U2 - WikiHQ

U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976. The group comprises Bono (lead vocals), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's musical style has evolved throughout their career, yet has maintained an anthemic quality built on Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's chiming, effects-based guitar sounds. Bono's lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal and sociopolitical themes. Popular for their live performances, the group have staged several elaborate tours over their career.

The band was formed when the members were teenaged pupils of Mount Temple Comprehensive School and had limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album, Boy (1980). Works such as their first UK number-one album, War (1983), and singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. Their fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire (1984), was their first collaboration with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, whose influence resulted in a more abstract, ambient sound for the band. By the mid-1980s, U2 had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. Their fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international stars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. One of the world's best-selling albums with 25 million copies sold, it yielded the group's only number-one singles in the US: "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".

Facing creative stagnation and a backlash to their documentary and double album Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and the multimedia spectacle of the Zoo TV Tour, the band pursued a new musical direction influenced by alternative, industrial, and electronic dance music, and they embraced a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued on Zooropa (1993) and concluded after Pop (1997) and the PopMart Tour, which polarized audiences and critics. The group re-established a more conventional, mainstream sound on All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which were critical and commercial successes. Sales of subsequent albums declined, but the group remained a popular live act. The U2 360° Tour of 2009–2011 held records for the most-attended and highest-grossing concert tour until 2019. Songs of Innocence (2014), the first of two companion albums in the 2010s, was criticised for its pervasive release through the iTunes Store. In 2023, U2 released Songs of Surrender, an album of re-recorded songs, and began the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live concert residency to inaugurate Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley.

U2 have released 15 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold an estimated 150–170 million records worldwide. Their accolades include 22 Grammy Awards, eight Brit Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. They were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. According to Pollstar, they were the second-highest-grossing live music artist from 1980 to 2022, earning US$2.13 billion. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". but he could not play and was quickly phased out; sources differ on whether he was in attendance at the first meeting or not. Within a few weeks, McCormick was also dropped from the group. The remaining five members settled on the name "Feedback" for the group because it was one of the few technical terms they knew. Early rehearsals took place in their music teacher's classroom at Mount Temple. The emergence of punk rock, in particular the influence of acts such as the Stranglers, the Jam, the Clash, Buzzcocks, and Sex Pistols, convinced them that musical proficiency was not a prerequisite to success.

Partly recorded in Slane Castle, The Unforgettable Fire was released in October 1984 and marked a major change of style. It was ambient and abstract, and featured a rich, orchestrated sound. Under Lanois' direction, Mullen's drumming became looser, funkier, and more subtle, and Clayton's bass became more subtle. Complementing the album's atmospheric sound, the lyrics were left open to interpretation, providing what the band called a "very visual feel". The album reached number one in the UK, and was successful in the US. The lead single "Pride (In the Name of Love)", written about civil rights movement leader Martin Luther King Jr., was their first song to chart in the US top 40.

thumb|U2 performing in Sydney in September 1984 on [[the Unforgettable Fire Tour]]

Much of the Unforgettable Fire Tour moved into indoor arenas as U2 built their audience. The complex textures of the new studio-recorded tracks, such as "The Unforgettable Fire" and "Bad", was hard to translate to live performances.

In March 1985, a Rolling Stone cover story called U2 the "Band of the '80s", saying that "for a growing number of rock & roll fans, U2... has become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters". before a crowd of 72,000 fans and a worldwide television audience of 1.5 billion people. During a 12-minute performance of "Bad", Bono climbed down from the stage to embrace and dance with a female fan he had picked out of the crowd, The performance was a pivotal event in the band's career; The Guardian cited Live Aid as the moment that made stars of U2, and it included their performance on a list of 50 key events in rock history.

