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U2----------- my fav band
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U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group's musical pursuits, they have maintained a recognisable sound built on melodic instrumentals, highlighted by The Edge's textural guitar playing and Bono's expressive vocals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.
U2 formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy. By the mid-1980s, they became a top international act. They were more successful as live performers than they were at selling records, until their 1987 breakthrough album The Joshua Tree,[1] which, according to Rolling Stone, elevated the band's stature "from heroes to superstars".[2] Reacting to a sense of musical stagnation and a late-1980s critical backlash against their earnest image and musical direction, the group reinvented themselves with their 1991 hit album Achtung Baby and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour. U2 integrateddance, industrial, and alternative rock influences into their sound and performances, and embraced a more ironic and self-deprecating image. Similar experimentation continued for the remainder of the 1990s with reduced levels of success. U2 regained critical and commercial favour after their 2000 record All That You Can't Leave Behind. On it and the group's subsequent releases, they pursued a more conventional sound while maintaining influences from their earlier musical explorations.
U2 have released 12 studio albums and are among the best-selling groups in popular music, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band. In 2005, U2 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".[3] Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes, including Amnesty International, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, and The Edge'sMusic Rising.
Contents
[hide][edit]History
[edit]Formation and early years (1976–79)
The band formed in Dublin on 25 September 1976.[4] Larry Mullen, Jr., then a 14-year-old student at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, posted a note on the school's notice board in search of musicians for a new band—six people responded. Setting up in his kitchen, Mullen was on drums, with Paul Hewson (Bono) on lead vocals; David Evans (The Edge) and his older brother Dik Evans on guitar; Adam Clayton, a friend of the Evans brothers on bass guitar; and initially Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, two other friends of Mullen.[5] Mullen later described it as "'The Larry Mullen Band' for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge." Soon after, the group settled on the name "Feedback" because it was one of the few technical terms they knew.[6] Martin did not return after the first practice, and McCormick left the group within a few weeks. Most of the group's initial material consisted ofcover songs, which the band admitted was not their forté.[7] Some of the earliest influences on the band were emerging punk rock acts, such as The Jam, The Clash, The Buzzcocks, and The Sex Pistols. The popularity of punk rock convinced the group that musical proficiency was not a prerequisite to being successful.[8]
"We couldn't believe it. I was completely shocked. We weren't of an age to go out partying as such but I don't think anyone slept that night.... Really, it was just a great affirmation to win that competition, even though I've no idea how good we were or what the competition was really like. But to win at that point was incredibly important for morale and everyone's belief in the whole project."
In March 1977, the band changed their name to The Hype.[10] Dik Evans, who was older and by this time at college, was becoming the odd man out. The rest of the band was leaning towards the idea of a four-piece ensemble and he was "phased out" in March 1978. During a farewell concert in the Presbyterian Church Hall in Howth, which featured The Hype playing covers, Dik ceremonially walked offstage. The remaining four band members completed the concert playing original material as "U2".[11] Steve Averill, a punk rock musician and family friend of Clayton's, had suggested six potential names from which the band chose "U2" for its ambiguity and open-ended interpretations, and because it was the name that they disliked the least.[12]
On Saint Patrick's Day in 1978, U2 won a talent show in Limerick, Ireland. The prize consisted of £500 and studio time to record a demo which would be heard by CBS Ireland. This win was an important milestone and affirmation for the fledgling band.[11] U2 recorded their first demo tape at Keystone Studios in Dublin in May 1978.[13] Hot Pressmagazine was influential in shaping the band's future; in May, Paul McGuinness, who had earlier been introduced to the band by the publication's journalist Bill Graham, agreed to be U2's manager.[14]The group's first release, an Ireland-only EP entitled Three, was released in September 1979 and was their first Irish chart success.[15] In December 1979, U2 performed in London for their first shows outside Ireland, although they were unable gain much attention from audiences or critics.[16] In February 1980, their second single "Another Day" was released on the CBS label, but again only for the Irish market.[17]
[edit]Boy, October, and War (1980–83)
Island Records signed U2 in March 1980, and in May the band released "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" as their first international single.[18] The band's debut album, Boy, followed in October. Produced bySteve Lillywhite, it received generally positive reviews.[19] Although Bono's unfocused lyrics seemed improvised, they expressed a common theme: the dreams and frustrations of adolescence.[20] The album included the band's first United States hit single, "I Will Follow". Boy's release was followed by the Boy Tour, U2's first tour of continental Europe and the United States.[21] Despite being unpolished, these early live performances demonstrated U2's potential, as critics noted that Bono was a "charismatic" and "passionate" showman.[22]
