input: In 1999, NME readers named them 'best new band' in January (this despite the fact it was now three years since they released their debut album). In May, the single "Northern Lites" was released and made No. 11 in the charts. A dense production, with steel drums clattering out a calypso rhythm whilst Rhys sang an irreverent lyric about the El Nino-Southern Oscillation weather phenomenon, it was an apt taster for the new album, Guerrilla. Recorded at the Real World Studios, the album retained SFA's pop melodies but took a less guitar-centric approach to their execution and was their most experimental work to date. Layers of samples over brass, percussion and Gruff's melodic singing produced an album which took the freewheeling approach of 1960s groups such as The Beatles, The Beach Boys and The Velvet Underground and updated it to the late 1990s. The album swung from glam and garage rock numbers ("Night Vision", "The Teacher") to novelty techno ("Wherever I Lay My Phone (That's My Home)"), ambient indietronica ("Some Things Come From Nothing") and upbeat drum and bass ("The Door To This House Remains Open"). For the cover art, Pete Fowler created the band's first three-dimensional models, rather than the paintings he had supplied for the Radiator album and singles. After playing several of the summer festivals, SFA released "Fire in My Heart", the most soulful track from Guerrilla, in August and saw it chart at No. 25. They then embarked on a US and UK tour. SFA finished their UK tour at the Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, where they showcased the first ever concert in surround sound and broadcast it on the World Wide Web. January 2000 involved a series of changes for SFA. The last single from Guerrilla, "Do or Die", was released and made No. 20. It was also the last single SFA released on Creation Records, as founder Alan McGee set off to pursue other interests. It had always been SFA's plan to release their next album on their own label, Placid Casual, as it would be a deliberate sidestep from their recent work: a largely acoustic album of Welsh language songs entitled Mwng. Meaning "mane", its lilting melodies established that SFA's songwriting did not have to fall back on head-spinning production tricks. A limited edition (of 3000) 7 inch record, "Ysbeidiau Heulog" (meaning "Sunny Intervals") preceded Mwng in May 2000. It came backed with "Charge", a hard-rock jam recorded as a Peel Session for the BBC. The album, released the same month, sold remarkably well for a non-English LP - it made No. 11 in the charts - and received a rare distinction for a pop record, being commended in Parliament for its efforts in keeping the Welsh language alive. 2000 also saw the Furries contribute two tracks, Free Now and Peter Blake 2000, for the Liverpool Sound Collage project, which was nominated for a Grammy. They undertook this remixing of unreleased Beatles recordings at the invitation of Paul McCartney, whom they had met at the NME Awards, where they had won Best Live Act.

Answer this question "What year did the band start?"
output: In 1999, NME readers named them 'best new band' in January (this despite the fact it was now three years since they released their debut album).

input: Whilst the Evans brothers were at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin in 1976, they went along to a meeting in response to an advert posted by another pupil, Larry Mullen Jr., on the school's noticeboard seeking musicians to form a new band with him. Among the several other pupils who also responded to the note were Paul Hewson and Adam Clayton. The band went through a number of reformations before becoming known as U2 in March 1978 (Richard Evans having left before this to join another band, leaving his younger brother as the lead guitarist). Early in the band's career, Evans was given the name 'The Edge' by Bono. According to fan site atU2.com, "The nickname was inspired in the beginning by the sharp features of his face, but it also applied to his sharp mind and the way he always observed things from the edge." However, the origin of the name is disputed and other theories include a description of his guitar playing and his preference for not becoming fully involved and therefore remaining on the edge of things. U2 began its public performance life in small venues in Dublin in 1977, occasionally playing at other venues elsewhere in Ireland. In December 1979 they performed their first concerts outside Ireland, in London, and in 1980 began extensive touring across the British Isles, developing a following. Their debut album Boy was released in 1980. In 1981, leading up to the October Tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay. During this period he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved. Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday".

Answer this question "Can you tell me more about their change to U2?"
output: U2 began its public performance life in small venues in Dublin in 1977,

input: Prior to the release of their debut album Tell All Your Friends, a music video for "Great Romances of the 20th Century" was released on March 4, 2002. It was directed by Christian Winters, a friend of the band. Winters made the video before the group signed with Victory, and the record company enjoyed it. The song was distributed to radio stations on March 12, and the full album was released on March 25. Around this time, Nolan (citing exhaustion from touring) left the band, and Cooper followed shortly afterwards. According to Lazzara, Nolan and Cooper were "having trouble because everything was happening so fast. Going from being home ... to being gone all the time and having your whole life consumed and almost defined by the band that you're in is a lot to handle". The band briefly considered breaking up. Nolan and Cooper formed Straylight Run with Nolan's sister, Michelle, and Breaking Pangaea drummer Will Noon. Taking Back Sunday added Fred Mascherino on guitar and vocals as well as Matt Rubano on bass. The group's second album, Where You Want To Be, was released on July 27, 2004, on Victory Records. Although sounding slightly different from Tell All Your Friends by using some different musical instruments, the new album managed to do well commercially; propelled by the single "A Decade Under the Influence", Where You Want To Be went on to debut at the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with around 220,000 copies sold. It became one of the best-selling independent rock albums within a year, selling 634,000 copies by June 2005. Rolling Stone Magazine listed Where You Want To Be as one of the top fifty records of 2004. Instead of spending marketing money towards trying to get radio play, Victory Records used the internet and fans to spread the word about the upcoming album. They targeted consumers familiar with Victory Records as well as fans of emo music. They distributed a label sampler that included songs from Where You Want To Be to get fans excited about the release. They used the Taking Back Sunday street team, consisting of about 25,000 individuals, to promote the album. In return fans could get pre-sale tickets, win shoes and other various prizes. Taking Back Sunday toured frequently for eight months in support of Where You Want to Be. The band received even more mainstream exposure by appearing on late night talk shows Jimmy Kimmel Live!; as well as contributing Where You Want to Be's second single, "This Photograph Is Proof (I Know You Know)", to the soundtrack for Spider-Man 2. They also contributed the song "Your Own Disaster" to the Elektra soundtrack.

Answer this question "How did the album sell?"
output:
to debut at the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with around 220,000 copies sold.