The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum (1986–1990)

For their fifth album, The Joshua Tree, the band wanted to build on The Unforgettable Fires textures, but instead of experimentation, sought a harder-hitting sound within the limitation of conventional song structures. Realising that "U2 had no tradition" and that their knowledge of music from before their childhood was limited, the group delved into American and Irish roots music. Friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Keith Richards motivated Bono to explore blues, folk, and gospel music and to focus on his skills as a songwriter and lyricist. U2 halted the album sessions in June 1986 to play as a headline act on the Conspiracy of Hope benefit concert tour for Amnesty International. Rather than distract the band, the tour invigourated their new material. The following month, Bono travelled to Nicaragua and El Salvador and saw first-hand the distress of peasants affected by political conflicts and US military intervention. The experience became a central influence on their new music.

thumb|A promotional image of the band for their 1987 album The Joshua Tree

The Joshua Tree was released in March 1987. The album juxtaposes antipathy towards US foreign policy against the group's deep fascination with the country, its open spaces, freedom, and ideals. The band wanted music with a sense of location and a "cinematic" quality, and the record draws on imagery created by American writers whose works the band had been reading. The Joshua Tree was critically acclaimed; Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said the album "confirms on record what this band has been slowly asserting for three years now on stage: U2 is what the Rolling Stones ceased being years ago—the greatest rock and roll band in the world". The record went to number one in over 20 countries, including the UK where it received a platinum certification in 48 hours and sold 235,000 copies in its first week, making it the fastest seller in British chart history at the time. In the US, it spent nine consecutive weeks at number one. The album included the hit singles "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Where the Streets Have No Name", the first two of which became the group's only number-one hits in the US. U2 became the fourth rock band to be featured on the cover of Time magazine, which called them "Rock's Hottest Ticket". The album and its songs received four Grammy Award nominations, winning Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Many publications, including Rolling Stone, have cited The Joshua Tree as one of rock's greatest albums. The Joshua Tree Tour was the first tour on which the band played shows in stadiums alongside smaller arena shows. It was the highest-grossing North American tour of the year with earned at the box office, and globally it grossed from 3.17 million tickets sold.

In October 1988, the group released Rattle and Hum, a double album and theatrically released documentary film that captured the band's experiences with American roots music on the Joshua Tree Tour. The record featured nine studio tracks and six live U2 performances, including recordings at Sun Studio in Memphis and collaborations with Dylan and B.B. King. Intended as a tribute to American music, one Rolling Stone editor spoke of the album's "excitement" and another described it as "misguided and bombastic". The film's director, Phil Joanou, described it as "an overly pretentious look at U2". The film underperformed at the box office and was withdrawn from theatres after three weeks, having grossed only . Despite the criticism, the album sold 14 million copies and reached number one worldwide. Lead single "Desire" became the band's first number-one song in the UK while reaching number three in the US. Most of the album's new material was played on 1989–1990's Lovetown Tour, which visited Oceania, Japan, and Europe. They had grown dissatisfied with their live performances; Mullen recalled, "We were the biggest, but we weren't the best". With a sense of musical stagnation, Bono hinted at changes to come during a 30 December 1989 concert near the end of the tour; before a hometown crowd in Dublin, he said on stage that it was "the end of something for U2" and that they had to "go away and ... just dream it all up again".

Achtung Baby, Zoo TV, and Zooropa (1990–1993)

Stung by the criticism of Rattle and Hum, the band sought to transform themselves musically. Seeking inspiration from German reunification, they began work on their seventh studio album, Achtung Baby, at Berlin's Hansa Studios in October 1990 with producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. The sessions were fraught, as the band argued over their musical direction and the quality of their material. Clayton and Mullen preferred a sound similar to U2's previous work; Bono and the Edge were inspired by European industrial music and electronic dance music and advocated a change. Weeks of tension and slow progress nearly prompted the group to break up until they made a breakthrough with the improvised writing of the song "One". They returned to Dublin in 1991, where morale improved and the majority of the album was completed.

Achtung Baby was released in November 1991. The album represented a calculated change in musical and thematic style, their most dramatic since The Unforgettable Fire. Sonically, the record incorporated influences from alternative rock, dance, and industrial music, and Bono referred to it as "four men chopping down the Joshua Tree". Thematically, it was a more introspective and personal record; it was darker, yet more flippant than the band's previous work. Commercially and critically, it has been one of the band's most successful albums. It produced five hit singles, including "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways", and "One", and was a crucial part of the band's early 1990s reinvention. In 1993, Achtung Baby won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. Like The Joshua Tree, many publications have cited the record as one of rock's greatest. The stage featured large video screens that showed visual effects, random video clips from pop culture, and flashing text phrases, along with a lighting system partially made of Trabant cars. U2 were known for their earnest performances in the 1980s, but the Zoo TV performances were intentionally ironic and self-deprecating. the greedy televangelist "Mirror Ball Man", and the devilish "MacPhisto". Prank phone calls were made to US President George H. W. Bush, the United Nations, and others. Live satellite link-ups to war-torn Sarajevo caused controversy. Zoo TV was the highest-grossing North American tour of 1992, earning .

