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During the November 3, 2023, concert at the Sphere, U2‘s Bono provided an interesting tidbit between Achtung Baby's “So Cruel” and “Ultraviolet (Light My Way).”
He seemed to recognize a connection between the two twisted love songs. The “With or Without You” singer referred to “So Cruel” as “one side of the story,” before the intro to “Ultraviolet” seemingly cut him off. You can hear him chuckle before he starts singing the song.
Two nights prior, Bono gave a similar speech. However, this time, he didn't let the intro to “Ultraviolet” make him lose his thought.
“[That was] one side of the story if I've ever heard one,” he said. “Of course, from the man's point of view. That's who we are.”
“So Cruel” and “Ultraviolet” are complicated songs. They do share some similarities of twisted love. But I do think they tell two sides of a broken love, and there's beauty at the end of it.
And it's all thanks to a brilliant decision made by U2 with their Sphere setlist.
U2's Achtung Baby
But first, it's important to go back to the album the songs originate from. Neither “So Cruel” nor “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)” were singles from the iconic album.
“So Cruel” is positioned between a song with similar themes, “Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses,” and “The Fly.” “Ultraviolet” is the tenth track on the album, with “Acrobat” and “Love Is Blindness” following.
Achtung Baby was a complete reinvention for U2. They were coming off their biggest album to date, The Joshua Tree, and then the lukewarm reception of Rattle and Hum. The band needed to “dream it all up again,” and that's exactly what they did.
Frankly, Achtung Baby was a much harder-hitting album than anything they've done. The album was also sexier and Bono's writing was at its peak.
Side A: “So Cruel”
“So Cruel” seems to be more about a broken love. In both cases, Bono puts women on a pedestal. But while “Ultraviolet” has some optimism, “So Cruel” discusses a love that's become one-sided.
“The men who love you, you hate the most/They pass right through you, like a ghost,” Bono sings.
During the Sphere performances, Bono would make a key change in the final line. He sang “I'm so cruel” instead of “You're so cruel.”
It's almost as if Bono was admitting to the petty jealous actions in the song. Even in its original composition, “So Cruel” reeks of a lover who's frustrated with the one-sided love.
Whether it's written from the perspective of someone looking on at an ex-love or someone stuck in a one-sided relationship, the song is painfully candid: “I'm only hanging on to watch you go down,” Bono sings in the second verse.
By the song's crescendo, the narrator begins questioning whether this is love or lust. After all, Bono describes the woman's affection as a “drug” at one point in the show. Perhaps putting women on such a pedestal is what Bono is seemingly apologizing for when he sings “I'm so cruel.” It's an unfair expectation for anyone to meet.
Side B: “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”
“Ultraviolet” can be interpreted in a couple of different ways. On the 2017 “Joshua Tree” anniversary tour, Bono made the song out to be an ode to women — saying they light our way.
I think the song plays far more dramatically than that in its original context. “Ultraviolet” describes a love where it's being withheld (“You bury your treasure, where it can't be found”) and something that's “passed around.”
And yet, in the middle eight, Bono nearly breaks down. He's presumably talking about Ali Hewson, his wife, who kept him on the right path during his tumultuous childhood. “I remember when we could sleep on stones/Now we lie together in whispers and moans/When I was all messed up and I heard opera in my head/Your love was a light bulb swinging over my head,” Bono croons.
The light bulb imagery has stuck with the band to this day. On U2's 2015 “Innocence + Experience” tour, Bono swung a giant lightbulb around during the early portion of the show.
Three years later, on the sequel “Experience + Innocence” tour, Bono ended the show by opening a miniature model of his childhood home that encased the light bulb. He would leave the arena singing “13 (There Is A Light)” whilst holding the light bulb.
“Ultraviolet” at Sphere
Oddly enough, “Ultraviolet” underwent several incarnations during U2's 40-night Sphere residency. During the early shows, the song had a minimal backdrop. Instead of Elvis kaleidoscopes, lava lamp-like colors flashed on the screen during the song.
In the coming months, U2 switched it up. New visuals were introduced. Clouds of color rushed to the top of the Sphere and created a breathtaking visual.
However, this wasn't the last switch. A giant disco ball, seemingly a nod to their 1997 album Pop, was displayed on the screen. The ball would spin as colors would shine from it.
To be honest, I think the second visual was the best of the bunch. I appreciate what they were going for with the disco ball, but I don't think “Ultraviolet” requires a lot. It's a very emotional song, and the tornado-like clouds drove the message home.
How the Sphere brought them together
Originally, U2 would wake the Achtung Baby up after their brief four-song acoustic set with “So Cruel.” This made sense, as the remainder of the Sphere main set consisted of the final three tracks almost in order, “Acrobat,” “Ultraviolet,” and “Love Is Blindness.”
Beginning on October 13, 2023, the seventh U2 show at the Sphere, they switched it up. “Acrobat” then resumed the Achtung Baby set which made a lot of sense.
In the middle of their Sphere sets, U2 would play four songs acoustically to break up the heaviness of their 1991 album. It was a smart move that allowed them to dust off deep cuts like “Love Rescue Me” and “Peace on Earth.”
But going back into Achtung Baby with “So Cruel” was a risky move. It's not a fast-paced song, so you run the risk of keeping audiences still after four acoustic songs. Plus, unless you're a die-hard U2 fan, were you really excited to hear the song live? I know it was the main selling point for me, but casual fans have likely never heard it.
So the swap was perfect. “Acrobat” picks up the intensity right where it left off and allows for the slow, more timid “So Cruel,” “Ultraviolet,” and “Love Is Blindness” to close out the main set.
Why “So Cruel” and “Ultraviolet” are two of U2's best love songs
While women are usually placed on a pedestal in Bono's writing, the duo of “So Cruel” and “Ultraviolet” serve as stark reminders that not all love is perfect. They don't describe the sappy love that “Song for Someone” or “The Sweetest Thing” do — they describe the darker times like “With or Without You.”
Still, it takes a vulnerable person to express those feelings in song. Achtung Baby as a whole is all about heartbreak and picking yourself back up. “So Cruel” and “Ultraviolet” are two of Bono's finest examples.
