U2
U2 is an
Irish rock band featuring
Bono (Paul David Hewson) on
vocals, rhythm
guitar and
harmonica;
The Edge (David Howell Evans) on lead guitar,
keyboards and
backing vocals;
Adam Clayton on
bass guitar; and
Larry Mullen, Jr. on
drums and occasionally backing vocals.
Formed in 1976, U2 have consistently remained among the most popular acts in the world since the mid 1980s. The band has sold approximately 50.5 million
albums in the U.S., according to the
RIAA [http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topartists.asp], and upwards of 170 million worldwide
[http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article364606.ece], have had six #1 albums in the
US and nine #1 albums in the
UK and are one of the most successful bands of the rock-era. Since the release of their album
The Joshua Tree they have been frequently referred to as the biggest rock band in the world by fans and critics alike. The band has won 22 Grammy awards
[http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=u2&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1], the most for recording artists.
The band is also politically active in
human rights causes, such as the
Make Poverty History campaign as well as
Live Aid,
Live 8, and Bono's
DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign.
Formation and breakthrough (1976 â€" 1980)
The band was formed in
Dublin on Saturday,
September 25,
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) on guitar, his brother
Dik Evans on guitar and Mullen's friends Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin
[ Chatterton, Mark. U2 The Complete Encyclopedia (2001). pg. 130. Firefly Publishing]. Soon after, the group settled on the name
Feedback. Martin only came to the first practice, and McCormick was out of the core group within a few weeks, being dismissed by Adam Clayton with the excuse that he was too young to play at the bars in which U2 would be booked.
After 18 months of rehearsals, Feedback changed their name to
The Hype. The band performed with their new name at a talent show in
Limerick, Ireland on
17 March 1978. One of the judges for the show happened to be
CBS Records'
Jackie Hayden; they won the contest, earning a £500 prize. Hayden was impressed enough with the band that he gave them studio time to record their first demo.
|
U2's first release, the Three EP |
The origin of the name
U2 is not clear. Although it is also the name of a famous 1960's
spyplane, the Dublin
punk rock guru Steve Averill (better known as Steve Rapid of
The Radiators From Space) claimed that 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 is quoted as saying "I don't actually like the name U2," and "I honestly never thought of it as 'you too'."
[http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/01/lklw.00.html] Others feel that U2 derived its name from the Irish Unemployment form (in the same way as
UB40 in the
UK).
Dik Evans announced his departure in March 1978. The Hype performed a farewell show for Dik at the Community Centre in
Howth. Dik walked offstage halfway through the set and later joined the
Virgin Prunes, a fellow Dublin band. The remaining four members finished their performance as
U2. In May,
Paul McGuinness became U2's
manager.
U2 released their first single (in Ireland only) in September of 1979, entitled
U2-3, as a 12 inch and subsequently a 7 inch. The first 1,000 12 inch copies were individually hand numbered and it went on to top the Irish charts. In December 1979, U2 performed in
London, their first shows outside
Ireland, but 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.
U2 made their first appearance on
US television on
Tomorrow hosted by
Tom Snyder. It aired on
June 4,
1981, and the band performed "
I Will Follow" and "Twilight", followed by an interview.
Boy and October (1980 - 1982)
Island Records signed the band in March of 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
[http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1072&news_type=review] [http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1073&news_type=review] [http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1074&news_type=review] [http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1075&news_type=review] 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 â€" an examination of adolescence touching on fear over sex, identity confusion, death and uncontrollable mood swings. 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 [http://www.boston.com/ae/music/packages/U2Fleetcenter/concert_review_march_1981/].
The album art seen at left is the United Kingdom album cover. American record-company executives thought the cover communicated paedophillic undertones and changed the image for the U.S. release. The boy on the cover is Peter Rowan, a brother of one of Bono's friends. Peter also appears, three years later, on the cover of
War.
The band's second album,
October, was released in 1981 . The album contained spiritual lyrics with Bono, The Edge and Larry being committed
Christians and making little effort to hide that fact. The three band members had joined a religious group in
Dublin called "
Shalom," which led all three to question the relationship between the Christian faith and the rock and roll lifestyle. While the Bible has remained a major source of inspiration for Bono's lyric writing,
October is U2's only overtly religious album and is generally held to be among their least successful work.
