"The Unforgettable Fire" shaped 7-inch vinyl single
ISP 220A

by Matt McGee

I still remember how awestruck I was back in 1985 when I walked into the booth where my favorite record dealer set up at the weekly covered swap meet and saw this record. At the time, I was a novice collector and ... gasp! ... had never seen a shaped single before. Unreal! Not only that, but it also had a collage of photos from the War and Unforgettable Fire tours filling out the U and the 2 ... and it was something I could afford. "The Unforgettable Fire" shaped vinyl 7" single immediately became my favorite U2 collectable, and if I had to choose, it might still be today.

It remains the only shaped vinyl Island ever issued on behalf of U2. (There are shaped CDs floating around, but these are interview bootlegs and not official releases.) The track listing is as follows:

A: The Unforgettable Fire
B: A Sort of Homecoming (live) - same version as on Wide Awake in America EP

In making this unique item, the original pressing is done on 12" of clear vinyl and the shaped 7" single is cut down from that. According to a past edition of the UK magazine Record Collector, there are fewer than 50 uncut versions -- with the full 12" of vinyl -- of this single in existence. The magazine values these super-rarities at more than $500 US.

Several collectors have written in to tell us about another unique feature of this single -- some copies have brown edges. As fellow collector Paul Miller explained to one person in our Collectors' FAQ, this happens when the vinyl is too hot during pressing, leaving a brown/gold tint on the edges. Both Paul and Dennis Crow, who has helped establish price estimates included in our Price Guide, say some collectors put extra value on copies with these discolored edges. (CLICK HERE to see single with browning vinyl)

There's another reason this is one of my personal favorites: In addition to the shaped single, Island also issued a matching poster featuring the same photo-filled "U2" logo on a white background. The bottom of the poster includes the cover art for all five of U2's releases to that point (Boy to Unforgettable Fire).

This poster has become harder to find in recent years, unlike a few other posters of the same era which seem to be for sale at every online collectable store.