"Discothèque" is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the opening track on their 1997 album, Pop, and was released as its lead single on 3 February 1997. The song exhibits influences from electronic dance music, characteristic of the band's musical direction in the 1990s. The music video, directed by Stéphane Sednaoui, was set inside of a mirrorball and featured the band members dressed as members of the disco group the Village People. "Discothèque" peaked at number one in several countries, including Finland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom, and it also reached number one on the American and Canadian dance and alternative charts. The song received mixed reviews from critics. Release history A 30-second sample of "Discothèque" was leaked to the Internet on 26 October 1996. By 27 December, the entire track had been leaked, after which U2 moved the release date forward. "Discothèque" debuted at number three on the US Modern Rock Tracks chart and reached number one the following week. It was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on 7 April 1997. The song debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 10 but dropped off the charts after only four weeks in the top 40, becoming the band's sixth and most-recent top-10 single in the US. The track debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, remaining on top for one week and spending 11 weeks in the chart. The song was remixed for U2's The Best of 1990-2000 greatest hits album, released in 2002. The new version has a longer intro and subtle use of the techno-sounding drum beat that figured prominently in the opening of the original track. The new "Discothèque" sounds similar to the way U2 performed the song during the PopMart Tour in 1997 and 1998. The version on most versions of the single was the 12-inch version, which altered the introduction's instrumentation and vocals. It was also slightly shorter than the album version. Reception U2 were criticised by some reviewers for the large number of dance music remixes used as B-sides, suggesting that it was an attempt to "jump on the dance (music) bandwagon." However, Stephen Thomas believed it to be indicative of the growing influence of remixes in music. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote, "Twenty seconds into this playfully experimental single, and you'll find it hard to remember that this