How Bono Reacted to Hatred of U2’s ‘Rattle and Hum’

One of the essential live classic rock albums is U2’s Rattle and Hum. Bono revealed that fans of U2 either seemed to love or hate the record, but couldn’t explain some of the reaction to Rattle and Hum.

Bono said U2’s ‘Rattle and Hum’ upset more people than any rock album had in a long time

During a 1988 interview with Hot Press, Bono discussed the impact of Rattle and Hum. “I always expected criticism, and in a way we were excited by the fact that people either loved or hated the album,” he said. “We were getting reviews that said it was the greatest live LP in the history of pop music and reviews that said it was dog-s***. 

“And I was thinking that it’s been a long time since a record in rock ‘n’ roll had that kind of impact — people just don’t care enough about rock ‘n’ roll usually to talk about it in such a heated way,” he added. “So I must say we were flattered by the love-hate reaction to the LP.”

Bono’s comments about the state of rock ‘n’ roll seem bizarre today. Bono seems to be saying that the genre was on a downward trend in the 1980s. In that decade, rock stars like Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose, and Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee were all massive celebrities. Today, the genre is barely breathing and it hasn’t produced an Elvis Presley-level icon in years.

Bono wanted the album to repel certain listeners

While Bono welcomed the divided reaction to Rattle and Hum, he was surprised by the popularity of the record. “I don’t understand how we sold five million double albums — I can’t figure that out,” he said. “I mean, we do our best to shake off the not-really U2 fans and, we thought, if anything is going to shake ’em off, it’s going to be this, ‘cos we’ve essentially stripped the band of its sound.”

What else is surprising about the success of Rattle and Hum is that it’s partly a live album. Live albums are typically made for hardcore fans only. Very few of them become significant hits. Two of the only live albums that have gone down as classics are U2’s Rattle and Hum and Kiss’ Alive!, neither of which were totally recorded live.

American and British audiences reacted to U2’s ‘Rattle and Hum’ differently

As Bono said, Rattle and Hum became a big hit. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, lasting on the chart for 39 weeks. The record produced two top 20 singles. One was “Desire,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, “Angel of Harlem” reached No. 14 on the same chart.

The Official Charts Company report Rattle and Hum was No. 1 in the United Kingdom for a week, charting for 65 weeks. “Desire” hit No. 1 there, while “Angel of Harlem” reached No. 9. It’s interesting that U.S. audiences were arguably more receptive to Rattle and Hum as a whole while U.K. audiences were more receptive to its singles.

Rattle and Hum was divisive among fans and critics — but that didn’t stop it from becoming one of the blockbuster albums of the 1980s.