U2 Repressings Starting This Week

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2022-01-19)

Some of U2’s releases are not kept in print, which means when they sare sold out they are not pressed again. They can only be ordered by stores until quantities have been sold out and when they are gone they are gone.

But other items in the catalog are kept in print. As stocks get low, they are repressed. These repressings are identical for the most part to earlier pressings, and contain the same catalog number and usually no major changes. Once example of this is U218 on vinyl which has been repressed a number of times over the years. There have been few changes in these printings but in some cases the sticker on the front has been different or missing completely. And in one run, the Mercury records logo on the back was bigger than on other pressings. These pressings are ususally done without much fanfare, but we do cover them when we know about them for the collectors who may be interested.

There’s a number of new pressings being done to get some of this U2 material back into print. We present them here for those who may be interested from a collector’s perspective, or who missed the pressings the first time around.

January 21, 2022
The Best of 1980 – 1990 Vinyl Edition
Product Code: 5797089
Double Vinyl LP
“Limited restock shipping next week!”

February 4, 2022
U218 Singles Limited Vinyl Edition
Product Code: 1713550
Double Vinyl LP
“Limited edition repress!”

Finding these repressings online is difficult at times as the catalog information and UPC remain unchanged from earlier issues of the vinyl. These are produced to specifically look identical to earlier releases. The vinyl reissue of Achtung Baby done in April of last year was identical in every way to the earlier 2018 release on black vinyl. The only difference that was noted was that there was no hype sticker on the outside of the stretch wrap.

For those looking for these specific represses, the best bet is to order direct from a Universal store in the UK, where they note the release date of the pressing being ordered. (Both Sound of Vinyl and UDiscover are storefronts for Universal.) Expect these to be very similar to earlier pressings, and not even the catalog number will vary. If there are any differences we will be sure to let you know. But it does appear that these are being done in relatively low quantities.

Three other repressings are showing up as well for later in the year, including Under A Blood Red Sky, The Unforgettable Fire on black vinyl, and Songs of Innocence on white vinyl. If you missed these the first time out, it’s a chance to pick them up. For now, only one of the three can be pre-ordered, but expect them all to be made available in the weeks to come.

June 4, 2022
Songs of Innocence White Vinyl
Product Code: 470488
Double Vinyl LP

June 4, 2022
The Unforgettable Fire Black Vinyl
Product Code: 1792416
Vinyl LP

June 4, 2022
Under A Blood Red Sky Black Vinyl
Product Code: 1764285
Vinyl LP

These reissues are done to keep vinyl available in shops worldwide. It has been a common practice for years, and in most countries dozens of reissues have been done on these releases on cassette and CD, and are now being done again in vinyl. You’ll note that the catalog information matches the earlier releases of these. There should be no big changes in the outer packaging or the inner labels.

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