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U2 are an Irish rock band featuring Bono (Paul David Hewson) on vocals and occasionally rhythm guitar and harmonica; The Edge (David Howell Evans) on lead guitar, keyboards and backing vocals; Adam Clayton on bass guitar; and Larry Mullen, Jr. on drums, and occasionally backing vocals.

Founded in 1976, U2 have maintained a high level of popularity since the mid 1980s. The band has sold approximately 50.5 million albums in the U.S., according to the RIAA, and upwards of 170 million worldwide, has had six #1 albums in the US and nine #1 albums in the UK and is one of the most successful bands of all time. Since the release of their album The Joshua Tree they have been frequently referred to as the biggest rock band in the world by fans and critics alike. The band has won 22 Grammy awards , the most for recording artists.

The band is also politically active in human rights causes, such as the Make Poverty History campaign as well as Live Aid, Live 8, and Bono's DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign.

History

Formation and breakthrough (1976 – 1980)

The band was formed in Dublin on Saturday, September 25, 1976. Fourteen-year-old Larry Mullen, Jr. posted a notice on his secondary school bulletin board (Mount Temple Comprehensive School) seeking musicians for a new band. The response that followed that note resulted in seven boys attending the initial practice in Larry's kitchen. Known for about a day as "The Larry Mullen Band," the group featured Mullen on drums, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, Paul Hewson (Bono) on vocals, Dave Evans (The Edge) on guitar, his brother Dik Evans on guitar, and Mullen's friends Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin . Soon after, the group settled on the name Feedback. Martin only came to the first practice, and McCormick was out of the core group within a few weeks, being dismissed by Adam Clayton with the excuse that he was too young to play at the bars in which U2 would be booked.

After 18 months of rehearsals, Feedback changed their name to The Hype. The band performed with their new name at a talent show in Limerick, Ireland on 17 March 1978. One of the judges for the show happened to be CBS Records' Jackie Hayden; they won the contest, earning a £500 prize. Hayden was impressed enough with the band that he gave them studio time to record their first demo.

The Dublin punk rock guru Steve Averill (better known as Steve Rapid of The Radiators From Space) suggested that "The Hype stinks, at least as a name." Someone offered, "What about U2? It's the name of a spyplane and a submarine, and it's got an endearing inclusivity about it."

Some suggest the meaning of the name "U2" is based on their philosophy. They believe that the audience is part of their music and the concert and that "you too" (U2) are participating in the music. However, in an interview with Larry King, Bono is quoted as saying "I don't actually like the name U2," and "I honestly never thought of it as 'you too'." Others feel that U2 derived its name from the Irish Unemployment form (in the same way as UB40 in the UK).

Dik Evans announced his departure in March 1978. The Hype performed a farewell show for Dik at the Community Centre in Howth. Dik walked offstage halfway through the set and later joined the Virgin Prunes, a fellow Dublin band. In May, Paul McGuinness became U2's manager.

Now a four-piece with a local fan base in place, U2 released their first single (in Ireland only) in September of 1979, entitled U2-3, as a 12 inch and subsequently a 7 inch. The first 1,000 12 inch copies were individually hand numbered and it went on to top the Irish charts. In December of that year, U2 travelled to London for its first shows outside of Ireland, but failed to get much attention from foreign audiences and critics. In February 1980 their second single "Another Day" was released on the CBS label but again only for the Irish market. U2 made their first appearance on US television on Tomorrow hosted by Tom Snyder. It aired on June 4, 1981. They performed "I Will Follow" and "Twilight" and engaged in an interview.

Boy and October (1980 – 1981)

Island Records signed the band in March of 1980. U2 released its first international single "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" in May 1980 which was a reworked version of the old "Silver Lining" and released its first album Boy the following October. It was met with critical praise and is considered by some as one of the better debuts in rock history. Despite Bono’s unfocused, seemingly improvised lyrics, Boy has a definite theme – an examination of adolescence touching on fear over sex, identity confusion, death and uncontrollable mood swings. The final track on the album, "Shadows and Tall Trees," gives a nod to William Golding’s novel Lord of the Flies, which was an inspiration for the album. Lord of the Flies also inspired the famous album art which featured photographs of a dishevelled boy (Peter Rowan, younger brother of Bono's friend Guggi), naked from the waist up, sometimes wearing war paint or an army helmet. The Rowan pictures were eventually replaced by distorted headshots of the band to avoid controversy. (The same boy, three years older, would be employed for artwork on U2's War album. He can also be seen as a would-be band member in the Alan Parker feature "The Committments"). The album gave the band their first hit single, "I Will Follow," which remains a fan favorite to this day. Boy's release was followed by U2's first tour beyond Ireland and the United Kingdom. Despite criticisms of their live shows as predictable and Bono using "too much echo", these early live shows nevertheless helped demonstrate U2's potential, as critics noted that Bono was a very "charismatic" and "passionate" showman, reminiscent of a young Rod Stewart.

