The dark reason why U2 refused to play ‘Exit’ live for 28 years
When a band has a back catalogue of robust strength, it’s impossible to accommodate every fan when choosing a setlist. While the list of songs can be slightly altered on a nightly basis while on tour, many hits are left on the heap to rot, such as ‘Exit’, which U2 didn’t perform for 28 years.
U2’s first four albums were all relatively successful, but The Joshua Tree took the group to new heights and made them the biggest band in the world. The album was their first record to top the charts in the United States and asserted their dominance on a global scale. While they were already playing in packed arenas across every territory, the success of the LP took them to stadiums, and they’ve continued at that level ever since.
During the touring cycle of the record, ‘Exit’ was prominently featured in the Irish band’s set. However, once The Joshua Tree chapter was brought to a close, U2 left the track in their past and chose against playing it live for 28 years despite it being a favourite among their ardent fanbase.
The song came naturally to the band during a jam session on the final day of recording The Joshua Tree, with Bono’s lyrics taking inspiration from Norman Mailer’s novel The Executioner’s Song and In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. After reading both books, Bono decided he wanted to write a piece of music from the perspective of a murderer, which led to the lyrical theme of ‘Exit’.
In the book U2 by U2, Bono revealed: “This was my attempt at writing a story in the mind of a killer.” He continued: “It is all very well to address America and the violence that is an aggressive foreign policy but to really understand that, you have to get under the skin of your own darkness, the violence we all contain within us. Violence is something I know quite a bit about. I have a side of me which, in a corner, can be very violent. It’s the least attractive thing in anyone, and I wanted to own up to that.”
In 1989, the song took on a darker meaning when Robert John Bardo murdered the actress Rebecca Schaeffer and claimed his action was inspired by ‘Exit’. The track was even played in court during the murder trial, with The Edge later referring to the ordeal as “very heavy”. While Bardo’s unforgivable act would have happened even without U2 releasing ‘Exit’, the two were intrinsically linked in the eyes of many.
U2 toured The Joshua Tree in full to celebrate 30 years of the album in 2017 and finally reintroduced the song into their live shows. Now, enough time has passed for people to disconnect ‘Exit’ with Bardo, and the track’s ownership is rightfully back in their own hands.