U2 had stolen the show at Live Aid. Rolling Stone had named them the Band of the 80s. And the Unforgettable Fire, while something of a left turn did top the charts in the UK and was top 20 in the U.S. So, the anticipation for their next record was not only building but there was a growing feeling that it was going to be a monster. It was. But getting there was not easy. In this episode we talk about the tag team production of Eno and Lanois. About U2 hitting pause and playing Self-Aid and the Amnesty International Tour. And the push and pull between Bono wanting to go Americana and Edge's more Eurocentric tendencies. A dynamic that will work wonders on Joshua Tree but will lead into a dead end creatively by the end of the 80s.