| "Numb" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 VHS single cover | ||||
| Single byU2 | ||||
| from the albumZooropa | ||||
| Released | June 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1990–1993[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:22 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Composer | U2 | |||
| Lyricist | The Edge | |||
| Producers | ||||
| U2 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Promo CD version of "Numb" | ||||
| Music videos | ||||
| "Numb" onYouTube | ||||
| "Numb (Remix)" onYouTube | ||||
"Numb" is a song by Irishrock bandU2. It is the third track from their eighth album,Zooropa (1993), and was released in June 1993 byIsland Records andPolyGram as the album's first single. The song features amonotonous mantra of "don't" commands spoken by guitaristthe Edge amidst a backdrop of various sound effects andsamples. The noisy composition and lyrical concept for "Numb" were inspired by the theme ofsensory overload, which had prominently been incorporated into theZoo TV Tour. Lead singerBono and drummerLarry Mullen Jr. provided backing vocals on the track.
"Numb" originated as a discarded song from theAchtung Baby recording sessions called "Down All the Days". While recordingZooropa, the band transformed the song with mixing assistance from co-producerFlood, the addition of keyboards andsamples by co-producerBrian Eno, and the addition of the Edge's monotone vocals. The song was released as aVHS single, featuring music videos directed byKevin Godley andEmergency Broadcast Network, respectively, but it did not attain widespread commercial success. U2 added "Numb" to their live set lists after resuming their Zoo TV Tour in May 1993, but like most songs onZooropa it has never been performed live since the end of that tour.[2]
"Numb" originated as a discarded song from theAchtung Baby sessions called "Down All the Days"[3] (later released in the premium editions ofAchtung Baby's 20th anniversary reissue) that was recorded withproducerDaniel Lanois at Berlin'sHansa Studios.[4][1] The band was not fond of the track—Robbie Adams, who was anengineer for theAchtung Baby sessions, said it was "quite a ballady song and in the end it was decided that it didn't fit" on that record.[1] Guitaristthe Edge said, "It almost worked," calling it a "quite unhinged electronic backing track with a very traditional melody and lyrics" sung by lead vocalistBono.[5]
During theZooropa sessions, U2 revisited the song. AtWindmill Lane Studios, producerBrian Eno began working with a stereosubmix of the Berlin version, containing guitar, bass, bass pedals and drums, that Flood had created. Eno added about six or seven tracks of keyboards to the submix, mostlysamples and strings from aYamaha DX7 synthesiser. Some of the samples included Arabic voices and congas. According to Adams, "The idea of his overdubs was to make up music out of non-musical noises, like loops of pieces of dialogue and video samples."[1] The Edge called Eno's additions "fantastic".[3]
The song's biggest contribution came while the band were organizing the final running order forZooropa. The Edge spent several hours in another studio with the mix, experimenting with ideas; eventually adding vocals in a monotone, almost rapped delivery. He said that writing the lyrics "came very quickly", and that he wrote so many lyrics that two verses had to be cut from the song.[3] His vocals were recorded at Westland Studios in Dublin, where the band spent one day for the album sessions. Adams subtly addedgating to his voice "to turn the level down when he wasn't singing."[1] The addition of the Edge's vocals, for the most part, completed "Numb".[3]
Bono and drummerLarry Mullen Jr. provided backing vocals. Adams treated Bono's vocals with heavyreverb to complement his "falsetto soul voice", while Mullen provided two tracks of backing vocals, one with afalsetto and one with his natural singing voice.[1] After the vocals were overdubbed, Adams and the Edgemixed the track at Westland Studios. The Edge described it as "a few hours' work and a lot of editing", but said the mixing was "the easiest thing in the world"[3] Flood concurred, calling the mixing "very straightforward". A sample of aWalkmancassette player rewinding was accidentally recorded onto the audio tapes, but the group liked the sound andlooped it throughout the song. The final mix comprised about 15 or 16 audio tracks.[1]
