I think I can lay claim to having coined the title (a poor substitute for fame). The phrase 'a celebration' had provided the key point and, as I recall, the headline to my own overwhelmingly positive review of October. It became a catchword not only associated with but used by the band, getting as close as any word could to the essence of U2's uplifting musical identity. And it became the banner waving heading for their new record - one in which, like '11 O'Clock Tick Tock', the title phrase never appears.

'A Celebration' is a raw, blistering song with a big '60s, Who-like guitar figure, the first hint of a new rock rootsiness. Bono had been making remarks about U2 sounding too much like U2, and though this single had all the hallmarks of their sound, there was something rougher, more aggressive about it. The lyrics too were challenging in tone, still displaying a Christian sensibility but now sounding a warning that Armageddon might be at hand.

"I believe in the bells of Christchurch/Ringing out for this land... I believe in the powers that be/But they won't overpower me."

Viewed with hindsight it is very much the halfway mark between the old U2 and the band that would emerge on the forthcoming War.

Watch the video for 'A Celebration', filmed in Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin, below:

The B-side, 'Trash Trampoline And The Party Girl' is also something of a departure. This bizarre, swinging song has a refreshingly idiosyncratic arrangement and displays an off-beat sense of humour that few would have credited the band with.

Not that there are any jokes, you understand, but there is a strange and indefinably poignant cast of characters that might have wandered in off a Tom Waits' track, and when Bono sings "you know what I mean" nobody really does. Call it surrealist comedy – but whatever it is, it works.

In the midst of extremely busy times for U2, The Edge stars on the cover of the new issue of Hot Press.

The acclaimed musician offers a fascinating glimpse into his creative life, in a major Hot Press original – coinciding with U2's new album of re-interpretations, Songs of Surrender; a Disney+ docu-special; a new Sarajevo documentary, Kiss The Future, in which they're featured; and news of the band's starring role in the launch of a spectacular world-leading venue in Las Vegas.

In the piece, the guitarist – and producer of Songs Of Surrender – writes passionately about the inspiration behind the upcoming album, and the process of re-imagining some of U2's most beloved tracks.

Order the issue below: