U2

U2

This article is about the Irish rock band. For other uses, see U2 (disambiguation).

U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. Formed in 1976, the band consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). U2 have consistently been one of the most popular acts in the world since the mid-1980s. The band has sold upwards of 175 million albums worldwide. With six #1 albums in the U.S. and nine #1 albums in the UK, U2 are one of the most successful bands of all time. They have won 22 Grammy awards, the most of any rock artist.

The band formed in 1976 as teenagers with limited musical proficiency. By the mid 1980s, however, they had released four albums and developed a devoted international following, largely from extensive touring and from forging a trademark sound based upon The Edge's echoing guitar and Bono's impassioned vocals and introspective lyrics. They reached a level of mega-stardom with their highly praised 1987 release The Joshua Tree. In the early 1990s, they replied to the dance and alternative music revolutions, criticism of their image, and their own sense of musical stagnation, with the critically-acclaimed Achtung Baby and the groundbreaking Zoo TV Tour. Although U2 had already developed a reputation for pursuing new musical paths with each new album, this time the band had ostensibly re-invented themselves; this experimentation was to continue for the rest of the 1990s.

In the early years of the 21st century, U2 have pursued a more traditional sound while maintaining influences from their previous musical explorations. They continue to enjoy the highest level of commercial and critical success. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked U2 number 22 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2005, U2 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The band is known for being politically active in human rights and social justice causes, such as Amnesty International, Make Poverty History, the ONE Campaign, Live Aid, Live 8, Bono's DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign, and The Edge's Music Rising.

History

Formation and breakthrough (1976–1979)

U2 formed in Dublin, Ireland on 25 September 1976. Larry Mullen, Jr., then fourteen, posted a notice on his secondary school notice board (Mount Temple Comprehensive School) seeking musicians for a new band. Seven teenage boys attended the initial practice in Mullen'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 lead vocals, Dave Evans (The Edge) and his brother Dick Evans on guitar, as well as Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, two other friends of Mullen. Soon after, the group settled on the name 'Feedback', because it was one of the few musical terms they knew. Martin did not return after the first practice, and McCormick left the group within a few weeks.

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.

—The Edge on winning the CBS competition

In March 1977, the band changed its name to 'The Hype'. Dick Evans, who was older and by this time at college, was becoming the odd man out as the rest of the band was leaning towards the idea of a four-piece; he was 'phased out' in March 1978. During a farewell concert in the Presbyterian Church Hall in Howth, which featured The Hype playing covers, Dick ceremoniously walked offstage. The remaining four band members completed the concert playing original material as 'U2'.

The origin of the name 'U2' is not clear. It is the name of a famous 1960s surveillance plane, the Lockheed U-2; however, the Dublin punk rock guru Steve Averill (better known as Steve Rapid of The Radiators From Space) claimed it was chosen by the band from a list of ten names created by him and Adam Clayton. In an interview with Larry King, Bono said "I don't actually like the name U2," and "I honestly never thought of it as 'you too'."

On Saint Patrick's Day in 1978, U2 won a talent show in Limerick, Ireland for which the prize was £500 and funding to record a demo; an important milestone and affirmation for the fledgling band. The band recorded their first demo tape at Keystone Studios, in Harcourt Street, Dublin, in April 1978. In May, Paul McGuinness, who had earlier been introduced to the band by Hot Press journalist Bill Graham, agreed to be U2's manager.

U2's first release, the Three EP.

U2's early sound was influenced by bands such as Television and Joy Division, and contains a sense of exhilaration that resulted from The Edge's "radiant chords" and Bono's "ardent vocals". U2's first release, an Ireland-only EP entitled Three, was released in September 1979 and soon reached the top of the Irish charts. In December 1979, U2 performed in London, their first shows outside Ireland, although they failed to get much attention from audiences or critics. In February 1980, their second single "Another Day" was released on the CBS label but again only for the Irish market.

