1987 · Behind the Songs
The Joshua Tree anthem with the rooftop video.
“Where the Streets Have No Name” is U2 at their most euphoric — and their most idealistic. Released as the third single from The Joshua Tree in 1987 and produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, it imagines a place where identity isn’t written on street signs. Bono was inspired by Belfast, where he noted you could tell someone’s religion and class by their address; the song dreams of a city without such borders.
The track builds from the Edge’s shimmering, delay-heavy intro into one of the great crescendos in rock. As a single it reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. But it’s the video that made it immortal: filmed on a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles and directed by Meiert Avis, the shoot drew such a crowd that the police shut it down — a real-life echo of the Beatles’ Apple rooftop farewell.
The song became the opening statement of U2’s live shows for years, the fanfare before the sermon. It’s U2’s utopia in four minutes — a place where the streets have no name, and everyone belongs.
What to listen for: the Edge’s intro, which blooms like dawn; the rhythm section’s surge; and Bono’s vocal — pure yearning, reaching for something just out of grasp.