Song · U2
“A Celebration” by U2
Released 1982
“A Celebration” by U2 appears on 3 radio countdowns from 2 stations between 1988 and 2003. It was first released in 1982. Its best result is #141 on the WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #4,553 alternative song of all time.
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Video from YouTube (U2VEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
U2 slipped "A Celebration" out in March 1982 as a stand-alone single, a restless stopgap parked between October (1981) and War (1983) and claimed by neither. Steve Lillywhite produced it, Paul Thomas engineered with Kevin Moloney assisting, and the whole band shares the writing credit. The Irish group shot the video inside Kilmainham Gaol, the one-time Dublin prison.
It got to 47 in the UK and 15 on the Irish chart, and its B-side, "Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" (just "Party Girl" to most), went on to become a fan favourite in concert. With no album to call home, the A-side has been rescued a few times since: in the 2004 digital box The Complete U2, on a 2008 bonus disc packed with the remastered October, and on a Record Store Day vinyl pressing in 2022.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 141 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) | 200 |
| 2002 | 1953 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 1118 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
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