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Cover of The Unforgettable Fire by U2
Cover: The Unforgettable Fire

Song · U2

“The Unforgettable Fire” by U2

From the album The Unforgettable Fire (1984)

“The Unforgettable Fire” by U2 appears on 32 radio countdowns from 10 stations between 1988 and 2023. It was first released in 1984 on the album The Unforgettable Fire. Its best result is #48 on the WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #755 alternative song of all time.

32countdowns
10stations
#48best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1988–2023years charted

Watch

U2 - The Unforgettable Fire (Official Music Video)

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

The title track of U2's fourth album, "The Unforgettable Fire" is the sound of the band learning to stop shouting and let the atmosphere do the work. Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois produced it and gave the song room to breathe: the guitar hangs in the air like mist instead of ringing out, and Noel Kelehan, an Irish jazz musician, draped a string arrangement over the top.

Bono took his cue from an exhibition of artwork by those who suffered the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, shown at The Peace Museum in Chicago, and the song carries that weight without ever turning into a lecture. Issued as a single in April 1985, the second one off the album, it gave U2 their first number one at home in Ireland.

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#StationCountdownof
– 48 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s 200
1988 82 WLIR / WDRE WLIR Top 200 Songs of All-Time (1988) 200
1991 283 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (1991 Edition) 1002
1992 55 Live 105 Live 105 Top 300 Songs of All-Time (Memorial Day 1992) 299
1994 453 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 500 (July 1994) 500
1996 201 Q101 Q101 Top 500 Songs of All-Time (1996) 500
1999 355 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 1774 CD101 CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 2000
1999 939 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2000 1777 CD101 CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) 2001
2001 1777 CD101 CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 2002
2001 419 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) 500
2002 1766 CD101 CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) 2003
2002 667 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 1503 CD101 CD101 Top 2004 Songs of All-Time (December 2003) 2004
2003 149 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) 2044
2004 1503 CD101 CD101 Top 2005 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 2005
2004 111 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) 500
2004 501 WXPN WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) 885
2005 1502 CD101 CD101 Top 2006 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 1994
2005 317 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2005) 500
2006 243 Virgin Radio Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2006) 500
2007 1126 CD101 CD101 Top 2008 Songs of All-Time (December 2007) 2008
2008 949 CD101 CD101 Top 2009 Songs of All-Time (December 2008) 2009
2009 891 CD101 CD101 Top 2010 Songs of All-Time (December 2009) 2010
2010 845 CD101 CD101 Top 2011 Songs of All-Time (December 2010) 2011
2011 841 CD101 CD101 Top 2012 Songs of All-Time (December 2011) 2011
2013 852 CD101 CD101 Top 2013 Songs of All-Time (December 2013) 2012
2014 874 CD101 CD101 Top 2014 Songs of All-Time (2014) 2013
2020 1855 WXPN WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time 2020
2021 881 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s 909
2023 613 The Colorado Sound The Colorado Sound Top 850 Songs of the 1980s 850

Also listed as: The Unforgetable Fire; Unforgettable Fire.

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