Euphoric Heartbreak
Encyclopedia
Euphoric Heartbreak is the second studio album by Scottish
rock group Glasvegas
, which was released on 4 April 2011 by Columbia Records. The album was written, demoed and tracked by James Allan
in a beach house in Santa Monica
, California
before full production and final recording took place in London
. The album was produced by Flood and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer. The song, "The World is Yours" features on EA Sports
FIFA 12
.
, Wick
, Forres
, Oban
, Dunoon
, Troon
, Hawick
and Dunfermline
. The band announced the tour to ensure that Scotland would be the first to hear the new music. The tour received positive critical reviews with Simon Price
of The Independent on Sunday quoting that "Glasvegas are still – and we desperately need this right now – a band to believe in".
The band also announced a showcase tour planned around smaller venues in March 2011 with several dates selling out within hours of going on sale followed by an Academy size tour planned for April/May 2011 to promote the new album.
However, by late February 2011 the relationship between Glasvegas and their record label (Sony)
started to deteriorate which at the beginning of the year would have never been predicted. On delivery of the album Sony
were extremely excited by the album, the quality of songs contained within and the fact it was a marked departure from the debut album! The marketing campaign kicked off in January 2011 with a free track giveaway and the track chosen was the second track on the album The World Is Yours
. However the band wanted something more substantial than just a free giveaway and eventually the label gave the green light to the band creating an Album Trailer Movie to go alongside the free giveaway. This helped raise the profile of the free giveaway significantly but the early seeds of discord with the direction of the marketing campaign were sown.
Initial reviews of the album were generally positive with the Daily Record
declaring it "'the album of the year!'"
However by March
the band felt that the marketing campaign that Sony
put in place for Euphoric Heartbreak was not working and came a poor second to the campaign put in place for the band's debut album
. The band had noticed that visual indicators of promotion to raise awareness of the new album was almost non-existent. There was no TV, Radio
or billboard
advertising for the new album which had a severe impact on raising awareness. This non-awareness was reinforced by the many fans (who had turned up to the band's gigs in March 2011) being unaware of the imminent release of Euphoric Heartbreak. This set the alarm bells ringing within the band and the relationship between band and label started to come undone with the band losing faith in the label's choices and general direction of the campaign.
As an aside one of the most heated areas for disagreement between band and label was the singles
and the fact that Sony were enforcing the On air on sale
policy for all their singles. This policy proved to be an utter disaster for Glasvegas and essentially nullified the impact of the first single "Euphoria, Take My Hand" which was released as an immediately available download on 7 February 2011 before being released physically on 28 March 2011. As a consequence of the Sony release policy the single received very little radio airplay and coupled with the fact it was caught up in the middle of a poor marketing campaign meant it never got out of the starting blocks in trying to reach a wider audience. In a rare moment of transparency Sony finally admitted in October
2011 that the on air on sale "does not work" and that they will "now be looking at each release on a case-by-case basis" Moving forward towards the imminent release date; the only thing the band could control was their touring and they embarked on a grueling touring schedule in the early part of 2011. The live performance of "Euphoria, Take My Hand" was one of the many highlights and contributed to raising awareness of the singles and the forthcoming new album. On 4 April 2011 the bands sophomore album entered the charts at No. 10 despite the vast majority of the general public unaware it had been released. The album also hit the No.1 spot in Sweden
The album polarised opinion...some reviews criticised the band for being too bold and that the album was too big a departure from their debut whilst others praised this move forward and the high quality songwriting the album contained. NME
gave the album a 9/10 matching the score they awarded the bands debut album. They said of the album..."Turning pain into joy is the stuff that dreams are made of for an album as thrillingly ambitious as it is enigmatic".
Clash Magazine praised the band for delivering a more accomplished sound by reassuringly admitting "pioneers they remain"
The BBC
declared the album "a triumph" despite all the upheavel with the band in 2010.
Pitchfork
felt it was "too bombastic and that it simply numbs you with 50 minutes of novocaine for the soul." while PopMatters
(an International Webzine) gave the album 5/10 and said that the "album smears together into one gigantic well-produced stadium anthem, shining like the night sky while remaining just as inert".
The Guardian
awarded the album 3/5 but felt "that they were still waiting on an undeniable triumph from Glasvegas".
Finally the Daily Bruin
, a Student newspaper
based at the University of California, Los Angeles
said that the album "may surprise fans at first, with its more majestic and otherworldly music. However, it is a collection of beautiful, well-written and poignant songs worth significantly more of the listener's time than the 48 minutes it will take to listen to the album".
Although a Top 10 position was a viewed as a decent showing by Sony, the band were extremely disappointed with this. The band would see out the rest of their contract and officially left Columbia Records on 4 August 2011, 12 weeks after the release of Euphoric Heartbreak.
