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Song · U2

“Desire” by U2

Released 1988

“Desire” by U2 appears on 96 radio countdowns from 36 stations between 1988 and 2026. It was first released in 1988. Its best result is #2 on the WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #2 alternative song of 1988, #292 alternative song of all time and #8 of the '80s.

96countdowns
36stations
#2best position
0#1 finishes
6top 10 finishes
1988–2026years charted

Watch

U2 - Desire (Official Music Video)

Video from YouTube (U2VEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Desire" was the first single from Rattle and Hum, U2's 1988 album, where it sits third in the running order, and it's U2 at their dustiest and most rough-and-ready. Bono wrote the words, all four of them share the music credit, and Jimmy Iovine produced it on Island.

It rides a thumping, choppy beat that owes more to a rock and roll juke joint than to a cathedral, a raw, rattling riff that the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. keep galloping along. Bono sounds hungry and a little breathless, and the track burns out fast, which is the point: this is U2 playing with their sleeves rolled up.

It gave them their first number one in the UK and in Australia, climbed to number three on the Billboard Hot 100, and made history as the first song to top the Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts at once. Richard Lowenstein and Lynn-Maree Milburn directed the video, and it won the band the Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

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 4 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1988 107
1988 2 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1988 91
1988 9 Live 105 San Francisco, CA Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 1988 106
1988 2 WLIR / WDRE Long Island, NY WLIR Top 100 Songs of 1988 100
1988 7 Studio Brussel Flanders, Belgium Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1988 30
1989 56 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1989 90

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
– 95 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1989 59 91X 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) 191
1989 160 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1989) 500
1990 190 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1990) 299
1991 159 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (1991) 500
1992 439 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) 500
1994 244 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) 497
1994 358 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1994 576 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1994) 1000
1995 505 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1996 389 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) 500
1996 155 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1996 948 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1996) 1000
1997 451 104.5 KZEP KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) 500
1998 389 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) 488
1998 911 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1998) 1000
1999 365 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 862 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 239 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 300 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 300
1999 650 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 162 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 855 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
1999 979 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1999) 998
2000 162 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 162 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 293 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2001 218 WFPK WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time 2000
2001 180 WBRU WBRU Modern Rock Top 500 (2001) 500
2002 162 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 267 100.7 WZLX WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) 500
2002 255 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 498 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 162 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 169 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 162 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 237 Y100 Y100 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 284 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2005 162 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 466 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2005 579 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 471 Live 105 Live 105 500 Co-Op Countdown (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2006 296 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 97 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 74 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 392 Live 105 Live 105 Memorial 500 Song List (2009) 500
2009 76 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 74 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 80 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2011 148 97.9 The Loop The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) 500
2011 327 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) 1100
2012 329 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) 1200
2012 277 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2012) 500
2013 83 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2013 252 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) 500
2013 367 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) 1000
2013 316 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2013) 500
2014 85 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2014 217 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 400 (2014) 400
2014 286 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) 1000
2015 206 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) 500
2015 305 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) 499
2015 467 I-95 I-95 Memorial Day Weekend Top 500 (2015) 500
2015 366 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) 1007
2015 4 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR U2 20 20
2016 561 100.7 WZLX 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 1007
2016 353 102.9 The Whale 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) 500
2016 325 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2016) 500
2016 481 WYEP WYEP 913 Countdown 2016 913
2017 195 97.9 The Loop 97.9 The Loop Top 540 Countdown (2017) 540
2017 470 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2017) 500
2017 336 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2017) 500
2018 338 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2018) 500
2018 199 The Current The Current's 893 Essential Songs 892
2018 421 97 Rock 97 Rock N Roll 500 (2018) 500
2019 484 Big 100 BIG 500 Memorial Day Countdown (2019) 500
2019 962 102.5 KZOK KZOK Top 1025 of 2019 1025
2020 1010 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2020) 1025
2020 265 DC101 The DC101 Top 500 500
2021 532 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2021 949 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2021) 1043
2022 686 Q104.3 Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) 1043
2022 714 102.5 KZOK KZOK Classic Rock Top 1025 (2022) 1025
2022 185 99.1 PLR 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) 500
2022 438 97.1 The River River 500 (2022) 500
2022 492 94.1 KRNA KRNA Memorial Day 500 (2022) 500
2023 753 WYEP WYEP Countdown to Fall 2023 1229
2023 492 101.5 WPDH WPDH Top 1015 (2023) 1015
2025 189 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs 800
2026 466 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '80s 498
2026 386 KXT KXT 917 Song Countdown 917

Charting alongside it in 1988

Best songs of 1988 →
  1. 1SuedeheadMorrissey
  2. 3Beds are BurningMidnight Oil
  3. 4Route 66Depeche Mode
  4. 5Peek-A-BooSiouxsie and the Banshees
  5. 6Chains of LoveErasure
  6. 7Everyday Is Like SundayMorrissey

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