U2 - Profile and Music of the Rock Band U2 Formation of U2: U2 was officially formed in Dublin, Ireland September 25, 1976. 14-year-old Larry Mullen, Jr. advertised on his secondary school bulletin board for musicians for a new band. Those in attendance at the resulting meeting included Bono (Paul Hewson), the Edge (David Evans), Adam Clayton, the Edge's brother Dik Evans, Ivan McCormick, and Peter Martin. The group settled on the name Feedback, McCormick and Martin were out within weeks, and the 5 remaining began to play as a group. Early Success: Within 18 months Feedback became the Hype. In March, 1978, the group played a Limerick, Ireland talent show that got the attention of CBS Records and an offer to record demos. The same month Dik Evans left the band, and the group switched their name to U2. The origin of the name U2 is shrouded in various legends and stories. U2 signed a recording contract with Island in March, 1980, and their first album Boy was released in October, 1980 to strong critical acclaim.

continue reading below our video Great Singers Gone too Soon Referring to his father in interview with Rolling Stone: "By not encouraging me to be a musician, even though that's all he ever wanted to be, he's made me one. By telling me never to have big dreams or else, that to dream is to be disappointed, he made me have big dreams. By telling me that the band would only last five minutes or ten minutes -- we're still here." US Pop Success: Although U2's first three albums Boy, October, and War were critical successes and sold strongly in the UK, they did not break through to the US top 40 until "Pride (In the Name of Love)" from their 4th album, The Unforgettable Fire, released in 1984. The song was inspired by the life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In the summer of 1985 U2 gave one of the most memorable performances of the massive Live Aid concert event. The Joshua Tree: U2's next album did not appear until March, 1987. The album was instantly hailed by critics.

"With or Without You," the first single from the album hit #1 on the US pop singles chart. The album also reached #1 and eventually won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. U2 became the 4th rock band in history featured on the cover of Time magazine after the Beatles, the Band, and the Who. The band set out on tour with a reputation as one of the world's greatest rock bands. Top U2 Albums - US Sales Figures: 1987 - The Joshua Tree - 10 million copies sold 1991 - Achtung, Baby - 8 million copies sold 1988 - Rattle and Hum - 5 million copies sold 2000 - All That You Can't Leave Behind - 4 million copies sold 1983 - War - 4 million copies sold Zoo TV and Pop Experiments: After a retreat to rethink and retool, U2 returned in 1991 with the more experimental rock album Achtung, Baby. It was greeted as a classic and featured the hits "One" and "Mysterious Ways." The band embarked on the Zoo TV tour, a multimedia extravaganza.

The album Zooropa, recorded during breaks in the tour and released in 1993, experimented with electronic music. After a break the band returned with 1997's techno/disco-oriented Pop and Popmart tour exploring themes of decadence. Trivia Fact About U2: Peter Rowan, the young boy featured on the original cover of the album Boy and the cover of the album War was the brother of a friend of Bono's. Elder Statesmen of Rock: After a decade of experimentation in the 1990's, U2 released the more traditional sounding All That You Can't Leave Behind in October, 2000 to massive international acclaim. The album debuted at #1 on the charts in 22 countries and was led by the jubilant single "Beautiful Day." Ultimately, All That You Can't Leave Behind won 6 Grammy Awards. U2 were selected to perform 3 songs at halftime during the 2002 Super Bowl game. They finished with "Where the Streets Have No Name" played as the names of victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks scrolled behind them.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was released in September, 2004 and cemented the band's status as elder rock statesmen even further. In March 2005 U2 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. The band recorded a new version of "One" with Mary J. Blige to help provide relief for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In early 2006 the band took home another 5 Grammy Awards. U2 Biography: The History of U2 from @U2 by Matt McGee One of only a few bands to achieve consistent commercial and critical success across three decades, U2 has charted success on its own terms on both the artistic and business sides of the music industry. From the band's earliest days in Dublin, Ireland, to the present, U2 has broken free from the traditional limitations of what a rock band -- and rock music -- could and couldn't do. By combining an original sound with honest lyrics and a challenging social message, U2 has earned the respect of their peers and critics, and an almost fanatical following of fans around the world. This is their story.

U2 formed in Dublin in the fall of 1976 after 14-year-old Larry Mullen, Jr. posted a note on the bulletin board at his high school seeking musicians for a new band. From the group of hopefuls that showed up at Mullen's home that first day, a five-piece known originally as "Feedback" formed with Mullen (born October 31, 1961) on drums, Adam Clayton (born March 13, 1960) on bass, Paul Hewson (later nicknamed "Bono Vox" and eventually just "Bono", born May 10, 1960) on vocals, and Dave Evans (later nicknamed "The Edge", born August 8, 1961) on guitar. Dave's brother, Dick, also played guitar for a while, but left Feedback very early on to join another Dublin band, the Virgin Prunes. Feedback quickly changed their name to "The Hype," and began rehearsing on weekends and after school as often as possible, forming genuine friendships and developing an undeniable chemistry in the process.

