During last night's show at the Sphere, U2 lead singer Bono paid homage to Elton John. He sang snippets of his songs and his collaboration with Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart.”
A snippet-heavy night at the Sphere
In what was a snippet-heavy night ranging from U2's own “Landlady” to the Beatles' “Drive My Car” and the Rolling Stones' “Paint It Black,” Bono also sang songs from John. He sang lines from both “Sacrifice” and “Rocket Man (I Think It's Going to Be a Long, Long Time),” as U2Songs.com noted in their show report.
For fans, they know that those two songs are included in John's remix song with Dua Lipa, “Cold Heart.” That song combines the two and was the lead single from Elton John's Lockdown Sessions album. Other songs of his included in the remix are “Kiss the Bride” and “Where's the Shoorah?”
Snippets are always a part of U2's performances dating back to the eighties. The song “Bad” has become the golden standard for a snippet-filled song. Years ago, Bono would incorporate several songs into it. At Live Aid, for example, Bono sang lines from “Satellite of Love,” “Ruby Tuesday,” “Sympathy for the Devil,” and “Walk on the Wild Side” during “Bad.”
Nowadays, Bono usually just sings one extended snippet during the song. One of the best examples is David Bowie's “Heroes.”
U2 just played their twentieth show at the Sphere. That makes the halfway point of their residency at the high-tech Las Vegas venue. They are playing their 1991 album, Achtung Baby, in full for the first time.
Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Bram van den Berg — who's filling in for Larry Mullen Jr. — will wrap up their Sphere residency on March 2, 2024. U2 recently announced the final four show dates for February 23-24 and March 1-2.