A Celebration
"A Celebration" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It was released as a non-album single in March 1982, between the records October and War. The song's music video was filmed at the Kilmainham Gaol former prison in Dublin. The single reached number 47 on the UK Singles Chart and number 15 on the Irish Singles Chart. "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl", commonly shortened to "Party Girl", was released on the single's B-side. It later became a live favourite with fans.
U2 have re-released "A Celebration" on a few occasions: in 2004 with the digital box set The Complete U2; in 2008 on a bonus disc with the remastered edition of October; and in 2022 on vinyl for Record Store Day.
Composition and theme
"A Celebration" runs for 2:57. According to Universal Music Publishing Group's sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is played in common time at a tempo of 157 beats per minute in the key of B minor. The vocals extend from a low note of A4 to a high of B5.In a 1983 interview, lead vocalist Bono indicated that the song was the source of controversy due to misinterpretation of the verse "I believe in a third World War / I believe in the atomic bomb / I believe in the powers that be / But they won't overpower me" by fans who questioned his motives. Bono explained, "all I was saying was that the realities of the bomb must be faced."
Release
"A Celebration" was released on 22 March 1982 as a non-album single. The song "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" was featured on the B-side of the single, except in Japan, where the song "Fire" was included on the B-side instead."A Celebration" was absent from any of the group's compilations until the digital box set The Complete U2 in 2004. The song was also included on the remastered release of October in 2008.
"A Celebration" was reissued on Record Store Day on 22 April 2022 to commemorate the 40th anniversary of its original release. It was pressed on 12-inch, 180-gram vinyl and contained four tracks: two versions of "A Celebration" on the A-side, and two versions of "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" on the B-side.
"Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl"
"Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl", commonly known as "Party Girl", was the B-side to "A Celebration". The song runs for 2:32. According to Universal Music Publishing Group's sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is played in common time at a tempo of 152 beats per minute in the key of D major. The vocals extend from a low note of A4 to a high of E6.In contrast to the A-side, after its live debut on February 26, 1983 at the first War Tour concert, "Party Girl" became a regular during the encores. This happened despite the fact that after the initial performance, Bono stated "that is the first and probably last time we play that song." It continued to be a regular for the next couple of tours and has appeared sporadically at U2 concerts since then, usually for special occasions such as the birthday of a band member. The only tours on which it was never played were the PopMart Tour in 1997–1998, The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 and 2019, and the Experience + Innocence Tour in 2018 and it is the most frequently performed b-side in U2's live history, and the only b-side to be played more than a hundred times. Only one non-album song has been played more times, the 1980 single "11 O'Clock Tick Tock". On numerous occasions in the band's live history, U2 have invited fans on-stage to perform the song by playing the acoustic guitar part.
"Party Girl" can also be found on the 2008 deluxe edition bonus CD of October, the live albums Live from the Point Depot and Live from Paris and the compilation albums The Best of 1980–1990 and Medium, Rare & Remastered.