The band's second album, October, was released in 1981 . Fans and music critics made note of the album's spiritual lyrics. Bono, The Edge and Larry were committed Christians and made little effort to hide that fact. The three band members joined a religious group in Dublin called "Shalom," which led all three to question the relationship between the Christian faith and the rock and roll lifestyle. After nearly throwing in the towel on U2, they decided it was possible to reconcile the two by continuing to make music without compromising their personal beliefs. While the Bible has remained a major source of inspiration for Bono’s lyric writing, October is U2’s only overt Christian rock album and is generally held to be among their least successful work. (In recent years a book of sermons based on U2 songs has been published: "Get Up Off Your Knees" ed. Whiteley & Maynard, ISBN 1561012238)

October was the start of U2's vision of the music video as an integral part of the bands creative work, as it was released during a time that MTV was first becoming as popular as radio. The video for "Gloria" was directed by Meiert Avis and shot in the Canal Basin in Dublin.

War (1983)

In 1983, U2 returned with apparently a newfound sense of direction and the release of their third album, War. The album included the song "Sunday Bloody Sunday," which dealt with the troubles in Northern Ireland using religious imagery and what many considered as forceful and almost rebellious lyrics. The ability to use a range of powerful images, taking a song initially about sectarian anger, and turn it into a call for Christians to unite and claim victory over death and evil, proved to many that the band was capable of deep and meaningful songwriting. When some Irish-Americans tried to misrepresent the song as a rallying call for the Provisional IRA Bono responded with what became one of his most recognizable phrases, notably the performance on the live EP Under a Blood Red Sky - "this song is not a rebel song. This song is Sunday Bloody Sunday." Furthermore, as captured in the concert film U2: Rattle and Hum, during the performance of the song on November 8 1987, the day after the IRA bombing in Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland, in which 11 people were killed during a Remembrance Day service, Bono denounced the violence in Ireland and the Irish expatriates who supported it. Unlike the style and emotions conveyed by other musicians in the early 1980's, many saw in Bono anger and passion that were palpable, especially as demonstrated by his blunt assertion "Fuck the 'revolution'!"

The album's first single, "New Year's Day", was U2's first international hit single, reaching the #10 position on the UK charts and nearly cracking the Top 50 on the US charts. MTV put the "New Year's Day" video, directed by Meiert Avis, into heavy rotation, which immediately launched U2 to the mass American audience. For the first time, the band began performing to sold-out concerts in mainland Europe and the U.S. on their subsequent War Tour. U2 recorded the Under a Blood Red Sky EP on this tour and a live video was also released, both of which received radio and MTV play and helped expand the band's audience.

The Unforgettable Fire and Live Aid (1984 – 1986)

Album

The band began their fourth studio album with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois producing. The Unforgettable Fire, named after a series of paintings made by survivors of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki, followed in 1984. The videos for "Unforgettable Fire" directed by Meiert Avis, Barry Devlin and Donald Cammel, were in constant heavy rotation on MTV. The album featured the tribute to civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., "Pride (In the Name of Love)." "Pride" became the first single from the album, cracking the UK Top 5 and the US Top 40.

The album represented a turning point in the band's career, as many critics and fans alike found Bono's lyrics to be more subtle and poetic, while the Edge's guitar became more effects-driven and his sound more symphonic, and the rhythm section demonstrated its versatility . Some critics, such as Rolling Stone's Kurt Loder however found that The Unforgettable Fire ironically lacked the "fire" of U2's previous albums.

Although listeners would for the most part hear a new sound from U2, their material, although less overtly so, remained political. Songs include "Indian Summer Sky," a social commentary on the prison-like atmosphere of city living in a world of natural forces, and "MLK," another song honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. The album's release coincided with a photo exhibit at the Chicago Peace Museum featuring images of the aftermath of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings; Bono would later contribute a poem entitled "Dreams in a Box" to the museum's archives.

