U2
U2, the Irish rock band, began with a note pinned to a school notice board in Dublin in 1976. Larry Mullen Jr., then a 14-year-old pupil at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, was looking for musicians for a new band. The first practice took place in Mullen's kitchen on the 25th of September. Years later he described it as "'The Larry Mullen Band' for about ten minutes, then Bono walked in and blew any chance I had of being in charge."
Today the group is Bono on lead vocals, the Edge on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, and Mullen on drums and percussion. Back then they were teenagers with very limited musical skill. So how did that kitchen gathering turn into a band that headlines the biggest stages in the world? Why did its members keep taking apart a sound that was already winning? And what were four people from one Dublin school trying to say with all that noise?
Feedback was the name the group chose, because it was one of the few technical terms they knew. By then the lineup had narrowed to five: Bono, the Edge, his older brother Dik Evans, Clayton and Mullen. Ivan McCormick was dropped within weeks. Peter Martin had lent his guitar and amplifier for the first practice, but he could not play and was soon phased out. Sources differ on whether Martin was even in the room that day.
Early rehearsals took place in their music teacher's classroom at school. Most of the material was cover songs, which the boys admitted was not their strength. Punk changed their thinking. The Stranglers, the Jam, the Clash, Buzzcocks and the Sex Pistols persuaded them that musical skill was not a prerequisite for success.
In April 1977, Feedback played its first gig for a paying audience, at St. Fintan's High School. Soon afterwards the name became The Hype. Dik Evans was older and by then attending college, and the others were leaning toward a four-piece band.
In March 1978 the group became U2. The name came from a list of six options offered by Steve Averill, a punk musician with the Radiators from Space and a family friend of Clayton. The band liked its open-ended meanings and how it looked on posters. It was also the name they disliked the least. Dik Evans left with a farewell concert at the Presbyterian Hall in Sutton on the 4th of March. The band played cover songs as the Hype, and Dik ceremonially walked offstage. The other four then returned to play original material as U2. Dik joined the Virgin Prunes, a band of mutual friends that became U2's default opening act and often swapped members with them.
On the 18th of March, the four-piece U2 won the Pop Group '78 talent contest. It was sponsored by the Evening Press and Guinness's Harp Lager as part of Limerick Civic Week. The prize included a recording session for a demo that would be heard by CBS Ireland. That tape was made at Keystone Studios in Dublin in April 1978, but the band's inexperience left it largely unsuccessful.
The Irish magazine Hot Press became one of their earliest allies. Its journalist Bill Graham introduced the band to Paul McGuinness, who agreed to manage them in mid-1978. McGuinness booked demo sessions and set out to find a record deal.
The most famous Irish shows came in mid-1979, a series of weekend afternoon gigs at Dublin's Dandelion Market. In August 1979 the band recorded at Windmill Lane Studios with CBS talent scout Chas de Whalley producing. It was the first of many sessions at that studio. CBS released three of the songs in Ireland that September as the EP Three. The limited 12-inch edition of 1,000 copies sold out almost immediately. A trip to London in December 1979 brought little attention from audiences or critics.
On the 26th of February 1980, CBS released their second single, "Another Day", again only in Ireland. The same night the band played the 2,000-seat National Stadium in Dublin, a gamble given the size of the room. It paid off. Bill Stewart, an A&R representative for Island Records, was in the crowd and offered to sign them. The following month U2 signed a four-year, four-album contract with Island. They had a repertoire of nearly 40 songs ready to fill the first record.
Producer Steve Lillywhite put Mullen's drums in a stairwell when the debut album, Boy, was recorded at Windmill Lane from July to September 1980. His experiments included overdubbing smashed bottles and cutlery skimmed against a spinning bicycle wheel. Martin Hannett, who had produced the band's first international single, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", was considered for the album but replaced by Lillywhite. The band found Lillywhite creative and encouraging. Bono called him "such a breath of fresh air", and the Edge said he "had a great way of pulling the best out of everybody".
The single "A Day Without Me" failed to chart, yet it drove the Edge to buy an Electro-Harmonix Memory Man delay unit. That device came to define his guitar style. Boy arrived in October 1980 to generally positive reviews. Paul Morley of NME called it "touching, precocious, full of archaic and modernist conviction". Bono's lyrics dwelled on adolescence and the passage into adulthood. The cover showed a close-up of Peter Rowen, the younger brother of Bono's friend Guggi. The album reached number 52 in the UK and number 63 in the US. "I Will Follow" brought the band its first US radio play and reached number 20 on Billboard's Top Tracks rock chart.
In March 1981, on an American leg of the Boy Tour, Bono's briefcase of unfinished lyrics and musical ideas was lost backstage at a nightclub in Portland, Oregon. The band had little time to write on the road. In July they began a two-month session at Windmill Lane largely unprepared, so Bono improvised lyrics on the spot. Lillywhite called the sessions "completely chaotic and mad".
Spiritual doubt added to the strain. Bono, the Edge and Mullen belonged to a Charismatic Christian group in Dublin called the Shalom Fellowship. It made them question how religious faith fit with the lifestyle of a rock band. Bono and the Edge considered quitting U2 before deciding to leave Shalom instead. On the 16th of August 1981, U2 opened for Thin Lizzy at the first Slane Concert, which the Edge called one of their worst shows.
October came out in October 1981 with openly spiritual themes. Reviews were mixed and radio play was limited. It debuted at number 11 in the UK but sold poorly elsewhere. The single "Fire" became their first UK chart entry and earned a spot on Top of the Pops. "Gloria" was the first U2 video played on MTV. On the October Tour the band met the Dutch photographer Anton Corbijn, who became their principal photographer and shaped their public image. In March 1982 they opened for the J. Geils Band for 14 dates. By the end of the tour they had run out of money and felt unsupported by their label. Clayton recalled that "there was a firm resolve to come out of the box fighting with the next record".