After nearly 18 months of rehearsing, the band's big break came at a talent show in Limerick, Ireland, in March, 1978. With CBS Records' Jackie Hayden judging, U2 (they had just changed their name again) won the contest, earning a £500 prize and studio time to record their first demo. Shortly after the talent show contest, the band convinced a Dublin businessman named Paul McGuinness to manage them. Now out of school, the band played as many shows as possible in and around Dublin, trying to build up a local fan base. In September, 1979, U2 released its first single, an Irish-only release called "U2:3" which topped the national charts. In December of that year, U2 traveled to London for its first shows outside Ireland, but struggled to get attention from music fans and critics. After continuing to build a large following inside Ireland, and after the success of a second Irish-only single, Island Records signed U2 to its first international contract in March, 1980. The first album to come from that agreement was Boy, released in October of that year.

The album offered a fresh, new sound that earned rave reviews in both the Irish and UK press. Bono's lyrics tackled subjects like faith, spirituality, and death -- subjects generally avoided by even the most seasoned rock acts. U2's first tour outside the UK helped develop new fan bases in other parts of Europe and in the United States, where strong club shows helped propel Boy briefly onto the U.S. album charts. But while synthesizer acts and bubblegum pop bands dominated the early 80s, U2 went off in their own direction. Their second album, 1981's October, witnessed an open embrace of Christianity, especially in songs such as "With a Shout" and "Gloria": Oh, Lord, if I had anything Anything at all, I'd give it to you Of the four band members, only Adam Clayton wasn't an admitted Christian. Bono, The Edge, and Larry attended regular prayer group meetings and eventually joined a religious group in Dublin called Shalom. That led the trio to question the relationship between the Christian faith and the rock and roll lifestyle. Edge, in particular, wasn't sure if he wanted to be in a rock band.

Bono was ready to support his friend if he chose to quit the band. After nearly throwing in the towel on U2, they decided it was possible to continue making music without shedding their personal beliefs. U2 enjoyed its first international success with the 1983 release of War, U2's third album. An all-out attack against the keyboard- and drum machine-based songs that made up the song and album charts, War featured the band's most aggressive songwriting to date in both music and lyrics. For the first time, Bono addressed the long-standing "troubles" in Northern Ireland with the song "Sunday, Bloody Sunday." Fearful to be seen as taking one side over another, he insisted on introducing the song during concerts by saying "This is NOT a rebel song!", and wrapped himself in a white flag while he sang it, to symbolize the song's call for peace. The album's first single, "New Year's Day," was U2's first legitimate hit single, reaching the #10 spot on the UK charts and almost cracking the Top 50 in the U.S. MTV put the song's video into heavy rotation, and helped introduce U2 to a new audience of fans.

Tours that supported the War album in the U.S. and Europe included sold out shows at many stops. The band captured this era with the Under a Blood Red Sky mini-album and video, which also received heavy airplay on MTV and other TV channels in Europe, and only served to add to U2's reputation as a top-notch live act. The success of War and Under a Blood Red Sky allowed U2 to renegotiate their record deal with Island Records, and the band gained more creative control and financial rewards for the future. Just when it appeared U2 had found the formula for success, they switched gears and took off in an entirely new direction. For their fourth studio album they chose Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois to produce it, a surprising choice Bono explained by saying the band members felt their new music would be more "ambient," and needed an appropriate guiding hand in the control room. 1984's The Unforgettable Fire -- named for a series of paintings drawn by survivors of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki -- introduced the world to a new U2, a more experimental and unfocused U2.

Gone was the aggression of War, but the band's social and political messages stayed alive in songs such as "Pride (In the Name of Love)," which was written for Martin Luther King, Jr., and the mesmerizing "Bad", written in response to the struggles Bono's friends had with drugs in Dublin. While "Bad" quickly became a highlight of the band's live set, it was "Pride" that took U2 up another rung on the charts. The single cracked the UK Top 5 and the U.S. Top 50. The tour that supported The Unforgettable Fire saw U2 expanding its itinerary to more countries than ever before, and saw them playing to sold out sports arenas in the U.S. for the first time. Rolling Stone magazine named U2 its "Band of the 80s," suggesting that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 has become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters." With four years of nearly constant recording and touring behind them, and with album and single sales increasing with each release, U2 was poised for international stardom in the mid-1980s.