One of the most popular tracks, and arguably the centrepiece of the album, was the six-minute long "Bad". Although never released as a single, "Bad" provided one of the album's defining moments: a cathartic exploration on the theme of heroin dependency - a problem particularly prevalent in Dublin during the mid-1980s. During the Unforgettable Fire Tour to support the new album, Bono took to wrapping his microphone cable around his arm in imitation of a junkie looking for a vein. Although never a radio hit, the song quickly became a live favourite amongst fans. It has been played regularly in many of the band's tours since, including the most recent Vertigo Tour.

Live Aid

The associated Unforgettable Fire tour had U2 extensively playing indoor arenas for the first time. Aside from the tour, U2 participated in the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium for Ethiopian famine relief in July 1985, which was seen by more than a billion people worldwide. U2 were not expected to be one of the main draws for the event, but the band provided the show with one of its most memorable moments, a relentless 13-minute version of "Bad" in which Bono hurdled off the stage to dance with a fan. The other band members were upset with Bono for spending the time they had planned for playing "Pride (In the Name of Love)," and Bono was convinced he had squandered a chance for promoting the band to a greater audience. Larry Mullen Jr. admitted that the rest of the band had considered leaving the stage as he was performing. After the concert, the other band members demanded he leave U2; Bono instead took a few weeks off to think about his role in the band, and was welcomed back with open arms. Somewhat ironically, the Live Aid version of "Bad" has become something of a legend in rock circles, and was an indication of the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences.

"Band of The Eighties"

In 1985 Rolling Stone magazine called U2 the "Band of the 80s," saying that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters."

A Conspiracy Of Hope

U2 went on to a headlining spot on 1986's A Conspiracy of Hope Tour for Amnesty International. This 6-show tour across the U.S. performed to sold-out arenas and stadiums, and helped Amnesty International triple its membership in the process.

Self Aid

In May 1986 U2 headlined Self Aid, a benefit concert held in Dublin to highlight the chronic unemployment problem in Ireland at the time. The 14 hour concert was the largest that had ever been staged in Ireland and it was broadcast live in its entirety on Irish Television. U2's performance included spirited cover versions of 'C'mon Everybody' and 'Maggie's Farm'. Other acts who performed at the event included Van Morrison, The Boomtown Rats and Christy Moore.

The Joshua Tree & Rattle and Hum (1987 – 1989)

Album

In March 1987, U2 released The Joshua Tree. The album debuted at #1 in the UK, quickly reached #1 in the U.S., and would go on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and second Grammy for the video "Where the Streets Have no Name". The singles "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" also quickly went to #1 in the U.S., with "Where the Streets Have No Name" being another heavily played track. U2 was the fourth rock band to be featured on the cover of Time magazine (following The Beatles, The Band, and The Who), who declared that U2 was "Rock's Hottest Ticket".

The Joshua Tree videos: "With or Without You" and "Where the Streets Have No Name", directed by Meiert Avis, and "I Still Haven't Found what I'm Looking For", directed by Barry Devlin, saturated MTV and thus made the band much more visible to both casual music listeners and fans.

The Joshua Tree tour

The Joshua Tree Tour sold out stadiums around the world, the first time the band had consistently played venues of that size. At Wembley Stadium in London, in 1987, U2 performed a version of The Beatles' "Help!" - dedicating it to those in the audience who were dreading another five years of the recently re-elected Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. The band also covered The Beatles' "Helter Skelter", declaring "This song Charles Manson stole from the Beatles. We're stealin' it back."

Rattle and Hum

The band began to film and record various shows from the Joshua Tree for the documentary and double album Rattle and Hum in 1988 and released it on video in 1989. That album became a tribute to American music, which the band recorded in part at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis (along with The Point Depot, Dublin, Ireland), performed with Bob Dylan and B.B. King, and sang about blues great Billie Holiday. Amongst the songs performed live that made it to the album were Helter Skelter (see above), and a cover version of Bob Dylan's famous song All Along The Watchtower. Despite a positive reception from fans, Rattle and Hum received mixed-to-negative reviews from both film and music critics.

The Lovetown tour

After an 18-month break from touring, U2 went on the Lovetown Tour (with special guest B.B. King), which visited Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, but avoided the US and most of Europe. Perhaps feeling that U2 was somewhat stagnating, Bono announced during a December 30, 1989 concert in Dublin that it was time "to go away and dream it all up again."

