On January 30, 1969, The Beatles played their final concert, a surprise performance on the roof of the band’s Apple headquarters on London’s Savile Row. More than 18 years later, U2 took inspiration from the Fab Four’s historic show to entertain some crowds in downtown Los Angeles while filming a music video for one of their now-classic songs.
On March 27, 1987, the Irish rockers headed up to the roof of the Republic Liquor Store, located at the corner of 7th Street and Main Street. There, U2 was filmed performing “Where The Streets Have No Name,” a song from the group’s then brand-new album The Joshua Tree, multiple times. Footage of the performance was used for a music video for the tune, which was released as a single in August 1987.
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U2 played “Where The Streets Have No Name” several times, in the process giving the tune its live debut. The band also performed a few other songs, including the Joshua Tree track “In God’s Country” for the first time live, as well as their classic 1983 anthem “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” and a cover of The Impressions’ “People Get Ready.”
U2 also started to play “Pride (In The Name Of Love),” but local police pulled the plug on the performance.
More About the Performance and Video Shoot
U2 announced plans to shoot the video at the downtown location earlier that day. The performance also served as a warmup for the band’s upcoming tour supporting The Joshua Tree. That album was released on March 9, 1987. The trek kicked off on April 2 in Tempe, Arizona.
More than 1,000 people showed up to watch the video shoot, which began at 3:30 p.m. local time. The police were forced to close off the area to vehicle traffic.
In the week leading up to the shoot, the roof of the one-story liquor store was reinforced in case it collapsed under the weight of the band, its crew, fans, and the camera equipment. A backup generator also was brought up to the roof in case the authorities shut off the main power source during filming, which did happen.
In 1988, the “Where The Streets Have No Name” video won a Grammy in the Best Performance Music Video category.
Album:The Joshua Tree [1987]
Steve Lillywhite, who produced U2’s first three albums, was brought in to do the final mix.
More About “Where The Streets Have No Name”
“Where The Streets Have No Name” was the third single released from The Joshua Tree. It peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 in the U.K.
The first two singles released from the album, “With Or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” both topped the Hot 100.
Recent U2 News
On February 18, 2026, U2 unexpectedly released a six-track digital EP titled Days Of Ash, coinciding with Ash Wednesday. The collection features five new original songs and a poem, all focused on various politically charged topics. Companion music videos debuted for each track the same day.
One of the songs, “Yours Eternally,” features guest vocals by Ed Sheeran. Days Of Ash is U2’s first collection of new original material since its 2017 studio album, Songs Of Experience.
(Photo by Fryderyk Gabowicz/picture alliance via Getty Images)