U2 Music Library





U2 History - 1976 to 2002

The story of U2 began at Mount Temple School in north-east Dublin in the autumn of 1976. Larry Mullen advertised on the school notice board asking if anyone wanted to join a band. Those who responded, with varying degrees of enthusiasm, included Paul Hewson, Dave Evans and his brother Dick, and Adam Clayton. These five agreed to start up a band, calling themselves Feedback. Larry himself was a competent drummer and Adam had a bass guitar, but the other roles were not yet settled. The band were allowed to rehearse in a classroom at Mount Temple, although their initial efforts were fairly haphazard, and with no recognised vocalist. Paul Hewson did not see himself as a singer, but he was a natural actor and his vocals were better than his guitar playing, so he became the "front man" for the band.
 
Paul Hewson belonged to a "clan" of local teenagers who called themselves Lypton Village. They all invented nicknames for each other. Paul adopted the name Bono Vox, usually shortened to Bono. Dave Evans, although not a member of the "Village", was called The Edge, a reference to the shape of his chin and his guitar playing style. Feedback had their first public performance at a talent contest organised at Mount Temple School. Although they didn't win the contest, they were the most popular act with their school friends, and the experience gave them the confidence to continue. Shortly afterwards the band changed their name to Hype for their second gig at St Fintan's Hall. Adam Clayton had taken on the role of manager, and succeeded in arranging a number of gigs in local pubs and clubs.

Adam liked the name U2, but the rest of the band were initially doubtful. According to legend, the band played the first half of their next set as Hype, and the second half as U2, then asked the audience which name they preferred. Adam had entered the band as Hype in a major talent contest organised by the Evening Press and Harp Lager, and he lost no time in changing their name on the entry form to U2. The contest was held in Limerick in March 1978. As well as a �500 prize, the winners would get an opportunity to spend a day in a recording studio to cut a demo disc for CBS Ireland.

As with all U2 albums, Pop contains a mix of the brash and the beautiful, the loud and the lyrical. I am left with a feeling, however, that some of the brash bits don't work as well as their predecessors. But when critics complain that their music "doesn't sound like U2" the band's response is "but we are U2". The band choose to use each album to explore and extend their own musical inclinations rather than to trade on their past success. Mark Ellis (aka Flood), who had been involved in the production of several earlier albums, took the lead role on Pop.

In April 1998 U2 took yet another new direction when they appeared in the 200th episode of The Simpsons! One thing which has remained constant is the band's commitment to human rights and the environment, and their active support for organisations such as Amnesty International and Greenpeace. They have given support to the Northern Ireland peace process and have condemned violence.

In November 1998 a "Best Of U2" album was released, covering the period from 1980 to 1990. Inevitably it went straight to the top of the album chart. It was followed by a video collection from the same period. Another U2 video release resulted from a TV programme about the making of The Joshua Tree.

Throughout 1999 Bono was in the news for non-musical reasons. He has been prominent in the Jubilee 2000 campaign for the cancellation of third world debt, and in the Net Aid charity set up to help refugees and to fight poverty. In September he was part of a Jubilee 2000 delegation which met the Pope in the Vatican, in October he performed at the Net Aid concert, and in November he received a special MTV award for his work.

Bono also worked on the storyline and soundtrack of a film by Wim Wenders, called The Million Dollar Hotel. The soundtrack album, released in March 2000, includes tracks from Bono both with and without the other members of U2. The album opens with The Ground Beneath Her Feet, with lyrics taken from Salman Rushdie's book.

U2's long-awaited new album was finally released at the end of October 2000. Produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, the album is called All That You Can't Leave Behind. There is no "concept" behind the album and less technology than in the recent past, with the band relying on the individual songs and on a "stripped-down" sound. The first single taken from the album was Beautiful Day, which deservedly went straight to number one in the charts. Other strong songs include Stuck In A Moment, Walk On and Kite.

The new album led to a number of promotional appearances at the end of 2000 and plans for another major tour. In February 2001 U2 collected three more Grammies, and were honoured at the Brit Awards for their outstanding contribution to music. The Elevation tour started in Miami on March 24th, spent three months in North America, then moved to Europe in July. Meanwhile Elevation was released as a single and featured in the Tomb Raider movie.

In February 2002 U2 made further high-profile appearances at the Super Bowl and at the Grammy Awards ceremony. They added four more Grammies to their collection, and at the time of the year when awards are announced U2 never seemed to be out of the news. There have been rumours (and denials) about further tour dates in 2002, but there has not yet been an official announcement.

Album's / Band Picture
  1. Boy
    Island ILPS 9646 / 842296
    Released November 1980
  2. October
    Island ILPS 9680 / 842297
    Released October 1981
     
  3. War
    Island ILPS 9733 / 811148
    Released March 1983
     
  4. Under A Blood Red Sky
    Island IMA 3 / 818008
    Released November 1983
     
  5. The Unforgettable Fire
    Island U2 5 / 822898
    Released October 1984
     
  6. Wide Awake In America
    Island ISSP 22 / 842479
    Released May 1985
     
  7. The Joshua Tree
    Island U2 6 / 842298
    Released March 1987
     

  8. Rattle And Hum
    Island U2 7 / 842299
    Released October 1988

  9. Achtung Baby
    Island U2 8 / 510347
    Released October 1991

  10. Zooropa
    Island U2 9 / 518047
    Released July 1993

  11. Pop
    Island U2 10 / 524334
    Released March 1997

  12. The Best Of 1980-1990
    Island U2 11 / 524613
    Released November 1998

  13. All That You Can't Leave Behind
    Island U2 12 / 548095
    Released October 2000

     

 

© Steven Jovanovich