And they still didn't find what they were looking for.
So a desperate U2 took a radical turn on the way to producing their final classic album, 2004's How to Defuse an Atomic Bomb, released twenty years ago on November 22, 2004 (November 23 in the US).
After months of work on the follow-up to 2000's Everything You Can't Leave Behind – which re-established the iconic Irish rock band as the biggest band in the world – the project collapsed when they decided to fire producer Chris Thomas.
“They felt bad about it, because they're such great employers that they don't like having to let someone go,” Steve Lillywhite — who stepped in to produce “How to Defuse an Atomic Bomb” — told The Washington Post. “But they felt, for the benefit of the album, that they needed someone who could bring a certain energy to the studio.”
And turning into Lillywhite on “Hot to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” would produce amazing results for U2: on the strength of singles like “Vertigo,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” and “City of Blinding Lights.” “. “,” the group's eleventh studio LP would go multi-platinum and win eight of 22 Grammy Awards — including their second Album of the Year award after 1987's “The Joshua Tree.”
By cementing their importance as Bono's boys gave way from alternative rock to rock, he turned midlife into an “atomic” era for U2.
Boom.
And who better to help U2 recapture their unforgettable fire than Lillywhite — who produced the band's first three albums: 1980s' “Boy,” 1981's “October” and 1983's “War,” while also contributing to “The… “Joshua Tree”.
“They were feeling a little depressed,” recalls Lillywhite, 69. “When they see me, they perk up because it reminds them of when they were young, I think.”
In fact, the British producer — who has also worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Dave Matthews' band and The Killers — has known U2 since day one.
“When I first worked with them, I was 24 and the oldest member of the band was 19,” he explained. “Bono was 19 and Larry [Mullen Jr., the drummer] We were 17 when we recorded their first album. They were so young. I've known them their whole lives, you know?
So there was an innate confidence in Lily White, who also worked on “The Joshua Tree,” “All That You Can't Leave Behind” and another certified classic, 1991's “Achtung Baby.”
“I was handling an album that was halfway done,” he said. “Basically, they played me all the songs and said, 'What do you think?' So I said: Well, you know, that's good; This, we have to do this; This song, I love it, but we need to re-record it. My thoughts were that it lacked a little power.
Such was the case with debut single “Vertigo,” which would go on to showcase The Edge in all his guitar-playing glory to his Grammy-winning impact. But the song didn't take off to that special “place” when it was originally called “Native Son.”
“I didn't like the way it was recorded,” Lillywhite said. “So we recorded it again, and it sounded so good that Bono said he wanted to write a better song because of it. That's what made him write 'Vertigo.' I mean, if 'Native Son' had been released, it wouldn't have been as big a hit as Vertigo, so it was the right thing.” What to do to change that song.
Likewise, “Sometimes You Can't Do It Yourself” was taken to the next level with Lilywhite, who inspired Bono to find the false heart of the chorus.
“Well, that song has been around for a few years actually,” he explained. “And I remember listening to it and thinking it didn't really have a chorus. And when I said that, Bono picked up the guitar and started singing, 'And this is you when I look in the mirror/And this is you when I don't pick up the phone/Sometimes you can't do it alone'.” '
“I think that's the financial part of the song, so I helped them discover how great that song was, too.”
In fact, for all its false sentiment, “Sometimes You Can't Do It by Yourself” — about the relationship Bono had with his father, Bob Hewson, who died of cancer in 2001 — would go on to win the hit song. 2006 Grammy Award, while “City of Blinding Lights” won Best Rock Song.
Meanwhile, Lillywhite won the Gramophone Producer of the Year award that same year for turning the album from a “bomb” into a blockbuster.
“I just came in and did what I do,” he said. “Yes, we were very lucky, we were able to get Grammy Awards and everything.”
But “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” also scored a big promotional win when “Vertigo” was used in commercials for the iPod upon its release. There was also a U2 iPod in the same black and red color scheme as How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
“That was one of the greatest business deals ever made,” Lillywhite said. “I mean, Steve Jobs sold millions of iPods, and U2 sold millions of records.”
And who can forget U2 performing “All Because of You” on a flatbed truck through downtown Manhattan to promote the album – before playing a “secret” concert in Brooklyn Bridge Park?
Lillywhite would go on to work with U2 on 2009's “No Line on the Horizon,” 2014's “Songs of Innocence” and 2017's “Songs of Experience,” and also produced the group's most recent single, 2023's “Atomic City” while assisting them with In releasing their own songs. Sphere's flagship residence in Las Vegas.
While he lives semi-retired in Bali now, Lillywhite still keeps tabs on U2, who haven't released a new studio album in seven years.
“They've been in the studio, and they all seem excited about how things are going,” said the five-time Grammy winner, who expects to release a new album in 2025 with a tour to follow in 2026.
But while “How to Disassemble an Atomic Bomb” is being celebrated with “How to Reassemble an Atomic Bomb” — a new release that includes excerpts from those sessions — Lilywhite is proud of what it created 20 years ago.
“I would say it's in the top 5 [albums]He said. “Joshua Tree” and “Achtung Baby” and “Everything You Can’t Leave Behind” and then, for me, I love “War”. And then this. I’m just proud to have my name on a great record.”