alt=An elaborate concert stage set, set in a dark stadium. Three automobiles hang above two projector screens, aiming their headlights towards the stage.|thumb|left|The Zoo TV Tour (pictured in May 1993) was a multimedia spectacle, featuring a stage that used dozens of video screens and a lighting system with Trabant cars.

In June 1993, U2 signed a six-album deal to remain with Island Records/PolyGram. The Los Angeles Times estimated that the deal was worth to the band, making them the highest-paid rock group ever. The following month, the group released a new album, Zooropa. Quickly recorded during a break in the Zoo TV Tour in early 1993, it expanded on many of the themes from Achtung Baby and the tour. Initially intended to be an EP, Zooropa evolved into a full-length LP album. It delved further into electronic, industrial, and dance music. Country musician Johnny Cash sang the lead vocals on the closing track "The Wanderer". Most of the songs were played at least once during the 1993 legs of the tour, which visited Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan; half the album's tracks became long-term fixtures in the setlist. Zooropa reached the top ten in 26 countries, sold 7 million copies, and won the 1994 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, but the band regard it with mixed feelings; the Edge called it "an interlude".

Clayton's issues with alcohol came to a head on the final leg of the Zoo TV Tour. After experiencing a blackout, Clayton was unable to perform for the group's 26 November 1993 show in Sydney, which served as the dress rehearsal for a worldwide television broadcast the following night. Bass guitar technician Stuart Morgan filled in for him, the first time a member of U2 had missed a concert since their earliest days. After the incident, Clayton resolved to stop drinking alcohol. and in gross revenues. Qs Tom Doyle said in 2002 that Zoo TV was "the most spectacular rock tour staged by any band".

Passengers, Pop, and PopMart (1994–1998)

In 1995, following a long break, U2 contributed "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the soundtrack album of the film Batman Forever. The song reached number one in Australia and Ireland, number two in the UK, and number 16 in the US. In November, the band released an experimental album called Original Soundtracks 1, a collaboration with Brian Eno, who contributed as a full songwriting partner and performer. Due to his participation and the record's experimental nature, the band released it under the moniker "Passengers" to distinguish it from U2's conventional albums. Mullen said of the release: "There's a thin line between interesting music and self-indulgence. We crossed it on the Passengers record." It was commercially unnoticed by U2 standards and it received mixed reviews. The single "Miss Sarajevo" (featuring Luciano Pavarotti) was among Bono's favourite U2 songs.

U2 began work on their next studio album, Pop, in mid-1995, holding recording sessions with Nellee Hooper, Flood, and Howie B. The band mixed the contrasting influences of each producer into their music, in particular Howie B's experiences with electronica and dance music. Mullen was sidelined due to back surgery in November, prompting the other band members to take different approaches to songwriting, such as programming drum loops and playing to samples provided by Howie B. The band allowed manager Paul McGuinness to book their 1997–1998 PopMart Tour with the album still in progress; Bono called it "the worst decision U2 ever made". Rushed to complete the album, the band delayed its release date a second time from late 1996 to March 1997, cutting into tour rehearsal time. Even with the additional recording time, U2 worked up to the last minute to complete songs. the group released Pops lead single, "Discothèque", a dance-heavy song with a music video in which the band wore Village People costumes. The song reached number one in the UK, Japan, and Canada, but did not chart for long in the US despite debuting at number 10. The album represented U2's further exploration of nightclub culture, featuring heavy, funky dance rhythms. The record drew favourable reviews. Rolling Stone stated that U2 had "defied the odds and made some of the greatest music of their lives". Other critics felt that the album was a major disappointment. Despite debuting at number one in over 30 countries, Pop dropped off the charts quickly. U2's "big shtick" failed to satisfy many who were seemingly confused by the band's new kitsch image and the tour's elaborate set. The reduced rehearsal time for the tour affected the quality of early shows, and in some US markets, the band played to half-empty stadiums. On several occasions, the mirrorball lemon from which the band emerged for the encores malfunctioned, trapping them inside. Despite the mixed reviews and difficulties of the tour, Bono considered PopMart to be "better than Zoo TV aesthetically, and as an art project it is a clearer thought." He later explained, "When that show worked, it was mindblowing."

