"Atomic City" is a promotional tie-in to U2's U2:UV Achtung Baby concert residency at the Sphere at The Venetian Resort in the Las Vegas Valley. They released it on September 29, 2023, the same day the residency began.
The title, "Atomic City," pays homage to Las Vegas' 1950s moniker when it became the ultimate destination for nuclear tourism.
The song swings between staccato verses and a thumping chorus where Bono sings:
I'm free
Where you are is where I'll be
I'm free
So unexpectedly
But it's not just about freedom; Bono also calls for community:
Alone, that's no way to be carrying on
And unity:
Come all who serve above and below
Come all believers and all who don't know
The song concludes with a taste of the band's U2:UV Achtung Baby residency:
I came here for the fight
I'm front row in Las Vegas
And there's a big one on tonight
"It's a love song to our audience," said Bono. "Where you are is where I'll be."
U2 wrote the song themselves and recorded it at the Sound City studios in LA with producers Steve Lillywhite and Jacknive Lee.
Lillywhite has played a significant role in shaping U2's sound. He produced U2's first three albums: Boy (1980), October (1981), and War (1983), and has returned to work with the band on several other occasions.
When Lillywhite produced 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, his assistant was Jacknive Lee, who spent six months with the band reworking songs and encouraging better performances. Lee has since collaborated with U2 on various album tracks and remixes.
U2 described "Atomic City" as a musical homage to artists such as Blondie, Giorgio Moroder, and The Clash, as well as post-punk music of the 1970s. Because the track's chorus compares to Blondie's 1980 hit "
Call Me," the composers of "Call Me" – Debbie Harry and Giorgio Moroder – both get songwriting credits.
He couldn't perform during the residency because of surgery, but drummer Larry Mullen Jr. still played on "Atomic City." Laying down his drum part for the track was a painful task for him. "Larry went the night before to just make sure," Bono told Apple Music's Zane Lowe. "He didn't know if he could play for an hour or… he didn't know if he could play for 15 minutes. And he just played up the storm."
The Edge added that Mullen's drum technician told them the U2 drummer "loved the sound of the room so much, he ended up playing for like three hours."
The Ben Kutchins-directed video was filmed in downtown Las Vegas in the same area where U2 shot their clip for "
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" on April 12, 1987. "It was the right place for us," Bono told Zane Lowe. "And it took its toll on Larry. He's miming. We're doing the video and he's like, 'Ow.' But he's going to get back to fitness."
U2 performed "Atomic City" from the Sphere during the Grammy Awards in 2024, the first time a performance from the venue was broadcast.
