Legend Status
History, Beginning & The Future of U2
This Irish quartet's achievements since the late 70s have been extraordinarily cohesive & consistent. U2 began their musical career at school in Dublin in 1977.
All four initially played Rolling Stones & Beach Boys cover versions in an outfit named Feedback. They then changed their name to the Hype before finally settling on U2 in 1978.
After winning a talent contest in Limerick that year, they came under the wing of manager Paul McGuinness and were subsequently signed to CBS Records Ireland.
U2's debut EP U2:3 featured "Out Of Control" (1979), which propelled them to number 1 in the Irish charts. They repeated that feat with "Another Day" (1980), but having been passed by CBS UK, they were free to sign a deal outside of Ireland with Island Records.
Their UK debut "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", produced by Martin Hannett, was well received but failed to chart. Two further singles, "A Day Without Me" and "I Will Follow", passed with little sales while U2 prepared their first album, produced by Steve Lillywhite.
Boy, a moving & inspired document of adolescence, recieved critical approbation, which was reinforced by the live shows that U2 were undertaking throughout the country. Bono's impassioned vocals and the band's rhythmic tightness revealed them as the most promising live unit of 1981. After touring America, U2 returned to Britain where "Fire" was bubbling under the Top 30. Another minor hit with the impassioned "Gloria" was followed by the strident October. The album had a thrust reinforced by a religious verve that was almost evangelical in its force. Later, it was revealed that U2 almost disintegrated during the sessions for the album.
The loss of a suitcase full of notes & lyrics led to Bono being forced to hastily write new words in the studio.
In February 1983 U2 reached the UK Top 10 with "New Year's Day", a song of hope inspired by the Polish Solidarity Movement. War followed soon afterwards to critical plaudits. The album's theme covered both religious & political conflicts, especially in the key track "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which had already emerged as one of U2's most startling & moving live songs.
Given their power in concert, it was inevitable that U2 would attempt to capture their essence on a live album.
Under A Blood Red Sky (recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, USA) did not disappoint and, as well as climbing to number 2 in the UK, it brought them their first significant chart placing in the USA at number 28.
By the summer of 1984, U2 were about to enter the vanguard of the rock elite. Bono duetted with Bob Dylan at the latter's concert at Slane Castle and U2 established their own company, Mother Records, with the intention of unearthing fresh musical talent in Eire. The Unforgettable Fire, produced by Brian Eno & Daniel Lanois, revealed a new maturity and improved their commercial & critical standing in the US charts.
The single, "Pride (In The Name Of Love)", displayed the passion & humanity that were by now familiar ingredients in U2’s music & lyrics. U2's commitment to their ideals was further underlined by their appearances at Live Aid, Ireland's Self Aid, and their involvement with Amnesty International and guest spot on Little Steven's anti-Apartheid single, "Sun City".
During this same period, U2 embarked on a world tour and completed work on their next album. The Joshua Tree emerged in March 1987 and confirmed U2's standing as one of the most popular acts in the world. The album, which became the fastest-selling album in history and topped both the US & UK charts, revealed a new, more expansive sound that complemented their soul-searching lyrics.
The familiar themes of spiritual salvation permeated the work and the quest motif was particularly evident on both "With Or Without You" and the gospel-tinged "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", which both reached number 1 in the US charts, confirming U2 as indisputably the most successful European act to cross the Atlantic for several years.
They became the first rock band since the Who to appear on the cover of Time magazine.
After such a milestone album, 1988 proved a relatively quiet year for U2. Bono & the Edge appeared on Roy Orbison's Mystery Girl and the year ended with the poorly received double album & documentary film, Rattle & Hum.
The portentous tone of the film did U2 little favours, with Bono's po-faced self-mythology attracting particular critical ire. U2 also belatedly scored their first UK number 1 single with the R&B-influenced "Desire". The single, which also reached the US Top 5, was one of several new studio tracks written for Rattle & Hum, which despite its indifferent critical reception went on to sell over 14 million copies.