"Numb" runs for 4:20 (4 minutes, 20 seconds). According toHal Leonard Corporation’s sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, it is played incommon time at atempo of 91 beats per minute.[6] It is anindustrial rock-influenced song featuring a noisy backdrop of sampled, rhythmic noises, including "arcade sounds", and aWalkman rewinding.[7] One of the samples is fromLeni Riefenstahl's 1935 propaganda filmTriumph of the Will of aHitler Youth boy playing abass drum; a video clip of the sample was used as on-screen imagery during future concerts on the band'sZoo TV Tour.[7] The Edge sings lead vocals, providing a monotone list of "don't" commands: "Don't move / Don't talk out of time / Don't think / Don't worry / Everything's just fine." Mullen's backing vocals were the first occasion that he sang on a U2 song. Bono contributed "Fat Lady" falsetto vocals, which he provided on otherZooropa songs, as well.[7] The various sounds in "Numb" were meant to "recreate that feeling ofsensory overload", a theme prevalent on theZoo TV Tour.[7] Similarly, the Edge's lyrics "tapped into many of the ideas behind Zoo TV, the sense that we were being bombarded by so much information that you find yourself shutting down and unable to respond."[3]
"Numb" was an unlikely choice for a first single, and was released in an even more unlikely format, avideo single.[8] ThoughMadonna had already released "Justify My Love" as a video single in 1990 following the blacklisting of that video byMTV, and had existed a decade before withthe Human League's1983 video single, it was an unusual release mode for the early 1990s;DVD singles became commonplace by the latter part of the decade.
A remix of "Numb" appeared in the 1995 movieShowgirls.[citation needed] This song was also remixed by producerMike Hedges for U2's compilation release for the 1990s,The Best of 1990-2000.[citation needed]
The main guitar riff was extensively sampled by the bandHaim on their 2025 song "Now It's Time."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine fromAllMusic called the song a wonderful moment from the album, notingthe Edge's "droning mantra".[9]Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine wrote, "Don't be startled ... that's the Edge's lead vocal on this first cut lifted from the chameleon-like band's newZooropa album. A dense,Euro-pop groove percolates underneath understated, but slicing guitar riffs and a carnival-style keyboard line.Bono'sfalsetto musings can be caught swirling in the background, while the Edge's delivery is more akin to synth chords than proper singing. Wonderfully adventurous as a splash of cold, refreshing water on blahblah album-rock and alternative formats. Aaah!"[10] Alan Jones fromMusic Week noted the "rare starring vocal" by the vocalist on the "appositely named" song.[11] A reviewer fromPeople Magazine said songs like "Numb" "are too minimal for their own good".[12]David Cavanagh fromSelect named it "a stripped-down stylistictour de force." He added, "Over great distorted bursts of his own guitar, The Edge intones a seemingly endless litany of short instructions in a strange detached monotone, all of them commencing with the worddon't."[13]
The main music video for "Numb" was directed by British singer, songwriter, musician and music video directorKevin Godley. It features the Edge staring straight into the camera sitting under a dripping tap, while strange things happen to him, such as having feet put on his face, being tied down by the other group members, andbelly dancerMorleigh Steinberg (later his wife) performing in front of him.
The video remix was produced by the performance groupEmergency Broadcast Network and features, apart from a different performance from the Edge, a number of television and film clips making up much of the industrial beat of the song.[citation needed] The video and sound segments from the video remix were eventually incorporated into the band's live performances of the song on theZoo TV Tour.[citation needed] The video remix was performed live at the1993 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, with only the Edge and multiple video screens on stage.[14][15]
The commercial single itself was released in video format only onVHS, echoing the television theme from theirZoo TV Tour although limited copies of promotional vinyl and CDs do exist.[16][17] The video was placed at #16 onNME’s list of "50 Worst Music Videos Ever",[18] but was also described byStylus Magazine as "sublimely bizarre".[19]
 | This articlecontains alist of miscellaneous information. Please helpimprove it byrelocating relevant information into other sections or articles.(July 2024) |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Numb" (Video) | 4:18 |
| 2. | "Numb" (Videoremix) | 4:52 |
| 3. | "Love Is Blindness" (Video) | 4:23 |
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Footnotes
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