There was once a world without U2. There was once a young Irish boy named Paul Hewson, and a guitar player named Dave Evans, who joined forces with bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen at Dublin's Mount Temple High School to create angry, passion-driven rock music. They were rough around the edges, fueled by the raw punk passion of the late '70s. They played Rolling Stones and Beach Boys covers around their hometown.
And then there came a day when the edges smoothed out. Dave Evans became better known as The Edge, and his unorthodox guitar style set the band apart from anything out there. Paul Hewson fully adopted the moniker Bono, ridding himself of his given name forever, and simultaneously creating a persona that would eventually morph into that of rock 'n roll icon. The band offered a release with CBS Records Ireland, the U2:3 EP, which they supported with a self-organized tour - their efforts culminated in a sold out show in their hometown. A record deal with Island was signed, and rock music was redefined.
Boy and October were the label's first releases - albums which spawned familiar tracks like "I Will Follow" and "Gloria," both receiving a decent amount of airplay in the U.S. Most importantly, they were albums saturated with a passion rarely seen in the egocentric New Wave land of the early '80s. Both were filled with fiery vocals and anthemic choruses that translated majestically onto a live stage.
This fervor was heightened upon the release of the politically driven War, home to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" an anthem addressing strife in Northern Ireland, and one of the band's most moving live tracks. The power they radiated in concert needed to be captured, and 1983's Under a Blood Red Sky, recorded at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Colorado, did the trick. America, and the rest of the world took notice - Rolling Stone magazine named U2 its band of the year.
Now fully established, both as thinking man's rock and as political zealots, the band had room to branch out. It called upon experimentalist Brian Eno (who had worked with David Bowie and Talking Heads) and Daniel Lanos to produce album four, The Unforgettable Fire. The result was an expansive, passionate work whose most famous representation was "Pride (In the Name of Love)." The album reached #12 on the US charts, and the boys from Ireland began headlining arenas worldwide. Their commitment to political ideals also led to a historic appearance at 1985's Live Aid, and a headlining gig the following year at the Conspiracy of Hope Tour, benefiting Amnesty International.
With 1997's The Joshua Tree, U2 confirmed the standing Rolling Stone bestowed upon it the year before - "Band of the Eighties." Both a critical and commercial smash, the album's epic, expansive sound pummeled the band into superstardom. U2 topped the charts with #1 hits "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and "With or Without You," and disrupted Los Angeles neighborhoods with "Where the Streets Have No Name," snagging two Grammys and headlining yet another triumphant worldwide tour. In the wake of this success, the band released Rattle and Hum, a double album mixing live tracks with new works, along with an accompanying film documentary that scored U2 it's first UK #1 single, Desire.
The band's next triumph came with the release of Achtung Baby, an album with the beauty and grandiosity of The Joshua Tree, but turned it down a notch to mix in modern beats, dreamy love songs, and less of a political bent. It offers some of U2's most popular radio players of today, with the ode to belly dancers everywhere, "Mysterious Ways," and the singalong "One."
Having used the former decade to establish itself, U2 was allowed to play with the flurry of extravagance and flash that the '90s were then steeped. 1992's Zoo TV tour was a showy, noisy game of dress-up and insanity that, once again, sold out venues everywhere it visited. Gone was the ruggedness of the previous tours - this was U2's opportunity to don costumes and play with audiences like it never had before within the confines of a rock extravaganza.
The tour's follow-up album, Zooropa, made little noise, and the band faded into a smattering of solo projects before 1997's Pop. The album was a sharp departure from a guitar and lyric driven past, and experimented with dance/techno beats that garnered a love/hate reaction from fans and critics. It didn't stop anyone from attending the Popmart tour - a virtual Zoo TV on acid. Lots of lights, lots of experimental beats, lots of classic hits, and a massive lemon, to boot.
Since Popmart, the band has released a Greatest Hits disc, continued to flex its political muscles, and has been in the studio, readying All That You Can't Leave Behind. The next chapter is ready to begin. U2 is over 20 years old, and in no danger of going away any time soon.
