U2 Films ‘Street of Dreams’ Video in Mexico City With Larry Mullen Jr. Back in the Fold

The band performed atop a graffiti-covered school bus in Mexico City's Historic Center, with Larry Mullen Jr. appearing alongside his bandmates for the first time in years.

U2 returned to Mexico City on Tuesday, May 12, to film the music video for their new single ‘Street of Dreams,' performing atop a graffiti-decorated school bus in the city's Historic Center before more than 1,000 fans recruited as extras. The shoot marked Larry Mullen Jr.'s first appearance alongside Bono, the Edge, and Adam Clayton since the drummer stepped away from the stage to recover from neck and back surgeries.

A Street-Level Spectacle in the Historic Center

The production unfolded on the streets of República de Brasil and República de Bolivia, a commercial corridor framed by neo-colonial architecture in Mexico City's Historic Center. Fans gathered near noon at Plaza Santo Domingo before being guided to the location after signing confidentiality and image-use agreements. A DJ kept the crowd entertained during the wait, while a Mexican flag and an Irish flag hung from a nearby building.

The school bus at the center of the shoot bore graffiti by Mexican artist Chavis Mármol and displayed a sign on its front reading ‘La Calle de los Sueños,' the Spanish translation of the song's title. Four stand-ins resembling the band members took positions on the roof while the production team made technical adjustments. When U2 arrived shortly after 3:00 p.m. local time, Bono was greeted with a large ovation and led the crowd through the song's chorus: ‘La calle/ Calle de los Sueños/ Justice an obsession on the Street of Dreams.'

Rain, Resilience, and an Acoustic Bonus Set

The shoot ran into trouble after roughly 30 minutes and three takes, when a torrential downpour halted filming. Hundreds of extras waited in the rain for more than 30 minutes while the video's director worked to maintain morale. When the storm eased around 5:00 p.m., the band appeared on the balcony of a nearby building and performed a brief acoustic set for the crowd.

The impromptu balcony performance drew on the band's catalog rather than the new material.

• Desire
• Vertigo
• Angel of Harlem
• In a Little While

Mullen's Return and What the New Album Means

Mullen's presence in Mexico City carried particular weight for longtime fans. The drummer missed U2's entire 2023-2024 Las Vegas residency at Sphere, where he was temporarily replaced by Bram van den Berg. His only other major public appearance since the surgery came when U2 was honored at the Ivor Novello Awards in London last summer.

In a statement to the BBC, Mullen addressed his time away: ‘It was difficult being away because of injury. So I'm thrilled to be back in a creative environment, even if I'm not 100% there … When I was away from the band, I missed it, but I didn't realize how much I missed it.'

The band confirmed in an official statement that ‘Street of Dreams' is ‘taken from their yet-to-be announced next studio album, due for release later this year.' The record will be their first collection of all-new material since 2017's Songs of Experience. Their 2023 release, Songs of Surrender, reimagined older catalog tracks. In the interim, the band issued two surprise EPs: Days of Ash, released on Ash Wednesday in February, and Easter Lily, released on Easter in April.

The band also shared a lyric from the new song on social media: ‘Justice an obsession, love is a procession down the street of dreams.'

A Rooftop Tradition With Deep Roots

The Mexico City shoot echoes one of U2's most celebrated visual moments. In the late 1980s, the band performed on a rooftop in downtown Los Angeles for Meiert Avis' music video for ‘Where the Streets Have No Name,' a sequence that consciously nodded to the Beatles' famous ‘Get Back' rooftop session. Staging a new single atop a moving vehicle in a crowded urban street continues that tradition of using public space as a performance canvas.

U2's return to Mexico came after a nine-year absence from the country. The fan invitation process for the video shoot opened on May 6, closed two days later, and the first confirmations went out on May 10, giving selected fans and their guests just two days' notice before the Tuesday shoot.

What we know

• U2 filmed the music video for ‘Street of Dreams' on May 12 in Mexico City's Historic Center, performing atop a graffiti-covered school bus.
• The school bus was decorated with graffiti by Mexican artist Chavis Mármol.
• More than 1,000 fans participated as extras, recruited through a secret invitation on U2's official website.
• Larry Mullen Jr. appeared alongside his bandmates for the first time since recovering from neck and back surgeries.
• Mullen was replaced by Bram van den Berg during U2's 2023-2024 Las Vegas residency at Sphere.
• ‘Street of Dreams' is taken from U2's yet-to-be-announced next studio album, due for release later in 2025.
• The upcoming album will be U2's first all-new studio record since 2017's Songs of Experience.
• The band released two EPs ahead of the single: Days of Ash on Ash Wednesday and Easter Lily on Easter.

The take

U2 has always understood that a music video can be an event rather than a product, and the Mexico City shoot fits squarely in that tradition. The ‘Where the Streets Have No Name' rooftop clip from the late 1980s was as much a piece of street theater as it was a promotional tool, and staging ‘Street of Dreams' atop a bus in a crowded historic district carries the same logic: the city becomes the set, and the crowd becomes the performance. That instinct has served the band well across four decades.

The more significant story here is the album itself. Songs of Experience arrived in 2017, and while Songs of Surrender in 2023 kept the band visible, reimagined catalog records rarely satisfy fans hungry for new creative statements. The two EPs released around religious holidays this year suggested a deliberate, almost liturgical rollout strategy, and ‘Street of Dreams' with its Spanish-language chorus signals that the band is thinking globally about its audience rather than defaulting to the Anglo-rock comfort zone.

Mullen's return also matters beyond the sentimental. His absence from the Sphere residency was a genuine structural problem for a band whose rhythm section has always been foundational. Bram van den Berg performed admirably as a substitute, but U2 with all four original members is a different proposition creatively and commercially. If Mullen is healthy enough to participate in a full album cycle, the band's options for touring and promotion expand considerably.

Why it matters

For classic rock fans, a new U2 studio album is the first genuine creative statement from the band in eight years, and the Mexico City shoot signals they are approaching it with ambition rather than caution. The Spanish-language chorus and the choice to film in Latin America reflect a deliberate effort to engage a fanbase that has grown substantially in that region. Mullen's return completes the original lineup for the first time since 2022, which changes the calculus for what a potential tour could look like and how the band presents itself going forward.

What's next

U2's next studio album, from which ‘Street of Dreams' is taken, is scheduled for release later in 2025, though no title or specific date has been announced. A clip from the Mexico City music video has already been shared publicly. Fans who attended the shoot signed image-use agreements, suggesting a full video release is in preparation.

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