Originally posted by SJKamal:1. The band always wanted to do some Joshua Tree shows. A couple in Europe and a couple in America.
2. LiveNation nearly or probably even booked crew staff and transport etc, so they definitely needed a tour that year. SOE wasn't ready, so they told the band they would have to do the JT instead.
3. LiveNation knew that they were going to do EI after JT. They've probably even worked out the costs for EI before JT even started. They needed a money maker to help increase profits because EI was so expensive.
All my own speculation of course.