Synopsis

The best-known video for U2's "One" places Bono alone at a nightclub table, drinking beer and smoking a cheroot while performing the song. His brooding close-ups are intercut with footage of U2 playing on the Zoo TV stage, creating a contrast between private reflection and arena-sized spectacle. The song also had two alternate videos: one filmed in Berlin with the band in drag and surrounded by Trabants, and another built from flowers, running buffaloes, multilingual versions of the word "one," and a stark falling-buffalo image.

Factoids & Trivia

• "One" was accompanied by three different music videos, an unusual decision prompted by the band's dissatisfaction with the early versions and their desire to find a suitable visual identity for the single.

• The Berlin video included U2 members dressed in women's clothing. The band withdrew it because the single was released to benefit AIDS research, and they worried that the imagery could invite interpretations linking the song to sexuality or AIDS.

• The Berlin shoot also featured Trabants, the East German cars that had become closely associated with the visual world of "Achtung Baby" and with the political changes taking place in Europe.

• The second video drew on David Wojnarowicz's "Falling Buffalo" image, which also appeared on the "One" single artwork. Slow-motion buffalo footage, flowers, and the word "one" in several languages formed its central visual language.

• The nightclub video was filmed at Nell's in Manhattan in March 1992. Although the rest of U2 and additional performers were present, the production ultimately concentrated on Bono at the table, leaving others waiting in the basement.

• The nightclub version incorporated footage from U2's Zoo TV stage performances, tying the intimate bar setting to the band's deliberately oversized and media-saturated concert presentation.

• The different versions have been preserved on U2 video compilations, including "Achtung Baby: The Videos," "The Best of 1990-2000," and "U218 Videos."