 of the security issue that the film shoot is causing , due to the large number of people who are coming to watch the performance . Two minutes into the video , U2 are seen on the roof of a liquor store at the corner of 7th Ave. and S. Main St. , and perform " Where the Streets Have No Name " to a large crowd of people standing in the streets surrounding the building . Towards the end of the song , the police tell the crew that the performance is about to be shut down , and eventually police walk onto the roof while the crowd are booing the police .   The video for " Where the Streets Have No Name " was directed by Meiert Avis and produced by Michael Hamlyn and Ben Dossett . The band attracted over 1 @,@ 000 people during the video 's filming , which took place on the rooftop of a liquor store in Downtown Los Angeles on 27 March 1987 . The band 's performance on a rooftop in a public place was a reference to The Beatles ' final concert , as depicted in the film Let It Be .   During the shoot U2 played an eight @-@ song set , which included four performances of " Where the Streets Have No Name " . Prior to filming , a week was spent reinforcing the roof of the liquor store to ensure it would not collapse if it were to be intruded by a group of fans . A backup generator was put on the roof so the shooting could continue in the event that the authorities shut off the power on the primary generator , which happened during filming .   The depiction of the police attempting to shut down the video shoot due to safety concerns actually happened during filming , just as seen in the video . Hamlyn was almost arrested following a confrontation with the police . According to Avis , the events depicted in the video show what actually happened that day " almost in real time " , and that " getting busted was an integral part of the plan . " Band manager Paul McGuinness revealed in 2007 that much of the confrontation with the police was exaggerated ; the group were hoping to get shut down by the authorities in order to dramatize the music video , but the police continually gave them extensions for shooting the video . In the background of the video is a sign for The Million Dollar Hotel , which was rebuilt to create some interest , in case no one showed up at the film shoot . Although the video is of a live performance , the audio used is from the studio @-@ recorded version of the song . The video won the Grammy Award for Best Performance Music Video at the 1989 Grammy Awards .   = = = B @-@ sides = = =   " Race Against Time " was released on the 12 @-@ inch , cassette , and CD versions of the single . The song developed from the band 's interest in urban funk , and was described by The Edge as " a kind of Afro @-@ rhythmic piece " and " a study in rhythm . " The bass riff in the song , inspired by the bodhrán , was played by The Edge , but stemmed from some of Clayton 's unused bass parts . Mullen 's drum part was recorded in a single take . The song is primarily an instrumental piece but does contain some lyrics inspired by Bono 's trip to Ethiopia after Live Aid and his witnessing firsthand the famine in occurrence ; these lyrical references include Bono singing in an Ethiopian language and following it with the phrase " Race against time " . Bono said of the song , " It reminds me of the desert . The desert is so empty , but it aches with a strange kind of fullness . " John Hutchinson of Musician magazine described the song as having an " African flavour " and as being reminiscent of Peter Gabriel . The track was used in the Miami Vice episode " Child 's Play " , and is the only one of the single 's B @-@ sides that was never played live .   " Silver and Gold " was written in support of the Artists United Against Apartheid project , which protested the South African apartheid . In 1985 , Bono participated in Steven Van Zandt 's anti @-@ apartheid Sun City project and spent time with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones . When Richards and Jagger played blues , Bono was embarrassed by his lack of familiarity with the genre , as most of U2 's musical knowledge began with punk rock in their youth in the mid @-@ 1970s . Bono realised that U2 " had no tradition " , and he felt as if they " were from outer space " . This inspired him to write the blues @-@ influenced song " Silver and Gold " , which he recorded with Richards and Ronnie Wood . It was re @-@ recorded by U2 for the " Where the Streets Have No Name " single while the band returned to Dublin during in May 1987 during a break between the first and second legs of The Joshua Tree Tour . The song was described by Musician as " tough and raw , with Bon
Ġof Ġthe Ġsecurity Ġissue Ġthat Ġthe Ġfilm Ġshoot Ġis Ġcausing Ġ, Ġdue Ġto Ġthe Ġlarge Ġnumber Ġof Ġpeople Ġwho Ġare Ġcoming Ġto Ġwatch Ġthe Ġperformance Ġ. ĠTwo Ġminutes Ġinto Ġthe Ġvideo Ġ, ĠU 2 Ġare Ġseen Ġon Ġthe Ġroof Ġof Ġa Ġliquor Ġstore Ġat Ġthe Ġcorner Ġof Ġ7 th ĠAve . Ġand ĠS . ĠMain ĠSt . Ġ, Ġand Ġperform Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġto Ġa Ġlarge Ġcrowd Ġof Ġpeople Ġstanding Ġin Ġthe Ġstreets Ġsurrounding Ġthe Ġbuilding Ġ. ĠTowards Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġthe Ġpolice Ġtell Ġthe Ġcrew Ġthat Ġthe Ġperformance Ġis Ġabout Ġto Ġbe Ġshut Ġdown Ġ, Ġand Ġeventually Ġpolice Ġwalk Ġonto Ġthe Ġroof Ġwhile Ġthe Ġcrowd Ġare Ġboo ing Ġthe Ġpolice Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġvideo Ġfor Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġwas Ġdirected Ġby ĠMei ert ĠA vis Ġand Ġproduced Ġby ĠMichael ĠHam lyn Ġand ĠBen ĠD oss ett Ġ. ĠThe Ġband Ġattracted Ġover Ġ1 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġpeople Ġduring Ġthe Ġvideo Ġ' s Ġfilming Ġ, Ġwhich Ġtook Ġplace Ġon Ġthe Ġrooftop Ġof Ġa Ġliquor Ġstore Ġin ĠDowntown ĠLos ĠAngeles Ġon Ġ27 ĠMarch Ġ1987 Ġ. ĠThe Ġband Ġ' s Ġperformance Ġon Ġa Ġrooftop Ġin Ġa Ġpublic Ġplace Ġwas Ġa Ġreference Ġto ĠThe ĠBeatles Ġ' Ġfinal Ġconcert Ġ, Ġas Ġdepicted Ġin Ġthe Ġfilm ĠLet ĠIt ĠBe Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠDuring Ġthe Ġshoot ĠU 2 Ġplayed Ġan Ġeight Ġ@ - @ Ġsong Ġset Ġ, Ġwhich Ġincluded Ġfour Ġperformances Ġof Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġ. ĠPrior Ġto Ġfilming Ġ, Ġa Ġweek Ġwas Ġspent Ġreinforcing Ġthe Ġroof Ġof Ġthe Ġliquor Ġstore Ġto Ġensure Ġit Ġwould Ġnot Ġcollapse Ġif Ġit Ġwere Ġto Ġbe Ġintr uded Ġby Ġa Ġgroup Ġof Ġfans Ġ. ĠA Ġbackup Ġgenerator Ġwas Ġput Ġon Ġthe Ġroof Ġso Ġthe Ġshooting Ġcould Ġcontinue Ġin Ġthe Ġevent Ġthat Ġthe Ġauthorities Ġshut Ġoff Ġthe Ġpower Ġon Ġthe Ġprimary Ġgenerator Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhappened Ġduring Ġfilming Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġdepiction Ġof Ġthe Ġpolice Ġattempting Ġto Ġshut Ġdown Ġthe Ġvideo Ġshoot Ġdue Ġto Ġsafety Ġconcerns Ġactually Ġhappened Ġduring Ġfilming Ġ, Ġjust Ġas Ġseen Ġin Ġthe Ġvideo Ġ. ĠHam lyn Ġwas Ġalmost Ġarrested Ġfollowing Ġa Ġconfrontation Ġwith Ġthe Ġpolice Ġ. ĠAccording Ġto ĠA vis Ġ, Ġthe Ġevents Ġdepicted Ġin Ġthe Ġvideo Ġshow Ġwhat Ġactually Ġhappened Ġthat Ġday Ġ" Ġalmost Ġin Ġreal Ġtime Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġthat Ġ" Ġgetting Ġbusted Ġwas Ġan Ġintegral Ġpart Ġof Ġthe Ġplan Ġ. Ġ" ĠBand Ġmanager ĠPaul ĠMcGu inness Ġrevealed Ġin Ġ2007 Ġthat Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġconfrontation Ġwith Ġthe Ġpolice Ġwas Ġexaggerated Ġ; Ġthe