The history of U2's 'Melon' remix CD

The Melon: Remixes for Propaganda CD, released in 1995, stands as a unique artifact in U2’s discography. Rather than being a commercial release, it was an exclusive fan club giveaway for subscribers to Propaganda, U2’s official fan magazine.

This rare release captured U2’s growing interest in the emerging electronic music scene of the '90s. As alternative and electronic sounds began influencing mainstream rock, U2 embraced remix culture, experimenting with their sound in ways that were often polarizing for their rock-leaning fanbase.

The Melon album consists of remixes of songs primarily from Achtung Baby and Zooropa, albums that had already shown U2’s departure from their guitar-driven roots toward a more electronic and industrial soundscape.

U2’s collaborations with prominent remixers such as Paul Oakenfold, Steve Osborne, and David Morales on Melon signaled a growing fascination with dance and electronic music’s potential to transform rock.

This remix culture gave Melon an experimental edge, as tracks like "Lemon" and "Numb" were reimagined as dancefloor-ready anthems with pulsing beats and fragmented rhythms that deconstructed the band’s original intentions. Bono’s lyrics, often ambiguous or surreal, lent themselves to these reinterpretations, allowing for more abstract, ambient presentations that underscored the band’s sense of detachment and disorientation during the era of the Zoo TV tour and its over-the-top, media-saturated performances.

U2 used Melon to further explore and experiment with identity and image, diving deeper into themes of celebrity, consumerism, and artificiality.

In retrospect, Melon captures a transitional moment in U2's career, reflecting a willingness to push boundaries and play with genre conventions. It was a teaser of what was to come with their 1997 album Pop, which would continue the exploration of electronic and dance elements in a more polished form.

Though Melon was never intended for mass release, its limited distribution has made it a coveted collector’s item.

Here is the tracklist for U2's Melon: Remixes for Propaganda CD:

1. Lemon (Perfecto Mix) – remixed by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne
2. Salomé (Zooromancer Remix) – remixed by Justin Robertson
3. Numb (Gimme Some More Dignity Mix) – remixed by Rob "Vanilla" Rives
4. Mysterious Ways (Massive Attack Remix) – remixed by Massive Attack
5. Stay (Underdog Mix) – remixed by Underdog (a.k.a. Trevor Jackson)
6. Numb (The Soul Assassins Mix) – remixed by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill
7. Lemon (Bad Yard Club Mix) – remixed by David Morales
8. Numb (Emergency Broadcast Network Mix) – remixed by Emergency Broadcast Network
9. Mysterious Ways (The Perfecto Mix) – remixed by Paul Oakenfold and Steve Osborne

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