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 using religious imagery and what many considered as forceful and almost rebellious lyrics. 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
[http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1085&news_type=review (full Jan 31, 1983 article can be seen at http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/210489/review/6067451/war)]. 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." Furthermore, as captured in the concert film
Rattle and Hum, during the performance of the song on
November 8,
1987, the day after the IRA bombing in
Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, in which 11 people were killed during a
Remembrance Day service, Bono denounced the violence in Ireland and the Irish expatriates who supported it. Unlike the style and emotions conveyed by other musicians in the early 1980's, many saw in Bono anger and passion that were palpable, especially as demonstrated by his blunt assertion "Fuck the 'revolution'!"
The album's first single, "
New Year's Day", was U2's first international hit single, reaching the #10 position on the UK charts and nearly cracking the Top 50 on the US charts.
MTV put the "New Year's Day" video, directed by Meiert Avis, into heavy rotation, which immediately launched U2 to the mass American 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" would immediately become a familiar sight. U2 recorded the
Under a Blood Red Sky EP on this tour and a live video was also released, both of which received radio and MTV play and helped expand the band's audience.
The Unforgettable Fire and Live Aid (1984 â€" 1986)
The album
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.
The Unforgettable Fire 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
[http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1091&news_type=review] [http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1093&news_type=review]. Some critics, such as
Rolling Stone's
Kurt Loder, however, found that
The Unforgettable Fire ironically lacked the "fire" of U2's previous albums
[http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1092&news_type=review].
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. Arguably the centerpiece of the album, the six-minute long "
Bad" was to become a live favourite, but was never released as a single.
Live Aid and other activities
The associated
Unforgettable Fire Tour saw U2 playing indoor
arenas for the first time. U2 also participated in the Live Aid concert at
Wembley Stadium for
Ethiopian famine relief in July 1985, which was seen by more than a billion people worldwide. U2 were not expected to be one of the main draws for the event, but the band provided the show with one of its most memorable moments, a relentless 13-minute version of "Bad" in which Bono hurdled off the stage to dance with a fan. The other band members were upset with Bono for spending the time they had planned for playing "Pride (In the Name of Love)," and Bono was convinced he had squandered a chance for promoting the band to a greater audience. Larry Mullen Jr. admitted that the rest of the band had considered leaving the stage as he was performing. The Live Aid version of "Bad" has however become one of U2's most renowned performances, and was an indication of 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."
U2 went on to a headlining spot on 1986's
A Conspiracy of Hope Tour for
Amnesty International. This 6-show tour across the U.S. performed to sold-out arenas and stadiums, and helped Amnesty International triple its membership in the process.
In May 1986 U2 headlined
Self Aid, a benefit concert held in Dublin to highlight the chronic unemployment problem in Ireland at the time. The 14 hour concert was the largest that had ever been staged in Ireland and it was broadcast live in its entirety on Irish Television. U2's performance included spirited cover versions of 'C'mon Everybody' and 'Maggie's Farm'. Other acts who performed at the event included
Van Morrison,
The Boomtown Rats and
Christy Moore.
The Joshua Tree & Rattle and Hum (1987 â€" 1989)
"The Joshua Tree"
In March 1987, U2 released
The Joshua Tree. The album debuted at #1 in the UK, quickly reached #1 in the U.S., and would go on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and second Grammy for the video "
Where the Streets Have No Name". 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".
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.
[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/]The
Joshua Tree Tour sold out
stadiums around the world, the first time the band had consistently played venues of that size. At
Wembley Stadium in
London, in 1987, U2 performed a version of
The Beatles' "
Help!" - dedicating it to those in the audience who were dreading another five years of the recently re-elected
Prime Minister,
Margaret Thatcher.The band also covered The Beatles' "
Helter Skelter", declaring "This is a song
Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. We're stealin' it back."
"Rattle and Hum" & the Lovetown tour
The band filmed various shows from The Joshua Tree Tour for the documentary and double album
Rattle and Hum. Released in record stores and cinemas in 1988 (to video in 1989), the album and film was intended as a tribute to American music. 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 sang about blues great
Billie Holiday. Among the live recording on the album were "
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.
After an 18-month break from touring, U2 went on the
Lovetown Tour (with special guest
B.B. King), which visited
Australia,
New Zealand, and
Japan, but avoided the US and most of Europe. Perhaps feeling that U2 was somewhat stagnating, Bono announced during a
December 30, 1989 concert in Dublin that it was time "to go away and dream it all up again."
