U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today

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U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« on: November 06, 2023, 08:46:31 PM »
U2 Songs Tweet today: “Did you know? Passengers was the first U2 release we added to the #U2Discography the day of release. Midnight opening, and scans made before I went to bed… (28 years today…)”

https://twitter.com/u2songs/status/1721623721675280490?s=61&t=gbloyqia4J_iPPT7PSzo-w

https://www.u2songs.com/discography/passengers_original_soundtracks_1_album_original_release

Background Information
“Original Soundtracks 1” was a 1995 studio album recorded by U2 and Brian Eno under the band name, Passengers. The album also featured additional passengers, Howie B, Pavarotti, and Holi. The original gestation of the project was to compose a soundtrack for the film “The Pillow Book” by British director Peter Greenaway which was due for a 1996 release. The soundtrack never came together, and the only U2 music used in the film is “Daddy’s Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car”. Recording had started in November 1994 over a two week period that had yielded a lot of material and a general direction for the project. When they parted ways with the film, Eno suggested they continue recording for imaginary films. There were exceptions and songs from the album were used in “Ghost in the Shell”, “Miss Sarajevo” and “Beyond the Clouds”. The band worked on hours of jam sessions, and then brought in producer Howie B to cut down some of the tracks, and do some mixes. The album is probably the least known in U2’s catalog due to releasing this project under the Passengers name, but over the years songs from this project have appeared on compilations under the U2 name, suggesting the band do consider it a U2 release. The album was recorded at Westside Studios in London, and Hanover Quay Studios in Dublin.

The release date for the album was November 6, 1995 in the UK and the following day in North America. The album was released on 5-inch CD and cassette in most regions. The album released in Japan contained a bonus track, to make the domestic release more popular in a region where import CDs were often cheaper than the domestically produced versions. The bonus track included was “Bottoms (Watashitachi No Ookina Yume)” which was released on the “Miss Sarajevo” single in other regions. A 12-inch vinyl was produced in the UK and in the USA.

The cover art for the album was not designed with usual designer, Steve Averill. Instead the design is based on a concept by Brian Eno and Cally and produced by Cally. Cally was the nickname of the art director for Island Records, Martin Callomon. The image used for the front cover illustration is by Teodor Rotreki. Rotrekl was a Czech illustrator and painter, and designer of a number of movie posters, science fiction book covers and the like. The illustration for the album cover is taken from the book “Six Days on Luna 1” from 1963 by Ivo Stuka.

Only one commercial single was released to promote the Passengers album, “Miss Sarajevo” which had been recorded with Pavarotti. The single was released on November 27, 1995, after the release of the album. A second single, “Your Blue Room” was readied, and promotional copies were released in the UK and Mexico, but a commercial single never materialized—possibly due to the low performance of the album and the first single. A promotional video for “Miss Sarajevo” was filmed and released well in advance of the album and the single. The single for “Miss Sarajevo” included two additional Passengers tracks, as well as a recording of Brian Eno, The Edge, and Bono performing “One” as part of the Pavarotti and Friends concert held that year.

In concert U2 has performed only two songs from Passengers, “Miss Sarajevo” and “Your Blue Room”. “Miss Sarajevo” was performed quite often on the Vertigo tour in 2005 / 2006, as well as the U2360° tour. “Your Blue Room” was soundchecked quite frequently during the first leg of the U2360° tour as it wound through Europe, but would not be performed live until the second night of the USA leg of the tour in 2009. A later performance of “Your Blue Room” would feature Sinéad O’Connor on vocals and would be released on the u2.com fan club gift album, “From the Ground Up”.

A number of songs from this album have been used in films. “Always Forever Now” was used in the film “Heat”, and an alternative version can be found on the soundtrack to that film. The track “Plot 180” can also be heard in one of the deleted scenes from the movie “Heat”. Wim Wenders’ film “Par-dela les nuages” or “Beyond the Clouds” features both “Your Blue Room” and “Beach Sequence” in the film. “Ghost in the Shell” featured the song “One Minute Warning”.
The album did not do very well in charts around the world. Some of the highest placements were New Zealand (9), Australia (11), and Canada (15, RPM Chart). IN the UK it peaked at 12, and in the US it peaked at 76 in the Billboard 200 chart.