Achtung Baby, Zoo TV and Zooropa (1991 – 1994)

"Achtung Baby"

After taking some time off, the band met in East Berlin in autumn of 1990 to begin work on their next studio album, again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois producing. The session did not go well, but following the inspirational completion of the hit song 'One,' (voted in April 2006 as having Britain's number one lyric-- "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers"-- by a VH1 poll of 13,000 people) the band eventually emerged from subseqent recording studio sessions with renewed energy and a new album. In November of 1991, U2 released the heavily experimental and distorted Achtung Baby. The album was enthusiastically received by fans and critics alike, with Rolling Stone magazine declaring that U2 had "proven that the same penchant for epic musical and verbal gestures that leads many artists to self-parody can, in more inspired hands, fuel the unforgettable fire that defines great rock & roll." What was often said at the time was that Achtung Baby introduced a legion of new U2 fans, people who had heard the group for many years but never really liked them or bought their records before. The group's fanbase was therefore expanded significantly by this release. New fans were perhaps drawn in by the hit song "Mysterious Ways", with its closer resemblance both lyrically and sonically to conventional pop music of the time.

Zoo TV

In early 1992, U2 began its first American tour in more than four years. The multimedia event known as the Zoo TV Tour purposely confused audiences with hundreds of video screens, upside-down flying Trabant cars, mock transmission towers, satellite TV links, subliminal text messages, and over-the-top stage characters such as "The fly", "Mirror-ball Man" and "(Mister) MacPhisto". The tour was, among other things, U2's attempt at mocking the excesses of rock and roll by appearing to embrace greed and decadence - at times, even away from the stage . Some missed the point of the tour and thought that U2 had "lost it," and that Bono had become an egomaniac. European leg link-ups to war-torn Sarajevo and live prank phone calls to President Bush caused further controversy.

"Zooropa"

Following the many of the themes from Achtung Baby album and Zoo TV tour, U2 went back into the studio to record their next release during a break in the Zoo TV Tour. The album was intended as an additional EP to Achtung Baby, but soon Zooropa expanded into a full-fledged LP and was released in July of 1993. Zooropa was an even greater departure from the style of their earlier recordings, incorporating techno style and other electronic effects. The Zooropa album was, like Achtung Baby before it, popular among people who had never been fans of U2, further expanding the fanbase and increasing the band's ability to remain popular into the 1990's and beyond. In particular, the tracks "Zooropa", "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" and "The Wanderer", featuring special guest country and rock musician Johnny Cash on lead vocal, helped U2 win the admiration of new fans. Most of the songs were played at least once in the 1993 leg of the tour through Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, with several songs eventually becoming fixtures in the set.

"Passengers" and other side projects

After some time off—and a few side projects (the Batman Forever and Mission: Impossible soundtracks)—the band returned in 1995 with Brian Eno under the moniker "Passengers", and released an experimental album called Original Soundtracks No. 1. The album, including a collaboration with Luciano Pavarotti, "Miss Sarajevo", was largely unnoticed in the industry, and received little attention from the critics and public alike after the band lost the battle with the record company to release it with the U2 name.

Pop and Popmart (1996 – 1998)

Album

In early 1996, U2 began work on their next record. The recording of this album was fraught with difficulty. U2 were once again attempting to change their musical direction, this time the band were experimenting with heavy post production of their music, utilizing tape loops, programming and sampling. This gave the album a techno/disco feel. Pop was released in March of 1997. The album debuted at #1 in 28 countries, and earned U2 mainly positive reviews. Rolling Stone even went so far as claiming U2 had "defied the odds and made some of the greatest music of their lives." However, American audiences and fans felt that the music industry had exceeded the limits of tolerance in promoting Pop, and the album was seen as something of a disappointment by many die-hard U2 fans.

One of the main problems the band had when recording the album was the time constraint placed upon them by their impending tour. The band has admitted they were hurried into completing the album and say that a number of tracks on the album were not finished as well as they would have liked. It is not surprising that the tracks from Pop picked for U2's second greatest hits album – "Gone", "Discothèque", and "Staring at the Sun" – were all remixed for inclusion on that album.

The Popmart tour

With the Popmart Tour, U2, once again continued the Zoo TV theme of decadence. The show hit the road in April, 1997; the set included a 100-foot tall golden yellow arch, a large 150 foot long video screen, and a 40 foot tall mirrorball lemon. It was to be U2's most colorful show to date. One of the stops was in Sarajevo, where they were the first major group to perform after the war there. The Popmart Tour was the second-highest grossing tour of 1997 (behind the Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon Tour) with revenues of just under $80 million, but it cost more than $100 million to produce. On September 20th 1997, they set the new European Record for attendance at a concert for a single performer. 150,000 Italians went to the "Campovolo" in Reggio Emilia to see their show. This record has been defeated by Italian rocker Luciano Ligabue who on September 10th 2005, in the same venue (Campovolo) played in front of 180,000 persons.