Achtung Baby, Zoo TV and Zooropa (1991 â€" 1994)
"Achtung Baby"
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. In November of
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
[http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5938174/the_rs_500_greatest_albums_of_all_time/]. It played a crucial part in the band's early 1990's reinvention.
Zoo TV
The band's
Zoo TV Tour, which spanned
1992 and
1993 was a
multimedia event, showcasing a bewildering but extravagant array hundreds of video screens, upside-down flying
Trabant cars, mock transmission towers,
satellite TV links,
subliminal text messages, and over-the-top stage characters "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 link-ups to war-torn
Sarajevo.
"Zooropa"
Following many of the themes from
Achtung Baby album and Zoo TV tour,
Zooropa was recorded during a break in the Zoo TV Tour. Initially intended as an EP,
Zooropa expanded into a full-fledged LP and was released in July of
1993. It was a further greater departure from the style of their earlier recordings, incorporating
techno style and other electronic effects. The
Zooropa album was, like
Achtung Baby before it, popular among people who had never been fans of U2, further expanding the fanbase and increasing the band's ability to remain popular into the 1990s and beyond. Most of the songs were played at least once in the 1993 leg of the tour through Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, with several songs becoming fixtures in the set.
"Passengers" and other side projects
After some time off—and a few side projects (the
Batman Forever and
Mission: Impossible soundtracks)—the band returned in
1995 with
Brian Eno under the moniker "Passengers", and released an experimental album called
Original Soundtracks No. 1. The album, including a collaboration with
Luciano Pavarotti, "
Miss Sarajevo", was largely unnoticed in the industry, and received little attention from the critics and public alike after the band lost the battle with the record company to release it with the U2 name.
Pop and Popmart (1996 â€" 1998)
The album
With the recording of
Pop, U2 were once again experimenting, this time utilizing
tape loops,
programming and
sampling giving much of the album a
techno/
disco feel. However, the diversty 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 of
1997, the album debuted at #1 in 28 countries, and earned U2 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." 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 many die-hard U2 fans.
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. 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.
The tour
With the
Popmart Tour, U2 continued the
Zoo TV theme of decadence. The tour commenced in April, 1997; the set included a 100-foot tall golden yellow arch, a large 150 foot long video screen, and a 40 foot tall mirrorball lemon. One of the stops was in
Sarajevo, where they were the first major group to perform after the war. The Popmart Tour was the second-highest grossing tour of 1997 (behind the
Rolling Stones'
Bridges to Babylon Tour) with revenues of just under $80 million. However, it cost more than $100 million to produce.
Although the extravagance of the tour was visually and technically impressive, in the early stages, Popmart was occasionally marred with less-than-par performances. The problem stemmed from the band booking their tour before the album was finished. Originally set to be released in November 1996,
Pop was not in stores until March 1997. As a result, the band had to spend time recording that had originally been allocated for tour rehearsals.
Both the Popmart Tour and the Zoo TV Tour were intended to send a sarcastic message to all those accusing U2 of commercialism. The shows were also intended to be shining a mirror back onto the world, taking all the subtle advertising and messages we are exposed to every day and blowing them up. However, many misinterpreted the band's new image and thought they had "lost it."
Post-tour
The band played a brief concert in
Belfast in May of
1998, three days before the public voted in favour of the
Northern Ireland Peace Accord. Also that year, U2 performed on an Irish TV fundraiser for victims of the
Omagh,
Northern Ireland bombing which killed 28 and injured hundreds earlier in the year. In late 1998, U2 released the single "
Sweetest Thing" (previously an outtake from "The Joshua Tree"), as well as its first compilation,
The Best of 1980-1990All That You Can't Leave Behind and Elevation Tour (2000 â€" 2001)
The album
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 1990's 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
Grammy Awards. "
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.
The tour
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 terrorist attacks of
September 11, 2001 nearly led U2 to cancel the last third of the tour but they decided to continue nonetheless; the new album's "
Walk On" and "New York" gained added resonance. The tour ended up as the top concert draw in
North America in 2001. Following such a favourably-received album, and a hugely successful tour, many fans felt that U2 had been successful in "re-applying for the job of the biggest band in the world," an application Bono had made a year earlier.
