Zoo TV: Live from Sydney

Zoo TV: Live from Sydney is a concert video release by Irish rock band U2. It was filmed on 27 November 1993 at Sydney Football Stadium in Sydney, Australia, during the "Zoomerang" leg of the group's Zoo TV Tour. The video was released in May 1994 on VHS and Laserdisc, and re-released in September 2006 on DVD. It won the Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Long Form in 1994. The show was also broadcast around the world live on pay-per-view.

Zoo TV: Live from Sydney
Cover to the standard edition DVD
Video by
U2
Released17 May 1994
Recorded27 November 1993
VenueSydney Football Stadium (Sydney, Australia)
GenreRock
Length118 mins
Label
DirectorDavid Mallet
Producer
  • Ned O'Hanlon
  • Rocky Oldham
U2 chronology
Zooropa
(1993)		 Zoo TV: Live from Sydney
(1994)		 Melon: Remixes for Propaganda
(1995)

In 2006, the show was released as the live album Zoo TV Live to subscribers of U2.com.

Planning and filming
Sydney Football Stadium, the venue for the filmed performance
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Bullz-Eye[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[2]
IGN[3]
PopMatters[4]
Rolling Stone[5]

U2 faced difficulties with booking their November 1993 concerts in Sydney, Australia, where they wanted to stage a worldwide television broadcast to end the Zoo TV Tour. In early August 1993, after the Sydney Cricket Ground Trust rejected the band's application to perform at the Sydney Football Stadium in November, lead vocalist Bono publicly questioned the city's viability as a candidate to host the 2000 Summer Olympics; the trust's decision was made despite allowing concerts by Madonna and Michael Jackson to be held at Sydney Cricket Ground in November. U2 manager Paul McGuinness faxed all 29 members of the Sydney Olympics 2000 Bid Committee to inform them of the situation.[6] John Fahey, the Premier of New South Wales, personally intervened to allow the Sydney concerts to take place, and an announcement was made on 15 August confirming them. Tickets went on sale on 23 August.[7]

The band's two November 1993 concerts in Sydney were filmed on consecutive nights as part of the television broadcast. The 26 November concert was staged as a rehearsal for the production crew in advance of the official filming the following night.[8] However, bassist Adam Clayton, who began drinking excessively on the latter stages of the tour, was unable to perform on 26 November after experiencing an alcoholic blackout.[9] The band ruled out canceling the show, since it was the only opportunity for the production crew to do a dry run of the filming.[9][10] Bass guitar technician Stuart Morgan filled in for Clayton instead, marking the first time a member of U2 had missed a concert since their earliest days. Clayton recovered in time to play the 27 November show,[8] which was broadcast in the United States on tape-delayed pay-per-view.[11] U2 originally planned to produce the concert with MTV for a January 1994 "triplecast" that would have offered three different perspectives of the show on three separate television channels. After realising they had not fully developed the concept, the group cancelled the "triplecast", denying themselves income that was supposed to make the Pacific leg of the tour profitable.[12]

Years later in a Rolling Stone interview, Bono discussed the concert and its significance to the band. Clayton's absence the previous night had caused a real issue within the band, and they were all wondering what the long-term impact would be. Bono said he was unsure that they would ever play live again – he realized during the show that it could be the band's last live performance.[13]

Track listing
  1. Show Opening
  2. "Zoo Station"
  3. "The Fly"
  4. "Even Better Than the Real Thing"
  5. "Mysterious Ways"
  6. "One"
  7. "Unchained Melody"
  8. "Until the End of the World"
  9. "New Year's Day"
  10. "Numb"
  11. "Angel of Harlem"
  12. "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)"
  13. "Satellite of Love"
  14. "Dirty Day"
  15. "Bullet the Blue Sky"
  16. "Running to Stand Still"
  17. "Where the Streets Have No Name"
  18. "Pride (In the Name of Love)"
  19. "Daddy's Gonna Pay for Your Crashed Car"
  20. "Lemon"
  21. "With or Without You"
  22. "Love Is Blindness"
  23. "Can't Help Falling in Love"