Boy and October (1980–1982)

Island Records signed U2 in March 1980, and "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" became the band's first internationally released single that May. The band's debut album, Boy, followed that October. Boy has been praised as one of the better debuts in rock history. Despite Bono’s unfocused, seemingly improvised lyrics, the hopes and frustrations of adolescence ran through the album as a lyrical theme which touched on fear over sex, identity confusion, death and uncontrollable mood swings. The album included the band's first hit single, "I Will Follow,". 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. U2 made their first appearance on US television on The Tomorrow Show, on 4 June, 1981, performing "I Will Follow" and "Twilight".

The band's second album, October, was released in 1981. The album contained spiritual lyrics; Bono, The Edge and Larry made little effort to hide their committed Christian outlooks. The three band members had joined a religious group in Dublin called the 'Shalom Fellowship', which led them to question the relationship between the Christian faith and the rock and roll lifestyle. Although the Bible has remained a major source of inspiration for much of Bono’s lyric writing, October is U2's most overtly religious album.

In February 1982, the band first met photographer Anton Corbijn, noted for his work with Depeche Mode and Joy Division. This was to be the beginning of a long relationship; Corbijn became U2's principal photographer and has had a major influence on their vision and public image.

War and Under a Blood Red Sky (1983)

Following the doubts of the October period, 1983 saw U2 with renewed purpose and the release of their third album War. The album included the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday," which expresses the band's reaction to the troubles in Northern Ireland. Rolling Stone magazine wrote that 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, showed that the band was capable of deep and meaningful songwriting. The album's first single, "New Year's Day", was U2's first international hit, reaching #10 on the UK charts, and almost breaking the Top 50 on the US charts. MTV placed the "New Year's Day" music video, on heavy rotation. This was to be instrumental in exposing U2 to an American mass audience.

For the first time, the band began performing to sold-out concerts in mainland Europe and the U.S. on their subsequent War Tour. The image of Bono waving a white flag during performances of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" became a familiar sight. U2 recorded the Under a Blood Red Sky album on this tour and a live video was released, both of which received radio and MTV play and helped expand the band's audience. With their generally unfavourable record deal with Island Records coming to end, in 1984 U2 signed an unusually lucrative extension. Forgoing a larger initial payment, they instead negotiated the return of their copyrights such that they owned the rights to their own songs, extending their contract, increasing the royalty rate, and a general improvement in terms.

The Unforgettable Fire and Live Aid (1984–1985)

The Unforgettable Fire was the band’s fourth studio album and was released on 1 October 1984. Far more ambient and abstract than the hard-hitting War, it was at the time, the band’s most marked change in direction. The album took its name and much of its inspiration from an exhibition of paintings and drawings at The Peace Museum in Chicago by survivors of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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 innovation was what would suffer if we went down the standard rock route. We were looking for another feeling.

—Bono on The Unforgettable Fire's new direction.

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"; the success of the Under a Blood Red Sky album and video, however, had given them artistic—and for the first time—financial room to move. Thus, rather than become another formula band, experimentation was sought; as Adam Clayton recalls, "We were looking for something that was a bit more serious, more arty." The Edge admired the ambient and 'weird works' of Brian Eno, who along with his engineer Daniel Lanois eventually agreed to produce the record. Island Records boss, Chris Blackwell, initially tried to discourage them from their choice of producers, believing that just when the band were about to achieve the highest levels of success, Eno would "bury them under a layer of avant-garde nonsense".

The initial recording sessions were at Slane Castle, Dublin; held in a Gothic ballroom built specially for music, the sessions had a relaxed and experimental atmosphere. A far more atmospheric album than the previous hard-hitting War, The Unforgettable Fire has a rich and orchestrated sound and was the first U2 album with a cohesive sound. Under Lanois' direction, Larry's drumming became looser, funkier and more subtle, and Adam's bass became more subliminal, such that the rhythm section no longer intruded, but flowed in support of the songs.

The album's lyrics are open to many interpretations, which alongside its atmospheric sounds, provides what the band often called a "very visual feel". Bono had recently been immersing himself in fiction, philosophy and poetry, and came to realise that his song writing mission—which up to that point had been a reluctant one on his behalf—was a poetic one. The last two weeks of recording, however, were a panicked scramble to finish the lyrics, such that Bono felt songs like 'Bad' and 'Pride In The Name of Love' were left as incomplete "sketches". Typical of the album, "The Unforgettable Fire" track, has a rich, symphonic sound built from ambient guitar and driving rhythm; a lyrical "sketch" that is an "emotional travelogue" with a "heartfelt sense of yearning". Bono tried to describe the rush and then come down of heroin use in the song "Bad". "Pride (In the Name of Love)", the song closest to the established U2 sound at that time, is about Martin Luther King; the first single from the album, it was at that point, the band's biggest hit.

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U2's performance at Live Aid was a turning point in their career.

The Unforgettable Fire Tour saw U2 shows moving into indoor arenas in the United States, although in Europe they were not quite there yet. The tour commenced in Australia in September 1984 where translating the complex textures of the new studio-recorded tracks to live performance proved a serious challenge. One solution was programmed sequencers, which the band until then had been reluctant to use. They were used to overcome difficulties in live performance of sonically elaborate new songs such as "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Bad"; since then sequencers are now used on the majority of U2 songs in performance. Songs criticised as being 'unfinished', 'fuzzy' and 'unfocused' on the album, made more sense on stage; Rolling Stone, for example, critical of the album version of "Bad", described its live performance as a 'show stopper'.

U2 participated in the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium for Ethiopian famine relief in July 1985. U2's performance was one of the show's most memorable; during the song "Bad", Bono leapt down off the stage to embrace and dance with a fan. Initially thinking they'd "blown it", it was, in fact, a breakthrough moment for the band, showing a television audience of millions the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences. In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine called U2 the "Band of the 80's," 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."

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

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U2's The Joshua Tree

Following the Unforgettable Fire Tour, the band had been exploring American blues, country and gospel music in attempt to make up for the fact that up until that point they had 'no tradition', and that their music was from 'outer space'. Irish influences were also being explored, with the band spending time with fellow Irish bands The Waterboys and Hothouse Flowers. The band felt a sense of indigenous Irish music being blended with American folk music' Friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Keith Richards not only encouraged the band to look back into the roots of rock music, but focused Bono on his skills as a song and lyric writer. The band wanted to build on The Unforgettable Fire's atmospherics, but also work for a more hard-hitting sound within the strict discipline of conventional song structures, rather than The Unforgettable Fire’s often out-of-focus experimentation.

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, the imagery that pervades songs like "Bullet the Blue Sky," "In God's Country" and "Exit" (which drew its inspiration from The Executioner's Song, Norman Mailer's book about Gary Gilmore's murderous odyssey in the American West). Indeed, Bono says that "dismantling the mythology of America" is an important part of The Joshua Tree's artistic objective.

—Rolling Stone

Taking place in the middle of their 1986 album sessions, U2 were a headline act on Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope Tour, but rather than a distraction to their album work, their tour experiences had the effect of adding extra intensity and power to their music, focusing the band on what they really wanted to say. Bono’s 1986 travels in San Salvador and Nicaragua, for example, where he saw first hand the distress of peasants bullied in internal conflicts, were a central influence on the album most noticeably on "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "Mothers of the Disappeared". Antipathy towards America, including anger at American foreign policy in Central America, is juxtaposed against the band’s deep fascination with the country, its open spaces, freedom and what it stood for. The band aimed for music with a sense of location, or a 'cinematic' quality, with music and lyrics that drew on the imagery created by American literary writers that the band had been reading.

Named The Joshua Tree as a 'tribute' to, rather than a 'metaphor' for America, the album was released in March 1987. It debuted at #1 in the UK and quickly reached #1 in the U.S. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and a Grammy for the Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group With Vocal. The rock & roll bolero "With or Without You" and the rhythmic gospel "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" quickly went to #1 in the U.S. U2 became 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". The album brought U2 to a new level of mega-stardom and is often cited as one of rock's great albums. The Joshua Tree Tour sold out arenas and stadiums around the world, the first time the band had consistently played venues of that size.