The band rented a cottage in Howth, where they lived, wrote and rehearsed. The Edge made major musical breakthroughs in August 1982 during two weeks of solo songwriting. The others were on holiday, and Bono was on his honeymoon with his wife, Ali. From September to November the group recorded War at Windmill Lane. Lillywhite had a policy against working with an artist more than twice, but the band talked him into a third album. Violinist Steve Wickham and the female singers of Kid Creole and the Coconuts contributed, and Mullen played to a click track for the first time.
"New Year's Day" appeared in January 1983. It reached number 10 in the UK and became the band's first hit outside Europe. War followed in February and debuted at number one in the UK, reaching number 12 in the US. Its sincerity and rugged guitar ran against the trendier synthpop of the day. One description said the band had "turned pacifism itself into a crusade". In "Sunday Bloody Sunday", Bono set the 1972 Bloody Sunday shooting against Easter Sunday. "Seconds" addressed nuclear proliferation, and "New Year's Day" nodded to the Polish Solidarity movement. Corbijn's photographs appeared on a U2 record for the first time, and the sleeve showed Peter Rowen again, his earlier innocent look replaced by a fearful one.
A white flag, waved by Bono during "Sunday Bloody Sunday", became the iconic image of the 1983 War Tour. The tour crossed Europe, the US and Japan, and the venues grew from clubs to halls to arenas. Bono tried to win over the larger crowds with theatrical and often dangerous antics, climbing scaffolding and lighting rigs and jumping into the audience. On Memorial Day weekend the band played the US Festival to 125,000 people.
The concert on the 5th of June 1983 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre was nearly rained out. Rolling Stone later named it one of "50 Moments that Changed the History of Rock and Roll". It was filmed as Live at Red Rocks, and other shows from the tour were captured on the live album Under a Blood Red Sky. Both got heavy play on MTV and radio. The tour also produced a closing ritual built on the War track "40". The Edge and Clayton swapped instruments, the members left the stage one by one, and the crowd kept singing the refrain "How long to sing this song?". It was U2's first profitable tour.
In 1984 the Island contract was ending, and the band signed a more lucrative extension. They won back the copyrights to their songs and a higher royalty rate, accepting a smaller initial payment in return. Creatively, they feared turning into another "shrill", "sloganeering arena-rock band". Bono said, "something just didn't feel right. We felt we had more dimension than just the next big anything, we had something unique to offer." Clayton wanted something "more serious, more arty".
The Edge admired the ambient "weird works" of Brian Eno. Eno and his engineer Daniel Lanois agreed to produce the next record. Island founder Chris Blackwell opposed the choice. He believed Eno would "bury them under a layer of avant-garde nonsense".
The Unforgettable Fire was partly recorded in Slane Castle and released in October 1984. The sound was ambient, abstract and richly orchestrated. Under Lanois, Mullen's drumming turned looser and funkier, and Clayton's bass grew more subtle. The lyrics were left open to interpretation, which gave the music what the band called a "very visual feel". A tight schedule left Bono feeling that songs such as "Bad" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" were incomplete "sketches". The album reached number one in the UK. "Pride", written about the civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., became their first US top 40 hit.
The intricate textures were hard to reproduce on the Unforgettable Fire Tour, which moved largely into indoor arenas. The band solved part of the problem with music sequencers, which they had long avoided but now used in most performances. Songs that critics had called "unfinished", "fuzzy" and "unfocused" fared better on stage. Rolling Stone had disliked the album version of "Bad" yet called its live version a "show stopper".
In March 1985 a Rolling Stone cover story named U2 the "Band of the '80s". It said they might even be "the only band that matters". On the 13th of July 1985, they played Live Aid at Wembley Stadium for Ethiopian famine relief, before 72,000 people and a television audience of 1.5 billion. During a 12-minute "Bad", Bono climbed down from the stage to embrace and dance with a woman he had picked from the crowd. The Guardian later cited Live Aid as the moment that made stars of U2 and placed the show on a list of 50 key events in rock history.
"U2 had no tradition" was the realisation that sent the band digging into American and Irish roots music before The Joshua Tree. Their knowledge of music from before their own childhoods was limited. Friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison and Keith Richards pushed Bono toward blues, folk and gospel and toward sharpening his craft as a lyricist. In June 1986 the sessions paused so U2 could headline the Conspiracy of Hope benefit tour for Amnesty International. Far from distracting them, it energised the new songs.
The next month Bono travelled to Nicaragua and El Salvador. He saw peasants suffering from political conflicts and from US military intervention, and the trip became a central influence on the music. The Joshua Tree came out in March 1987. It set hostility toward US foreign policy beside a deep fascination with the country's open spaces, freedom and ideals. The band wanted a sense of place and a "cinematic" quality, and drew on imagery from American writers they had been reading.
The response was enormous. Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times wrote that U2 had become what the Rolling Stones had long ceased to be, the greatest rock and roll band in the world. The album reached number one in over 20 countries. In the UK it went platinum in 48 hours and sold 235,000 copies in its first week, the fastest seller in British chart history at that point. In the US it held number one for nine consecutive weeks. "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" became the group's only US number-one singles, and "Where the Streets Have No Name" was a hit too. U2 became the fourth rock band on the cover of Time magazine, which called them "Rock's Hottest Ticket". The album won Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal at the Grammys. It has sold 25 million copies.