All tracks played on that night appeared on the video, with the exception of "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World", which was played between "Numb" and "Angel of Harlem". Many speculate it was omitted because of a controversy about Bono sharing a glass of champagne with an underage girl on-stage, while others believe that the band was unsatisfied with their performance.[14] However, producer Ned O'Hanlon stated in an online chat in 1996 that the concert was too long and needed to be cut for the video release.[15]

There was controversy in Japan after the video aired on television; in August 2007, Zoo TV set designer Willie Williams confirmed that no offensive phrase towards Japan was ever part of the Zoo TV show, and that it was simply a figment of a reporter's imagination after viewing the hundreds of random words displayed during the song.[16] In reality, the words displayed were shown in the following sequence — BOMB / WHORE / ULTIMATELY / JAPAN / CHAOS / I / WANT / IT / NOW — which caused the reporter to mistakenly "see" the reported offensive phrase.[17]

Home video releases

VHS/Laserdisc

After being broadcast on TV the show was first released in May 1994 on VHS and Laserdisc.

DVD release

Zoo TV: Live from Sydney was one of the first titles slated for release in the DVD format in 1997/98, and previews for it appeared on PolyGram DVDs of the time. But the PolyGram release was canceled. It was released on 18 September 2006 under the Island Records label. The DVD was released in a one- and two-disc edition, similar to the DVD release of Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago. Both editions featured the concert in its original 4:3 aspect ratio, remixed with Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1, and PCM Stereo audio. The two-disc format featured the following bonus features on disc two:

There are three easter eggs. These are all three parts of the Interference documentary from the 1992 Achtung Baby video release, a 75-second video of war-themed warning drills and a time lapse video of the Zoo TV stage being constructed and destructed over the band's song "Some Days are Better than Others".

Achtung Baby 20th anniversary reissue

The "super deluxe edition" and "Uber edition" of the Achtung Baby 20th anniversary reissue, which were released in November 2011, contain Zoo TV: Live from Sydney as one of four bonus DVDs.[18]

Audio release
Zoo TV Live
Live album by
U2
Released18 November 2006
Recorded27 November 1993
VenueSydney Football Stadium (Sydney, Australia)
GenreRock
Length118:31
LabelU2.com
U2 chronology
Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago
(2005)		 Zoo TV Live
(2006)		 U218 Videos
(2006)

The music from Zoo TV: Live from Sydney was released on a two-disc album titled Zoo TV Live, also known as Zoo2Live. It was released exclusively to subscribing members of U2.com on 18 November 2006. The album features 25 tracks, including all 22 songs performed in the video, plus a track for the show opening audio, the Macphisto speech, and a bonus track of "Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World", recorded in New York for the Zoo TV Special in August 1992.[19]

