How U2 turned a Bomb into their last classic album 20 years ago: We were very lucky

They still hadn’t found what they were looking for.So a desperate U2 made a drastic U-turn on the way to making their last classic album, 2004’s “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb,” which dropped 20 years ago on Nov.22, 2004 (Nov.

23 in the US).After months of working on the follow-up to 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” — which had re-established the iconic Irish rockers as the biggest band in the world — the project imploded when they decided to fire producer Chris Thomas.“They were feeling bad about that, because they’re such great employers that they don’t like having to let someone go,” Steve Lillywhite — who stepped in to produce “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” — told The Post.“But they felt, for the benefit of the album, that they needed someone who could maybe bring a certain energy into the studio.”And turning to Lillywhite on “Hot to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” would produce explosive results for U2: On the strength of hit singles such as “Vertigo,” “Sometimes You Can’t Make It on Your Own” and “City of Blinding Lights,” the group’s 11th studio LP would go multiplatinum and win them eight of their 22 Grammys — including a second Album of the Year prize after 1987’s seminal “The Joshua Tree.”Reinforcing their relevance as Bono’s boys gave way from alt-rock to aughts rock, it turned middle age into an “Atomic” age for U2.Boom.And who better to help U2 recapture their unforgettable fire than Lillywhite — who had produced the band’s first three albums: 1980’s “Boy,” 1981’s “October” and 1983’s “War.”“They were feeling a bit depressed,” recalled Lillywhite, 69.

“When they see me, they perk up because it reminds them of when they were young, I suppose.”Indeed, the British producer — who has also worked with everyone from the Rolling Stones to Dave Matthews Band and The Killers — has known U2 since Day One.“When I first worked with them, I was 24 a...