Song · U2
“October” by U2
From the album October (1981)
“October” by U2 appears on 10 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1999 and 2022. It was first released in 1981 on the album October. Its best result is #685 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #2,035 alternative song of all time.
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"October" is the hushed title track of U2's 1981 album, sitting seventh in the running order, and it's a quiet, spare piece: The Edge on piano, Bono singing softly over it, Steve Lillywhite producing with a light touch.
It came out of a time of spiritual crisis, when three of the four members were wrestling over whether playing in a rock band squared with their Christian faith. Bono has described the title as an image of the season after the harvest, when the trees are bare and the confidence of earlier decades has given way to unemployment and a world using its technology to make weapons. Years later the band slipped it onto The Best of 1980–1990 as an unlisted bonus, the lone song from October on that collection.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 805 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 856 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 858 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 858 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2003 | 856 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) | 2004 |
| 2004 | 856 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 2005 |
| 2005 | 857 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) | 1994 |
| 2007 | 1233 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) | 2008 |
| 2021 | 685 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2022 | 1054 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Colorado Sound Songs of All Time | 1055 |
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