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Song · U2

“Angel of Harlem” by U2

Released 1988

“Angel of Harlem” by U2 appears on 46 radio countdowns from 17 stations between 1988 and 2024. It was first released in 1988. Its best result is #11 on the WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #31 alternative song of 1988, #656 alternative song of all time and #119 of the '80s.

46countdowns
17stations
#11best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1988–2024years charted

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Angel Of Harlem

Video from YouTube (U2 - Topic). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Angel of Harlem" is U2's love letter to Billie Holiday, the second single from Rattle and Hum in December 1988, and it's the sound of an Irish band getting its hands dirty in American soul. Bono wrote the words, the band wrote the music, and Jimmy Iovine produced, with Jack Clement and David Ferguson recording it and Rob Jacobs and Shelly Yakus mixing.

The Memphis Horns blow warm and brassy all over it, Joey Miskulin's organ fills in the gaps, and the band swings like a bar band on a Saturday night, loose and joyous. It's a treat to hear U2 simply having fun.

It sits tenth on Rattle and Hum and followed "Desire" as a single, with "When Love Comes to Town" coming next. It topped the charts in Canada and New Zealand, reached number nine in the UK and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100, and went all the way to number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The single carried two different B-sides: an original called "A Room at the Heartbreak Hotel" and a live take on "Love Rescue Me".

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Classic Rock

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1988 66 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988 107
1988 38 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988 91
1988 11 WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988 100
1989 60 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1989 107

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 117 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1992 473 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1997 769 102.3 WBAB WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) 1023
1999 503 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
2000 503 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 503 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 175 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 498 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 503 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 553 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2002) 923
2002 335 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 787 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 1098 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 503 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 917 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 503 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 552 92.3 KGON KGON Top 923 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2004) 923
2004 205 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 504 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 332 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 848 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 315 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 569 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 534 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 527 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 516 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 497 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2011 396 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 400 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2013 515 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 285 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 494 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2014 529 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 324 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2014 874 Big 100 BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 495 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2016 837 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2022 387 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 729 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2023 792 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Songs About Places 800
2024 941 WYEP WYEP Best Songs of the Past 50 Years 1049
2024 878 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2024) 1043

Also listed as: Angel Of Harlem; Angel Of Halem.

Charting alongside it in 1988

Best songs of 1988 →
  1. 1SuedeheadMorrissey
  2. 2DesireU2
  3. 3Beds are BurningMidnight Oil
  4. 4Route 66Depeche Mode
  5. 5Peek-A-BooSiouxsie and the Banshees
  6. 6Chains of LoveErasure

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