U2 is often cited as ‘the best band in the world’ since the release of their fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree, in 1987. Since then, they’ve injected experimentalism, strong political views, Bono’s distinct vocals, and a desire for pacifism into the heart of their music. For a band to be together for so long with an unchanged line-up and the same manager is nearly unheard of. Committed to their music and each other, they have always followed their heart with their approach to making records and playing live.
The Beginning of U2
U2 began in Dublin at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in September 1976, when 14-year-old drummer Larry Mullen Jr. posted an advertisement for musicians. Singer Paul Hewson, guitarist Dave Evans, his older brother Dik, bassist Adam Clayton, and two further friends of Mullen’s, Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, all applied. Originally called The Larry Mullen Band, their name changed to Feedback. McCormick and Martin left and the five-piece rehearsed after school, playing punk-influenced covers.
By the following year, they were known as The Hype. After Dik Evans left in early 1978, the remaining foursome selected the name ‘U2’. Around this time, too, Hewson became ‘Bono’ and Evans became ‘The Edge’. After entering a talent contest in Limerick, they won studio time to record a demo that would be heard by CBS in Ireland. The demo was passed from influential Irish magazine Hot Press to Paul McGuinness, who had worked as a film technician and was managing a band called Spud. Agreeing to look after U2, the band released their first record, an EP entitled Three, which gave them exposure in their home country.
U2’s Debut Album
U2 crossed over to London in December of 1979, playing the pubs and clubs. As unbilled support to Talking Heads at the Electric Ballroom, Camden, their blast of noise was greeted with general amusement. A second single on CBS Ireland, ‘Another Day’, in early 1980, led to them being signed by Chris Blackwell’s fabled Island Records. One of their first live reviews appeared in NME, who spotted, even at this early stage, that “U2 are sharp and subtle and cynical, slyly seductive in an uncompromising way like the Pretenders or the Au Pairs.” Their live work paid off on their debut album, Boy, released in October 1980, which was raw and exciting with intelligent lyrics. Their guitar-driven power and air of mystery seemed at once to fill the void left by Joy Division.
The Release of War
Their second album, October, from 1981, failed to maintain their initial momentum (yet still contained classics like ‘Gloria’ and ‘Fire’). However, U2’s third LP, War (1983), was a bold, bright, and heartfelt statement, full of strident anthems and unmistakably commercial singles.
And the resulting tour and televised concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado, in June 1983, propelled the band forward, making them a huge hit in America. As Rolling Stone’s Anthony DeCurtis states, when Red Rocks was shown in 1983, it “achieved what it set out to do – acquaint fans with the potent force of U2 on stage. It did prove to be a moment that changed rock and roll, and indeed, now every band follows the trail U2 blazed.” The accompanying live album of the tour, Under A Blood Sky, underlined the success they had enjoyed with War.
Live Aid
With Live Aid in July 1985, the group truly came into their own. Starting off with ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, the band commanded the stage.
Their 12-minute-plus version of The Unforgettable Fire album track, ‘Bad’, was the longest track played at Live Aid. It’s a difficult song and certainly not what would conventionally be deemed a pop classic. The intensity of a tiptoeing Bono flanked by The Edge, Clayton, and Mullen was unlike anything that had been seen before that day. And the sheer audacity of Bono to play with the format and go outside of the home and stadium audience’s comfort zone was remarkable. Bono incorporated other artists’ lyrics into ‘Bad’ (‘Satellite Of Love’, ‘Ruby Tuesday’, ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ and ‘Walk On The Wild Side’) and then left the stage altogether – without a microphone -to dance with the audience.
By destroying the fourth wall and flirting with, though amazingly, never tumbling into self-indulgence and parody, he gave people something to talk about as opposed to simply filling 20 minutes with the band’s biggest hits to that point. As Bono grabbed a towel as he left the stage, like a prize fighter, all he could do was mop his brow to recover from this unmitigated success. The partially live mini-album, Wide Awake In America, followed this triumph.