Both the Popmart Tour and the Zoo TV Tour were intended to send a sarcastic message to all those accusing U2 of commercialism. The shows were also intended to be shining a mirror back onto the world, taking all the subtle advertising and messages we are exposed to every day and blowing them up so they were visible to the world, best shown in the famous picture of Bono (dressed as The Fly) with the message "WATCH MORE TV" written next to it.

Activities after the tour

The band played a brief concert in Belfast in May of 1998, three days before the public voted in favour of the Northern Ireland Peace Accord. Also that year, U2 performed on an Irish TV fundraiser for victims of the Omagh, Northern Ireland bombing which killed 28 and injured hundreds earlier in the year. In late 1998, U2 released its first compilation, The Best of 1980-1990.

All That You Can't Leave Behind and Elevation (2000 – 2001)

Album

U2 went back into the studio in early 1999, yet again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois producing. After the extravagance of the Popmart Tour, critics and music industry insiders felt that U2 was trying to return to the days of The Joshua Tree in order to keep its audience of loyal fans. During these sessions, the band collaborated with author Salman Rushdie, who wrote the lyrics to a song called "The Ground Beneath Her Feet," taken from his book of the same name. The song eventually appeared on the soundtrack to The Million Dollar Hotel, a movie based on a story written by Bono, and directed by Wim Wenders.

All That You Can't Leave Behind, released in late October of 2000, was received widely as U2's return to grace, and was considered by many to be U2's "third masterpiece," following The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. It debuted at No. 1 in 22 countries (although not in the U.S.) and spawned a world-wide hit single, "Beautiful Day," which also earned three Grammy Awards. U2 followed that release with a major tour in the spring of 2001, the Elevation Tour.

The Elevation tour

The Elevation Tour saw the band performing in a scaled-down setting, returning to arenas after nearly a decade of stadium productions, with a heart-shaped stage and ramp permitting greater proximity to the audience. The terrorist attacks of September 11 2001 nearly led U2 to cancel the last third of the tour but they decided to continue nonetheless; the new album's "Walk On" and "New York" gained added resonance. The tour ended up as the top concert draw in North America in 2001. Following such a favourably-received album, and a hugely successful tour, many fans felt that U2 had been successful in "re-applying for the job of the biggest band in the world," an application Bono had made a year earlier.

Activities after the tour

After the Elevation Tour ended in late 2001, the culmination of U2's critical resurrection came when the band performed a well-received three-song set in New Orleans, Louisiana during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI. The highlight was a performance of "Where the Streets Have No Name" in which the names of the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks were projected onto a pair of backdrops, scrolling up towards the sky. At the end of the song the backdrops were released, descending to the ground in a gentle revisiting of the Twin Towers' fall. Bono then opened his jacket, which he had worn throughout the Elevation Tour, to reveal the American flag printed as the lining, an image that was widely reproduced in the media. All That You Can't Leave Behind went on to receive four more Grammy Awards.

Bono continued his campaigns for debt and HIV/AIDS relief throughout the summer of 2002. In late 2002, U2 released part two of its greatest hits collection, The Best of 1990-2000.

Dance artists LMC sampled "With or Without You" for their track "Take Me To The Clouds Above" which also features lyrics from "How Will I Know" by Whitney Houston. All four members of U2 had to clear the track, which was released under the title of LMC vs. U2. Adam Clayton said of the track, "It's a good beat and you can dance to it. I especially like the bassline." The single went to the top of the UK singles charts in February 2004 and also went top 5 in Ireland and top ten in Australia.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and "Vertigo" (2004 – )

A rough-cut of the band's follow-up album was stolen in Nice, France, in July 2004 In response, Bono stated that should the album appear on peer-to-peer networks, it would be released immediately via iTunes and be in stores within a month, although no such pre-release transpired.

Release and chart success

The first single from the album, titled "Vertigo", was released for airplay on September 24, 2004. The song received extensive airplay in the first week after its release and became an international hit. The album, titled How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, was released on November 22 worldwide (November 23 in the United States). The album debuted at #1 in 32 countries, including the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the band's native Ireland. It sold 840,000 units in the United States in its first week. This was a record for the band, nearly doubling the first-week sales of All That You Can't Leave Behind in the US. In Europe, the next single released from the album - "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" - once again featured a Bono/Luciano Pavarotti performance on the B-side. The performance is a Jacknife Lee remix of "Ave Maria", from a Pavarotti and Friends performance in Modena, Italy. It rose to #1 on the UK singles chart, marking the first time a U2 album spawned two #1 singles in the UK. The third single from the album, "City of Blinding Lights", entered the UK singles chart at #2 on June 12. "All Because of You" was released as the fourth single, although it was the second single in the United States, and "Original of the Species" as a fifth, digital single release.