The Joshua Tree Tour was their first to mix stadium shows with smaller arena dates. It was the highest-grossing North American tour of the year, and it sold 3.17 million tickets worldwide.
In October 1988 came Rattle and Hum, a double album and a theatrically released documentary about the band's encounters with American roots music. It held nine studio tracks and six live performances, including recordings at Sun Studio in Memphis and collaborations with Dylan and B.B. King. One Rolling Stone editor praised its "excitement", while another called it "misguided and bombastic". The film's director, Phil Joanou, called it "an overly pretentious look at U2". The film underperformed and was pulled from cinemas after three weeks. The album still sold 14 million copies and reached number one worldwide. Its single "Desire" gave the band its first UK number one and reached number three in the US.
The Lovetown Tour of 1989-90 took the new songs to Oceania, Japan and Europe. The band had grown unhappy with their shows, and Mullen recalled, "We were the biggest, but we weren't the best". Before a hometown crowd in Dublin on the 30th of December 1989, Bono told the audience it was "the end of something for U2". He said they had to "go away and... just dream it all up again".
Berlin's Hansa Studios was where the dreaming began in October 1990. Inspired by German reunification, the band started their seventh album, Achtung Baby, there with Lanois and Eno. The sessions were tense. Clayton and Mullen wanted a sound close to U2's earlier work, while Bono and the Edge, drawn to European industrial and electronic dance music, pushed for change. After weeks of slow progress the band nearly broke up. Then the improvised writing of "One" turned things around. Back in Dublin in 1991 morale improved, and most of the album was finished there.
Achtung Baby appeared in November 1991. Bono called it "four men chopping down the Joshua Tree". It absorbed alternative rock, dance and industrial music. The mood was more personal and introspective, darker yet more flippant than before. Five hit singles came from it, including "The Fly", "Mysterious Ways" and "One". It won the 1993 Grammy for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
The 1992-93 Zoo TV Tour broke just as sharply with the past. After stark stages in earlier years, this was a multimedia spectacle that mocked television's blurring of news, entertainment and home shopping. It aimed to create "sensory overload" with giant video screens, random clips from pop culture and flashing text. The lighting rig was partly built from Trabant cars. The band had been known for earnest 1980s shows, but these were deliberately ironic and self-deprecating. Bono played over-the-top characters: "The Fly", a leather-clad egomaniac, "Mirror Ball Man", a greedy televangelist, and the devilish "MacPhisto". Prank phone calls went out to US President George H. W. Bush and the United Nations, among others. Live satellite link-ups to war-torn Sarajevo caused controversy. Zoo TV was the highest-grossing North American tour of 1992. In 2002, Tom Doyle of Q called it "the most spectacular rock tour staged by any band".
In June 1993, U2 signed a six-album deal to stay with Island Records and PolyGram. The Los Angeles Times estimated it made them the highest-paid rock group ever. The following month they released Zooropa, recorded quickly during a break in the tour. It began as an EP and grew into a full album that pushed further into electronic, industrial and dance music. Johnny Cash sang lead vocals on the closing track, "The Wanderer". Zooropa reached the top ten in 26 countries, sold 7 million copies and won the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Album. The Edge called it "an interlude".
On the 26th of November 1993, in Sydney, Clayton could not play after a blackout linked to his struggles with alcohol. The show was the dress rehearsal for a worldwide television broadcast the following night. Bass guitar technician Stuart Morgan filled in. It was the first time a member of U2 had missed a concert since their earliest days. Clayton resolved to stop drinking.
In 1995 the band contributed "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" to the Batman Forever soundtrack. It reached number one in Australia and Ireland, and number two in the UK. That November they released Original Soundtracks 1, made with Eno as a full songwriting partner. It appeared under the name Passengers to set it apart from U2's regular albums. It went largely unnoticed by U2 standards. Mullen said, "There's a thin line between interesting music and self-indulgence. We crossed it on the Passengers record." Its single "Miss Sarajevo", featuring Luciano Pavarotti, remained among Bono's favourite U2 songs.
Work on Pop began in mid-1995 with the producers Nellee Hooper, Flood and Howie B. Mullen's back surgery in November forced the others to write in new ways, such as programming drum loops and playing to samples from Howie B. After he returned in February 1996, the band struggled to finish songs and missed their mid-year deadline. Meanwhile, McGuinness had booked the PopMart Tour while the album was unfinished. Bono called that "the worst decision U2 ever made". Pop was pushed to March 1997, which cut into rehearsal time.
The lead single, "Discothèque", came out in February 1997 with a video in which the band wore Village People costumes. Within days they announced PopMart at a press conference in the lingerie section of a Kmart department store. Critics split on the album. Rolling Stone said U2 had "defied the odds and made some of the greatest music of their lives", while others found it a major disappointment. It debuted at number one in over 30 countries and then fell off the charts quickly. Bono said it "didn't communicate the way it was intended to", and the Edge called it a "compromise project by the end".
PopMart started in April 1997 as a satire of consumerism. The stage had a golden arch 100 feet (30 m) tall that recalled the McDonald's logo, a 40-foot (12 m) mirrorball lemon, and a 150-foot (46 m) LED screen, then the largest in the world. Many fans were confused by the kitsch image. Rehearsal time had been cut, early shows suffered, and some US stadiums were half empty. More than once the lemon, which the band emerged from for the encores, malfunctioned and trapped them inside. Bono still judged it "better than Zoo TV aesthetically" and "a clearer thought" as an art project. He said, "When that show worked, it was mindblowing."
