U2

U2 performing live in Toronto, 2005.(CC) Photo: Ian Muttoo

Singer Paul "Bono" Hewson, bassist Adam Clayton, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. and lead guitarist Dave "The Edge" Evans are better known collectively as the rock group U2. In a career spanning four decades, the band have released 11 studio albums and have won an impressive 22 Grammy Awards. All four members have pursued other musical collaborations, and Bono especially has made a name for himself as an outspoken campaigner on such issues as AIDS and debt in the developing world.

Formation

U2 were originally formed in the autumn of 1976, when the then 14-year-old drummer, Larry Mullen, placed a note seeking band members on the noticeboard at his Dublin, Ireland secondary school, Mount Temple Comprehensive. Seven members turned up for the first practice session, which tool place in Mullen's kitchen. Over the next 18 months, the band's name went through several iterations, and they whittled their membership down to the current four-piece. They played their last gig as a five-piece under the name "The Hype" in March 1978, with The Edge's brother, Dick Evans, ceremonially walking off stage half way through the set, and the four-piece "U2" continuing the gig.

Early years

After acquiring a manager in Paul McGuinness, the band released their debut EP, U2 Three, in September 1979, on the CBS label. After signing to Island Records, they released their debut album, Boy, in September 1980. Two further albums, October and War, followed in 1981 and 1983 respectively, and were well received. War debuted at number 1 in the United Kingdom album charts. This album featured the single Sunday Bloody Sunday, which contrasted the events of the Irish Troubles, especially Bloody Sunday, with those of the Easter Rising.

Worldwide success

With the release of their next studio album, The Unforgettable Fire, in 1984, the band's success was sealed. Although they had been moderately well received in the U.S. prior to this, their first single from the album, Pride (In the Name of Love), about Martin Luther King, was the first to break in the U.S. Top 40. Their fame was helped by their participation in the Live Aid concert in London, in aid of Ethiopian famine relief. Further albums - The Joshua Tree, released in 1987, and Rattle and Hum, in 1988 - won them their first Grammy Awards.

Reinvention

The band's next studio album, Achtung Baby, released in 1991, revealed a marked departure from their previous sound, incorporating dance, industrial and techno influences, and brought in new fans while alienating few of the old. 1993's Zooropa continued and expanded on these themes. The Zooropa tour, which preceded and followed the album's release, also saw a marked difference in U2's stage presence. This was as much multimedia event as rock gig, featuring Bono's sporting of alternate personas such as "MacPhisto" and "The Fly" and live "prank calls" to world leaders. Their final album of the 1990s, Pop, continued these themes.

Recent work

Two further albums have been released since the turn of the millennium - All That You Can't Leave Behind, in 2000, and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, in 2004.

External links

• Official U2 website