U2

Biography

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U2 (1976-present): a Rock band from Dublin, Ireland.

rish rock band U2 formed in Dublin in 1976. The line-up features Bono (Real Name: Paul David Hewson; lead vocals/rhythm guitar/harmonica), The Edge (Real Name: David Howell Evans; lead guitar/keyboards/backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums). When the group first formed, Ivan McCormick (guitar) and Dik Evans (guitar) were members but left in 1976 and 1978 respectively.

Initially established as post-punk, U2's style evolved throughout their career, yet maintaining an anthemic quality with effects-based guitar textures. Their lyrics, often laced with spiritual imagery, focus on personal and sociopolitical themes.

The act formed as teenagers while attending Mount Temple Comprehensive School. They must have been fast learners with respect to music, for within four years, they signed with 'Island Records' and released their debut, Boy (1980) and follow-up, October (1981). Their claim to fame occurred with their first UK number-one album, War (1983) featuring the singles Sunday Bloody Sunday and Pride (In the Name of Love). These recordings helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group.

By the mid-1980s, U2 had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. After The Unforgettable Fire (1984), the group's fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international superstars by proving to be their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US to date: With or Without You and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For.

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Facing creative stagnation and a backlash following their documentary/double album, Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 adopted a new musical direction and public image in the 1990's starting with the release of their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and their innovative multimedia-intensive follow-up tour Zoo TV Tour. Their new direction saw them integrating influences from alternative rock, electronic dance music, and industrial music into their sound, while infusing a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued through Zooropa (1993), Pop (1997), and the subsequent PopMart Tour. The new style proved successful over-all for U2 regained critical and commercial favor with All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), offering a more conventional, mainstream sound. The U2 360° Tour of 2009-2011 set records for the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history. No Line on the Horizon (2009), Songs of Innocence (2014) and Songs of Experience (2017) would follow.

U2 have proven to be one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over an estimated 170 million records worldwide, winning a collective 22 Grammy Awards (more than any other band), and in 2005, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals (most notably Bono), have campaigned for human rights and social justice causes.

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