The documentary Rattle and Hum featured footage recorded from The Joshua Tree Tour shows and the accompanying double album of the same name included nine studio tracks and six live U2 performances. A total of seventeen songs are on the album, including two non-U2 tracks. "Freedom For My People" is a live excerpt by Adam Gussow and Sterling Magee, and "The Star-Spangled Banner" features Jimi Hendrix. Released in record stores and cinemas in October 1988, the album and film were intended as a tribute to American music. The film was recorded, in part, at Sun Studios in Memphis (along with The Point Depot, Dublin, Ireland), with tracks performed with Bob Dylan and B.B. King, and a song about jazz legend Billie Holiday. Among the live recordings on the album were the Beatles' "Helter Skelter" and a cover version of Bob Dylan's famous song "All Along the Watchtower". Despite a positive reception from fans, Rattle and Hum received mixed-to-negative reviews from both film and music critics.

Achtung Baby, Zoo TV, Zooropa (1990–1993)

Buzzwords on this record were trashy, throwaway, dark, sexy, and industrial (all good) and earnest, polite, sweet, righteous, rockist and linear (all bad). It was good if a song took you on a journey or made you think your hifi was broken, bad if it reminded you of recording studios or U2...Berlin became a conceptual backdrop for the record. The Berlin of the Thirties—decadent, sexual and dark—resonating against the Berlin of the Nineties—reborn, chaotic and optimistic...

—Brian Eno on the recording of Achtung Baby

In November 1991, U2 released the often experimental and distorted Achtung Baby. Hurt by the mixed reaction to Rattle and Hum, the album was calculated change in musical and thematic direction; their most audacious shift since The Unforgettable Fire. Sonically, it incorporated both dance and industrial influences of the time; the band referred to it as the sound of "four men chopping down the Joshua Tree". Thematically, it was a more inward-looking and personal record; both darker, yet sometimes more flippant, 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. The album was a crucial part in the band's early 1990s reinvention.

The band initially worked on the Achtung Baby in East Berlin, again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois producing. In the early sessions, conflict arose within the band over the direction of the album. While Adam and Larry preferred to keep a similar sound, Bono and The Edge were inspired by alternative and European dance music and advocated a change. Weeks of slow progress, argument, and frustration ended when Edge came up with a chord progression that the band quickly worked up into the song "One". The Fly was the first single from the album, chosen because its hip-hop beats, distorted vocals and hard industrial edge sounded nothing like U2.

Template:Sample box end1992-1993's Zoo TV Tour was a multimedia event, and showcased an extravagant but intentionally bewildering array of hundreds of video screens, upside-down flying Trabant cars, mock transmission towers, satellite TV links, subliminal text messages, and over-the-top stage characters such as "The Fly", "Mirror-Ball Man" and "(Mister) MacPhisto". U2 used the show to mock the excesses of rock and roll by appearing to embrace these very excesses. Live prank phone calls to President Bush caused controversy, as did satellite uplinks to war-torn Sarajevo.

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The Zoo TV stage

Recorded in 1993 during a break in the Zoo TV tour, the Zooropa album continued many of the themes from the Achtung Baby album and Zoo TV tour. Initially intended as an EP, Zooropa expanded into a full-fledged LP, and was released in July of 1993. It was an even greater departure from the style of their earlier recordings, incorporating techno style and other electronic effects. Most of the songs were played at least once in the 1993 leg of the tour through Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, with half the album's tracks becoming fixtures in the set.