They earned it with a pair of charitable live shows. The Live Aid concert for Ethiopian famine relief in July, 1985, was seen by more than a billion people worldwide. Not expected to be one of the main draws, U2 stole the show with a relentless, 13-minute version of "Bad" in which Bono jumped down into the Wembley Stadium crowd to dance with a fan. That performance helped earn U2 the headlining spot on 1986's "Conspiracy of Hope" tour for Amnesty International. This six-show caravan across the U.S. played to sold out arenas and stadiums, and helped Amnesty International triple its membership in the process. It also solidified U2's spot as international stars on the verge of greatness. Greatness arrived in 1987, with the release of U2's fifth studio album, The Joshua Tree. U2 had delivered a record that caught them at their musical and lyrical peak, finally comfortable with the "rock band with a conscience" label they first encountered with the War album four years earlier. In the spiritual and moral desert that had become the U.S.

of the mid-1980s, U2 stood out by bringing meaning and passion to its music. Bono tackled his contradictory feelings about America in "Bullet the Blue Sky" and "In God's Country." Biblical images showed up throughout the record as Bono questioned faith, social injustices, governmental oppression, terrorism, and drug addiction. The album debuted at #1 in the U.K., and quickly reached #1 in the U.S. The songs "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" gave U2 its first #1 singles in the U.S. Even TIME magazine put U2 on its cover, declaring the band "Rock's Hottest Ticket." The Joshua Tree tour sold out stadiums around the world. U2 had become the biggest band in the world. Just as U2 chronicled their first taste of international success some five years earlier with Under a Blood Red Sky, the band set out to document their latest run at stardom with Rattle and Hum. The project -- a combination big-screen rockumentary and double album -- paid tribute in words, music, and pictures to some of the American music pioneers that had influenced U2 in its rise to the top.

On Rattle and Hum, U2 played with B.B. King and at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, where Elvis Presley first found his feet as a rock and roll star. They wrote with Bob Dylan, sang about blues great Billie Holiday, and covered The Beatles. And for many critics, U2 had gone too far. Rattle and Hum was widely praised as a rock movie, but the project as a whole was roundly discarded by critics for being pretentious and excessive. It was seen by many as an overblown homage to U2's self-importance. The U2 backlash had begun, and U2 decided to stay away from the public eye for a while. The brief "Lovetown" tour of late 1989 and early 1990 lasted less than four months, and steered clear of North America. After taking time off from the band and each other, U2 joined forces again in Berlin in late 1990 to begin work on their next studio album. They were working again with the familiar duo of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, but these recording sessions were anything but comfortable.

Recognizing they had to "go away and dream it all up again," -- as Bono promised during a Dublin concert before the turn of the decade in late 1989 -- U2 struggled to forge a new sound and a new identity together. But in November, 1991, the new U2 delivered Achtung Baby, an album that Bono would describe as "the sound of four men chopping down The Joshua Tree." Achtung Baby was U2 at its most adventurous, bringing industrial guitars, feedback, altered vocals, and electronic dance beats into the mix. This was U2's most eclectic record to date, yet fans and critics welcomed it with almost universal praise. Rather than paying homage to the past, U2 were experimenting again -- introducing new sounds and textures, pushing new limits and moving ahead on their own terms. Instead of addressing the world's problems, Bono's lyrics were as introspective and intimate as he'd ever written before.

On "Acrobat," Bono dismantled his holier-than-thou image of the 1980s: And I must be an acrobat To talk like this and act like that And you can dream, so dream out loud And don't let the bastards grind you down U2 hit the road in early 1992 for its first American concerts in more than four years. The "Zoo TV" tour was a mind-boggling exercise in sensory overload, complete with dozens of on-stage TV monitors spitting out images from stage cameras, a hand-held Bono-cam, and even direct from satellite TV. U2 ditched the "poor-men-in-the-desert" look in favor of a fun, loose, and raunchy run at glam-rock. Bono dressed in head-to-toe leather for "The Fly" and in a metallic, silver suit for "Mirrorball Man," two characters he adopted on-stage. Zoo TV was U2's attempt at mocking the excesses of rock and roll, and they succeeded so convincingly that some fans missed the point entirely.

While U2 pretended to embrace trash and decadence, they still made a point to join a Greenpeace demonstration protesting the Sellafield nuclear power plant in England. During a break in the nearly two-year Zoo TV tour, U2 went back into the studio to work on song ideas they first developed during the tour. These sessions resulted in Zooropa, the band's seventh studio album, released in July, 1993. Zooropa took the experimentalism of Achtung Baby and multiplied it exponentially. "Numb," the album's first single, featured Edge on lead vocals reciting a monotone list of admonitions over a repetitive guitar riff. But like its predecessor, the album still managed to dominate the charts (admittedly for a shorter time than Achtung Baby did) and provided even more material for the remainder of their world tour. U2 took an extended break after the Zoo TV tour, working relatively quietly on projects for the Batman Forever and Mission: Impossible soundtracks. In 1995, the band re-emerged with Brian Eno as a collective called "Passengers," and released an experimental album called Original Soundtracks 1.

