U2 Returns With ‘Street of Dreams’ Single and a Recovered Larry Mullen Jr.

The new track, produced by Jacknife Lee, previews an as-yet-untitled album and marks Mullen’s return to the spotlight after neck surgery.

U2 has released ‘Street of Dreams,’ their first new single since 2023’s non-album track ‘Atomic City,’ with a video shot atop a graffiti-covered school bus in Mexico City. The track, produced by Jacknife Lee, previews an upcoming untitled album and marks one of drummer Larry Mullen Jr.’s first major appearances since neck surgery sidelined him from the band’s 2023-2024 Las Vegas residency at Sphere.

Street of Dreams: What We Know About the New Single

‘Street of Dreams’ arrives as U2’s first proper new single in roughly two years, following ‘Atomic City’ in 2023. The band has kept active in the interim, releasing two EPs tied to religious holidays: Days of Ash on Ash Wednesday in February and Easter Lily on Easter in April. But this is the first new material pointing toward a full album, described only as as-yet-untitled.

Jacknife Lee produced the track, a collaborator with deep roots in U2’s catalog. Lee co-produced 2004’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, the 2007 Green Day collaboration ‘The Saints Are Coming,’ and 2017’s Songs of Experience. He also served as musical director on Bono’s Stories of Surrender theater tour in 2022-23, making him one of the most consistent outside voices in the band’s recent creative process.

The video was shot in Mexico City, with graffiti by Mexican artist Chavis Mármol covering the school bus that serves as the clip’s central visual. U2 had released a short preview clip from the shoot back in May, along with a sample lyric, giving fans an early look before the full video arrived.

Larry Mullen Jr.’s Return After Surgery

The video shoot represented only Mullen’s second major appearance since neck surgery forced him to sit out U2’s high-profile U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere residency in Las Vegas. During that run, he was temporarily replaced by Bram van den Berg. Mullen also appeared on stage in May 2025 when U2 was honored at the Ivor Novello Awards in London.

Mullen addressed his health situation candidly. ‘I ignored my symptoms over a few years and just pushed through,’ he told Rolling Stone. ‘Turns out, I’m not invincible and when you don’t listen to your body, the consequences are inevitable.’

His return to the visual and public side of U2’s activity will be closely watched by fans who followed the band through the Sphere residency without their founding drummer. Mullen has been a cornerstone of U2’s sound since the band formed in Dublin in the late 1970s, and his absence during one of the most technologically ambitious shows in rock history was a notable gap.

Where U2 Stands in Their Catalog Timeline

U2’s most recent album of all-new material was Songs of Experience, released in 2017. That was followed in 2023 by Songs of Surrender, a reimagining of older material rather than a collection of new songs. The two 2025 EPs and now ‘Street of Dreams’ represent the band’s first sustained push toward genuinely new music in nearly eight years.

For a band that has historically used album cycles to anchor major touring campaigns, the shape of this rollout is worth noting. The EPs, the single, and the promise of an untitled album suggest a more fragmented release strategy than the traditional LP-then-tour model U2 built their career on, though the destination appears to be a full-length record.

What we know

• ‘Street of Dreams’ is U2’s first new single since 2023’s non-album track ‘Atomic City.’
• The single was produced by Jacknife Lee, who has co-production credits on How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), ‘The Saints Are Coming’ (2007), and Songs of Experience (2017).
• The music video was shot in Mexico City atop a school bus featuring graffiti by Mexican artist Chavis Mármol.
• ‘Street of Dreams’ previews an as-yet-untitled upcoming U2 album.
• Larry Mullen Jr. missed U2’s Las Vegas Sphere residency due to neck surgery and was temporarily replaced by Bram van den Berg.
• Mullen appeared on stage in May 2025 when U2 was honored at the Ivor Novello Awards in London.
• U2 released two EPs in 2025: Days of Ash on Ash Wednesday in February and Easter Lily on Easter in April.
• U2’s most recent all-new album was Songs of Experience (2017), followed by the reimagined Songs of Surrender in 2023.

The take

U2 releasing new material in 2025 carries more weight than a routine album cycle would suggest. Songs of Experience came out in 2017, and while Songs of Surrender in 2023 kept the band’s name in circulation, it was a rearrangement project rather than a creative leap forward. Eight years is a long gap between original albums for a band that once operated on a reliable three-to-four year cycle. The fragmented rollout strategy here, two holiday EPs followed by a standalone single pointing toward an untitled LP, mirrors approaches other legacy acts have used to test audience appetite before committing to a full release. It also fits a broader industry pattern where streaming economics reward consistent output over the traditional album-as-event model. Jacknife Lee’s involvement is a reassuring signal for fans who prefer the band’s more guitar-forward work; his fingerprints are on some of U2’s most critically respected recent output. And Mullen’s visible return matters beyond symbolism. The Sphere residency was a landmark production, but it was also a version of U2 operating without one of its four founding members for the first time in their history. Getting Mullen back in front of cameras, and presumably behind a kit, restores something that no amount of technological spectacle could fully replace.

Why it matters

For U2 fans, ‘Street of Dreams’ is the clearest signal yet that the band is building toward a genuine new chapter rather than coasting on legacy. Mullen’s return addresses the most pressing question hanging over the group since the Sphere run. More broadly, a new U2 album would be a significant event in the classic rock calendar regardless of when it arrives; the band remains one of the few acts from their generation capable of commanding mainstream cultural attention with original material.

What’s next

No release date or title has been announced for the upcoming album that ‘Street of Dreams’ previews. The full video for the single is now available. U2 was honored at the Ivor Novello Awards in London in May 2025, where Mullen appeared on stage with the band.

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