History

Formation and breakthrough (1976 – 1979)

The band was formed in Dublin on Saturday, 25 September 1976 . Larry Mullen, Jr., then fourteen, posted a notice on his secondary school bulletin board (Mount Temple Comprehensive School) seeking musicians for a new band. The response that followed that note resulted in seven boys attending the initial practice in Larry's kitchen. Known for about a day as "The Larry Mullen Band," the group featured Mullen on drums, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, Paul Hewson (Bono) on vocals, Dave Evans (The Edge) and his brother Dik Evans on guitar, as well as Mullen's friends Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin.^[4] Soon after, the group settled on the name Feedback because of the amplifier noise phenomenon they favored. Martin only came to the first practice, and McCormick was out of the core group within a few weeks.

Boy and October (1980 - 1982)

Island Records signed the band in March 1980. U2 released its first international single "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" in May 1980 and released its first album, Boy the following October. It was met with critical praise^{[8][9][10][11]} and is considered by some as one of the better debuts in rock history. Despite Bono’s unfocused, seemingly improvised lyrics, Boy had a specific theme – an examination of adolescence touching on fear over sex, identity confusion, death and uncontrollable mood swings.^{[citation needed]} The album gave the band their first hit single, "I Will Follow," which remains a fan favorite to this day. Boy's release was followed by U2's first tour beyond Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite their unpolished nature, these early live performances nevertheless helped demonstrate U2's potential, as critics noted that Bono was a very "charismatic" and "passionate" showman. One critic was even reminded of a young Rod Stewart.^[12] U2 made their first appearance on US television on the Tomorrow show, on 4 June 1981, performing "I Will Follow" and "Twilight". ^[13]

War (1983)

In 1983, U2 returned with apparently a newfound sense of direction and the release of their third album, War. The album included the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday," which dealt with the troubles in Northern Ireland, including the IRA, using religious imagery and what many considered as forceful and almost rebellious lyrics.^{[citation needed]} The ability to use a range of powerful images, taking a song initially about sectarian anger, and turn it into a call for Christians to unite and claim victory over death and evil, proved to many that the band was capable of deep and meaningful songwriting.^[15] When some Irish-Americans tried to misrepresent the song as a rallying call for the Provisional IRA Bono responded with what became one of his most recognizable phrases, notably the performance on the live EP Under a Blood Red Sky - "this song is not a rebel song. This song is Sunday Bloody Sunday."^[16] Furthermore, as captured in the concert film Rattle and Hum, during the performance of the song on 8 November 1987 in the USA, the day after the IRA bombing in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, in which 11 people were killed during a Remembrance Day service (see Remembrance Day Bombing), Bono denounced the violence in Ireland and the Irish-American expatriates who supported it. Unlike the style and emotions conveyed by other musicians in the early 1980s, many saw in Bono anger and passion that were palpable, especially as demonstrated by his blunt assertion "Fuck the 'revolution'!"^[17]

The Unforgettable Fire and Live Aid (1984-1985)

The band released their fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire, in 1984 with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois receiving producing credits. The album was named after a series of paintings made by survivors of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.^{[citation needed]} It had a significant experimental aspect with the band striving to achieve a more atmospheric sound. Critics and fans alike found Bono's lyrics to be more subtle and poetic, while the Edge's guitar became more effects-driven and his sound more symphonic, and the rhythm section demonstrated its versatility.^[18][19] Some critics, such as Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder, however, found that The Unforgettable Fire ironically lacked the "fire" of U2's previous albums^[20] Although listeners would, for the most part hear a new sound from U2, their material, although less overtly so, remained political. "Pride (In the Name of Love)", a song about civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., was the first single, cracking the UK Top 5 and the US Top 40.^{[citation needed]} Arguably the centerpiece of the album, the six-minute long "Bad" was to become a live favorite, but was never released as a single.