The album produced a memorable collaboration with Luciano Pavarotti, "Miss Sarajevo," but was largely ignored both critically and commercially. U2 began work on its next studio album in early 1996, with an eye toward releasing the record later that year. The band admitted its desire to incorporate the electronic sounds of bands such as Prodigy and The Chemical Brothers into U2's vision of late '90s rock and roll. Even though the album was pushed back to early 1997, pieces of a couple tracks were leaked and distributed by fans around the globe via the Internet. The brief sample that circulated of "Discotheque", which was already known to be the first single, only reinforced the rumor that U2 were trying to make a dance record. But when the Pop album finally hit stores in March, 1997, the electronic and dance influences weren't as pervasive as previous rumors suggested. Instead, tracks such as "Staring At the Sun," "Do You Feel Loved", and "Gone" represented some of U2's strongest and straightest songwriting yet.

The lyrics seemed to expand at times on ideas first brought up on previous records: "Please" was a modern update of "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" and an even stronger plea for peace in Ireland; "MOFO" found Bono talking to his departed mother, just as he did on Boy's "I Will Follow." The album debuted at number one in 28 countries, and earned U2 some of the highest critical praise of the band's career. But Pop didn't have the long term staying power that previous U2 albums had, and it was soon surpassed on the charts by the record industry's newest flavors-of-the-month. Meanwhile, U2 hit the road in April, 1997, with its PopMart Tour, which attempted to outdo the sheer size of Zoo TV five years earlier, but with a different goal: "I want this tour to be not quite so smart-arse as Zoo TV," Bono told Propaganda, the band's official fan club.

The PopMart props included a 100-foot tall, bright yellow arch; the world's largest video screen at 150 feet x 50 feet; a 12-foot-wide illuminated olive which was stuck on top of a 100-foot tall toothpick; and a motorized, 35-foot tall mirrorball lemon. While some critics were quick to mention that PopMart didn't sellout every stop, U2 fans still ate it up. PopMart was the second-highest grossing tour of 1997, with revenues of just under $80 million (US). By the time the tour ended in March, 1998, U2 had taken its act to every inhabited continent on the planet and played to well over two million people. After PopMart, U2 remained in the public eye by throwing the band's weight behind the Northern Ireland Peace Accord. They played a brief concert in Belfast in May, 1998, three days before the public voted in favor of the agreement.

Later that year, U2 would perform on Irish TV during a tribute show and fundraiser for victims of the Omagh, Northern Ireland, bombing which killed 28 and injured hundreds more earlier in the year. In late 1998, U2 issued its first compilation, The Best of 1980-1990, which included an updated version of "Sweetest Thing", an old b-side from The Joshua Tree sessions. U2 returned to the studio in early 1999 to work on its next studio album, reuniting with both Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois for the first time since 1991's Achtung Baby. The band also collaborated with author Salman Rushdie, who penned the lyrics to a song called "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," based on his book of the same name. That song, and others, eventually appeared on the soundtrack to The Million Dollar Hotel, a movie based on a story written by Bono. In between studio sessions, Bono seemed to devote every free moment he had to causes including debt cancellation in Third World nations and HIV/AIDS relief for Africa.

In 1999 alone, Bono made appearances at the G8 Summit in Germany, at the home of Pope John Paul II, at the NetAid concert, at America's Millennium Gala, and at various other functions on behalf of the Jubilee 2000/Drop the Debt campaign. While his social crusading slowed down the band's efforts in the studio, Bono dropped hints that the next record would be a more "classic"-sounding U2 album. That album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, was exactly that. After spending the better part of the 1990s trying not to sound like U2, the band decided it was finally okay to stop avoiding the U2 sound. The album, released in late October, 2000, debuted at No. 1 in 22 countries and spawned a worldwide hit single, "Beautiful Day", which earned three Grammy Awards. U2 made more than a dozen promotional appearances, including many live performances, in an effort to promote the album and win back mainstream fans that had deserted the band in recent years.

U2 set out on a full-blown world tour in the spring of 2001 to promote All That You Can't Leave Behind. The Elevation Tour saw the band return to arenas for the first time since Zoo TV in 1992. After the extravaganzas of that tour and PopMart in 1997, the relatively stripped-down Elevation Tour saw U2 perform on a heart-shaped stage which brought the fans closer to the band than ever. The highlight of the tour was an unprecedented two concerts at Slane Castle outside Dublin, the first of which took place just days after the death of Bono's father. The terrorist attacks of September 11th led U2 to rethink continuing the tour, but they chose to tour throughout October and November with a setlist that had changed to reflect the times. The Elevation tour was nearly a complete sellout, and U2 was the top concert draw in North America. The band's 80 shows (of 113 total) in North America grossed $110 million, the second-highest total behind The Rolling Stones' Voodoo Lounge Tour in 1994.