U2 Releases The Joshua Tree
With the world now fully engaged, U2 and Bono returned with an album in March 1987 that sealed their reputation. The Joshua Tree explored American mythology, mixing it with heartfelt love songs and lyrics that conflated the political and the personal. It contained two US No. 1 singles, ‘With Or Without You’ and ‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’. The album sold over 25 million copies worldwide and won the coveted Album of the Year award at the Grammys in 1988. Their embracing of America was at its most explicit on Rattle And Hum, the soundtrack to their 1988 Phil Joanou-directed documentary film. Partially recorded at Sun Studios in Memphis, commonly seen as the birthplace of rock and roll, and cut sides with venerated blues legend B.B. King, it was an enormous love letter to the country.
U2 Releases Hits Collection
For the first time in over a decade, their Pop album, released in 1997, didn’t feel that groundbreaking or revolutionary. If any other group had released an album of such super-competent, hook-rich pop, it would have been lauded. The Pop Mart tour was anything but subtle, but it demonstrated, apart from their showmanship and strong social conscience, that they still had the ability to laugh wholeheartedly at themselves. In response to huge public demand, U2 actually looked back for once with their first-ever hits collection in 1998, The Best Of 1980-1990.
They quipped that they were “re-applying for the job of the best band in the world” with the release of their 2000 album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind. The lead single, ‘Beautiful Day’ was quintessential U2. Simple and direct, all effects and conceits are kept to a minimum. It reconnected them with their audience in an instant.
After another greatest hits collection, The Best Of 1990-2000, in 2002, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, released in November 2004, continued their renaissance. ‘Vertigo’ embraced every dirty o’clock reference from The Rolling Stones to the Clash to the Hives. Snarling, exciting, and vital, it was a perfect return to form. After their enormous, worldwide Vertigo tour, they took more time to look back; their first cross-career hits collection, U2 18 Singles, was released in December 2006, and The Joshua Tree had an enormous 20th Anniversary celebration the following year. The unreleased live concert, Live From Paris recorded on July 4, 1987, was included in the box set.
U2’s Surprise Album with Danger Mouse
The epic Songs Of Innocence were released in the autumn of 2014 with Danger Mouse production and 11 newly minted classics, including “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)”, by the artist that had such a huge influence on Bono. “Every Breaking Wave” and “Song For Someone” are other highlights from a disc that topped the US Top Alternative and Top Tastemaker Charts with platinum sales across the globe.
The Innocence + Experience Tour opened in Vancouver in May 2015 before traversing North America and ending in Europe seven months later. During the run they were joined by various guests: Lady Gaga, Paul Simon, Jimmy Fallon, and Bruce Springsteen, with the close-out performance in Paris finding Eagles Of Death Metal on stage with U2, returning to the city for the first time since the Bataclan attacks of November 2015. A keepsake, Innocence + Experience: Live In Paris was released in June 2016, while different deluxe editions featuring bonus material were made available for the main album, including “Acoustic Sessions” and “The Crystal Ballroom”.
At the end of 2016, U2 announced plans for 2017, hinting that Songs Of Experience would emerge and that special concerts to celebrate the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree were possibly in the world. And great news: the game is on! Says Bono: “Recently I listened to The Joshua Tree for the first time in nearly 30 years. It’s quite an opera. A lot of emotions feel strangely current: love, loss, broken dreams, seeking oblivion, polarisation. I’ve sung some songs from these songs a lot… but never all of them. I’m up for it, if our audience is as excited as we are, it’s gonna be a great night.”
The Future of U2
U2 continues to be one of the greatest enigmas at the heart of pop-rock music. Inspiring millions with their music, showmanship, and strong social conscience, there are few bands who remain so exhilarating, vital, and relevant as U2.
In 2022, the group received Kennedy Center Honors for their contributions to the performing arts, making them only the fifth musical group to receive this honor. The band is also scheduled to be the first performers to take the stage at the MSG Sphere in September 2023.
