Red Hill Mining Town
Encyclopedia
"Red Hill Mining Town" is a song by the rock
band U2
. It is the sixth track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree
.
in response to the National Coal Board
's campaign to close uneconomic mines. The dispute was one of the most divisive and bitter in British history and its effect on families and communities was severe.
In 1984, Bob Dylan
played at Slane Castle
in Dublin. U2 singer Bono
interviewed him for Hot Press
magazine and Dylan invited Bono to sing on stage with him. The meeting confirmed for Bono, whose "record collection started in 1976", how much he still had to learn about the traditions of singing, songwriting, and musicianship. A friendship developed between Bono and Dylan with Bono delving into Dylan's back catalogue and retracing the connections between Irish and American folk music. He was also listening to the blue-collar labour songs of Bruce Springsteen
. U2's growing awareness of folk traditions was reflected in their performance at a 25th anniversary tribute on the Late Late Show to folk veterans The Dubliners
. U2 performed Luke Kelly
's "Springhill Mining Disaster" which tells the story of a mining disaster in Nova Scotia
.
During recording, Bono was displeased with an early vocal take and wondered why his voice made him sound "like a rich man with pound notes stuffed in his pockets when it's a song about unemployment". The audio engineer
determined that the stereo plate reverb effect that had been added to the vocals was contributing to this feeling, and as a result, it was removed.
book Red Hill: A Mining Community. Bono was criticised in some quarters for not being politically specific enough. However, Bono said he felt he was more interested in the relationships and did that others were more qualified to comment on the strike itself.
A music video
for the song was produced in February 1987 in London and directed by Neil Jordan
. It was filmed on a set representing an underground mine. The video was included on the bonus DVD of the 20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box reissue of The Joshua Tree.
The song was initially planned for release as The Joshua Tree's second single, but U2 were unhappy with the video and Bono was unable to sing the high notes during pre-Joshua Tree Tour
rehearsals. The song was dropped as a single and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
" became a late choice for the second single. U2 drummer, Larry Mullen Jr.
, later described it as "one of the lost songs" and that while he thought it had had great potential, it was "over-produced and under-written". While Bono had clear ideas on how he wanted it to sound during The Joshua Tree sessions, Mullen recalls that the rest of the band and production crew were "[not] sure where he was going with it."
It was the only song from The Joshua Tree never to be played live, although it was soundchecked in November 1987.
contrasted the song with two of the album's other ballad
s, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Running to Stand Still
", describing it as the album's "most cluttered and literal, least mysterious and open-ended track". He said the blocked harmonies show the band "striving too ambitiously and conventionally for effect" and likened the song to a "scarf-waving variant of 'Sailing
' written for the National Union of Mineworkers". He described the melody, however, as "undeniably potent and infectious", and he praised the band's good intentions in writing about the mining strikes. Niall Stokes
said that the song "capture[ed] eloquently [...] the sense of doom that surrounded the death of the small close-knit mining communities".
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. It is the sixth track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree
The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 9 March 1987 on Island Records. In contrast to the ambient experimentation of their 1984 release The Unforgettable Fire, U2 aimed for a harder-hitting sound on The Joshua...
.
Background and recording
In 1984, the National Union of Mineworkers led a strikeUK miners' strike (1984–1985)
The UK miners' strike was a major industrial action affecting the British coal industry. It was a defining moment in British industrial relations, and its defeat significantly weakened the British trades union movement...
in response to the National Coal Board
National Coal Board
The National Coal Board was the statutory corporation created to run the nationalised coal mining industry in the United Kingdom. Set up under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946, it took over the mines on "vesting day", 1 January 1947...
's campaign to close uneconomic mines. The dispute was one of the most divisive and bitter in British history and its effect on families and communities was severe.
In 1984, Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
played at Slane Castle
Slane Castle
Slane Castle is located in the town of Slane, within the Boyne Valley of County Meath, Ireland. The castle has been the family home of the Conyngham Marquessate since the 18th century....
in Dublin. U2 singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
interviewed him for Hot Press
Hot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
magazine and Dylan invited Bono to sing on stage with him. The meeting confirmed for Bono, whose "record collection started in 1976", how much he still had to learn about the traditions of singing, songwriting, and musicianship. A friendship developed between Bono and Dylan with Bono delving into Dylan's back catalogue and retracing the connections between Irish and American folk music. He was also listening to the blue-collar labour songs of Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
. U2's growing awareness of folk traditions was reflected in their performance at a 25th anniversary tribute on the Late Late Show to folk veterans The Dubliners
The Dubliners
The Dubliners are an Irish folk band founded in 1962.-Formation and history:The Dubliners, initially known as "The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group", formed in 1962 and made a name for themselves playing regularly in O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin...