Charts and certifications

References

Footnotes

  1. "Zoo TV: Live from Sydney Review". Bullz-Eye. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  2. Linden, Amy (20 May 1994). "U2: ZOO TV Live From Sydney Review". Entertainment Weekly (223). Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  3. "Zoo TV: Live from Sydney Review". IGN. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  4. Hayes, Neal (21 November 2006). "U2: Zoo Tv, Live From Sydney [DVD]". PopMatters. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  5. Greene, Andy (25 September 2006). "Music Review: U2 -- Zoo TV Live From Sydney". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 12 August 2011.
  6. Thomas, Brett (8 August 1993). "U2 sends a rocket to Sydney". The Sun-Herald. p. 5.
  7. Thomas, Brett (15 August 1993). "U2 – zooming into Sydney and ending with style". The Sun-Herald. p. 124.
  8. McGee (2008), pp. 169–170
  9. McCormick (2006), pp. 255–256
  10. Flanagan (1996), p. 404
  11. Wilman, Chris (29 November 1993). "U2 Fans Get a Close-Up of Bono". Los Angeles Times. p. F10.
  12. Flanagan (1996), p. 401
  13. "Review of U2: Zoo TV — Live in Sydney". Bullz-Eye. Retrieved 10 March 2007.
  14. "Videography FAQ". Archived from the original on 22 April 2015.
  15. "Highlights from the Ned O'Hanlon Conference (featuring Edge)". 28 January 1996. Archived from the original on 9 July 2011.
  16. Paul Rowlands (2 December 2006). "Nine Things You Possibly Didn't Know About U2 and Japan". Interference.com. Retrieved 18 December 2008.
  17. "Video text of The Fly". U2 Station. 2 May 1992. Retrieved 23 November 2007.
  18. "Twenty Years of Achtung Baby". U2.com. Live Nation. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2011.
  19. "ZOO2LIVE - U2 LIVE IN SYDNEY". U2.com. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
  20. "Official Music Video Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company.
  21. "Official Video Chart Top 100: 10 April 1994 - 16 April 1994". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  22. "Top Video Sales" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 106 no. 27. 2 July 1994. p. 92. Retrieved 18 June 2020 – via World Radio History.
  23. "Austria Top 40 – Musik-DVD: 29-09-2006" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
  24. "U2 – Zoo TV - Live from Sydney [DVD]" (in French). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
  25. "U2 – Zoo TV - Live from Sydney [DVD]" (in Dutch). Ultratop.be. Hung Medien.
  26. "Musik Video Top-10: Uge 39 – 2006" (in Danish). Hitlisten.NU.
  27. "U2 – Zoo TV - Live from Sydney [DVD]" (in Dutch). Dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien.
  28. "Zoo TV Live From Sydney" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  29. "Offiziellecharts.de – U2 – Zoo TV - Live from Sydney [DVD]" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  30. "Archívum › Kereső - előadó/cím szerint". Slagerlistak.hu (in Hungarian). Association of Hungarian Record Companies. Retrieved 23 August 2020. Select: DAL/ALBUM CÍM, type: Zoo TV Live into the search box, and click "Keresés".
  31. "DVD: Classifica settimanale WK 39 (dal 25.09.2006 al 01.10.2006)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana.
  32. "ZOO TV Tour-Live From Sydney | U2". Oricon (in Japanese). Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  33. "Top 20 DVD Musical: Week 38, 2006" (in Spanish). Top 20 DVD Musical. PROMUSICAE. Select Year: 2006, Week as Semana: 38, Then click on "Search Charts".
  34. "Veckolista DVD Album – Vecka 39, 2006" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan.
  35. "U2 - Zoo TV - Live from Sydney [DVD]". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 18 June 2020.
  36. "Music Video: Top Music Videos" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 118 no. 40. 7 October 2006. p. 57. Retrieved 18 June 2020 – via World Radio History.
  37. "U2 – Zoo Tv - Live from Sydney" (in French). Classement Officiel des ventes de DVD Musicaux. Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  38. "ARIA Top 50 Music DVD for 2006". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  39. "Jaaroverzichten 2006: Muziek-DVD". Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  40. "Rapports Annuels 2006: DVD Musicaux". Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  41. "Jaaroverzichten – DVD Music 2006". Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  42. "Årslista DVD Album, 2006" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  43. "Årslista DVD Album, 2009" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
  44. "Discos de Oro y Platino" (in Spanish). Cámara Argentina de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Archived from the original on 31 May 2011.
  45. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2006 DVDs". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020.
  46. "Brazilian video certifications – U2 – Zoo TV: Live from Sydney" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
  47. "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type U2 in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Zoo TV from Sydney in the box under TÍTULO
  48. "British video certifications – U2 – Zoo Tv - Live In Sydney". British Phonographic Industry. Select videos in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Zoo Tv - Live In Sydney in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  49. "American video certifications – U2 – Zoo TV - Live in Sydney". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Video Longform, then click SEARCH. 

Bibliography

  • de la Parra, Pimm Jal (2003). U2 Live: A Concert Documentary. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9198-7.
  • Flanagan, Bill (1996). U2 at the End of the World (Paperback ed.). New York: Delta. ISBN 0-385-31157-5.
  • McGee, Matt (2008). U2: A Diary. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-1-84772-108-2.
  • U2 (2006). McCormick, Neil (ed.). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-719668-7.
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