Post-tour
After the Elevation Tour ended in late 2001, the culmination of U2's popular resurrection came when the band performed a well-received three-song set in
New Orleans, Louisiana during halftime of
Super Bowl XXXVI. The highlight was a performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name" in which the names of the victims of the
September 11, 2001 attacks were projected onto a pair of backdrops, scrolling up towards the sky. At the end of the song the backdrops were released, descending to the ground in a gentle revisiting of the Twin Towers' fall. Bono then opened his jacket, which he had worn throughout the Elevation Tour, to reveal the American flag printed as the lining, an image that was widely reproduced in the media.
All That You Can't Leave Behind went on to receive four more
Grammy Awards.
Bono continued his campaigns for debt and HIV/AIDS relief throughout the summer of 2002.
In late 2002, U2 released part two of its greatest hits collection,
The Best of 1990-2000.How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Vertigo Tour (2004 â€" )
The album
A rough-cut of the band's follow-up album,
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, was stolen in
Nice,
France, in July 2004
[http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3897987.stm] 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.
The first single from the album, titled "
Vertigo", was released for airplay on
September 24,
2004. The song received extensive airplay in the first week after its release and became an international hit. The album was released on
November 22 worldwide and
November 23 in the United States. The album debuted at #1 in 32 countries, including the
United States,
Canada, the
United Kingdom, and the band's native
Ireland. It sold 840,000 units in the United States in its first week. This was a personal record for the band, nearly doubling the first-week sales of
All That You Can't Leave Behind in the US.
In Europe, the next single released from the album - "
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" - rose to #1 on the UK singles chart, marking the first time a U2 album spawned two #1 singles in the UK. The third single from the album, "
City of Blinding Lights", entered the UK singles chart at #2 on
June 12.
U2 promoted
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb heavily. They made appearances on TV shows like
CD:UK and
Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in Britain and
Saturday Night Live in America. The band also made a video for the second North American single, "
All Because Of You", while riding on a flatbed truck through the streets of Manhattan on
November 22. They then played a free concert at a park beneath the
Brooklyn Bridge, attracting an estimated 5,000 fans who had learned of the show on various U2 fan websites
[http://www.nysun.com/article/5230].
Cross-promotion with Apple Computer, Inc
In 2004, the band entered a cross-promotion campaign with
Apple Computer, allowing their single "Vertigo" to be used in a widely-aired
television commercial for the
iPod. The band reportedly did not receive any royalties for its use. A special iPod version was licensed, featuring a U2 design (with a color scheme echoing that of the new album) with the band members' signatures etched on the back plate. The partnership also spawned a digital box set of 400 songs called
The Complete U2, including every U2 album, as well as most singles and a substantial collection of rarities. The Special Edition iPod was re-released in June 2006 with minor visual changes with newly added video playback capability and a 30 GB capacity.
The tour
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 has featured a much more varied set list than any U2 tour since the 1980s, with a greater diversity of songs played each night. There have also been a number of very early U2 songs featured 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 have now been rescheduled for November and December 2006. Much like the Elevation Tour, the Vertigo Tour has also been a large commercial success.
Post-tour (2004 to present)
In April 2004,
Rolling Stone magazine placed U2 in its 50 "greatest rock & roll artists of all time". On
March 14,
2005, U2 was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. They were inducted by their good friend
Bruce Springsteen.They performed alongside
Coldplay,
Paul McCartney,
The Who and
Pink Floyd, among others, in the
Live 8 concert in London on
July 2nd, 2005.
On
December 18,
2005,
Time magazine awarded its prestigious "Person of the Year" honor to Bono as well as philanthropists
Bill and
Melinda Gates
[http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/12/18/time.poy/index.html].
That same month,
Mary J. Blige released her ninth studio album
The Breakthrough. U2 was featured on the album as part of Blige's cover version of "
One".
On
February 8,
2006, U2 won Grammy Awards in all five categories they were nominated in:
Album of the Year for
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb,
Song of the Year for "
Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own,"
Best Rock Album for
Atomic Bomb,
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Sometimes..." and
Best Rock Song for "
City of Blinding Lights". "If you think this is going to go to our head, it's too late," said Bono as he accepted the award for "Song of the Year"
[http://cbs4boston.com/grammys/local_story_040062525.html].
