"Red Light" is a song by

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band U2. It is the eighth track from their 1983 album ''

War War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or between such organi ...

''.

Writing and recording

Taking advantage of American musical group

Kid Creole and the Coconuts Kid Creole and the Coconuts is an American musical group created by August Darnell with Coati Mundi (musician), Andy Hernandez and Adriana Kaegi. Its music incorporates a variety of styles and influences, in particular a mix of disco and Latin ...

being in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, U2 invited the trumpet player to work on "Red Light", thinking that it would freshen up the sound of the band. Three singers joined as well. Bono said, "We had the studio lit red for effect, and one Coconut took her top off and sang in what looked like a ballerina's bra. The boys from

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

had difficulty breathing."

Reception

Sid Smith of the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

wrote of the song, "U2's palette broadens on 'Red Light' with backing vocals from

Kid Creole Thomas August Darnell Browder (born August 12, 1950), known professionally as August Darnell and under the stage name Kid Creole, is an American musician, singer and songwriter. He co-founded Dr. Buzzard's Original Savannah Band and subsequently ...

's Coconuts no less, and some equally superfluous trumpet – the latter making a tokenistic jazz noise atop the impervious surface of the band's default setting, that only loosens up enough to work effectively by the time the track is fading-out." Sputnikmusic contributor, John Cruz, felt the song indicated a change of tone on the album, saying: "The album's mood becomes looser, with Bono chasing hopeless love in Red Light".

References

1983 songs U2 songs Songs written by Bono Songs written by the Edge Songs written by Adam Clayton Songs written by Larry Mullen Jr. {{1980s-rock-song-stub