The liner notes of the album go into detail about the fake films that these tracks are supposedly from. These notes were written by Eno, and the notes themselves contain a number of secret codes. The author of these notes in the booklet are listed as Ben O’Rian (an anagram of Brian Eno) and C.S.J. Bofop (each letter when substituted for the one prior in the alphabet spells Brian Eno as well.) Other hidden messages included in the booklet? “Peter von Heineken” is a joke on U2’s manager at the time, Paul McGuinness. “Venda Davis” is an anagram for David Evans (the Edge), “Tanya McLoad” becomes Adam Clayton, “Barry Boedders” becomes Des Broadbery (played sequencer on “Always Forever Now”), “Joseph Mamat” becomes James Topham (thanked in the liner notes) and “Kiley Sue LaLonne” becomes Anne-Louise Kelly (an employee at Principle Management). “Pi Hoo Sun” is a phonetic spelling of Bono’s real name “Paul Hewson”. And “Tony Corbin” is likely a reference to Anton Corbijn. It’s also been suggested that the line “The face of a child drawn on a melon” is a reference to Cosmo, the baby who is on the CD “Achtung Baby” and the front cover of “Zooropa”. And finally the name “Kobayashi” is actually the last name of the singer Holi who appears on the album, her full name being Akiko Kobayashi.

At various times there has been mention of a follow up project to “Original Soundtracks 1” – Brian Eno has talked a number of times about their having been a number of tracks recorded with Holi, which he hoped would someday come to light. Larry Mullen has gone on record as saying that this was his least favorite U2 project ever.




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Rising Sun

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2023, 08:47:37 PM »
Howie B. Talks Original Soundtracks 1
Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2020-11-06)
Today was the 25th anniversary of the release of the Passengers album, Original Soundtracks 1 and to celebrate the 1995 album released by U2 with Brian Eno and other guests, we asked readers over on Twitter if they would be interested in a follow up to the album. Howie B, the Scottish DJ and producer who worked on the album put his hand up to say he would love to do a second part, and took the time to answer some questions for us today.

Howie B.: My hand is up for Passengers 2. Oh yes it is.

U2Songs: What’s your favourite song on the first one?

Howie B.: I would say “United Colours,” I think it’s such a great opening track for an album dynamically and sonically. It’s “what in heaven’s name is going to happen next”.

U2Songs: Are there any of the songs on Original Soundtracks 1 you’d love to go back to and do something different with?

Howie B.: Maybe a falsetto on my backing vocals on “Elvis”. For me [the] beauty of that album was it was so off the cuff. It may not sound like that though it was. So for me it’s untouchable. Make part 2 yeah!!!

U2Songs: Maybe some day we will get a reissue set with a few rarities and you’ll get a chance to play with a few things.

Howie B.: That would be a pleasure. There were a few beauties that didn’t make the album. Some alt mixes too…


U2Songs: Ah, we’ve heard a lot of alternate titles from Eno’s diaries, any song titles you remember that got the cut? Did any of the music continue into the making of Pop?

Howie B.: Song names I can’t really remember that far back . As for Influencing “POP” I would say it socially and artistically introduced me to the band and vice versa. So yes I’m a way it was a stepping stone to Pop.

U2Songs: When they brought you in for Passengers did they give you a defined role they wanted you to play? Or was it all left pretty open?

Howie B.: After a few hours in the studio they suggested I take the tapes and set up in a separate studio down town Dublin . So if I went and experimented. Well to be honest they didn’t have a clue who I was they had heard a couple of 12-inches I had released as an artist on MoWax and Pussyfoot Records. That was it. So I walked into Hanover Quay on Thursday morning blind as they were. That’s what was great about the trip.

U2Songs: From Eno’s diary it looks like the album was worked on over three or four months off and on? How much time did you spend with them working on it? Was any of it put together when you came in or were you there from the earliest stages?

Howie B.: They had been on it for two months I came in for the last month. I think they had hit a wall of some sort and needed someone to break it down.