Coinciding with the
2006 World Cup in Germany, U2 lent their voices and their songs to ABC and ESPN for cross-promotional purposes. Bono, The Edge, and Adam Clayton can be heard in the commercial spots highlighting the games' sense of community and world unity. In a similar arrangement to the one struck with Apple Computer for the iPod advertising, no money changed hands between ABC/ESPN and U2
[http://www.atu2.com/news/tdih/search.src?Key=espn], although, some fans felt that this event marked U2 beginning to 'sell out.'
In August 2006, the band came under criticism after having decided to transfer part of its multi-million-euro business empire [
1]out of Ireland due to changes in tax laws there [
2].
Next album recordings (2006 â€" 2007)
In April 2005, reports emerged that U2 have plans for a new album
[Anti-Music]. According to Bono there are 24 songs that came out of the
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb 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 were in fact working on a new album for 2006
[http://www.atu2.com/newalbum/]. Releasing a new album so soon after one as commercially successful as
How to Dismantle... would not be without precedent for U2; in 1993, during a break in the Zoo TV Tour, U2 recorded
Zooropa. The album was released only a year and a half after
Achtung Baby.
There has been some speculation that U2 may re-record their 1997 album,
Pop for a tenth anniversary release. Comments made in mid-2005 by frontman Bono
[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/u2%20set%20to%20rerecord%20pop], indicate that this is indeed possible. Bono has stated that the biggest mistake the band has ever made was letting their manager book the Popmart tour, as it meant they had to rush to finish the
Pop album
[http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/u2%20set%20to%20rerecord%20pop].
Songs rumoured to appear on the next album are:
[http://www.atu2.com/newalbum]* "North Star" - a song from the
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb sessions that includes a guest organ appearance from
Michael W. Smith. Smith has described in an interview that it is a tribute to the late
Johnny Cash.
* "Lead Me In The Way I Should Go" - a contender for
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb first mentioned in the February 2003 issue of
Grammy Magazine.
* "You Can't Give Away Your Heart" - a contender for
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb that was first mentioned in
SPIN magazine.
* "Mercy" - one of the last songs cut from
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. It was described in
Blender magazine as "a six and a half-minute outpouring of U2 at its most uninhibitedly U2-ish." A demo version of the song from the recording sessions to
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb appeared on the Internet shortly after the album was released. Although raw and a work-in-progress, it has already won over many fans, prompting them to request its completion.
* "Love Is All We Have Left" - a song penned by Bono during his May 2006 excursion to Africa, of which he has said he "thought it was a
Frank Sinatra song".
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.
While working under the pseudonym "Passengers," U2 gave producer
Brian Eno creative control and released the album
Original Soundtracks No. 1. The work was proposed as a compilation of film music for nonexistent movies, and a bit of a step back from the usual style of the band - thus the pseudonym "Passengers". Two of the tracks, "
Miss Sarajevo" (which got world airplay after its live duet between Bono and
Pavarotti was included in the album
Pavarotti And Friends) and "
Your Blue Room" (which included a vocal track by the band's bassist,
Adam Clayton), made it to their
Best Of 1990-2000 album.
U2 also worked together with non-music artists, including the U.S. 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.
Many musicians have been influenced by the work of U2. There are several cover versions of U2 songs by bands such as
Pet Shop Boys,
Pearl Jam and
The Chimes, and musicians such as
Cassandra Wilson,
Joe Cocker and
Johnny Cash. U2 have enjoyed reciprocal influential relationships with artists including
R.E.M.,
Bruce Springsteen and
Anton Corbijn, as well as exerting influences on others.
Since 1982,
Anton Corbijn has been the principal photographer for U2, having a major and ongoing influence on their public image. Since their first encounter in February 1982 in
New Orleans, they have had a longstanding friendship, mutual inspiration, and shared interest of rock history.
On several occasions, U2 have collaborated with fellow Irish band
The Corrs, with very specific collaborations between the frontman of U2, Bono, and frontwoman of The Corrs,
Andrea Corr. The Corr's VH1 Live in Dublin album (2002) featured Bono providing lead vocals with Andrea on "When the Stars Go Blue" (a cover of a song by
Ryan Adams) and "Summer Wine", and when Bono and
Gavin Friday wrote the song "Time Enough for Tears" for the motion picture
In America, Andrea was once again brought in to provide the vocals. Their most recent collaboration was for the title song of the 2005 film
Don't Come Knocking, penned by Bono. Bono also performed with The Corrs at the 2005
Live 8 Edinburgh concert to reprise the duet "When the Stars Go Blue."
