Synopsis

U2 take their performance out into the neon-lit streets of downtown Las Vegas. As The Edge plays an acoustic guitar, Bono sings while the band wanders along Fremont Street, passing casinos, traffic, and curious late-night crowds. The casual street setting contrasts with the song's searching, spiritual lyrics, making the video feel less like a staged production than a spontaneous encounter with the city and its inhabitants.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed on Fremont Street in Las Vegas on April 12, 1987, shortly after U2's concert in the city during The Joshua Tree Tour.

• The clip captures Fremont Street before the later development of the Fremont Street Experience, preserving the casino district's older neon-heavy appearance.

• The song was released as the second single from The Joshua Tree on May 25, 1987, and became U2's second No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

• The performance in the video is deliberately stripped down. The Edge carries an acoustic guitar while the band interacts with people on the street instead of performing on a conventional stage.

• The Harlem gospel choir New Voices of Freedom is associated with the best-known live version of the song, recorded for Rattle and Hum. The choir does not appear in this Las Vegas music video.

• U2's official account describes the footage as having been made after the band's first show in Las Vegas, giving the shoot an unusually immediate, post-concert quality.

• The video helped establish a lasting visual connection between U2 and Las Vegas. More than three decades later, the band returned to Fremont Street to film and perform "Atomic City," revisiting the location of the earlier clip.