The Joshua Tree & Rattle and Hum (1986 – 1989)

In March 1987, U2 released The Joshua Tree. The album debuted at #1 in the UK, quickly reached #1 in the U.S., and won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, as well as a second Grammy for the "Where the Streets Have No Name" music video.^{[citation needed]} The singles "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" also quickly went to #1 in the U.S., with "Where the Streets Have No Name" being another heavily played track. U2 was the fourth rock band to be featured on the cover of Time magazine (following The Beatles, The Band, and The Who), who declared that U2 was "Rock's Hottest Ticket".^{[citation needed]} The album, partly inspired by the band's fascination with America, contains country and folk music influences, and is often cited as one of rock's great albums.^[23] The Joshua Tree Tour sold out stadiums around the world, the first time the band had consistently played venues of that size.

Achtung Baby, Zoo TV, Zooropa and "Passengers" (1990 – 1995)

The band began work on Achtung Baby in East Berlin with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois producing. The initial sessions did not go well, with conflict within the band over the direction of the album, although the writing of the song "One" was a breakthrough.^[25] In November 1991, U2 released the often experimental and distorted Achtung Baby in which the band had used influences from dance music. It was also a more inward and personal record, and as a result, darker than the band's previous work. Commercially and critically it was one of the band's most successful albums, and like The Joshua Tree, is often cited as one of rock's greatest.^[26] It played a crucial part in the band's early 1990s reinvention.

Pop and Popmart (1996 – 1999)

With the recording of their 1997 album Pop, U2 was once again experimenting, this time utilizing tape loops, programming and sampling giving much of the album a techno/disco feel. However, the diversity of material on the album is as broad as any other U2 release, with the experimental aspects alongside the more traditional anthemic and ballad. Released in March 1997, the album debuted at #1 in 28 countries, and earned U2 mainly positive reviews.^{[citation needed]} Rolling Stone even went so far as claiming U2 had "defied the odds and made some of the greatest music of their lives."^{[citation needed]} However, American audiences and fans felt that the music industry had exceeded the limits of tolerance in promoting Pop, and the album was seen as something of a disappointment by the public. The band later admitted they were hurried into completing the album before the impending tour, and say that a number of tracks on the album were not finished as well as they would have liked.^{[citation needed]} This possibly explains the re-recording and re-mixing of a number of Pop tracks for single releases and U2's second greatest hits album.

All That You Can't Leave Behind and Elevation Tour (2000 – 2002)

All That You Can't Leave Behind, was released in October 2000, and was considered by many of those not won over by the band's 1990s experimentation, as a return to grace. The album featured the band reverting to its traditional sound of the 1980s. Regarded by many, including Rolling Stone magazine, as U2's "third masterpiece" alongside The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby, it was once again produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. It debuted at #1 in 22 countries and spawned a world-wide hit single, "Beautiful Day," which also earned three of a total of six Grammy Awards associated with the album. "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" and "Elevation" were also successful singles. The album also would win the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2002 and was responsible for two Record of the Year awards in consecutive years.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Vertigo Tour (2004 – 2006)

A rough-cut of the band's follow-up album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, was stolen in Nice, France, in July 2004.^[30] In response, Bono stated that should the album appear on peer-to-peer networks, it would be released immediately via iTunes and be in stores within a month, although no such pre-release transpired.

Next album recordings (2006 – 2007)

In April 2005, reports emerged that U2 has plans for a new album.^[32] According to Bono there are 24 songs that came out of the last album sessions, of which the band took 11 for their subsequent record. In the January 2006 edition of Q magazine, Bono said that the band was in fact working on a new album for 2006.^[33] An early July email to members of U2.com's paid fan club broke the news that the band was back in the studio, although it is unknown at what point in the process the sessions are.^[34]

Other projects & influences

U2 have worked with other collaborators; the individual members have also worked in smaller groups together and with outsiders. Bono recorded the song "In a Lifetime" with the Irish band Clannad, with a video co-directed by The Edge. Together with Edge, Bono wrote the song "GoldenEye" for the James Bond movie of the same name, which was performed by Tina Turner. The pair also wrote the song "She's A Mystery To Me" for Roy Orbison, which was released on his album Mystery Girl, while Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. did a rework of the title track of the movie Mission: Impossible in 1996.

Notes