On the 20th of September 1997, more than 150,000 people attended the show in Reggio Emilia, reported as a world record for the largest paying audience at a one-act show. Three days later U2 played Sarajevo, the first major group to perform there after the Bosnian War. Mullen said he would have spent 20 years in the band just to play that show. Bono called it "one of the toughest and one of the sweetest nights of my life." The tour ended in March 1998 after 3.98 million tickets. The next month U2 appeared in the 200th episode of The Simpsons, where Homer Simpson disrupts a PopMart concert. In November 1998 their first compilation, The Best of 1980-1990, set a US first-week sales record for a group's greatest hits album.
"The band in a room playing together" was the recording ethos U2 wanted back for their tenth album, All That You Can't Leave Behind. The Edge said that with Pop the group had taken the deconstruction of the rock band format to its "absolute 'nth degree". Eno and Lanois returned in late 1998. Burned by the pressure of Pop, the band worked without deadlines. Bono was busy with debt relief for Jubilee 2000, and the others spent time with their families, so the sessions ran until August 2000.
The album came out that October and critics saw it as a return to basics, with a more conventional rock sound. For listeners who had not warmed to the dance experiments, it felt like a return to grace. Rolling Stone called it U2's "third masterpiece" alongside The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. It debuted at number one in 32 countries and sold 12 million copies. "Beautiful Day" reached number one in Ireland, the UK, Australia and Canada. It won Grammys for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Song of the Year and Record of the Year. At the ceremony Bono said U2 were "reapplying for the job... of the best band in the world".
The Elevation Tour began in March 2001 with a scaled-down stage and a return to arenas after nearly a decade of stadiums. A heart-shaped catwalk circled many fans, and the US offered festival seating for the first time in the group's history. Two Slane Concerts in Ireland drew crowds of 80,000. After the attacks of the 11th of September, the album climbed the US charts again, and songs such as "Walk On" and "Peace on Earth" got radio play. In October U2 played Madison Square Garden for the first time since the attacks, and Bono and the Edge counted those shows among their most emotional. The tour was the top-earning North American tour of 2001 and the year's highest-grossing tour worldwide. Spin named U2 its "Band of the Year".
On the 3rd of February 2002, U2 played the Super Bowl XXXVI halftime show. The names of the victims of the attacks were projected behind them, and at the end Bono opened his jacket to reveal an American flag in the lining. Sports Illustrated, Rolling Stone and USA Today each ranked it the best halftime show in Super Bowl history. That month U2 won four more Grammys, and "Walk On" became Record of the Year, the first time an artist took that award in consecutive years for songs from one album.
Wanting a harder-hitting sound, the band began How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in February 2003 with producer Chris Thomas. After nine months they had a full album's worth of songs but were unsatisfied. Mullen said the songs "had no magic". In January 2004, Steve Lillywhite returned, with his assistant Jacknife Lee, and spent six months reworking the material. Several other producers also received credits, and Bono admitted this hurt the record's "sonic cohesion".
The album arrived in November 2004 and reached number one in 30 countries. In the US its first-week sales of 840,000 copies nearly doubled those of its predecessor, a personal best for the band. It sold 9 million worldwide. Apple was a partner: "Vertigo" appeared in an advertisement for the iPod, and a U2-branded iPod and an iTunes Store box set followed. "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", a tribute to Bono's late father, went to number one in the UK and Canada. In March 2005, Bruce Springsteen inducted U2 into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility.
The Vertigo Tour nearly did not happen, because the Edge's daughter fell suddenly ill, and the schedule was adjusted around her treatment. Ticket presales on the band's website were plagued by glitches, partly because scalpers exploited the system. The tour was the top earner of 2005. In February 2006 U2 won five more Grammys, including Album of the Year for How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The album and its singles won in all eight categories in which they were nominated, across two ceremonies. Shows in Latin America were filmed for U2 3D, the world's first live-action digital 3D film.
In August 2006 the band incorporated its publishing business in the Netherlands after Ireland capped its tax exemption for artists. The Irish parliament criticised the move. U2 said about 95% of their business took place outside Ireland and that they were taxed globally. Bono said, "I think U2's tax business is our own business and I think it is not just to the letter of the law but to the spirit of the law."
Fez, Morocco, was the setting in May 2007 when the band restarted their twelfth album, No Line on the Horizon. An earlier attempt with producer Rick Rubin in 2006 had been shelved. In Fez, Eno and Lanois joined as full songwriting partners, and the group spent two weeks recording in a riad while exploring local music. They hoped to write "future hymns" that would be played forever. The Edge called it "a very freeing experience" that reminded him of why they started a band. As work moved on to New York, London and Dublin, the band scaled back the experiments, which Eno said "sounded kind of synthetic".
The album appeared in February 2009, more than four years after the last, their longest gap to that point. It earned their first five-star Rolling Stone review, though critics found it less experimental than billed. It debuted at number one in over 30 countries, but sales of 5 million were a letdown by U2 standards, and it had no hit single. A planned follow-up, Songs of Ascent, was described by Bono as "a more meditative album on the theme of pilgrimage". By December 2011, Clayton admitted it would never come together.
The U2 360° Tour began in June 2009, their first under a 12-year deal with Live Nation. The company took over their touring, merchandising and official website. The shows were staged in the round, under a four-legged structure nicknamed "The Claw". At 164 feet tall, it was the largest stage ever built. On the 25th of October 2009, U2 played to 97,014 people at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, a US record for a single headline act. In May 2010, Bono suffered a herniated disk and severe compression of the sciatic nerve, and needed emergency back surgery. The North American leg and a Glastonbury headline slot moved to 2011. The tour resumed in August 2010 and ended in July 2011 as the highest-grossing tour in history, with 7.3 million tickets sold.
