With or Without You

What is most surprising about With or Without You is not just its catchy melody, but how that sustained guitar riff — played with a prototype of the Infinite Guitar — conveys that tension between the intimate and the epic. The song does not sound like any ordinary romantic track: Adam Clayton's bass and The Edge's chords create a foundation that seems to expand endlessly, as if each note were breathing. The technical detail lies in the instrument: a guitar designed so that the strings vibrate without losing intensity, something that in the 80s was almost science fiction. This, combined with the contrast between Bono's deep voice and the calculated silences, gives it that air of a ballad that never stands still.

The song was born at a key moment for U2. In 1985, while preparing material for The Unforgettable Fire, Bono sketched the first chords in a home demo. But it wasn't until 1986, during the The Joshua Tree sessions at Danesmoate House in Dublin, that the track began to take shape. Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois pushed the band to explore more atmospheric sounds, but the track still didn't convince them. They even considered abandoning it: the original demo, with an electronic drum machine and a bass that sounded too conventional, seemed "too sentimental," according to Clayton. It was Gavin Friday, a friend of Bono, who rescued the idea and gave it a more direct turn. Then, the arrival of the prototype of the Infinite Guitar — an unreliable invention that even electrocuted technicians — gave it that sustained brilliance that defines the song today. The result was a single that, upon its release in March 1987, became their first number one in the U.S. and Canada, and marked a turning point in their career.