Album promotion

U2 promoted How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb heavily. They made appearances on TV shows like CD:UK and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in Britain and Saturday Night Live in America. The band also made a video for the second North American single, "All Because Of You", while riding on a flatbed truck through the streets of Manhattan on November 22. They then played a free concert at a park beneath the Brooklyn Bridge, attracting an estimated 5,000 fans who had learned of the show on various U2 fan websites.

iPod and “The Complete U2”

In 2004, the band entered a cross-promotion campaign with Apple Computer: they allowed the single "Vertigo" to be used in a widely aired television commercial for the iPod - although the band reportedly did not receive any royalties for its use. A special iPod version was licensed, featuring a U2 design (black faceplate with red click wheel, echoing the color scheme for the new album), and the band members' signatures etched on the back plate. The partnership also spawned a digital box set of 400 songs called The Complete U2. It includes every U2 album, as well as most singles a large collection of rarities.

The Special Edition iPod was re-released in June 2006. Visually, the design is almost identical to the 2004 release, although video playback capability has been added, along with a 30GB capacity.

The “Vertigo Tour”

The first leg of the Vertigo Tour began in the United States, with the band performing 26 sold-out shows. The first leg started off in March in San Diego, California and finished in May in Boston, Massachusetts. The band performed well-known hits, songs from the current album, and early songs such as "The Electric Co." and "An Cat Dubh". The second leg was a European stadium tour, which started on June 10 in Brussels and finished on August 14 in Lisbon. They played in a number of venues including Amsterdam, London, Dublin, Milan (where they recorded the show for a DVD release in the coming years) and Oslo. The band then returned to North America, finishing up on December 19 in Portland, Oregon. Their featured stop in Chicago, Illinois in May 2005 was filmed over two nights for the live DVD U2 - Vertigo 2005 // Live From Chicago. The DVD marks their third live film since their 2001 Elevation Tour. U2 broke Irish box office records with ticket sales for their 2005 Croke Park, Dublin concerts, after more than 240,000 tickets were sold in record time. In The Netherlands, Belgium, France and Austria the tickets were sold within 60 minutes. During February and March the band performed in Latin America. The concerts took place in Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina (where an Imax 3D Movie was filmed with multiple cameras).

On March 9, 2006, it was announced that the remainder of the tour with shows in New Zealand, Australia, Japan and Hawaii would be postponed due to a close relative of a band member being ill. The postponed dates are expected to be rescheduled for November or December 2006, as stated by Bono on Australian TV in an interview on Andrew Denton's Enough Rope.

Miscellaneous

In April 2004, Rolling Stone magazine placed U2 in its 50 "greatest rock & roll artists of all time". On March 14, 2005, U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. They were inducted by their good friend Bruce Springsteen. They performed alongside Coldplay, Paul McCartney, The Who and Pink Floyd, among others, in the Live 8 concert in London on July 2nd, 2005.

On December 18, 2005, Time magazine awarded its prestigious "Person of the Year" honor to Bono as well as philanthropists Bill and Melinda Gates .

That same month, Mary J. Blige released her ninth studio album The Breakthrough. U2 was featured on the album as part of Blige's cover version of "One".

On February 8, 2006, U2 won five Grammy Awards, including "Album of the Year" for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. They also won "Song of the Year" for "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own", "Best Rock Album" for Bomb, "Best Rock Performance By A Duo or Group" for "Sometimes..." and "Best Rock Song" for "City of Blinding Lights". "If you think this is going to go to our head, it's too late," said Bono as he accepted the award for "Song of the Year".

Next album recordings (2006 – 2007)

Template:Future album In April 2005, reports emerged that U2 have plans for a new album. According to Bono there are 24 songs that came out of the How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb album sessions, of which the band took 11 for their subsequent record. The Vertigo tour kicked off in San Diego on 28 March and has gone well into 2006 with several tour dates rescheduled for late in the year, so no plans to go back to the studio to record are known of currently. However this has not stopped some fans from speculating that a new album may be forthcoming in 2007, possibly even in late 2006. In the January 2006 edition of Q magazine, Bono said that the band were in fact working on a new album for 2006. Releasing a new album so soon after one as commercially successful as How to Dismantle... would not be without precedent for U2; in 1993, during a break in the massive Zoo TV Tour, U2 recorded what was to be Zooropa. The album was released only a year and half after their album Achtung Baby.