U2Songs: It’s a favourite here, so happy you came in to work on those walls. Do you remember if the “Passengers” concept had been born by that time?

Howie B.: I remember talk of it but it came together factually with all the different artists that contributed to it with out very much ego. Special!!!

U2Songs: It’s a great album. Love that U2 went so experimental and pushed into new territories. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions!

Howie B.: My pleasure. Have a great weekend.

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Loyal Deserter

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2023, 10:51:05 PM »

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MPare1966

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2023, 11:09:10 PM »
First Chair. Last Call.
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If condition persists, consult your physician.
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SlyDanner

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2023, 11:57:33 PM »
Fake news

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Larry Lovebucket

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #5 on: November 07, 2023, 05:09:05 AM »
One of my favourite U2 albums featuring U2 and their producer. I really like ‘Miss Sarajevo’ which is also on my ‘Best of U2’ CD. I enjoy hearing that and songs such as ‘Your Blue Room’ played at U2 concerts.

Bravo U2!
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Tumbling Dice

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #6 on: November 07, 2023, 05:44:02 AM »
This is a U2 forum.

The future is bright at Everton FC  8)

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Larry Lovebucket

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #7 on: November 07, 2023, 06:38:36 AM »
Indeed.

Great to see this U2 LP getting the recognition it deserves
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MPare1966

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #8 on: November 07, 2023, 07:29:24 AM »
With all the Passengers fan in here, we should set up a child board for that band in General Music.
First Chair. Last Call.
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Larry Lovebucket

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #9 on: November 07, 2023, 08:01:21 AM »
Martin.

Is a ‘remix’ of a U2 song by a third party still a U2 song?
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MPare1966

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #10 on: November 07, 2023, 08:11:04 AM »
Martin.

Is a ‘remix’ of a U2 song by a third party still a U2 song?

It’s a remix by a third party. And the third party is usually mentioned in the title.
First Chair. Last Call.
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Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or events, past, present or future, is purely coincidental.
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Larry Lovebucket

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #11 on: November 07, 2023, 08:48:30 AM »
Martin.

Is a ‘remix’ of a U2 song by a third party still a U2 song?

It’s a remix by a third party. And the third party is usually mentioned in the title.

Sure.

But please answer the question. Is a U2 'remix' 'remixed' by a third party still a U2 song?

Fo example, is the Paul Oakenfold 'remix' of EBTTRT a U2 song or a Paul Oakenfold song?
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Amor fati

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #12 on: November 07, 2023, 09:16:16 AM »



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wons

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #13 on: November 07, 2023, 10:09:54 AM »
I remember sometime in September 1995 hearing that U2 were going to release a new album soon. I went to the record store and asked if they had a release date for a new U2 album in the next few months. They looked, but did not see any.

The release of the single and video for Miss Sarajevo let us know what was really going on.

Original Soundtracks 1 entered the U.S. Billboard 200 Chart for the Billboard week of November 25, 1995. It sold somewhere between 15,000 and 20,000 copies in its first week on chart in the United States.

Original Soundtracks 1 chart history in the United States

Week 1 - 76
Week 2 - 98
Week 3 - 158
Week 4 - 176

Purchased it the day it came out. Probably only sold about 50,000 copies during its chart run in the United States. Perhaps 60,000 sold by the time POP was released about a year later.

A mystery as to what it has sold since as it has never re-charted on any album charts, even the catalog albums charts that track the sale of albums that are more than 2 years old.

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Re: U2 Released Original Soundtracks 1 28 Years Ago Today
« Reply #14 on: November 07, 2023, 10:12:35 AM »
Martin.

Is a ‘remix’ of a U2 song by a third party still a U2 song?

It’s a remix by a third party. And the third party is usually mentioned in the title.

Sure.

But please answer the question. Is a U2 'remix' 'remixed' by a third party still a U2 song?

Fo example, is the Paul Oakenfold 'remix' of EBTTRT a U2 song or a Paul Oakenfold song?

It’s similar to a cover, Larry
First Chair. Last Call.
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All rights reserved.
Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or events, past, present or future, is purely coincidental.
If condition persists, consult your physician.
Some assembly required. Batteries not included.