Work on a rock album with Danger Mouse, among other projects, led to Songs of Innocence. In late 2013 the band paused to write "Ordinary Love" for the film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which won the 2014 Golden Globe for Best Original Song. That November, Paul McGuinness stepped down after managing the band for over 30 years, and Guy Oseary succeeded him.
On the 9th of September 2014, at an Apple launch event, U2 announced Songs of Innocence and released it free to all iTunes Store customers. Apple chief executive Tim Cook called it "the largest album release of all time". It was automatically added to users' accounts, which for many triggered an unrequested download. Chris Richards of The Washington Post called it "rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mail". Bono described the record as "the most personal album we've written". Then on the 16th of November 2014, a bicycle accident in Central Park left him with fractures of his shoulder blade, humerus, orbit and pinky finger. It was unclear whether he could play guitar again.
He recovered, and the Innocence + Experience Tour started in May 2015, telling a loose story of innocence turning to experience. A 96-foot double-sided screen with an interior catwalk let the band perform among the projections. Two Paris shows were rescheduled after the attacks of the 13th of November 2015, and the final one was filmed for HBO.
Songs of Experience was nearly finished in 2016. The Brexit referendum and the US presidential election made the band put it on hold to reassess its tone. That December Bono underwent open-heart surgery for an aortic aneurysm caused by a bicuspid aortic valve. In 2017 the band toured for the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree, playing the whole album at every show. It was the first time they toured an album from their back catalogue. Its 200 x 45 ft screen was, according to The Guardian, the largest and highest-resolution on any concert tour. Songs of Experience arrived on the 1st of December 2017 to mixed reviews and sold 1.3 million copies. The 2018 Experience + Innocence Tour used an augmented reality app and revived MacPhisto through a camera filter. In 2019, the Joshua Tree shows reached Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Singapore, India and the Philippines, and the single "Ahimsa" was released with A. R. Rahman.
During pandemic lockdowns the Edge and Bono led work on Songs of Surrender, which re-recorded 40 songs from the back catalogue. It accompanied Bono's memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. The album came out in March 2023 and gave the group their first UK number one since 2009. From September 2023 to March 2024 U2 performed a 40-date residency, U2:UV Achtung Baby Live, to open Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley. Mullen sat out to recover from surgery, the first time since 1978 U2 played without him, and the Dutch drummer Bram van den Berg filled in. Andy Greene of Rolling Stone called it "a quantum leap forward for concerts". It grossed from 663,000 tickets, the fourth-highest-grossing residency ever.
U2 have released 15 studio albums and sold an estimated 150-170 million records. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, eight Brit Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards and two Golden Globes. According to Pollstar, they were the second-highest-grossing live artist from 1980 to 2022, earning US$2.13 billion. On the 18th of February 2026, they surprise-released a six-track EP, Days of Ash, and confirmed a full-length studio album for later that year. A second six-track EP, Easter Lily, followed on the 3rd of April 2026.
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Common questions
Who are the members of U2?
U2 are Bono on lead vocals, the Edge on lead guitar, keyboards and vocals, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, and Larry Mullen Jr. on drums and percussion. The band formed in Dublin in 1976 when the members were teenage pupils at Mount Temple Comprehensive School.
How did U2 get its name?
U2 chose its name in March 1978 from a list of six options suggested by Steve Averill, a punk musician with the Radiators from Space. The band liked its open-ended interpretations and its look on posters, and it was the name they disliked the least.
What was U2 called before they became U2?
Before U2, the band was first called Feedback, because it was one of the few technical terms the members knew. They later changed the name to The Hype before settling on U2 in 1978.
Which U2 album was their biggest success?
The Joshua Tree, released in March 1987, was U2's greatest critical and commercial success. It sold 25 million copies and produced the band's only US number-one singles, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
What was the Zoo TV Tour by U2?
The Zoo TV Tour of 1992-93 was an ironic multimedia concert tour that satirised television. It used large video screens, a lighting system partly made of Trabant cars, and Bono's stage characters The Fly, Mirror Ball Man and MacPhisto.
When did U2 play Live Aid?
U2 played Live Aid at Wembley Stadium on the 13th of July 1985, in front of 72,000 fans and a worldwide television audience of 1.5 billion. The Guardian cited the performance as the moment that made stars of U2.
How many records has U2 sold and what awards have they won?
U2 have released 15 studio albums and sold an estimated 150-170 million records worldwide. Their awards include 22 Grammy Awards, eight Brit Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
Why did U2 play the Sphere in Las Vegas?
U2 inaugurated Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley with the U2:UV Achtung Baby Live residency, a 40-date run from September 2023 to March 2024. It grossed from 663,000 tickets sold, making it the fourth-highest-grossing concert residency of all time.
All sources
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- 7McCormick (2008), p. 37
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- 12PodcastIntermission - The Night The Hype Became U2Gareth Averill — 22 May 2023
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- 38de la Parra (2003), pp. 16–17
- 40McCormick (2006), pp. 113–120
- 41How U2, a Portland bar and a missing briefcase altered music history (photos)Joseph Rose — 22 March 2016
- 42McGee (2008) pp. 46–47
- 43U2's producer reveals studio secretsMark Savage — 18 July 2008
- 44U2 | full Official Chart historyOfficial Charts Company
- 45Flanagan (1995), pp. 46–48
- 46OctoberNeil McCormick — Island Records — 2008
- 47McGee (2008), pp. 49–50
- 48Jobling (2014), pp. 88–89
- 49McCormick (2006), pp. 120, 130
- 50McCormick (2006), p. 125
- 51McGee (2008), p. 55
- 52McCormick (2006), p. 127
- 53McGee (2008), pp. 57–58
- 54McCormick (2006), pp. 130, 135
- 55McGee (2008), pp. 59–60
- 56MagazineWar & PeaceAdrian Thrills — 26 February 1983
- 57MagazineThe Producer: Steve LillywhiteGeoff Parkyn — March 1985
- 58de la Parra (2003), pp. 35–37
- 59McGee (2008), pp. 63–64, 66, 72
- 60Stokes (1996), p. 36
- 61Jobling (2014), p. 102
- 62Graham (2004), p. 14
- 63Reynolds (2006), p. 367
- 64McPherson (2015), p. 14
- 65Jobling (2014), p. 98
- 66MagazineAnton CorbijnU2 Information Service — April 1989
- 67de la Parra (2003), p. 42
- 68Lambert, Paul, "U2: Keeping the Faith with Unforgettable Fire", The Wall Street Journal, 2 April 1985. In Bordowitz (ed.), The U2 Reader, pp. 44–47.