Passengers, Pop and Popmart (1995–1998)

After time off—and side projects including the Batman Forever and Mission: Impossible soundtracks, the band released an experimental album in 1995 called Original Soundtracks 1. Brian Eno, producer of three previous U2 albums, this time contributed as a full partner including writing and performing. For this reason, and due to its highly experimental nature, the band chose to release it under the moniker "Passengers" rather than "U2" to distinguish it from their conventional albums. Commercially, it was a relatively unnoticed album by U2 standards and received generally poor reviews, although the single "Miss Sarajevo" featuring Luciano Pavarotti, and which Bono cites as one his favourite U2 songs, was a hit.

It's not enough to write a great lyric; it’s not enough to have a good idea or a great hook, lots of things have to come together and then you have to have the ability to discipline and screen. We should give this album to a re-mixer, go back to what was originally intended, so that 'Mofo' is on top of the stickiest groove with a proper plastic attack, 'Do You Feel Loved' is done as a liquid base line hook that carries the intimacies whispered on top of it, 'If God Will Send His Angels' should be diamonds and pearls.

—Bono on Pop

On 1997's Pop album, U2 were once again experimenting; utilisation of tape loops, programming, rhythm sequencing and sampling, gave much of the album a techno/disco feel. The diversity of material, however, is as broad as other U2 albums, with experimental tracks balanced with more traditional anthems and ballads. Released in March, the album debuted at #1 in 35 countries, and drew mainly positive reviews. Rolling Stone even went so far as claiming U2 had "defied the odds and made some of the greatest music of their lives." Although highly regarded by some, many others, particularly American fans, felt that the album was a major disappointment and it was commercially disappointing by U2 standards. The band was hurried into completing the album in time for the impending pre-booked tour, and Bono admitted that the album "didn't communicate the way it was intended to".

The subsequent tour, Popmart, commenced in April 1997, and continued the Zoo TV theme of decadence. The set included a 100-foot tall golden yellow arch, a large 150-foot long video screen, and a 40-foot tall mirrorball lemon. Like Zoo TV, it featured advertising influences and was intended to send a sarcastic message to those accusing U2 of commercialism. U2's "big shtick" failed, however, to satisfy many seemingly confused by the band's new kitsch image and elaborate sets. The late delivery of Pop, meant that rehearsal time was severely reduced which impacted on the quality of early shows. A highlight of the tour was the concert in Sarajevo where U2 was the first major group to perform following the war. a concert which Larry Mullen described as "an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and if I had to spend 20 years in the band just to play that show, and have done that, I think it would have been worthwhile." Although the tour was the second-highest grossing of 1997, costs meant that the tour's net profits were modest.

Post tour – 1998

In May 1998 the band played a brief concert to an audience of about 2,000 in Belfast, three days before the public voted in favour of the Northern Ireland Peace Accord. Later that year, U2 performed on an Irish TV fundraiser for victims of the Omagh, Northern Ireland bombing which killed 29 and injured about 220 people earlier in the year. In late 1998, "The Sweetest Thing" previously a b-side from a The Joshua Tree single, was re-recorded and re-released as a single, and the band's first compilation record, The Best of 1980-1990.

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

All That You Can't Leave Behind is easy to relate to, full of solid songs that appeal to a wide audience with its clear notions of family, friendship, love, death, and re-birth. More Lanois than Eno on first impression, the sounds on this album come from a band that has digested the music it started to consume while making Rattle and Hum. This time they are neither imitating or paying tribute. This time it's soul music, not music about soul.

—Caroline van oosten de Boer

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 the grace of their 1980s sound. 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 smash hit single, "Beautiful Day," which earned three of a total of six Grammy Awards associated with the album. "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Elevation" and "Walk On" were other successful singles. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2002 and garnered two Record of the Year awards in consecutive years.

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U2 performs at Super Bowl XXXVI Halftime Show, 3 February 2002

The Elevation Tour saw the band performing in a scaled-down setting, returning to arenas after nearly a decade of stadium productions, with a heart-shaped stage and ramp permitting greater proximity to the audience. The September 11, 2001 attacks nearly led U2 to have to cancel the last third of the tour but the band decided to continue the tour nonetheless; and the new album's "Walk On" and "New York" gained added resonance. Just weeks after the September 11th attacks, U2 performed a series of sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City, bringing firefighters and rescue personnel on stage at the end of the show in tribute. In later interviews, Bono and the Edge, would call these New York City shows among their most memorable and emotional performances. The tour ended up as the top concert draw in North America in 2001, grossing more than $143 million in ticket sales.