. U2 performed Luke Kelly
Luke Kelly
Luke Kelly was an Irish singer and folk musician from Dublin, Ireland, notable as a founding member of the band The Dubliners.-Early life:...
's "Springhill Mining Disaster" which tells the story of a mining disaster in Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
.
During recording, Bono was displeased with an early vocal take and wondered why his voice made him sound "like a rich man with pound notes stuffed in his pockets when it's a song about unemployment". The audio engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
determined that the stereo plate reverb effect that had been added to the vocals was contributing to this feeling, and as a result, it was removed.
Song history
These strands came together in "Red Hill Mining Town", a rough version of which was worked up during the early Joshua Tree album writing sessions in late 1985. Bono's lyrics focussed on the stress the dispute had on families and their relationships, many of which broke down. In particular, inspiration was drawn from the Tony ParkerTony Parker (author)
Tony Parker was an oral historian whose work was dedicated to giving a voice to British and American society's most marginalised figures, from single mothers to lighthouse keepers to criminals, including murderers.-Biography:...
book Red Hill: A Mining Community. Bono was criticised in some quarters for not being politically specific enough. However, Bono said he felt he was more interested in the relationships and did that others were more qualified to comment on the strike itself.
A music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for the song was produced in February 1987 in London and directed by Neil Jordan
Neil Jordan
Neil Patrick Jordan is an Irish filmmaker and novelist. He won an Academy Award for The Crying Game.- Early life :...
. It was filmed on a set representing an underground mine. The video was included on the bonus DVD of the 20th Anniversary Super Deluxe Box reissue of The Joshua Tree.
The song was initially planned for release as The Joshua Tree's second single, but U2 were unhappy with the video and Bono was unable to sing the high notes during pre-Joshua Tree Tour
Joshua Tree Tour
The Joshua Tree Tour was a concert tour by the Irish rock band U2, which took place during 1987, in support of their album The Joshua Tree. The tour was depicted by the video and live album Live from Paris.-Itinerary:...
rehearsals. The song was dropped as a single and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a song by rock band U2. It is the second track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's second single in May 1987...
" became a late choice for the second single. U2 drummer, Larry Mullen Jr.
Larry Mullen Jr.
Lawrence Joseph "Larry" Mullen, Jr. is an Irish musician best known as the drummer for the Irish rock band U2. He is the founder of U2, which he later described as "'The Larry Mullen Band' for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge." He has worked on...
, later described it as "one of the lost songs" and that while he thought it had had great potential, it was "over-produced and under-written". While Bono had clear ideas on how he wanted it to sound during The Joshua Tree sessions, Mullen recalls that the rest of the band and production crew were "[not] sure where he was going with it."
It was the only song from The Joshua Tree never to be played live, although it was soundchecked in November 1987.
Critical reception
Bill Graham of Hot PressHot Press
Hot Press is a fortnightly music and political magazine based in Dublin, Ireland founded in 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it had a circulation of 19,215 during 2007...
contrasted the song with two of the album's other ballad
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
s, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Running to Stand Still
Running to Stand Still
"Running to Stand Still" is a song by rock band U2, and it is the fifth track from their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. A slow ballad based on piano and guitar, it describes a heroin-addicted couple living in Dublin's Ballymun flats; the towers have since become associated with the song...
", describing it as the album's "most cluttered and literal, least mysterious and open-ended track". He said the blocked harmonies show the band "striving too ambitiously and conventionally for effect" and likened the song to a "scarf-waving variant of 'Sailing
Sailing (Rod Stewart song)
"Sailing" is a song written by Gavin Sutherland and recorded by The Sutherland Bros. Band . Released in June 1972, it can be found on their album 'Lifeboat' released in the same year....
' written for the National Union of Mineworkers". He described the melody, however, as "undeniably potent and infectious", and he praised the band's good intentions in writing about the mining strikes. Niall Stokes
Niall Stokes
Niall Stokes is the award-winning editor of the long-running fortnightly Ireland music and political magazine Hot Press based in Dublin. He has edited the magazine since 1977. He has been a longstanding champion of Irish music, most famously U2 in the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s...
said that the song "capture[ed] eloquently [...] the sense of doom that surrounded the death of the small close-knit mining communities".
See also
- List of covers of U2 songs - Red Hill Mining Town
External links
- @U2 - Pictures from "Red Hill Mining Town" video