After wrapping up the tour in late 2001, U2 returned to the stage in front of a worldwide audience in early 2002 when they performed three songs in New Orleans at halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI, the NFL's annual championship football game. The band returned to the States just weeks later for the Grammy Awards, where All That You Can't Leave Behind picked up four more awards. When plans for a European tour in the summer of 2002 fell through, Bono continued his campaigns for debt and HIV/AIDS relief, which included a meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush and an 11-day tour of Africa with U.S. Treasure Secretary Paul O'Neill. He made his case for African relief on the Oprah Winfrey and Larry King TV shows. His clout, both musically and politically, earned Bono the title "Most Powerful Man in Music" according to Q magazine in October, 2002. A month later, U2 issued its second compilation, The Best of 1990-2000.

The set included tracks from Achtung Baby through All That You Can't Leave Behind, plus two new songs: "Electrical Storm" and "The Hands That Built America". The latter, also featured as the theme to Martin Scorsese's film Gangs of New York, won a Golden Globe Award in January, 2003 for Best Original Song. U2 spent much of 2003 in the studio, working on new album with a new producer: Chris Thomas, who had previously worked with Roxy Music and The Sex Pistols. But after eight months together, the two sides went their separate ways and U2's new album was delayed well into 2004. Old friend Steve Lillywhite came on board in early 2004, and six months later U2 had a new album: How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb was released in October, 2004. Though the title sounds political, Bono admitted it was a reference to his father and the impact his father's death had on Bono. U2 supported the album with more aggressive marketing, including an unprecedent relationship with Apple, which created a U2-branded iPod.

Bono also kept up his fight against AIDS and poverty in Africa with the launch of The ONE Campaign in May, 2004. In December, 2004, Edge learned that his daughter, Sian, had a serious illness. Though Edge and the band tried to keep the story quiet, it forced a delay in the annoucement of their Vertigo World Tour, and news of the family illness spread rapidly around the world. After working out a new tour schedule that allowed Edge to spend more time with his family, the Vertigo Tour began in San Diego in March, 2005. It was a smashing success, playing to sold out crowds around the world. 2005 also saw U2 get inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and collect three more Grammy Awards. Late in the year, TIME magazine named Bono and Bill & Melinda Gates its Persons of the Year for their humanitarian work.

But in early 2006, the fourth leg of the tour was postponed due to a "family illness." The band never spoke publicly about what was going on until the release of their official biography, U2 by U2, in September, 2006, when Edge confirmed that Sian was ill, but didn't say what the illness was. The tour resumed late in 2006 with shows in New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Hawaii. New songs from the U2 18 compilation album, including "Window In The Skies" and "The Saints Are Coming" featured prominently at several shows. U2 returned to the big screen in 2007, with the premiere of the groundbreaking U2 3D at the Cannes Film Festival in May. The band began work on new songs in Morocco with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as co-writers, but the only new material released in 2007 was a few outtakes that appeared on the November re-release of The Joshua Tree, celebrating the album's 20th anniversary. More than thirty years on, it appears that U2 still has plenty of gas in its tank.

The four original band members remain close friends and stellar musicians, and their collective ambition appears to be as strong as ever. U2 remains one of only a few bands qualified to wear the label of World's Biggest Band. They continue to write music and explore new ideas on their own terms, and their future releases and tours will be no less anticipated than those of the past. Related stories: Top 10 Irish Rock Bands And Their Greatest Hits « The World Famous KROQ * 9. Dropkick Murphys The Celtic rockers from Boston are beloved amongst the punk community; even before slipping into mainstream notoriety by landing on The Departed soundtrack with “I’m Shipping Up to Boston.” Since 1996, the Dropkick Murphy’s have released seven quality albums, and celebrate every St. Patrick’s Day with live performances. “Kiss me, I’m Sh*tfaced” * 8. Flogging Molly Even though lead singer Dave King is a Dublin native, Flogging Molly accrued the majority of their following performing weekly shows at the Los Angeles pub Molly Malone’s. Who says house bands can’t make it to the big time? “Drunken Lullabies” * 7.

The Dubliners The venerable Irish-folk band is without question the quietest band on the list, but what The Dubliners lack in edge they make up in durability. Having just celebrated their 50th anniversary (under several different lineups), The Dubliners are entrenched as luminaries in European folk music. “Whiskey in the Jar” * 6. The Cranberries A hallmark of 90’s pop-rock, The Cranberries are one of the rare Irish bands to make an auspicious run on US music charts with singles like “Zombie,” “Linger,” and “Ode to My Family.” After a six-year hiatus, Dolores O’Riordan and her band mates returned this past February with their sixth studio album Roses. “Linger” * 5. My Bloody Valentine For a band who derives its name from an 80’s slasher flick and their decibel-defying concerts, My Bloody Valentine’s “shoegazing” look and reclusive nature makes for a fascinating juxtaposition. While the denizens of Dublin have only dropped two full-length albums, their unprecedented aesthetic and sound have produced a dedicated cult following. “Sometimes” * 4.

