Live
"Bad" is one of the band's most performed songs. Translating the elaborate and complex textures of the new studio-recorded tracks to live performance proved to be a serious challenge when The Unforgettable Fire Tour commenced. One solution was programmed sequencers, which the band had previously been reluctant to use. Sequencers were prominently used on "Bad".
The studio version of "Bad" was criticised as being "unfinished", "fuzzy" and "unfocused", but the band found that it made more sense on stage. Rolling Stone, for example, critical of the album version, described its live performance as a 'show stopper'.
A staple of U2's concert tours of the 1980s, "Bad" was also frequently performed during the first four legs of the 1992–1993 Zoo TV Tour. Although not played until the fourth leg of the PopMart Tour of 1997 and 1998, it returned to the normal setlist for 2001's Elevation Tour and saw occasional performances during the Vertigo Tour of 2005 and 2006, sometimes even appearing as the closing song for shows. It has also made very sporadic appearances on the U2 360° Tour.
Bono is known for singing a wide variety of snippets during performances of "Bad". Lyrics from over 50 different songs have been included in "Bad", ranging from brief quotes of a single line through to multiple verses. These snippets are typically sung after the line "I'm not sleeping" and Bono has included up to six different excerpts in a single performance of "Bad". Performances without at least one snippet are very rare.
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