MatR: U2 and Bruce Springsteen: Where the Streets Have No Name

If Bruce was only ever going to perform U2’s “Where the Streets Have No Name” once, there was only really one right way to do it: as an impromptu live performance at a busy city intersection.

After all, that’s what made U2’s original Grammy-winning video so memorable.

That amazing video (staged as a tribute to The Beatles famous rooftop concert) was conceived and directed by Meiert Avis, who also directed some of Bruce’s best videos (“Brilliant Disguise,” “Tunnel of Love,” “One Step Up,” “Tougher Than the Rest,” “Born to Run” (the acoustic version), “Better Days,” and “Human Touch“).

Avis’ video captured what actually went down that day. The police really did attempt to and ultimately succeed at shutting down the production, which was what the band was secretly hoping for. Both the song and the video became smash hits for the already mega-popular U2 (peaking at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100), and “Where the Streets Have No Name” remains one of the band’s most popular songs.

So when U2 planned a secret, surprise benefit concert for World AIDS Day 2014 in the middle of New York’s Times Square, there was no doubt that “Where the Streets Have No Name” would figure prominently in the set.

The only problem was the show almost had to be cancelled before it was even announced. A couple of weeks prior, Bono had injured himself in a motorcycle accident and was told by his doctor that he couldn’t perform. Unwilling to cancel the benefit, Bono called in a few favors and asked a couple of friends to stand in for him.

The result was a surprise show by “U2 Minus 1,” announced just hours before the show took place. U2 played two short sets, each with a different frontman. Chris Martin of Coldplay helped the band open the show; Bruce Springsteen helped close it.

Bruce and U2 performed two songs together: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” which they’d played together a couple of times before, and “Where the Streets Have No Name,” which remains a one-time-only performance to this day.

This time the band’s performance of “Streets” went off without a hint of disruption, and the crowd-pleasing performance proved to be the highlight of an event full of them.

Where the Streets Have No Name
First performed: December 1, 2014 (New York City, NY)
Last performed: December 1, 2014 (New York City, NY)