There has been some speculation that U2 may re-record their 1997 album, Pop for a tenth anniversary release. Comments made in mid-2005 by frontman Bono , indicate that this is indeed possible. Bono has stated that the biggest mistake the band has ever made was letting their manager book the PopMart tour, as it meant they had to rush to finish the Pop album.

After touring with hip-hop star Kanye West, Bono has stated that the band will "experiment" with new musical ideas with inspiration from hip-hop . It is not clear whether this means that U2 will try to adopt a hip-hop style, or whether Bono simply wishes to innovate to the same extent that he perceives hip-hop music doing.

Songs rumoured to appear on the next album are:

• "North Star" - a song from the How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb sessions that includes a guest organ appearance from Michael W. Smith. Smith has described in an interview that it is a tribute to the late Johnny Cash.
• "Lead Me In The Way I Should Go" - a contender for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb first mentioned in the February 2003 issue of Grammy Magazine.
• "You Can't Give Away Your Heart" - a contender for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb that was first mentioned in SPIN magazine.
• "Mercy" - one of the last songs to get cut from How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. It was described in Blender magazine as "a six and a half-minute outpouring of U2 at its most uninhibitedly U2-ish"
• "Love Is All We Have Left" - a song penned by Bono during his May 2006 excursion to Africa, of which he has said he "thought it was a Frank Sinatra song".

Other projects

U2 have worked with other collaborators; the individual members have also worked in smaller groups together and with outsiders. Bono recorded the song "In a Lifetime" with the Irish band Clannad, with a video co-directed by The Edge. Together with Edge, Bono wrote the song "GoldenEye" for the James Bond movie of the same name, which was performed by Tina Turner. The pair also wrote the song "She's A Mystery To Me" for Roy Orbison, which was released on his album Mystery Girl, while Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. did a rework of the title track of the movie Mission: Impossible in 1996.

While working under the pseudonym "Passengers," U2 gave producer Brian Eno creative control and released the album Original Soundtracks No. 1. The work was proposed as a compilation of film music for nonexistent movies, and a bit of a step back from the usual style of the band - thus the pseudonym "Passengers". Two of the tracks, "Miss Sarajevo" (which got world airplay after its live duet between Bono and Pavarotti was included in the album Pavarotti And Friends) and "Your Blue Room" (which included a vocal track by the band's bassist, Adam Clayton), made it to their Best Of 1990-2000 album.

U2 also worked together with non-music artists, including the U.S. author William S. Burroughs, who had a guest appearance in their video of "Last Night on Earth" shortly before he died. His poem "A Thanksgiving Prayer" was used as video footage during the band's Zoo TV Tour. Other collaborators included William Gibson and Allen Ginsberg.

Many musicians have been influenced by the work of U2. There are several cover versions of U2 songs by bands such as Pet Shop Boys, Pearl Jam and The Chimes, and musicians such as Cassandra Wilson, Joe Cocker and Johnny Cash. U2 have enjoyed reciprocal influential relationships with artists including R.E.M., Bruce Springsteen and Anton Corbijn, as well as exerting influences on others.

Since 1982, Anton Corbijn has been the principle photographer for U2, having a major and ongoing influence on their public image. Since their first encounter in February 1982 in New Orleans, they have had a longstanding friendship, mutual inspiration, and shared interest of rock history.

On several occasions, U2 have collaborated with fellow Irish band The Corrs, with very specific collaborations between the frontman of U2, Bono, and frontwoman of The Corrs, Andrea Corr. The Corr's VH1 Live in Dublin album (2002) featured Bono providing lead vocals with Andrea on "When the Stars Go Blue" (a cover of a song by Ryan Adams) and "Summer Wine", and when Bono and Gavin Friday wrote the song "Time Enough for Tears" for the motion picture In America, Andrea was once again brought in to provide the vocals. Their most recent collaboration was for the title song of the 2005 film Don't Come Knocking, penned by Bono. Bono also performed with The Corrs at the 2005 Live 8 Edinburgh concert to reprise the duet "When the Stars Go Blue."

Discography

For a complete discography, see U2 discography.