The band's second album, October, was released in 1981 and contained overtly spiritual themes. During the album's recording sessions, Bono and The Edge considered quitting the band due to perceived spiritual conflicts.[23] Bono, The Edge, and Mullen had joined a Christian group in Dublin called the "Shalom Fellowship", which led them to question the relationship between the Christian faith and the rock and roll lifestyle.[24] Bono and The Edge took time off between tours and decided to leave Shalom in favour of continuing with the band. Recording was further complicated with the theft of a briefcase containing lyrics for several working songs from backstage during the band's performance at a nightclub in Portland, Oregon.[25] The album received mixed reviews and limited radio play. Low sales outside the UK put pressure on their contract with Island and focused the band on improvement.[26]
Resolving their doubts of the October period, U2 released War in 1983.[27] A record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade",[28]War's sincerity and "rugged" guitar was intentionally at odds with the "cooler" synthpop of the time.[29] The album included the politically charged "Sunday Bloody Sunday", where Bono had lyrically tried to contrast the events of Bloody Sunday with Easter Sunday.[30] Rolling Stone magazine wrote that the song showed the band was capable of deep and meaningful songwriting. War was U2's first album to feature the photography ofAnton Corbijn, who remains U2's principal photographer and has had a major influence on their vision and public image.[31] U2's first commercial success, War debuted at number one in the UK, and its first single, "New Year's Day", was the band's first hit outside Ireland or the UK.[32]
On the subsequent War Tour, the band performed sold-out concerts in mainland Europe and the US. The sight of Bono waving a white flag during performances of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" became the tour's iconic image.[33] U2 recorded the Under a Blood Red Sky live album on this tour, as well as theLive at Red Rocks concert film, both of which received extensive play on the radio and MTV, expanding the band's audience and showcasing their prowess as a live act.[34] Their record deal with Island Records was coming to an end, and in 1984 the band signed a more lucrative extension. They negotiated the return of their copyrights (so that they owned the rights to their own songs), an increase in their royalty rate, and a general improvement in terms, at the expense of a larger initial payment.[35]
[edit]The Unforgettable Fire and Live Aid (1984–85)
"We knew the world was ready to receive the heirs to The Who. All we had to do was to keep doing what we were doing and we would become the biggest band since Led Zeppelin, without a doubt. But something just didn't feel right. We felt we had more dimension than just the next big anything, we had something unique to offer."
The Unforgettable Fire was released in 1984. Ambient and abstract, it was at the time the band's most marked change in direction.[37] The band feared that following the overt rock of the War album and tour, they were in danger of becoming another "shrill", "sloganeering arena-rock band".[38] Thus, experimentation was sought,[39] as Adam Clayton recalls, "We were looking for something that was a bit more serious, more arty."[36] The Edge admired the ambient and "weird works" of Brian Eno, who, along with his engineer Daniel Lanois, eventually agreed to produce the record.[40]
The Unforgettable Fire has a rich and orchestrated sound. Under Lanois' direction, Mullen's drumming became looser, funkier, and more subtle and Clayton's bass became more subliminal; the rhythm section no longer intruded, but flowed in support of the songs.[41] Complementing the sonic atmospherics, the album's lyrics are open to many interpretations, providing what the band called a "very visual feel".[37] Due to a tight recording schedule, however, Bono felt songs like "Bad" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" were incomplete "sketches".[42] "Pride (In the Name of Love)", about Martin Luther King, Jr., was the album's first single and became the band's biggest hit to that point, including being their first to enter the US top 40.[43]
Much of The Unforgettable Fire Tour moved into indoor arenas as U2 began to win their long battle to build their audience.[45] The complex textures of the new studio-recorded tracks, such as "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Bad", were problematic to translate to live performances.[37]One solution was programmed sequencers, which the band had previously been reluctant to use, but are now used in the majority of the band's performances.[37] Songs on the album had been criticised as being "unfinished", "fuzzy", and "unfocused", but were better received by critics when played on stage.[46]
U2 participated in the Live Aid concert for Ethiopian famine relief at Wembley Stadium in July 1985.[47] U2's performance in front of 82,000 fans was a pivotal point in the band's career.[48] During a 14-minute performance of the song "Bad", Bono leapt down off the stage to embrace and dance with a fan, showing a television audience of millions the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences.[49] In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine called U2 the "Band of the '80s", saying that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters".[35]
[edit]The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum (1986–89)
"The wild beauty, cultural richness, spiritual vacancy and ferocious violence of America are explored to compelling effect in virtually every aspect of The Joshua Tree—in the title and the cover art, the blues and country borrowings evident in the music ... Indeed, Bono says that 'dismantling the mythology of America' is an important part of The Joshua Tree's artistic objective."
Realising that "U2 had no tradition" and that their knowledge of music from before their childhood was limited, the group delved into Americanand Irish roots music.[51] Friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Keith Richards motivated the band to explore blues, folk, and gospel music and focused Bono on his skills as a songwriter and lyricist.[52] For their fifth album, The Joshua Tree,[53] the band wanted to build on The Unforgettable Fire's textures, but instead of out-of-focus experimentation, they sought a harder-hitting sound that used the limitation of strict song structures.[54] U2 interrupted their 1986 album sessions to serve as a headline act on