For a complete discography, see
U2 discography.
Studio Albums
| Album Cover | Date of Release!Title | | October 20, 1980 | Boy>- | | October 20, 1981 | October>- | | February 28, 1983 | War>- | | October 1, 1984 | The Unforgettable Fire>- | | March 9, 1987 | The Joshua Tree>- | | October 10, 1988 | Rattle and Hum>- | | November 19, 1991 | Achtung Baby>- | | July, 1993 | Zooropa>- | | March, 1997 | Pop>- | | October 30, 2000 | All That You Can't Leave Behind>- | | November 22, 2004 | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb>}Live albums#1983 - Under a Blood Red Sky (8 million)[http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213]#1988 - Rattle and Hum (half-live/half-studio album) (14 million)[http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213]#2000 - Hasta La Vista Baby! (Recorded live during the Popmart Tour in Mexico City. Available only to members of Propaganda Fan Club)''#2005 - U2.Communication (Recorded live during the Vertigo Tour in Chicago and Milan. Available only to U2.com subscribers)Compilation albums#1998 - The Best of 1980-1990 (16 million)[http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213]#2002 - The Best of 1990-2000 (5 million )[http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213]Other projects#1979 - Three (EP)#1985 - Wide Awake in America (EP) (2 million)[http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213]#1993 - Melon (Propaganda Fan Club release - contains remixes from Achtung Baby and Zooropa.)#1995 - Original Soundtracks No. 1 (with Brian Eno, band went under the name The Passengers).#2000 - Million Dollar Hotel Soundtrack#2002 - 7 (EP) - Released only in the U.S.#2004 - The Complete U2 (available for download from the iTunes Music Store) which includes all studio albums, singles and officially released live tracks, as well as some previously unreleased content.*Note: years reflect the year in which the Grammy Awards were handed out.#1988 – Album of the Year – The Joshua Tree#1988 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – The Joshua Tree#1989 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – "Desire"#1989 – Best Performance Music Video – "Where The Streets Have No Name" - directed by Meiert Avis.#1993 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – Achtung Baby#1994 – Best Alternative Music Album – Zooropa#1995 – Best Music Video, Long Form – Zoo TV: Live From Sydney#2001 – Record of the Year – "Beautiful Day"#2001 – Song of the Year – "Beautiful Day"#2001 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – "Beautiful Day"#2002 – Record of the Year – "Walk On"#2002 – Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of"#2002 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – "Elevation"#2002 – Best Rock Album – All That You Can't Leave Behind#2005 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – "Vertigo"#2005 – Best Short Form Music Video – "Vertigo" - directed by Alex and Martin.#2005 – Best Rock Song – "Vertigo"#2006 – Album of the Year – How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb#2006 – Song of the Year – "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"#2006 – Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal – "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"#2006 – Best Rock Song – "City of Blinding Lights"#2006 – Best Rock Album – How To Dismantle An Atomic BombU2 are almost as well known for its humanitarian work as it is for its music. Bono is perhaps the best-known advocate for finding a cure for AIDS and helping the impoverished in Africa. Some charity organisations supported by U2 include:
*Amnesty International
*Greenpeace
*African Well Fund
*Support for Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi
*DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa)
*Chernobyl Children's Project
*Jubilee Debt Campaign
*The ONE Campaign
*Live 8
*Make Poverty History
The Edge also supports Music Rising, an organisation set up to help replace musical instruments of those people affected by the New Orleans hurricane disaster.
U2, more specifically Bono, has teamed up with Yahoo! to promote One.org (ONE Campaign), which Yahoo! has helped to re-develop. In doing so, Bono has also joined in the "Ask the Planet" campaign of Yahoo! Answers, in which various celebrities and "hero users" pose pertinent questions to the world, effectively "Asking the Planet". Bono's question on how to end poverty is just one part of his global campaign to make poverty and the effects of it disappear forever.*Best selling music artists
*List of number-one hits (United States)
*List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
*List of people on stamps of Ireland
* U2.com - Official site
* @U2 - A comprehensive unofficial U2 site
* Interference.com - U2 news, articles, and home of the largest online U2 fan community
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