Rory Gallagher One of the most well-rounded and respected Irish musicians who you’ve probably never heard of. Jimi Hendrix once proclaimed Gallagher as the best guitar player in the world, and similar to rock gods Led Zeppelin, sold millions of albums without releasing a single. “Bullfrog Blues” * 3.The Pogues Featuring the mercurial and drink-heavy lead singer Shane McGowan, The Pogues used Irish folk instruments and coerced them behind a frenetic punk swag. Like most of the bands on this list, The Pogues split up several years ago before reuniting for live performances. However unlikely, the London-based band wrote what is considered a Christmastime classic in “Fairytale of New York.” “Dirty Old Town” * 2. Van Morrison “Van the Man” is the kind of artist that reaches the soul. A proponent of the impromptu style of jazz music, Van Morrison is rarefied act who consistently changes the structure of his songs in a live setting.

An inductee of the 1993 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Van Morrison has won six Grammys and is responsible for the timeless single “Brown Eyed Girl.” “Brown Eyed Girl” 1. U2 Could you have expected anyone else? Responsible for several critically acclaimed albums (War, Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby), 22 Grammy awards, and an unparalleled philanthropic creed, U2 is the preeminent Irish rock band. In fact, U2’s unyielding relevance has made them a hot target for parody. Regardless, U2’s success is no joke, and they don’t seem to be tiring out any time soon. Expect U2’s latest album in 2013 produced by Danger Mouse. U2 - Like A Song... - War [MFSL Remaster] - 1983/1993 - YouTube U2 - Like A Song... - War [MFSL Remaster] - 1983/1993 Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented.

This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Dec 18, 2010 24 Karat Gold Disc - Remastered by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. All sound recording and images are copyrighted by their respective copyright owners. Copyright: Universal Music Group [UMG], Island Records, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab [MFSL. inc.] Members: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr. Writer: U2 Original Album Released: February 28, 1983 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Remaster released: 1993 U2 Official Web site: Universal Music Group Official Web site: Island Records Official Web site: Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab Official Web site: War is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on 28 February 1983.

The album has come to be regarded as U2's first overtly political album, in part because of songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", as well as the title, which stems from the band's perception of the world at the time; Bono stated that "war seemed to be the motif for 1982." While the central themes of their earlier albums Boy and October focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively, War focused on both the physical aspects of warfare, and the emotional aftereffects. The album has been described as the record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade." War was a commercial success for the band, knocking Michael Jackson's Thriller from the top of the charts to become the band's first #1 album in the UK. It reached #12 in the U.S. and became their first Gold selling album there. In 2003, the album was ranked number 221 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Reception: This album became U2's first #1 album in the UK, supplanting Michael Jackson's Thriller at the top of the charts.

In 1989, War was ranked #40 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 100 Greatest Albums of the 1980s". In 2003, the album was ranked number 221 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Category U2 - MusicBrainz U2 Edit Wikipedia U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono (lead vocals and guitar), the Edge (guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's sound grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music, yet has maintained an anthemic sound. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns. The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy (1980).

Subsequent work such as their first UK number-one album War (1983), and the singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. By the mid-1980s, they had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. The group's fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international superstars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". Facing a backlash and creative stagnation, U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s through a new musical direction and public image. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and the multimedia intensive Zoo TV Tour, the band integrated influences from alternative rock, electronic dance music, and industrial music into their sound, and embraced a more ironic, flippant image.

This experimentation continued through their ninth album, Pop (1997), and the PopMart Tour, which were mixed successes. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which established a more conventional, mainstream sound for the group. Their U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history. In 2014, the group released its thirteenth album, Songs of Innocence, at no cost to iTunes Store customers, but received criticism for its automatic placement in users' music libraries. U2 have released 13 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide. They have won 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.

Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes, including Amnesty International, Jubilee 2000, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, War Child, and Music Rising. U2 | Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Sign up for E-news From the beginning, U2 has been a band on a mission. With each album and concert, the Irish quartet has endeavored to create music of lasting worth and substance. At various points in their career U2 have been not only the most popular band in the world but also arguably the most important - although success in their own minds is purely conditional on the caliber of their work. “We had no interest in being the biggest if we weren’t the best,” guitarist Dave “The Edge” Evans told Rolling Stone in 2004.

