Staged in support of their 1987 album The Joshua Tree, it comprised 109 shows over three legs,[1] spanning from April to December that year.

The Joshua Tree Tour and its album were a huge commercial and critical success, continuing to greatly increase U2's popularity.

Their experiences combined with the polarised reception of Rattle and Hum led them to change their musical direction and image, beginning with Achtung Baby and the Zoo TV Tour.

[4] One such issue was Arizona Governor Evan Mecham's canceling the state's observance of Martin Luther King Jr.

[2] Throughout the tour, the group continued to explore American roots music: they collaborated with Harlem's New Voices of Freedom gospel choir and visited Graceland and Sun Studio in Memphis, where they recorded new material.

The second leg in European arenas and outdoor stadiums ran from late May through to early August, starting at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome on 27 May.

The tour ended on 20 December back where it started in Tempe, Arizona, but this time at Sun Devil Stadium.

[10] The Joshua Tree elevated the group to a new level of popularity; its tour sold out arenas and stadiums around the world, the first time the band had consistently played venues of that size.

All but the last night would begin in conventional concert fashion with the rousing pair of "Where the Streets Have No Name" into "I Will Follow", but the last night in each city would begin with the house lights fully up and the band performing the early 1960s classic "Stand by Me", with guitarist the Edge singing one verse, all intended as a friendly, informal opening.

[12][13] Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. said, "We were the biggest, but we weren't the best",[12] and for Bono the tour was "one of the worst times of [their] musical life".

The band hinted that the stresses of touring led them to enjoy the "rock and roll lifestyle" they previously avoided.

Other notable covers from the tour included Eddie Cochran's "C'mon Everybody", Peggy Seeger's "The Ballad of Springhill", Neil Young's "Southern Man", the Impressions' "People Get Ready" (during which Bono would invite a fan to play guitar on the song) and numerous Bob Dylan covers including "Maggie's Farm" and "I Shall Be Released".

U2 covered Ben E. King's "Stand by Me" at their 25 September show at Philadelphia's old JFK Stadium, accompanied by a guest performance from Bruce Springsteen.

The band had recorded the track for the compilation album A Very Special Christmas months earlier on the European leg of their tour.

The band filmed and recorded various shows from the tour for the documentary and album Rattle and Hum, directed by Phil Joanou.

Also during the performance, Bono spray painted "Stop the Traffic, Rock and Roll" on the Vaillancourt Fountain in Justin Herman Plaza, which was captured in the film.

Other openers included the Pretenders, Big Audio Dynamite, UB40, Little Steven, BoDeans, Mason Ruffner, World Party, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Spear of Destiny, the Waterboys, Hurrah!, Los Lobos, Buckwheat Zydeco, the Pogues, the Alarm, the Silencers, Primus, and Lou Reed.

On 1 November in Indianapolis, U2 appeared as their own support act, disguised as "the Dalton Brothers", playing between sets by BoDeans and Los Lobos.

Playing their own country-influenced song, "Lucille", and Leon Payne's "Lost Highway", only some of the audience in the front few rows recognised them.

King was the opening act for both final shows of the tour on 19 and 20 December at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, and in Fort Worth same year.