- 69MagazineBono Bites BackAdam Block — 1 May 1989
- 70Snow (2014), p. 56
- 71Jobling (2014), p. 107
- 72MagazineU2's Gamble at Red RocksDamien Cave — 24 June 2004
- 73Jobling (2014), pp. 108–111
- 74Graham (2004), pp. 20–21
- 75McCormick (2006), p. 142
- 76Jobling (2014), p. 112
- 77MagazineKeeping the FaithChristopher Connelly — 14 March 1985
- 78MagazineReview: The Joshua TreeSteve Pond — 9 April 1987
- 79McCormick (2006), p. 147
- 80Graham (2004), p. 21
- 81Stokes (1996), p. 55
- 82de la Parra (2003), pp. 52–55
- 83Stokes (1996), pp. 50–51
- 84McCormick (2006), p. 151
- 85McGee (2008), p. 78
- 86U2: Charts and Awards
- 87Graham (2004), pp. 23–24
- 88de la Parra (2003), pp. 62–63
- 89MagazineReview: Wide Awake in AmericaJames Henke — 18 July 1985
- 90NewsLive Aid's Legacy of ConcernSteve Morse — 2 July 1995
- 91MagazineU2's 'Bad' Break: 12 Minutes at Live Aid That Made the Band's CareerGavin Edwards — 10 July 2014
- 92McGee (2008), pp. 88–89
- 93de la Parra (2003), pp. 72–73
- 94McCormick (2006), p. 164
- 95U2 become stars after Live AidPete Paphides — 12 June 2011
- 96Rolling Stone (1994), pp. 68–69
- 97MagazineU2 Releases The Joshua TreeAnthony DeCurtis — 26 March 1987
- 98McCormick (2006), pp. 169, 177
- 99McCormick (2006), p. 179
- 100McCormick (2006), p. 174
- 101MagazineHow the West Was WonStephen Dalton — October 2003
- 102McCormick (2006), p. 186
- 103Graham (2004), pp. 27–30
- 104NewsU2's Roots Go DeeperRobert Hilburn — 15 March 1987
- 105MagazineU2's 'The Joshua Tree': 10 Things You Didn't KnowJordan Runtagh — 9 March 2017
- 106Jobling (2014), p. 170
- 107The history of the Official Charts: the EightiesOfficial Charts Company
- 108VideoClassic Albums: U2 – The Joshua TreeIsis Productions — 1999
- 109Jobling (2014), p. 177
- 110MagazineTime Magazine Cover: U2 – April 27, 198727 April 1987
- 111U2 | Artist
- 113de la Parra (2003), pp. 102–103, 111
- 114NewsU2's $35-Million Gross Is Highest for '87 TourRobert Hilburn — 23 January 1988
- 115NewsMasters of stagecraft add wall of wonderKarl Quinn — 16 November 2019
- 116Stokes (1996), p. 78; Graham (2004), pp. 36–38
- 117MagazineU2's 'Achtung Baby': Bring the NoiseElysa Gardner — 9 January 1992
- 118Rolling Stone (1994), p. xxiv
- 119Jobling (2014), p. 197
- 121Stokes (2005), p. 78
- 122McGee (2008), p. 119
- 123MagazineU2 Finds What It's Looking ForDavid Fricke — 1 October 1992
- 124McGee (2008), p. 129
- 125McCormick (2006), p. 213
- 126MagazineBringing Up BabyBrian Eno — 28 November 1991
- 127Flanagan (1995), pp. 4–6
- 128Flanagan (1995), p. 7
- 129Flanagan (1995), pp. 6–11
- 130Flanagan (1995), p. 30; Graham (2004), p. 49; Stokes (1996), p. 102
- 131Flanagan (1995), pp. 4–6; Graham (2004), p. 43
- 132MagazineAchtung StationsStephen Dalton — November 2004
- 133Graham (2004), p. 44
- 134NewsCheers for Clapton: Guitar Great Picks Up Six Awards at GrammysBarbara Jaeger — 25 February 1993
- 135MagazineCloser to the EdgeOlaf Tyaransen — 4 December 2002
- 136de la Parra (2003), pp. 139–141; Flanagan (1995), pp. 12, 13, 58–61; Stokes (1996), pp. 110–111
- 137McGee (2008), p. 143
- 138MagazineBehind the FlyAlan Light — 4 March 1993
- 139MagazineI Had Too Much to Dream Last NightAdrian Deevoy — September 1993
- 140de la Parra (2003), pp. 153, 166
- 141NewsU2, Dead Top '92 Concert SalesRichard Harrington — 6 January 1993
- 142Flanagan (1996), pp. 232–233, 239
- 143NewsU2 Record Deal Rocks IndustryChuck Philips — 4 June 1993
- 144McGee (2008), pp. 161–162
- 145Graham (2004), p. 51
- 146de la Parra (2003), pp. 166–172
- 147MagazineIvors Spotlight Take That's BarlowDominic Pride — 11 June 1994
- 148Bordowitz (2003), p. 289
- 149McCormick (2006), pp. 248–249
- 150McCormick (2006), pp. 255–256
- 151McGee (2008), pp. 169–170
- 152Cogan (2008), p. 154
- 154Magazine10 Years of Turmoil Inside U2Tom Doyle — November 2002
- 155NewsStudio Shake-Up Has Production Team Singing 'Blues'Marilyn Beck et al. — 25 May 1995
- 156McGee (2008), p. 178
- 157NewsEno, U2 Make An 'Original'Jim Sullivan — 7 November 1995
- 158MagazineThe ProfessionalsTom Doyle — April 1997
- 159McGee (2008), p. 181
- 160McCormick (2006), pp. 261–262
