New Year's Day (U2 song)

"New Year's Day"
Standard European artwork (pictured variant used for 12-inch maxi-single and later CD editions)
Single by U2
from the album War
B-side	"Treasure (Whatever Happened to Pete the Chop)"
Released	10 January 1983[1]
Recorded	September–November 1982
Studio	Windmill Lane Studios (Dublin)
Genre	Post-punk[2] new wave[3]
Length	5:36 (album version) 5:40 (original 12" long version) 4:17 (video version) 3:53 (7" edit)
Label	CBS Ireland Island
Songwriter(s)	U2
Producer(s)	Steve Lillywhite
U2 singles chronology
"A Celebration" (1982) "New Year's Day" (1983) "Two Hearts Beat as One" (1983)
Music video
"New Year's Day" on YouTube
Audio sample
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"New Year's Day" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track on their 1983 album War and was released as the album's lead single in January 1983. With lyrics written about the Polish Solidarity movement, "New Year's Day" is driven by Adam Clayton's distinctive bassline and the Edge's piano and guitar playing. It was the band's first UK hit single, peaking at number 10, and was also their first international hit, reaching for number 9 in Norway, number 11 on the Dutch Top 40, number 17 in Sweden, and number 53 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, becoming the band's first single to chart in the US.

In 2004, the song was ranked 427th on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". It was also included in the Pitchfork 500.

The UK cover features a photograph of Peter Rowen, who grew up near the group's lead vocalist Bono in Ireland.^[4]