After the band's academy tour of Europe and the UK, the band left for their 7th tour of the United States in June 2011 playing to sold out venues in New York
, Toronto
and Los Angeles
. On return to the UK the band played at Rockness in Scotland followed by a headline appearance on the John Peel Stage. Several more festival appearances including a top slot at Where The Action
in Gothenburg
, Sweden
saw the band round of June 2011.
In July 2011, the band toured Australia
for the first time playing three sold out shows at The Rosemount Hotel in Perth
, The Metro in Sydney
and The Hi-Fi in Melbourne
before making a festival appearance at Splendour in The Grass
held at Woodford
45 miles north west of Brisbane
. The band also made their second trip to Japan
to play the Fuji Rock Festival and then rounded off the summer by headlining the first ever Famous Grouse
Music Festival and playing the V Festival
for the first time.
The band have announced a tour of the UK and Ireland in October 2011 ending starting in Cork
, then London
and then working their way north and eventually ending with a gig in the band's hometown of Glasgow
on Halloween
On the 16 September 2011 it was announced that the band's song "The World Is Yours" (the second listed track) from Euphoric Heartbreak was featured on the soundtrack to the FIFA 12
video game.
Q
announced that on the 25 October 2011 they will release a U2
cover album called AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered, with various artists covering each track from U2's 1991 seventh studio album Achtung Baby
. Glasvegas were asked by U2 to cover a track and the band chose the 11th track, "Acrobat
".
and backward slashes
contained in the album title represent "the ascent, the crest of a wave, and then the crash."
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
rock group Glasvegas
Glasvegas
Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan , Rab Allan , Paul Donoghue and Jonna Löfgren . The band received critical acclaim for their debut album Glasvegas which was released in September 2008, reaching No...
, which was released on 4 April 2011 by Columbia Records. The album was written, demoed and tracked by James Allan
James Allan (musician)
James Allan is the lead singer and guitarist of the Scottish rock band Glasvegas, and a former footballer.-Early and personal life:...
in a beach house in Santa Monica
Santa Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
before full production and final recording took place in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The album was produced by Flood and mixed by Claudius Mittendorfer. The song, "The World is Yours" features on EA Sports
EA Sports
EA Sports is a brand of Electronic Arts that creates and develops sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to mimic real-life sports networks by calling themselves "EA Sports Network" with pictures or endorsements of real commentators such as John...
FIFA 12
FIFA 12
FIFA 12 is the nineteenth game in Electronic Arts' FIFA series of association football video games. It was developed by EA Canada, and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. David Rutter, the line producer for FIFA 12, promised "a revolutionary year for FIFA .....
.
Background
Glasvegas opened 2011 with an 8 date tour of Scotland which took the band to places in Scotland that are normally missed out by touring bands. The tour took in KirkwallKirkwall
Kirkwall is the biggest town and capital of Orkney, off the coast of northern mainland Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty...
, Wick
Wick, Highland
Wick is an estuary town and a royal burgh in the north of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically, it is one of two burghs within the county of Caithness, of which Wick was the county town. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay...
, Forres
Forres
Forres , is a town and former royal burgh situated in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately 30 miles east of Inverness. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions...
, Oban
Oban
Oban Oban Oban ( is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. It has a total resident population of 8,120. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William and during the tourist season the town can be crowded by up to 25,000 people. Oban...
, Dunoon
Dunoon
Dunoon is a resort town situated on the Cowal Peninsula in Argyll, Scotland. It sits on the Firth of Clyde to the south of Holy Loch and to the west of Gourock.-Waterfront:...
, Troon
Troon
Troon is a town in South Ayrshire. It is situated on the west coast of Scotland, about eight miles north of Ayr and three miles northwest of Glasgow Prestwick International Airport. Lying across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran can be seen. Troon is also a port with freight and ferry services...
, Hawick
Hawick
Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...
and Dunfermline
Dunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
. The band announced the tour to ensure that Scotland would be the first to hear the new music. The tour received positive critical reviews with Simon Price
Simon Price
Simon Price is a British music journalist and club promoter, born on 25 September 1967 in the Welsh town of Barry. He is now best known for his weekly review section in The Independent on Sunday and his book on Manic Street Preachers.-Career:...
of The Independent on Sunday quoting that "Glasvegas are still – and we desperately need this right now – a band to believe in".
The band also announced a showcase tour planned around smaller venues in March 2011 with several dates selling out within hours of going on sale followed by an Academy size tour planned for April/May 2011 to promote the new album.
However, by late February 2011 the relationship between Glasvegas and their record label (Sony)
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
started to deteriorate which at the beginning of the year would have never been predicted. On delivery of the album Sony
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
were extremely excited by the album, the quality of songs contained within and the fact it was a marked departure from the debut album! The marketing campaign kicked off in January 2011 with a free track giveaway and the track chosen was the second track on the album The World Is Yours
. However the band wanted something more substantial than just a free giveaway and eventually the label gave the green light to the band creating an Album Trailer Movie to go alongside the free giveaway. This helped raise the profile of the free giveaway significantly but the early seeds of discord with the direction of the marketing campaign were sown.