- 161MagazinePop Art: Flood & Howie BPaul Tingen — July 1997
- 162McCormick (2006), p. 262
- 163McGee (2008), p. 182–185
- 164McCormick (2006), p. 266, 269–270
- 165U2 Revisit Pop?23 May 2005
- 166NewsThe Trouble With U2Brian Boyd — 19 October 1996
- 167MagazineFlashback: Davy Jones Sings 'Daydream Believer' at a U2 ConcertAndy Greene — 31 March 2015
- 168McGee (2008), pp. 187–189
- 169NewsDon't Call It Disco. Well, OK, You Can If You Want To. But Whatever You Call It, Dance Music Is Back With a VengeanceAnthony Violanti — 7 February 1997
- 170Jobling (2014), pp. 253–256
- 171Graham (2004), pp. 62–63
- 172MagazineReview: PopBarney Hoskyns — 20 March 1997
- 174Press releaseU2 Go 'PopMart'PR Newswire — 12 February 1997
- 176de la Parra (2003), pp. 193–202
- 177NewsU2 'Popmart' A Tough Sell in Some CitiesSean Piccoli — 9 June 1997
- 178McCormick (2006), p. 277
- 179Ten Rock-Star Stunts Even More Ridiculous Than Flying to AntarcticaTammy Oler — 28 March 2008
- 180Just the 2 of UBrian Boyd — 27 February 2009
- 181MagazineStairway to Devon − OK, Somerset!((U2)) — July 2010
- 182Press releaseU2 Play to Biggest Audience EverPR Newswire — 21 September 1997
- 183McGee (2008), p. 198
- 184de la Parra (2003), pp. 211–212
- 185Jo Whiley interview with U2
- 186NewsU2 in Sarajevo: Part 2 – The Rattle and HumAndrew Mueller — 26 September 1997
- 187MagazineKissing the FutureRay Waddell — 14 March 2009
- 188NewsThe Best... The Beautiful... and the Bizarre; Cast Aways; Cow-a-Bono, DudeJanet Kinosian — 26 April 1998
- 189NewsHomer joins U2 on stage in 200th episode of 'Simpsons'Roisin Ingle — 30 May 1998
- 190McGee (2008), pp. 208–209
- 191The 31 Best U2 Non-Album TracksRyan Leas — 27 July 2015
- 192Press releaseU2's 'Best Of' Highest Greatest Hits Debut by Any Band in the History of SoundScanIsland Records — 13 November 1998
- 193McGee (2008), p. 208
- 194MagazineThe Elastic Bono BandNovember 2000
- 196McCormick (2006), pp. 289–296
- 198MagazineReview: All That You Can't Leave BehindJames Hunter — 9 November 2000
- 199McGee (2008), p. 221
- 200How U2 became the most hated band in AmericaNico Lang — 18 September 2014
- 201McGee (2008), p. 220
- 202NewsA 'Beautiful' day for U2, Steely Dan; Old rockers steal thunder from Eminem at GrammysSarah Rodman — 22 February 2001
- 203MagazineBono's missionJosh Tyrangiel — 4 March 2002
- 204McGee (2008), pp. 226, 234, 239
- 205BookAustralia's Music Charts 1988-2010Gavin Ryan — Moonlight Publishing — 2011
- 206McGee (2008), pp. 225, 233, 238
- 207Young (2004), pp. 61–62
- 208MagazineU2 Tour: From the HeartChris Heath — 10 May 2001
- 209MagazineGeneral Admission a Go for U2Richard Skanse — 3 February 2001
- 210NewsMore of the Slane; U2 Wind Up Tour with a Night of Pure MagicDulra O'Riordain — 2 September 2001
- 211NewsU2 back with the show of their lives; Stars and fans treated to a night to remember at SlaneNigel Gould — 27 August 2001
- 212McCormick (2006), pp. 308–309
- 213McGee (2008), p. 237
- 214VideoVH1: All Access: U22005
- 216NewsU2 elevates itself to top-grossing tour of the yearSteven Hyden — 27 December 2001
- 217MagazineRock's Unbreakable HeartAlan Light — January 2002
- 218NewsCritic's Notebook; Singers Smoothly Merge Politics With PatriotismCaryn James — 4 February 2002
- 220MagazineThe Grammys: U2 and sharp keys; Soul star, Bono tops with 'O Bro'Phil Gallo — 28 February 2002
- 221MagazineReview: The Best & the B-Sides of 1990–2000Peter Murphy — 24 October 2002
- 222McCormick (2006), pp. 317–321
- 223MagazineU2 Drops BombDavid Fricke — 30 December 2004
- 224McGee (2008), p. 266
- 225MagazineBombs Away! U2 Sets Sights on Top of ChartsMelinda Newman — 27 November 2004
- 226McCormick (2006), p. 329
- 227McGee (2008), p. 276–277
- 229MagazineU2 Lands Seventh No. 1; Kelly Clarkson Up Next21 March 2009
- 230NewsNew York City honors U2 by renaming streetMichelle Nichols — 3 March 2009
- 231NewsBono and the Edge launch U2 special edition iPod digital music playerJamie Smyth — 27 October 2004
- 232McGee (2008), p. 275
- 233MagazineBillboard Hits of the World27 November 2004
- 234NewsThe Grammy Winners14 February 2005