“That’s the only way being the biggest would mean anything.” U2’s best work - which includes War (1983), The Joshua Tree (1987), Achtung Baby (1991) and All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000) - stand out as true classics in the rock canon. Bono’s high-profile work for causes like Third World debt relief and U2’s participation in such historic rock-for-charity events as Live Aid and Amnesty International’s Conspiracy of Hope tour in have made them something of a beacon for positive change in the world of music. Ultimately, what’s set U2 apart is the visionary passion of vocalist Paul “Bono” Hewson and the group’s music, which mixes rock’s visceral energy with artful atmospherics. U2 has been hugely popular in its first quarter century, yet they’ve remained a supergroup with an idealistic sense of purpose. Having risen to prominence in the early Eighties - a time when the iconic status of rock stars was routinely challenged by skeptical punks and New Wavers - U2 managed to become a stadium-filling phenomenon without sacrificing credibility.

Moreover, they’ve been given to periodic reinvention, as evidenced by their passage from the politically themed anthems of War to the more ethereal musical landscapes of The Unforgettable Fire (1984), and from the earnest soul-searching of The Joshua Tree to its radical and irreverent successor, Achtung Baby. Underneath it all, they’re remained true believers. As Bono told USA Today in 2000, “There is a transcendence that I want from rock… I’m still drunk on the idea that rock and roll can be a force for change. We haven’t lost that idea.” That idea has been a motivating force from the outset. U2 formed in 1978 when drummer Larry Mullen posted a note on a bulletin board looking to form a band. The group members - Bono, The Edge, Mullen and bassist Adam Clayton - attended Mount Temple High School in Dublin, Ireland. They derived influence from the guitar-driven minimalism and do-it-yourself aesthetic of such punk-rock peers as the Ramones and Sex Pistols. Yet they also aspired to the more serious, message-laden music of songwriters like Pete Townshend and Bruce Springsteen.

Early in 1981, with its debut album only months old, Bono confidently predicted a place for U2 in rock’s upper echelon. “Even at this stage, I do feel we are meant to be one of the great bands,” he told Rolling Stone in 1981. “There’s a certain spark, a certain chemistry, that was special about the Stones, the Who and the Beatles, and I think it’s also special about U2.” They debuted with a three-song EP, U2-3, in 1979 and built a word-of-mouth following in their Irish homeland as a live band, U2 signed with Island Records in 1980. Their debut album, Boy, included the popular track “I Will Follow,” the first of many U2 anthems. The basic elements of the U2 sound - The Edge’s jittery, effects-laden guitar; Bono’s soaring, unrestrained vocals; Clayton’s solid, anthemic bass lines; and Mullen’s offbeat, hypnotic drums - were already in place at this early juncture. Boy was produced by Steve Lillywhite, who would help shape the group’s unique sound on the next two albums as well.

Experimental twists would become part of U2’s modus operandi, but that core structure has remained their sonic signature. U2’s moody second album, October, reflected the difficulty of reconciling their religious beliefs with their rising fortunes as rock stars. They even considered disbanding. In the end, U2 decided to put their collective voice to use raising consciousness. On War they focused their energy and honed their message, raging over the strife-torn modern world - specifically, the sectarian strife in their native Ireland - in such testaments as “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day.” War has been termed “a powerful fusion of politics and militant rock and roll” and even the band called it “a positive protest record.” Bono referred to “Sunday Bloody Sunday” as “a song of hope and a song of disgust,” and Mullen noted it was “the first time we ever really made a statement.” With this album, U2 vaulted into a class with the impassioned, topical likes of the Clash and Bruce Springsteen. “Sunday Bloody Sunday” gave U2 their first #1 hit in the U.S., and the album entered the U.K. charts at #1, appropriately enough, on St. Patrick’s Day.

War reached #12 in the U.S. and was their first album to go platinum. U2 followed War with Under a Blood Red Sky, a live album recorded in Colorado, Boston and Germany. Between Bono’s onstage fervor and the band’s rousing majesty, U2 built up a monumental head of steam as a live act. Bono would wave a large white flag - symbolizing a flag “drained of all color” - during their show, symbolizing the “one world” concept he believed in and advocated. Under a Blood Red Sky, released as an album and video, consolidated U2’s strengths and closed a chapter on the remarkable first stage of their career. Their fourth studio album, The Unforgettable Fire (1984), saw U2 move toward a more ghostly, cinematic sound. The group selected Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers, and the results were more abstract and experimental than previous albums. The key track was “Pride (In the Name of Love),” a pacifistic anthem inspired by the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

U2 toured heavily in its wake, headlining arenas and stadiums and performing one of the most memorable sets at Live Aid in July 1985. In March 1987, U2 released The Joshua Tree, an album that captivated, inspired and united the rock and roll audience like no other (save Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A.) in the Eighties. Both thoughtful and powerful, it was preoccupied with spiritual survival in a barren, conflict-ridden age. Giving rise to a pair of #1 singles - “With or Without You” and “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” - The Joshua Tree topped the charts for nine weeks. It went on to win a Grammy for Album of the Year, and Rolling Stone judged it the third best album of the Eighties. The Joshua Tree has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide and in 1995 qualified for diamond certification (10 million sold) in the U.S. The accompanying world tour gave rise to Rattle and Hum, a concert film and double album that mixed live and studio material.