Post tour – 2002

In early 2002, U2 performed during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI. "Beautiful Day", "MLK" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" were played. The same year the band released their second greatest hits compilation, The Best of 1990-2000. Four tracks were reworked in studio, most of them from Pop, which the band said had been rushed to complete because of the pre-booked Popmart Tour. Two new songs were recorded—"The Hands That Built America", which was written for the film Gangs of New York, and "Electrical Storm".

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Vertigo Tour (2003–2006)

Template:Sample box end Recording sessions for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb began late in 2003. However, in July 2004, a rough cut of the album was stolen in Nice, France. The first single from the album, "Vertigo", was released for airplay on 24 September 2004 and was an international hit. The song was featured on a widely-aired television commercial for the Apple iPod in conjunction with a the release of special edition U2 iPod and an iTunes U2 box set. The album was released on 22 November and debuted at #1 in 32 countries. First week sales in the US doubled that of the previous album and set a record for the band. Sonically, the band were looking for harder-hitting rock than the previous All That You Can't Leave Behind and thematically, Bono asserts that 'A lot of the songs are paeans to naiveté, a rejection of knowingness.' Claiming it as a contender for one of U2's three best albums, Bono said 'There are no weak songs. But as an album, the whole isn't greater than the sum of its parts, and it fucking annoys me.'

Using a similar setup and stage design as the previous tour, the band began the first leg of the Vertigo Tour in the United States in March 2005, followed by a European leg starting in June, before returning to North America between September and December. February and March 2006 saw the band play shows in Latin America. The tour featured a setlist that varied more across dates than any U2 tour since the Lovetown Tour, and a greater diversity of songs played each night including songs that had not been played since the early 1980s, including "The Electric Co." and "An Cat Dubh/Into the Heart". Sold out shows for March 2006 in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Hawaii were postponed due to a severe illness of an immediate family member of the band. The dates were rescheduled for November and December 2006. Much like the Elevation Tour, the Vertigo Tour was a large commercial success.

Post tour

In 2005, Bruce Springsteen inducted U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On 8 February 2006, U2 won Grammy Awards for each of the five categories they were nominated (see list of U2 awards). The band released an extensive autobiography on 25 September 2006 entitled U2 by U2 from interviews with contributing author/editor Neil McCormick. A compilation album U218 Singles was released on 21 November 2006, containing 16 of the band's best-known singles and two new recordings: "The Saints are Coming" with Green Day and "Window in the Skies". In October 2006 the band switched to Mercury Records after 26 years signed to Island Records, both of which are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group.

U2 are reportedly working on a new album. Producer Rick Rubin has been working with U2 on new material. and the band has been working in the Abbey Road Studios. The band have said that the new material is heading in a new direction from the last two albums.

Other projects and influences

In 1985, Bono recorded the song "In a Lifetime" with the Irish band Clannad and The Edge recorded a solo soundtrack album for the film Captive in 1986. Together with The Edge, Bono wrote the song "Goldeneye" for the James Bond movie of the same name, which was performed by Tina Turner. In 1987, the pair wrote the song "She's A Mystery To Me" for Roy Orbison, which was released on his album Mystery Girl, and Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. did a rework of the title track of the movie Mission: Impossible in 1996. Green Day and U2 have recorded a cover version of the song "The Saints Are Coming" by The Skids to benefit the Music Rising charity. Bono has loaned his voice to "Joy" on Mick Jagger's 2001 album Goddess in the Doorway.