Studio albums

1. 1980 - Boy (total sales 3M)
2. 1981 - October (3M)
3. 1983 - War (8M)
4. 1984 - The Unforgettable Fire (8M)
5. 1987 - The Joshua Tree (25M)
6. 1988 - Rattle and Hum (half-live/half-studio album) (14M)
7. 1991 - Achtung Baby (17M)
8. 1993 - Zooropa (8M)
9. 1997 - Pop (7M)
10. 2000 - All That You Can't Leave Behind (12M)
11. 2004 - How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (10M)

Live albums

1. 1983 - Under a Blood Red Sky (8M)
2. 1988 - Rattle and Hum (half-live/half-studio album) (14M)
3. 2000 - Hasta La Vista Baby! (Recorded live during the Popmart Tour in Mexico City. Available only to members of Propaganda Fan Club)
4. 2005 - U2.Communication (Recorded live during the Vertigo Tour in Chicago and Milan. Available only to U2.com subscribers)

Compilation albums

1. 1998 - The Best of 1980-1990 (16M)
2. 2002 - The Best of 1990-2000 (5M)

Other projects

1. 1979 - Three (EP)
2. 1985 - Wide Awake in America (EP) (2M)
3. 1993 - Melon (Propaganda Fan Club release - contains remixes from Achtung Baby and Zooropa.)
4. 1995 - Original Soundtracks No. 1 (with Brian Eno, band went under the name The Passengers).
5. 2000 - Million Dollar Hotel Soundtrack
6. 2002 - 7 (EP) - Released only in the U.S.
7. 2004 - The Complete U2 (available for download from the iTunes Music Store) which includes all studio albums, singles and officially released live tracks, as well as some previously unreleased content.

Grammy awards

1. 1987 -- Album Of The Year -- The Joshua Tree
2. 1987 -- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- The Joshua Tree
3. 1988 -- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- Desire
4. 1988 -- Best Performance Music Video -- Where The Streets Have No Name Directed by Meiert Avis.
5. 1992 -- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- Achtung Baby
6. 1993 -- Best Alternative Music Album -- Zooropa
7. 1994 -- Best Music Video, Long Form -- Zoo TV - Live From Sydney
8. 2000 -- Record Of The Year -- Beautiful Day
9. 2000 -- Song Of The Year -- Beautiful Day
10. 2000 -- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- Beautiful Day
11. 2001 -- Record Of The Year -- Walk On
12. 2001 -- Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of
13. 2001 -- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- Elevation
14. 2001 -- Best Rock Album -- All That You Can't Leave Behind
15. 2004 -- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal - Vertigo
16. 2004 -- Best Short Form Music Video -- Vertigo Directed by Alex and Martin.
17. 2004 -- Best Rock Song -- Vertigo
18. 2005 -- Album Of The Year -- How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
19. 2005 -- Song Of The Year -- Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
20. 2005 -- Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal -- Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
21. 2005 -- Best Rock Song -- City of Blinding Lights
22. 2005 -- Best Rock Album -- How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb

Campaigning

U2 are almost as well known for its humanitarian work as it is for its music. Bono is perhaps the best-known advocate for finding a cure for AIDS and helping the impoverished in Africa. Some charity organisations supported by U2 include:

• Amnesty International
• Greenpeace
• African Well Fund
• Support for Burma's Aung San Suu Kyi
• DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa)
• Chernobyl Children's Project
• Jubilee Debt Campaign
• The ONE Campaign
• Live 8
• Make Poverty History

The Edge also supports Music Rising, an organisation set up to help replace musical instruments of those people affected by the New Orleans hurricane disaster.

Sound samples

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See also

• Best selling music artists
• List of number-one hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

Notes & references

1. http://www.riaa.com/gp/bestsellers/topartists.asp
2. http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article364606.ece
3. Chatterton, Mark. U2 The Complete Encyclopedia (2001). pg. 130. Firefly Publishing
4. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0212/01/lklw.00.html
5. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1072&news_type=review
6. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1073&news_type=review
7. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1074&news_type=review
8. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1075&news_type=review
9. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/packages/U2Fleetcenter/concert_review_march_1981/
10. http://www.boston.com/ae/music/packages/U2Fleetcenter/concert_review_march_1981/
11. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1084&news_type=review
12. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1085&news_type=review (full Jan 31, 1983 article can be seen at http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/210489/review/6067451/war)
13. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1091&news_type=review
14. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1093&news_type=review
15. http://www.u2.com/music/index.php?mode=full&news_id=1092&news_type=review
16. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5940096/u2s_serious_fun
17. http://www.nysun.com/article/5230
18. Anti-Music
19. http://www.atu2.com/newalbum/
20. http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/u2%20set%20to%20rerecord%20pop
21. http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/u2%20set%20to%20rerecord%20pop
22. http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2006/01/30/u2_next_hip_hop_sensation
23. http://www.atu2.com/newalbum
24. http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213
25. http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213
26. http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213
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38. http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213
39. http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=35213

External links

• U2.com - Official site

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