The group's 20 September 1997 show in Reggio Emilia was attended by over 150,000 people, which was reported to have set a world record for the largest paying audience for a one-act show. U2 also performed in Sarajevo on 23 September, making them the first major group to stage a concert there following the Bosnian War. Mullen described the show as "an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and if I had to spend 20 years in the band just to play that show, and have done that, I think it would have been worthwhile." Bono called the show "one of the toughest and one of the sweetest nights of my life." The tour concluded in March 1998 with gross revenues of and 3.98 million tickets sold. The following month, U2 appeared on the 200th episode of the animated sitcom The Simpsons, in which Homer Simpson disrupts the band on stage during a PopMart concert. In November 1998, U2 released their first compilation album, The Best of 1980–1990, which featured a re-recording of a 1987 B-side, "Sweetest Thing", as its single. The album broke a first-week sales record in the US for a greatest hits collection by a group, and "Sweetest Thing" topped the singles charts in Ireland and Canada. After their experiences with being pressured to complete Pop, the band were content to work without deadlines.

Released that October, All That You Can't Leave Behind was seen by critics as a "back to basics" album, on which the group returned to a more mainstream, conventional rock sound. For many of those not won over by the band's forays into dance music, it was considered a return to grace; The album debuted at number one in 32 countries and sold 12 million copies. Its lead single, "Beautiful Day", reached number one in Ireland, the UK, Australia, and Canada, and number 21 in the US. The song won Grammy Awards for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Song of the Year, and Record of the Year. At the awards ceremony, Bono declared that U2 were "reapplying for the job ... [of] the best band in the world". The album's other singles, "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Elevation", and "Walk On", reached number one in Canada, and charted in the top five in the UK and top ten in Australia.

The band's 2001 Elevation Tour started in March, visiting North America and Europe across three legs. For the tour, U2 performed on a scaled-down stage, returning to arenas after nearly a decade of stadium productions. a heart-shaped catwalk around the stage encircled many audience members, and festival seating was offered in the US for the first time in the group's history. During the tour, U2 headlined two Slane Concerts in Ireland, playing to crowds of 80,000. Following the September 11 attacks in the US, All That You Can't Leave Behind found added resonance with American audiences, as the album climbed in the charts and songs such as "Walk On" and "Peace on Earth" received radio airplay. In October, U2 performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City for the first time since the attacks. Bono and the Edge said these shows were among their most memorable and emotional performances. The Elevation Tour was the top-earning North American tour of 2001 with a gross of , the second-highest amount ever at the time for a North American tour. Globally, it grossed from 2.18 million tickets sold, Spin named U2 the "Band of the Year" for 2001, saying they had "schooled bands half their age about what a rock show could really accomplish".

On 3 February 2002, U2 performed during the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show. In a tribute to those who died in the 11 September attacks, the victims' names were projected onto a backdrop, and at the end, Bono opened his jacket to reveal an American flag in the lining. Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone, and USA Today ranked the band's performance as the best halftime show in Super Bowl history. Later that month, U2 received four additional Grammy Awards; All That You Can't Leave Behind won Best Rock Album, while "Walk On" was named Record of the Year, the first time an artist had won the award in consecutive years for songs from the same album. In November 2002, the band released their second compilation, The Best of 1990–2000, which featured several remixed 1990s songs and two new tracks, including the single "Electrical Storm".

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and Vertigo Tour (2003–2006)

Looking for a harder-hitting rock sound than that of All That You Can't Leave Behind, U2 began recording their eleventh studio album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, in February 2003 with producer Chris Thomas. After nine months of work, the band had an album's worth of material ready for release, but they were not satisfied with the results; Mullen said that the songs "had no magic". Lillywhite, along with his assistant Jacknife Lee, spent six months with the band reworking songs and encouraging better performances. Bono acknowledged that the involvement of multiple producers affected the record's "sonic cohesion".