Among other things, the project revealed the group’s fondness for American roots music, as when they collaborated with blues guitarist B.B. King on “When Love Comes to Town.” Drafting on The Joshua Tree’s formidable coattails, Rattle and Hum also went to #1 (for six weeks) and spun off a pair of hit singles, “Desire” and “Angel of Harlem.” The Joshua Tree elevated U2 to superstar status but also provoked one of the most radical musical detours by a major rock band. At the end of the decade, Bono stated that U2 planned to “go away and dream it all up again.” True to his word, U2 came together in Berlin in late 1990 to record Achtung Baby, a brazenly experimental about-face that Bono has described as “the sound of us chopping down The Joshua Tree.” Triggering a creative renaissance, it marked U2’s effort to undercut its own sense of seriousness and joint the postmodern party. To a degree, they deliberately went from iconic to ironic (although “One” ranks with their most heartfelt songs).

Coproducer Brian Eno referred to “the scope of its inspirations: psychedelia, glam, R&B and soul” and characterized it as “a long step taken with confidence.” Recorded in Berlin, Achtung Baby sold more than 10 million copies worldwide and set U2 on a course for the Nineties. It and the discs that followed - Zooropa (1993) and Pop (1997) - form a kind of triptych. The group embraced the messy state of the war-torn, media-saturated world with a grim sense of celebration, as Bono created a handful of devilish alter egos - including “The Fly” and “Mr. MacPhisto, the Last Rock Star” - for the stage. Zooropa, an adjunct and coda to Achtung Baby, was recorded in Dublin during a break between legs of the Zoo TV tour. On Pop, U2 delved into electronica - loops, samples, beats - without reservation. Some of that album’s material actually got worked up from jamming with DJs. Pop was the group’s most cutting-edge album to date.

U2 were no longer “the world’s loudest folk band,” which is how Bono described the group’s Eighties persona in hindsight. Instead of mourning the ruins, they were now dancing in them. In the Nineties, U2’s live shows served as oversized spectacles. Their Zoo TV and PopMart tours were among the most ambitious ever undertaken. They played to more than five million people on the former outing alone. PopMart, which followed Pop’s release, satirized rampant consumerism with a set designed to look like a “giant, sci-fi disco supermarket.” A hundred-foot high golden arch, fifteen-foot mirror-ball lemon and twelve-foot stuffed olive were among the oversized stage props. The group and its 200-member crew dragged 1,200 tons of equipment from gig to gig. It was truly over the top, which was exactly the point. If Zoo TV was “the Sgt. Pepper of rock tours,” than PopMart was its gaudy Graceland. Not surprisingly, after spending most of a decade making their point - which might be described as “defeating the devil by singing his song” - U2 got back to basics.

Their first album of the new millennium, All That You Can’t Leave Behind (2000), was a return to the classic U2 sound, warm and open-hearted in a way that recalled The Joshua Tree while at the same time streaked with the sort of textures and accents they’d mastered in their adventuresome Nineties spree. All That You Can’t Leave Behind topped the charts in 32 countries and won seven Grammys, including Song of the Year for “Beautiful Day.” Late in 2004 they continued on this path with How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which yielded the heady hit “Vertigo” and contained some of Bono’s most personal lyrics. In a sense, the album brought U2 full circle, returning them to the autobiography of Boy. Yet in the years between those albums they’d grown from teenagers to adults, inevitably losing friends and relatives along the way. Bono suggested that How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album could have well been titled Man. In 2005, Bruce Springsteen inducted U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Then, in 2008, the band issued the movie U2 3D, which was filmed during the Vertigo tour. That film is shown in the Foster Theater at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. In 2009, U2 released another studio album, No Line on the Horizon. Rolling Stone gave the album a five-star review. The band hit the road in support of the album with its U2 360® tour. The show featured the largest concert stage in the history of rock and roll. The tour continued through July 2011 and attracted a total audience of more than 7 million fans. While much had changed, important things remained the same: U2 comprises the same four musicians, still holding fast to principles and making inspirational music more than 30 years after their humble beginnings in a Dublin high school. Inductees: Bono (vocals; born May 10, 1960), The Edge (guitar; born August 8, 1961), Adam Clayton (bass; born March 13, 1960), Larry Mullen Jr.

(drums; born October 31, 1961)

Question: Which Irish rock band released the albums "Boy", "October", and "War"?
Answer: U2