Ġgroup Ġwere Ġhoping Ġto Ġget Ġshut Ġdown Ġby Ġthe Ġauthorities Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġdram at ize Ġthe Ġmusic Ġvideo Ġ, Ġbut Ġthe Ġpolice Ġcontinually Ġgave Ġthem Ġextensions Ġfor Ġshooting Ġthe Ġvideo Ġ. ĠIn Ġthe Ġbackground Ġof Ġthe Ġvideo Ġis Ġa Ġsign Ġfor ĠThe ĠMillion ĠDollar ĠHotel Ġ, Ġwhich Ġwas Ġrebuilt Ġto Ġcreate Ġsome Ġinterest Ġ, Ġin Ġcase Ġno Ġone Ġshowed Ġup Ġat Ġthe Ġfilm Ġshoot Ġ. ĠAlthough Ġthe Ġvideo Ġis Ġof Ġa Ġlive Ġperformance Ġ, Ġthe Ġaudio Ġused Ġis Ġfrom Ġthe Ġstudio Ġ@ - @ Ġrecorded Ġversion Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġ. ĠThe Ġvideo Ġwon Ġthe ĠGrammy ĠAward Ġfor ĠBest ĠPerformance ĠMusic ĠVideo Ġat Ġthe Ġ1989 ĠGrammy ĠAwards Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠB Ġ@ - @ Ġsides Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠRace ĠAgainst ĠTime Ġ" Ġwas Ġreleased Ġon Ġthe Ġ12 Ġ@ - @ Ġinch Ġ, Ġcassette Ġ, Ġand ĠCD Ġversions Ġof Ġthe Ġsingle Ġ. ĠThe Ġsong Ġdeveloped Ġfrom Ġthe Ġband Ġ' s Ġinterest Ġin Ġurban Ġfunk Ġ, Ġand Ġwas Ġdescribed Ġby ĠThe ĠEdge Ġas Ġ" Ġa Ġkind Ġof ĠAf ro Ġ@ - @ Ġrhyth mic Ġpiece Ġ" Ġand Ġ" Ġa Ġstudy Ġin Ġrhythm Ġ. Ġ" ĠThe Ġbass Ġriff Ġin Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġinspired Ġby Ġthe Ġbod hr Ã¡n Ġ, Ġwas Ġplayed Ġby ĠThe ĠEdge Ġ, Ġbut Ġstemmed Ġfrom Ġsome Ġof ĠClayton Ġ' s Ġunused Ġbass Ġparts Ġ. ĠMull en Ġ' s Ġdrum Ġpart Ġwas Ġrecorded Ġin Ġa Ġsingle Ġtake Ġ. ĠThe Ġsong Ġis Ġprimarily Ġan Ġinstrumental Ġpiece Ġbut Ġdoes Ġcontain Ġsome Ġlyrics Ġinspired Ġby ĠBon o Ġ' s Ġtrip Ġto ĠEthiopia Ġafter ĠLive ĠAid Ġand Ġhis Ġwitnessing Ġfirsthand Ġthe Ġfamine Ġin Ġoccurrence Ġ; Ġthese Ġlyr ical Ġreferences Ġinclude ĠBon o Ġsinging Ġin Ġan ĠEthiopian Ġlanguage Ġand Ġfollowing Ġit Ġwith Ġthe Ġphrase Ġ" ĠRace Ġagainst Ġtime Ġ" Ġ. ĠBon o Ġsaid Ġof Ġthe Ġsong Ġ, Ġ" ĠIt Ġreminds Ġme Ġof Ġthe Ġdesert Ġ. ĠThe Ġdesert Ġis Ġso Ġempty Ġ, Ġbut Ġit Ġac hes Ġwith Ġa Ġstrange Ġkind Ġof Ġfull ness Ġ. Ġ" ĠJohn ĠHutchinson Ġof ĠMus ician Ġmagazine Ġdescribed Ġthe Ġsong Ġas Ġhaving Ġan Ġ" ĠAfrican Ġflavour Ġ" Ġand Ġas Ġbeing Ġreminiscent Ġof ĠPeter ĠGabriel Ġ. ĠThe Ġtrack Ġwas Ġused Ġin Ġthe ĠMiami ĠVice Ġepisode Ġ" ĠChild Ġ' s ĠPlay Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġis Ġthe Ġonly Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġsingle Ġ' s ĠB Ġ@ - @ Ġsides Ġthat Ġwas Ġnever Ġplayed Ġlive Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ" ĠSilver Ġand ĠGold Ġ" Ġwas Ġwritten Ġin Ġsupport Ġof Ġthe ĠArtists ĠUnited ĠAgainst ĠApart heid Ġproject Ġ, Ġwhich Ġprotested Ġthe ĠSouth ĠAfrican Ġapartheid Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1985 Ġ, ĠBon o Ġparticipated Ġin ĠSteven ĠVan ĠZ and t Ġ' s Ġanti Ġ@ - @ Ġapartheid ĠSun ĠCity Ġproject Ġand Ġspent Ġtime Ġwith ĠKeith ĠRichards Ġand ĠMick ĠJ agger Ġof ĠThe ĠRolling ĠStones Ġ. ĠWhen ĠRichards Ġand ĠJ agger Ġplayed Ġblues Ġ, ĠBon o Ġwas Ġembarrassed Ġby Ġhis Ġlack Ġof Ġfamiliarity Ġwith Ġthe Ġgenre Ġ, Ġas Ġmost Ġof ĠU 2 Ġ' s Ġmusical Ġknowledge Ġbegan Ġwith Ġpunk Ġrock Ġin Ġtheir Ġyouth Ġin Ġthe Ġmid Ġ@ - @ Ġ1970 s Ġ. ĠBon o Ġrealised Ġthat ĠU 2 Ġ" Ġhad Ġno Ġtradition Ġ" Ġ, Ġand Ġhe Ġfelt Ġas Ġif Ġthey Ġ" Ġwere Ġfrom Ġouter Ġspace Ġ" Ġ. ĠThis Ġinspired Ġhim Ġto Ġwrite Ġthe Ġblues Ġ@ - @ Ġinfluenced Ġsong Ġ" ĠSilver Ġand ĠGold Ġ" Ġ, Ġwhich Ġhe Ġrecorded Ġwith ĠRichards Ġand ĠRonnie ĠWood Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġrecorded Ġby ĠU 2 Ġfor Ġthe Ġ" ĠWhere Ġthe ĠStreets ĠHave ĠNo ĠName Ġ" Ġsingle Ġwhile Ġthe Ġband Ġreturned Ġto ĠDublin Ġduring Ġin ĠMay Ġ1987 Ġduring Ġa Ġbreak Ġbetween Ġthe Ġfirst Ġand Ġsecond Ġlegs Ġof ĠThe ĠJoshua ĠTree ĠTour Ġ. ĠThe Ġsong Ġwas Ġdescribed Ġby ĠMus ician Ġas Ġ" Ġtough Ġand Ġraw Ġ, Ġwith ĠBon