Aside from musicians, U2 have worked together with authors, including American author William S. Burroughs, who had a guest appearance in their video of "Last Night on Earth" shortly before he died. His poem "A Thanksgiving Prayer" was used as video footage during the band's Zoo TV Tour. Other collaborators included William Gibson and Allen Ginsberg. In early 2000, with the release of the film The Million Dollar Hotel, the band recorded two songs for its soundtrack, including "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", co-written by Salman Rushdie and motivated by his book of the same name. Charles Bukowski also influenced some of Bono's songwriting, especially the lyrics for the song "Dirty Day".

The band cites The Who, The Clash, The Ramones, Joy Division/New Order and The Beatles as their major influences. Other musicians have in turn been influenced by the work of U2. Cover versions of U2 songs have been made by performers such as Mary J. Blige, Johnny Cash, The Chimes, Joe Cocker, Pearl Jam, James Blunt, Pet Shop Boys, Radiohead, Keane, The Bravery and The Smashing Pumpkins. U2 have enjoyed reciprocal influential relationships with artists including Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, R.E.M. and Anton Corbijn, as well as exerting influences on others.

U2 has covered a number of artists live including The Beatles, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, Bob Marley, Lou Reed, Elvis Presley, Curtis Mayfield, The Righteous Brothers, Eddie Cochran, Bruce Springsteen and ABBA.

Musical style and themes

Since their inception, U2 have developed and maintained a distinctly recognisable sound, with emphasis on melodic instrumentals and expressive, larger-than-life vocals, rooted in part in the early influence of record producer Steve Lillywhite at a time when the band was not known for its musical proficiency. The Edge has consistently used a rhythmic echo and a signature delay to craft his guitar work, coupled with with an Irish-influenced drone played against his syncopated melodies, that ultimately yields a well-defined ambient and atmospheric sound. Bono has nurtured his falsetto operatic voice and has exhibited a notable lyrical bent towards social, political, and personal subject matter while maintaining a grandiose scale in his songwriting.

Despite these broad consistencies, with each album U2 have introduced new elements into their musical repertoire. Beginning from their post-punk roots and minimalistic and uncomplicated instrumentals heard on Boy as well as their second album October, their sound evolved through War into one more versatile and aggressive, with aspects of rock anthem, funk, and dance rhythms. The two albums were labelled "muscular and assertive" by Rolling Stone, influenced in large part by Lillywhite's producing. The Unforgettable Fire, which began with the Edge playing more keyboards than guitars, as well as follow-up The Joshua Tree had Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois at the production helm, and with their influence, both albums achieved a "diverse texture" according to Rolling Stone. The songs from The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum placed more emphasis on Lanois-inspired rhythm as they mixed in distinct and varied styles of America-derived gospel and blues that stemmed from the band's burgeoning fascination with America's people and places. In the 1990s, U2 reinvented themselves, as they began using synthesizers, distortion, and electronic beats derived from alternative music, dance music and even hip-hop, in both Achtung Baby and Pop. The 2000s had U2 returning to more of a stripped-down sound with less use of synthesizers and effects, and a more traditional rhythm.

Social and political commentary, often embellished with religious and spiritual imagery, are a major aspect of U2's lyrical content. Songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Mothers of the Disappeared" are based on real-life events and they find their emotional impact from the compelling reality of those situations. Furthermore, Bono's personal conflicts and turmoil related to family are showcased in songs like "Mofo", "Tomorrow" and "Kite". An emotional yearning or pleading is another frequent conveyance, in tracks such as "Yahweh" and "Please". More generally, the investigation of loss and anguish coupled with hopefulness and resiliency, central in The Joshua Tree, has motivated much of U2's songwriting and music. Some of this lyrical ideation has been amplified by Bono's personal experiences during his youth in Ireland, as well as his campaigning and activism later in his life.

Described by The Edge as a fundamentally live band, U2 has also taken full advantage of tours such as the Zoo TV to caricature social concerns such as media overload.

Campaigning and activism

Bono with President Lula da Silva of Brazil

Both as a band and individually, the members of U2 have collaborated since the early 1980s with other musicians, artists, celebrities, and politicians to address issues concerning poverty, disease, and injustice.

