U2 HONOUR SHANE MACGOWAN WITH REIMAGINED COVER OF “YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH, YEAH” FOR TRIBUTE ALBUM “20TH CENTURY PADDY - THE SONGS OF SHANE MACGOWAN”

U2 have released their reimagined cover of Shane MacGowans' high energy track "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah". The powerful new interpretation features as a standout track on the upcoming tribute album, 20th Century  Paddy - The Songs of Shane MacGowan, set for release on November 13, 2026, via Rubyworks. 

“Shane MacGowan was full of contradictions—and that’s where the truth of him lived. He could be precise about what mattered and gloriously careless about everything else. If that sounds like a kind of performance, maybe it was. But as Oscar Wilde put it, “a mask tells us more than a face. 

The crooked grin, the wildness, the old-Ireland inflections—they weren’t disguises so much as signals. A way of placing himself in a lineage that ran from the pub storyteller to the punk stage. Somewhere between John B. Keane and The Clash, he found a voice that felt both ancient and completely of its time. 

What he did with that voice was remarkable. He pulled together threads that shouldn’t quite fit—folk tradition, political memory, gallows humour, romance—and made them sound inevitable. 

His songs sound like they have always existed. He dissolved himself into them and, in the process, created the Shane MacGowan myth. The details of his life barely surface, but you learn exactly what he cared about. And that’s the point.” - The Edge 

Originally released in 1988, "Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" captures Shane MacGowan’s signature blend of punk energy and poetic wit. In their new rendition, U2 channels that spirit while infusing the track with their signature driving basslines, textured guitar work, and unmistakable arena scale dynamic.

Listen to ‘Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah’ on all streaming platforms now