" Silver and Gold " was written in support of the Artists United Against Apartheid project , which protested the South African apartheid . In 1985 , Bono participated in Steven Van Zandt 's anti @-@ apartheid Sun City project and spent time with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones . When Richards and Jagger played blues , Bono was embarrassed by his lack of familiarity with the genre , as most of U2 's musical knowledge began with punk rock in their youth in the mid @-@ 1970s . Bono realised that U2 " had no tradition " , and he felt as if they " were from outer space " . This inspired him to write the blues @-@ influenced song " Silver and Gold " , which he recorded with Richards and Ronnie Wood . It was re @-@ recorded by U2 for the " Where the Streets Have No Name " single while the band returned to Dublin during in May 1987 during a break between the first and second legs of The Joshua Tree Tour . The song was described by Musician as " tough and raw , with Bono in husky and confident voice , underpinned by a sinuous bass line , and with The Edge demonstrating his newfound prowess in blues @-@ based guitar . " " Silver and Gold " was played live on The Joshua Tree Tour several times , one performance of which was featured on the band 's 1988 album and rockumentary , Rattle and Hum . Both the studio recording and the Sun City versions were later featured on the bonus disc of the 20th anniversary edition of The Joshua Tree . The studio version was also included on the limited edition B @-@ sides bonus disk of the band 's first compilation album , The Best of 1980 – 1990 .