In 1984, Bono and Adam Clayton participated in Band Aid to raise money for Ethiopian famine relief. The initiative produced the hit charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and would be the first among several collaborations between U2 and Geldof. In July 1985, U2 played Live Aid, a follow-up to Band Aid's efforts. An emerging force in rock-and-roll at the time, U2 contributed to the internationally televised event with a memorable performance of the song "Bad". Invited by World Vision, Bono and his wife Ali visited Ethiopia whereh Bono witnessed the famine first hand. Bono would later say this laid the groundwork for his Africa campaining and some of his songwriting.

In 1986 U2 participated in both the A Conspiracy of Hope Tour in support of Amnesty International, and in Self Aid for unemployment in Ireland. The same year, Bono and Ali also visited Nicaragua and El Salvador on the invitation of the Sanctuary movement and saw the effects of the El Salvador Civil War first hand. These 1986 events greatly influenced The Joshua Tree album being recorded at the time.

In 1992, the band participated in the "Stop Sellafield" concert with Greenpeace during their ZooTV tour. Events in Sarajevo during the Bosnian war inspired the song "Miss Sarajevo", which premiered at a September 1995 Pavarotti and Friends show at which Bono and the Edge performed at War Child.. A promise in 1993 saw them play Sarajevo as part of 1997's Popmart Tour. In 1998 they performed in Belfast days prior to the vote on the Good Friday Agreement, bringing Irish political leaders David Trimble and John Hume on stage to promote the agreement. Later that year, all proceeds from the release of "The Sweetest Thing" single went towards supporting the Chernobyl Children's Project.

In 2001, the band dedicated "Walk On" to Burma's pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. In late 2003, Bono and the Edge participated in the South Africa HIV/AIDS awareness 46664 series of concerts hosted by Nelson Mandela. The band played 2005's Live 8 concert in London and the band and manager Paul McGuinness were awarded Amnesty International's Ambassador of Conscience Award for their work in promoting human rights.

Since 2000, Bono has done a significant amount of solo campaigning; he was involved in the Jubilee 2000 campaign with Geldof, Muhammad Ali, and others with the aim of cancelling third world debt during the Great Jubilee. In January 2002, Bono, along with activists from Jubilee 2000 founded a multinational NGO called DATA, with the aim of improving the social, political, and financial state of Africa. He continued his campaigns for debt and HIV/AIDS relief into June 2002 by making high-profile visits to Africa. Product Red, a 2006 for-product brand seeking to raise money for the Global Fund, was also founded, in part, by Bono. The ONE Campaign, the US counterpart of Make Poverty History, has been shaped by his efforts and vision. Bono has also teamed up with Yahoo! to promote the ONE Campaign, which Yahoo! has helped to re-develop.

In late 2005 following Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, The Edge helped introduced Music Rising, an initiative to raise funds for musicians who lost their instruments in the storm-ravaged Gulf Coast.

Discography

Main article: U2 discography

Studio albums

• Boy (1980)
• October (1981)
• War (1983)
• The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
• The Joshua Tree (1987)
• Rattle and Hum (1988)
• Achtung Baby (1991)
• Zooropa (1993)
• Pop (1997)
• All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
• How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)

Awards

Main article: List of U2's Awards

References

Sources

• Chatterton, Mark (2001). U2: The Complete Encyclopedia. Firefly Publishing. ISBN 0-946719-41-1
• Flanagan, Bill (1995). U2 at the End of the World. Delacorte Press. ISBN 0-385-31154-0
• Parra, Pimm Jal de la (2003). U2 Live: A Concert Documentary. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9198-7
• McCormick, Neil (ed), (2006). U2 by U2. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-00-719668-7
• Wall, Mick, (2005). Bono. Andre Deutsch Publishers. ISBN 0233001593 (Promotional edition published by Paperview U.K is association with the Irish Independent)

External links

• U2.com Official website