Initial reviews of the album were generally positive with the Daily Record
Daily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
declaring it "'the album of the year!'"
However by March
March
March is in present time held to be the third month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. It is one of the seven months which are 31 days long....
the band felt that the marketing campaign that Sony
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
put in place for Euphoric Heartbreak was not working and came a poor second to the campaign put in place for the band's debut album
Glasvegas (album)
Glasvegas is the debut studio album by the Scottish Indie rock band Glasvegas, first released in the UK on 8 September 2008 by Columbia Records . The album was produced by lead singer James Allan and Rich Costey . The album sold copies in its first week of release and reached number 2 on the UK...
. The band had noticed that visual indicators of promotion to raise awareness of the new album was almost non-existent. There was no TV, Radio
Music radio
Music radio is a radio format in which music is the main broadcast content. After television replaced old time radio's dramatic content, music formats became dominant in many countries...
or billboard
Billboard
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
advertising for the new album which had a severe impact on raising awareness. This non-awareness was reinforced by the many fans (who had turned up to the band's gigs in March 2011) being unaware of the imminent release of Euphoric Heartbreak. This set the alarm bells ringing within the band and the relationship between band and label started to come undone with the band losing faith in the label's choices and general direction of the campaign.
As an aside one of the most heated areas for disagreement between band and label was the singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
and the fact that Sony were enforcing the On air on sale
On air on sale
On air on sale is a policy in the music industry where recorded music is made available for sale at the same time as it is made available for radio broadcast, instead of several weeks later in order to let marketing "buzz" develop, as was former practice. The aim of the policy is to prevent...
policy for all their singles. This policy proved to be an utter disaster for Glasvegas and essentially nullified the impact of the first single "Euphoria, Take My Hand" which was released as an immediately available download on 7 February 2011 before being released physically on 28 March 2011. As a consequence of the Sony release policy the single received very little radio airplay and coupled with the fact it was caught up in the middle of a poor marketing campaign meant it never got out of the starting blocks in trying to reach a wider audience. In a rare moment of transparency Sony finally admitted in October
October
October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and one of seven months with a length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally been created by the...
2011 that the on air on sale "does not work" and that they will "now be looking at each release on a case-by-case basis" Moving forward towards the imminent release date; the only thing the band could control was their touring and they embarked on a grueling touring schedule in the early part of 2011. The live performance of "Euphoria, Take My Hand" was one of the many highlights and contributed to raising awareness of the singles and the forthcoming new album. On 4 April 2011 the bands sophomore album entered the charts at No. 10 despite the vast majority of the general public unaware it had been released. The album also hit the No.1 spot in Sweden
The album polarised opinion...some reviews criticised the band for being too bold and that the album was too big a departure from their debut whilst others praised this move forward and the high quality songwriting the album contained. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
gave the album a 9/10 matching the score they awarded the bands debut album. They said of the album..."Turning pain into joy is the stuff that dreams are made of for an album as thrillingly ambitious as it is enigmatic".
Clash Magazine praised the band for delivering a more accomplished sound by reassuringly admitting "pioneers they remain"
The BBC
BBC Music
BBC Music is a team working in the department of Audio and Music Interactive at the BBC. Responsible for the BBC Music website - the portal site to music content across the BBC website....
declared the album "a triumph" despite all the upheavel with the band in 2010.
Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
felt it was "too bombastic and that it simply numbs you with 50 minutes of novocaine for the soul." while PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
(an International Webzine) gave the album 5/10 and said that the "album smears together into one gigantic well-produced stadium anthem, shining like the night sky while remaining just as inert".
The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
awarded the album 3/5 but felt "that they were still waiting on an undeniable triumph from Glasvegas".
Finally the Daily Bruin
Daily Bruin
The Daily Bruin is the student newspaper at the University of California, Los Angeles.-Frequency and governance:When classes are in session, the Bruin is published Monday through Friday during the school year and once a week on Mondays in the summer quarter.It is overseen by the ASUCLA...
, a Student newspaper
Student newspaper
A student newspaper is a newspaper run by students of a university, high school, middle school, or other school. These papers traditionally cover local and, primarily, school or university news....
based at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
said that the album "may surprise fans at first, with its more majestic and otherworldly music. However, it is a collection of beautiful, well-written and poignant songs worth significantly more of the listener's time than the 48 minutes it will take to listen to the album".
Although a Top 10 position was a viewed as a decent showing by Sony, the band were extremely disappointed with this. The band would see out the rest of their contract and officially left Columbia Records on 4 August 2011, 12 weeks after the release of Euphoric Heartbreak.
