The music for " Where the Streets Have No Name " originated from a demo that guitarist The Edge composed the night before the group resumed The Joshua Tree sessions . In an upstairs room at Melbeach House — his newly purchased home — The Edge used a four @-@ track tape machine to record an arrangement of keyboards , bass , guitar , and a drum machine . Realising that the album sessions were approaching the end and that the band were short on exceptional live songs , The Edge wanted to " conjure up the ultimate U2 live @-@ song " , so he imagined what he would like to hear at a future U2 show if he were a fan . After finishing the rough mix , he felt he had come up with " the most amazing guitar part and song of [ his ] life " . With no one in the house to share the demo with , The Edge recalls dancing around and punching the air in celebration .