One Tree Hill (song) - Live Performances

Live Performances

"We've never performed 'One Tree Hill', and I can't. In fact I haven't even heard the song, though I've listened to it a hundred times. I've cut myself off from it completely."

"One Tree Hill" made its live debut on 10 September 1987 in Uniondale, New York, the opening night of the third leg of the Joshua Tree Tour, where it opened the encore. The song had been left out of the set up to this point because Bono feared he would be unable to overcome his emotions in the live setting. Despite his fears, the song received an enthusiastic reaction from the audience. It was performed a further six times and then dropped from the show for a period of two months. It was revived in the main set on 17 November 1987 in Los Angeles, California, and played a further nine times on the tour. "One Tree Hill" was played occasionally on the Lovetown Tour, appearing at 19 of 47 concerts. The penultimate performance, on 31 December 1989, was broadcast live on radio to 21 countries throughout Europe as a New Year's Eve present from the band.

"One Tree Hill" was absent during the majority of the Zoo TV Tour, only appearing as an extended snippet at the end of "One" at both concerts in New Zealand in 1993. It did not appear again until 24 November 2006 in Auckland, New Zealand, on the final leg of the Vertigo Tour. It was considered to close the concert, but tour designer Willie Williams voiced concern as it had not been performed in full since 1990. The song was performed before "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" in the main set instead. U2 performed it an additional three times on the tour. "One Tree Hill" was absent for the majority of the U2 360° Tour but was revived in November 2010 for two concerts in New Zealand, where it was dedicated to the miners who died in the Pike River Mine disaster; their names were displayed on the video screen during the song. Dedicating the song, Bono said, "we wrote it for Greg Carroll, whose family are with us tonight. But tonight it belongs to the miners of the West Coast Pike River." U2 played "One Tree Hill" on 25 March 2011, in Santiago, Chile, in a duet with Francisca Valenzuela, and they dedicated it to Victor Jara. Its final performance was on 5 July 2011 in Chicago, Illinois, where it was dedicated to Greg Carroll to commemorate the 25th anniversary of his death.

In 2009, when asked about the likelihood of U2 performing the song, The Edge said, "it's one we kind of keep for special occasions, like playing New Zealand." Bono added, "it's a very special song that holds inside of it a lot of strong feelings, and I don't know if we're afraid of it or something, but we should be playing it more." McGuinness said that U2 found it difficult to play live.