The single had been heard briefly when the band were shooting the music video at their surprise concert earlier this month (September 16th) at the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas, where up to 250 fans and extras congregated in the city’s Fremont Street for the special occasion. An apt setting for the music video to take place, as “Atomic City” is Vegas themed song, with lyrics such as “I’m free, so unexpectedly. I’m free from what’s in front of me!” and “I’ve got the key to the cages, waiting for my dice. I came here for the fight/I’m front row in Las Vegas. And there’s a big one on tonight”.

The new single was produced by Jacknife Lee and Steve Lillywhite and recorded at Sound City in LA, and as Bono told the audience at the band’s surprise Las Vegas show, “This is the world premiere of ‘Atomic City,’ a rock’n’roll 45-inch tradition of late 70s post-punk if you are interested…Blondie, The Clash.”

The song’s title is also a direct nod to the famous Nevada city, as ‘Atomic City’ was a nickname for Las Vegas in the 1950’s due to how close it was to the Nevada Test Site – dedicated to the testing of nuclear devices.

“Atomic City” was dropped on the same day (September 29th) U2 begin their very special residency at Las Vegas’ brand new MSG Sphere venue, where, throughout their run of shows, the Irish rockers will be performing their 1991 album Achtung Baby in full. U2’s residency will be the first shows played on the new Vegas stage.

In addition to U2’s residency at the MSG Sphere, the band also launched the immersive ‘Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience’ recently on September 28th. The experience is a fan portal that aims to help fans gather a deeper understanding of Achtung Baby.

It is not yet known whether “Atomic City” will feature on U2’s as of yet unannounced upcoming album, however the band’s guitarist The Edge has created excitement around their new music as he shared with Guitar Player magazine “I’ve been working a lot on new guitar music, and I’m very excited about it. It’s at that prototype stage where … who knows?. I’m finding myself for the first time in a little while getting very excited about the electric guitar again. Maybe it’s something to do with the lockdown, having the time to not do very much.”

The Irish quartet took to the stage for a surprise show in front of the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday 16th September. During the show, the band played a brand new Vegas-themed song, “Atomic City”, and filmed a music video. The band, fronted by Bono, played through the song repeatedly in a downtown area of the Nevada city.

“Atomic City,” is the song, all about #VegasVille … A first look @U2#Vegas#RJNow@reviewjournalpic.twitter.com/OVkPyHNn65

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) September 17, 2023

“Atomic City” is set to be released before U2 embark on their upcoming residency at the new MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. The band are scheduled to start their shows at the Sphere, which will be the first shows ever played at the venue, on Friday 29th September.

The upcoming shows are titled “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere”, and will see four-piece perform their 1991 album Achtung Baby in full.

Despite being present at the surprise Las Vegas show and music video recording, drummer Larry Mullen Jr is not performing with the band for the first few shows of the residency while he recovers from surgery.

In an interview with the Irish Mirror, bassist Adam Clayton said “The whole band and I’m sure the audience are going to be very sad and miss Larry. He wants to come back, he wants to be able to have a long career and continue his drumming so he’s taking care of those injuries.”

Clayton also explained that whilst the U2 drummer is recovering, Krezip drummer Bram van den Berg will be filling in throughout the first portion of the “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere” tour. A decision the band came to together after having Larry Mullen Jr’s blessing.

In addition to the Las Vegas Residency tour, U2 have announced an immersive experience for fans ahead of their upcoming shows.

‘Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience,’ the immersive fan portal, opens at The Venetian in Las Vegas on September 28.

Explore ‘Achtung Baby’ through interactive experiences – Zoo TV Cinema (curated by The Edge), the Anton Corbijn Gallery, limited-edition merchandise, VIP lounges,… pic.twitter.com/35GlOxw81n

— U2 (@U2) August 30, 2023

Opening on September 28th, “Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience” is an immersive fan portal designed to help U2 fans to gain a deeper understanding of the Irish rocker’s 7th LP, 1991 acclaimed album Achtung Baby.

The brilliant outcome of the video announcement was portrayed as a Sphere-like UFO, lingering over different cities, which proceeded to snatch random fans of the band whilst playing U2 tunes modestly. The final scene, based in the middle of the desert, appeared to be a baby within the massive screens of the Sphere saying: “There is room for everybody… Achtung”. A clear confirmation what the shows were going to be showcasing, the bands 1991 renowned album Achtung Baby.

This will be U2’s first live tour since 2019. The series is set to be spread out over a number of gigs throughout the Autumn, however, the dates are still to be announced. This is not like any other live show or tour announcement. As well as the band coming back to showcase one of their best albums of all time Achtung Baby, it is the launch of one of the biggest live music and entertainment industry shifts we may come to experience.

The so called MSG Sphere has been in construction since 2019 and, due to covid, has been delayed in its progress so is set to finish this year. It is a 1.9 billion dollar project located just off the Las Vegas strip, east of the Venetian and Palazzo. It will be such a groundbreaking point for the industry because of many factors. It is the largest spherical construction to have ever been built, containing 17,500 seats, standing room for 2,500 guests and 23 VIP suites which comes to a total of a 20,000 person capacity building.

Not only is its spherical structure and immense dimensions an extraordinary insanity, but, the interior screen is said to be larger than the area of three football pitches wrapping around the audience in a circumferential manner and, if that’s not enough to dazzle anyone from their seat, the screen has the highest resolution ever to be seen at 19.000 by 13,500 pixels. To put the latter into context, this means the screen comes in 100 times clearer than the best TV’s in the market to this day. Not to mention, for those who turned out unlucky or unsuccessful in acquiring tickets for the inside experience, the exterior part of the dome will have 60.000 square feet of programmable lighting powered by just as high definition LED lights, making the outside show experience just as spectacular.

The Irish band will be the first to host an event at the MSG Sphere, making it a historical moment for both the band and Las Vegas.