After the band's academy tour of Europe and the UK, the band left for their 7th tour of the United States in June 2011 playing to sold out venues in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
. On return to the UK the band played at Rockness in Scotland followed by a headline appearance on the John Peel Stage. Several more festival appearances including a top slot at Where The Action
Where the Action Is Tour
Where the Action Is was a tour featuring Swedish rock bands that toured throughout Sweden between 2004 and 2006 with several high profiled Swedish bands and artists such as The Hellacopters, The Hives, The Ark, Moneybrother and many others. In 2007 the tour took a hiatus and then came back in 2008...
in Gothenburg
Gothenburg
Gothenburg is the second-largest city in Sweden and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated on the west coast of Sweden, the city proper has a population of 519,399, with 549,839 in the urban area and total of 937,015 inhabitants in the metropolitan area...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
saw the band round of June 2011.
In July 2011, the band toured Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
for the first time playing three sold out shows at The Rosemount Hotel in Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
, The Metro in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and The Hi-Fi in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
before making a festival appearance at Splendour in The Grass
Splendour in the Grass
Splendour in the Grass is an annual Australian music festival held in July at Woodford, Queensland, and previously held at Belongil Fields, outside Byron Bay...
held at Woodford
Woodford, Queensland
Woodford is a small town in Queensland, Australia, on the D'Aguilar Highway 72 km north-west of Brisbane and 24 km west of Caboolture. Its Local Government Area is the Moreton Bay Region. The town is noted for its folk festival that takes place over the New Year holidays. The Woodford...
45 miles north west of Brisbane
Brisbane
Brisbane is the capital and most populous city in the Australian state of Queensland and the third most populous city in Australia. Brisbane's metropolitan area has a population of over 2 million, and the South East Queensland urban conurbation, centred around Brisbane, encompasses a population of...
. The band also made their second trip to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
to play the Fuji Rock Festival and then rounded off the summer by headlining the first ever Famous Grouse
The Famous Grouse
The Famous Grouse is a brand of blended Scotch whisky, first produced by Matthew Gloag & Son Ltd. in 1897, and now produced by The Edrington Group. The malt whiskies used in The Famous Grouse blend include The Glenrothes, Highland Park Single Malt and Macallan Single Malt. Its emblem is the Red...
Music Festival and playing the V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
for the first time.
The band have announced a tour of the UK and Ireland in October 2011 ending starting in Cork
Cork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, then London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and then working their way north and eventually ending with a gig in the band's hometown of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
on Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
On the 16 September 2011 it was announced that the band's song "The World Is Yours" (the second listed track) from Euphoric Heartbreak was featured on the soundtrack to the FIFA 12
FIFA 12
FIFA 12 is the nineteenth game in Electronic Arts' FIFA series of association football video games. It was developed by EA Canada, and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. David Rutter, the line producer for FIFA 12, promised "a revolutionary year for FIFA .....
video game.
Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
announced that on the 25 October 2011 they will release a U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
cover album called AHK-toong BAY-bi Covered, with various artists covering each track from U2's 1991 seventh studio album Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby
Achtung Baby is the seventh studio album by Irish rock band U2. It was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, and was released on 19 November 1991 on Island Records. Stung by the criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate alternative...
. Glasvegas were asked by U2 to cover a track and the band chose the 11th track, "Acrobat
Acrobat (song)
"Acrobat" is a song by rock band U2. It is the eleventh track on their 1991 album Achtung Baby. The critical failure of Rattle and Hum led the band to seek a harder sound in their music. The song developed from a riff created by guitarist The Edge, and is played in a time signature. Thematically...
".
Release
A free download of "The World Is Yours" was made available on Glasvegas' official website on 16 January 2011. It has also been revealed that the opening track "Pain Pain, Never Again" is a spoken word piece, and likewise the final track "Change" features James Allan's mother performing a small spoken word piece. According to James Allan, the forwardSlash (punctuation)
The slash is a sign used as a punctuation mark and for various other purposes. It is now often called a forward slash , and many other alternative names.-History:...
and backward slashes
Backslash
The backslash is a typographical mark used mainly in computing. It was first introduced to computers in 1960 by Bob Bemer. Sometimes called a reverse solidus or a slosh, it is the mirror image of the common slash....
contained in the album title represent "the ascent, the crest of a wave, and then the crash."
Singles
The band released their first official single from the album, "Euphoria, Take My Hand" on the 25 March.Track listing
Bonus tracks
Bonus tracksChart performance
| Country | Peak position |
Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sweden Sweden Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund.... |
1 | ||
| United Kingdom United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
10 | ||
| Norway Norway Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million... |
26 | ||
| Ireland Republic of Ireland Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,... |
41 | ||
| Switzerland Switzerland Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... |
41 | ||
| Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... |
48 | ||
| Belgium Belgium Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many... |
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| Spain Spain Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... |
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