U2 unveil exclusive Tate Modern concert broadcast and landmark BBC Night

U2 are set to take over the BBC later this month with U2: Live on the BBC at Tate Modern, an exclusive concert recorded at the iconic London gallery on 3 November. Hosted by Radio 2’s Jo Whiley in front of an intimate crowd of art students, ballot winners, and guests including Noel Gallagher, Lily Allen, and Richard Curtis, the performance finds the 22-time Grammy winners pairing classics like "The Unforgettable Fire," "Bad," and "With Or Without You" with new songs "Can’t Stop Us Now" and "The Greatest Show On Earth" from their upcoming studio album, Carnaval De Luz.



Visually set against 77 Million Paintings by longtime producer and collaborator Brian Eno—who also joined the band onstage—the session saw Bono tell the room, "A lot of rock and roll bands went to art school… U2 didn’t go to school, we went to Brian Eno." Fans can watch "The Greatest Show On Earth" now on BBC Music’s YouTube channel before the full hour-long concert airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 28 November at 10.10pm, alongside an international YouTube simulcast. Praising the performance, Jo Whiley noted she had never heard the band in better form as they honoured Eno in such a creative way.

The Tate Modern concert anchors a dedicated U2 night on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer on 28 November. The evening begins at 8.25pm with U2 at the BBC, compiling memorable appearances from their 1981 Top of the Pops debut to their 2011 Glastonbury headline set, followed at 11.10pm by a visualised edition of U2: Tracks of My Years, and wrapping up at 11.55pm with U2 play Belfast 1981, airing a rare Queen’s University gig in full outside Northern Ireland for the first time.

Radio listeners can also tune into Tracks of My Years with Vernon Kay on BBC Radio 2 next week from 16 to 20 November—available early on BBC Sounds and iPlayer from 6am this Sunday, 15 November—before Jo Whiley broadcasts the Tate Modern concert alongside a new band interview on Monday 30 November from 7pm.