Hot 100, a position later surpassed by
all the other
Achtung Baby singles. Nevertheless, the song
was very successful on
modern rock
radio, reaching the top of the
Modern
Rock Tracks chart and #2 on the
Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It
debuted at #1 in Australia. It also made #4 on the Dutch Top
40.
When The Edge was named the 24th greatest guitarist of all time by
Rolling Stone in 2003, "The
Fly" was dubbed his essential recording.
When the covers to "
Even
Better Than the Real Thing", "The Fly", "
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild
Horses", and "
Mysterious
Ways" are arranged, a picture of the band members driving a
Trabant is formed.
Live performances
On the
Zoo TV Tour, Edge used an
Eric Clapton Stratocaster,
accompanied by Bono on a
Gibson
ES-175. This version included many effects from The Edge,
including wah and distortion. These performances included
subliminal messages flashing on screen as the band played, often in
unison with the pace of the song. The Edge would sing the falsetto
part of the chorus, including the part over his guitar solo.
The song was not played on the
PopMart
Tour, although it was snippetted several times on versions of
"
Where the Streets Have
No Name" and "
Discothèque"
[211504].
The version from the
Elevation Tour,
featured just The Edge on a
Gibson Les
Paul Custom playing in a lower key with less wah. Bono did not
play guitar on these versions, as he usually performed on the
heart-shaped stage in the audience. This version is also notable
for its added introduction with Bono singing new lyrics over only
Edge's arpeggioed chords. His new lyrics would then involve him
reciting parts of the chorus of the song. The Edge did not sing in
falsetto during the chorus as he has done on the versions from
other tours. This tour also included the first extending ending of
the song. The band felt that, while the song was good, they hadn't
gotten it exactly right.
David Bowie
told them, upon hearing it, that it needed to be re-recorded. Bono
has also said, "It took us fifteen years to really get it right
live," assumingly meaning that the intended product is the version
played on the
Vertigo Tour.
For the Vertigo Tour, "The Fly" was played during the Zoo TV-themed
encore, and was often re-paired with "Zoo Station" as on Zoo TV.
Edge used a
Line 6 Variax 700 Acoustic
(custom painted to match the tour's red and black color scheme) and
Bono used his signature guitar, the
Gretsch
Irish Falcon. Larry Mullen also changed the drum beat to the
song on this tour, involving more use of the hi-hat cymbal and
snare as opposed to the heavy use of the tom rack on past versions.
The Edge again used the extended outro to the song, and Bono often
snippeted the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" as
well as other songs over the outro. The subliminal messages played
on the LEDs (though using new, original messages) invoked nostalgia
of the Zoo TV Tour.
The song is featured on the
Zoo TV: Live from Sydney,
Elevation 2001:
Live from Boston, and
Vertigo 2005: Live from
Chicago live DVDs.
Music video
The promotional video was the first appearance of The Fly character
and displayed the band's "new look". The song was promoted with a
music video directed by
Ritchie Smythe and
Jon
Klein. Smythe's contribution was a basic performance video,
relying heavily on unfocused, fast, wandering takes. Klein's part
featured only Bono sitting in a chair with a remote control, facing
a wall with several
TV sets. The intro to the
video, also filmed by Klein, featured a small portion of the
"Lounge Fly Mix", with Bono running in the streets in his "Fly"
costume.
The video appears on the
DVD for
The Best of 1990-2000, along with
the directors' commentaries.
Alternate versions
There are four released versions of this song:
B-sides
The single was backed with the following
B-sides:
- "Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk / Korova 1" - a
music piece by Bono and The Edge, taken from the score for the
Royal Shakespeare Company's production of "A Clockwork Orange" .
This was the only part of the score which was officially released.
The author of the original book, Anthony
Burgess was reportedly very unsatisfied with the soundtrack.
This song was also featured on the soundtrack to the movie
Johnny
Mnemonic.
- "The Lounge Fly Mix" - this is an alternate take of "The Fly",
featuring different lyrics and a more dance-oriented, trip-hop sound. A snippet of this version is played
over the intro of the music video to "The Fly".
Track listings
Certifications
| Country |
Certification |
Date |
Sales certified |
| UK |
Silver |
October 1, 1991 |
200,000 |
|
Charts
See also
References
, England
in 19 June
1992 for the Stop
Sellafield concert. This was released as a B-Side
on the "City of Blinding
Lights" single. It is also available on the second disc of the
Zoo TV: Live from
Sydney DVD as a bonus track.
in May 2005,
which appears on the U2.COMmunication fan club
album. This performance is also available in the
Vertigo 2005: Live
from Chicago concert film.
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