Further UK Top 10 hits followed with the Billie Holiday tribute "Angel Of Harlem", the B.B. King duet, "When Love Comes To Town", and "All I Want Is You".
The challenge to complete a suitable follow-up to The Joshua Tree took considerable time, with Bono & The Edge declaring their desire to push U2 in a new direction incorporating the latest developments in electronica & industrial music.
To this end, in 1990 the duo collaborated on a loop-driven soundtrack to the RSC's stage production of A Clockwork Orange. Later in the year, U2 appeared on the Cole Porter tribute album Red Hot + Blue, performing a radical reading of "Night & Day".
U2 arrived in Berlin in November 1990, a year after the demolition of the infamous wall dividing the East & West sectors of the city. They set up base at Hansa Ton studios, birthplace of David Bowie's seminal 1977 recording "Heroes", and with regular collaborators Lanois, Lillywhite & Eno also present, began the painful process of forging their new sound.
They returned to Dublin four months later with only a handful of completed tracks but with a more coherent sense of purpose, and sessions for the album were wrapped up during the spring & summer. In late 1991, U2 unveiled their bold, new sound with the remarkable lead-off single "The Fly".
The almighty clatter of the rhythm section and The Edge's trashy guitar sound demonstrated that U2 had taken on board recent developments on the dancefloor, while Bono's vocals moved from a dirty growl to a twisted falsetto in keeping with the song's barely disguised air of menace. Of even more note were Bono's self-mocking lyrics, which introduced the singer's new alter ego and buried the painfully earnest rock god of the Rattle & Hum era.
The single risked alienating U2's fans but proved to be a triumph, entering the UK charts at number 1 and winning U2 a new, hipper audience, although their conservative fanbase in America was more circumspect.
The attendant Achtung Baby was an impressive work that captured the majesty of The Joshua Tree, yet also stripped down the sound to provide a greater sense of spontaneity. This was evident in the riotous sleeve collage designed by Anton Corbijn, an explicit rejection of the po-faced probity of the cover of The Joshua Tree.
The work emphasized U2's standing as an international rock act, topping the US chart and spawning a number of transatlantic hit singles, including "Mysterious Ways", "Even Better Than The Real Thing" & "One".
The latter, a tender, widescreen ballad, was the closest U2 came to replicating their 80s sound and remains one of their most enduring songs. Elsewhere on the album, the quartet rushed headlong into an uncertain new decade with the ominous clatter of the opening track "Zoo Station" and the hard-rocking "Until The End Of The World", which saw Bono adopting a new stance by role-playing Judas at the Last Supper. The album's subtext of sexual betrayal, meanwhile, drew on the fractured personal relationships of certain members of U2 (The Edge had broken up with his wife shortly after U2 returned from Berlin).
U2 then embarked on a remarkable worldwide tour which cemented their reputation as one of the most popular stadium attractions of the era. Dubbed the Zoo TV tour, it featured U2 performing against a backdrop inspired by the writings of cyber-punk-author William Gibson, with a huge bank of television screens blasting out live news bulletins, messages from the crowd and a dizzying array of images supplied by video art troupe Emergency Broadcast Network. During the shows Bono, dressed in wraparound shades and black leather and revelling in his alter-ego "The Fly", would make live phone calls to targets ranging from politicians to fast food joints.
Ironically, U2's intended commentary on fame & mass media developed new angles when Adam Clayton was thrust into the spotlight because of his relationship with supermodel Naomi Campbell. On 19 June 1992, U2 performed at the Greenpeace-backed Stop Sellafield show in Manchester, England.
Recorded in spare moments between shows, the album included some memorable songs in the shape of the ballad "Stay (Faraway, So Close)" and the shimmering "Lemon". Veteran US artist Johnny Cash provided the vocals for the closing track, "The Wanderer".