- 235NewsU2 leads newest members into rock's hall of fameSteve Morse — 15 March 2005
- 236NewsArts, Briefly; U2, Others to Join Rock Hall of FameJeff Leeds — 14 December 2004
- 237McGee (2008), pp. 282–283
- 238McCormick (2006), pp. 332–335
- 239McGee (2008), pp. 280–281
- 241NewsFeeling of Vertigo U2 Adds Technology, Intimacy to Music Old and NewSimone Schramm — 1 April 2005
- 242MagazineFrom Joshua Trees To Palm TreesJonathan Cohen — 6 January 2007
- 243NewsMixing It Up U2 Blends Old, New, In No Particular OrderMark Brown — 20 April 2005
- 244MagazineU2's Vertigo Leads Year's Top ToursRay Waddell — 13 December 2005
- 245McGee (2008), pp. 307–309
- 246Snow (2014), p. 205
- 247Press releaseNational Geographic Entertainment and 3ALITY Digital's 'U2 3D' Hits $20 Million in Box Office in Advance of Japan OpeningNational Geographic Society — 25 February 2009
- 248Sundance: Stars, snow, and social cyborgsMichelle Myers — 17 January 2008
- 249McGee (2008), pp. 314–316
- 250U2 and Green Day – The Saints Are ComingHung Medien
- 251NewsBono Keeps the Magic AliveKathy McCabe — 10 November 2006
- 252NewsU2 move their rock empire out of IrelandDaniel McConnell — 6 August 2006
- 253Bono, Preacher on Poverty, Tarnishes Halo With Irish Tax MoveFergal O'Brien — 15 October 2006
- 254NewsThey live like aristocrats. Now they think like themMarina Hyde — 9 December 2006
- 255NewsU2 reject tax avoidance claims26 February 2009
- 256NewsU2 tax switch 'in spirit of the law' says BonoLouise Hogan — 26 June 2013
- 257U2: Access all areasBrendan O'Conner — 21 June 2009
- 259NewsThe WanderersSean O'Hagan — 15 February 2009
- 261MagazineReading Between the LineOlaf Tyaransen — 11 March 2009
- 262Brian EnoJoshua Klein — 2 November 2009
- 263MagazineThe Superleague of Extraordinary Gentlemen23 February 2009
- 265NewsNew U2 album is No. 1 in 30 countries11 March 2009
- 266NewsU2: The Band who fell to EarthNeala Johnson — 9 September 2010
- 267NewsU2's Bono disappointed with latest album salesSean Michaels — 26 October 2009
- 268MagazineU2 Talk 'Horizon' Follow Up, Spider-Man Musical in Rolling Stone Cover StoryBrian Hiatt — 4 March 2009
- 269MagazineExclusive: U2 Readies '360' Global TourRay Waddell — 6 March 2009
- 270NewsLive Nation agrees to 12-year pact with U231 March 2008
- 271NewsU2 ties knot with Live Nation dealEmma Thelwell — 31 March 2008
- 272Exclusive: Paul McGuinness on U2's World Tour4 March 2009
- 273MagazineInside U2's Plans to Rock Stadiums Around the GlobeBrian Hiatt — 2 April 2009
- 274MagazineU2's Rose Bowl Show Breaks Attendance RecordBob Allen — 30 October 2009
- 277MagazineU2 Debut Another New Song on European TourDaniel Kreps — 23 August 2010
- 278MagazineBillboard Power 100: 27 – U2 & Paul McGuinnessRay Waddell — 4 February 2012
- 279New U2 album delayed until 2012Sean Michaels — 13 June 2011
- 280MacDonald (2014), pp. 232–235
- 281NewsU2 Interview: Oscar Hopes, That Unfinished Album, Anxiety About Staying RelevantHal Espen — 12 February 2014
- 282News'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' Trailer Features New U2 Song 'Ordinary Love'Christopher John Farley — 17 October 2013
- 284NewsU2 manager steps downRandy Lewis — 16 November 2013
- 285NewsDownload U2 song, fight global diseaseElysa Gardner — 1 February 2014
- 286MagazineU2 Offer Free Downloads of New Track 'Invisible' to Help Fight AIDSKory Grow — 2 February 2014
- 287MagazineU2 Say 'Invisible' Is a 'Sneak Preview' of New AlbumJason Newman — 31 January 2014
- 288U2 releases its new album for free today exclusively on iTunesNathan Ingraham — 9 September 2014
- 289NewsU2 Appears at Apple Event, and 'Songs of Innocence' Appears Free on iTunesBen Sisario — 9 September 2014
- 290NewsU2, Apple and the Deal Behind Getting 'Songs of Innocence' Free of ChargeJohn Jurgensen — 9 September 2014
- 291NewsOn New Album, Rock Veterans Revisit YouthJon Pareles — 10 September 2014
- 292New U2 album given away for free to iTunes users9 September 2014
- 293NewsWhy is the new U2 album in your iTunes library?Rupert Hawksley — 10 September 2014
- 294Everyone Is Mad at Apple for Forcing Them to Download a U2 AlbumKevin Roose — 11 September 2014
- 295NewsApple's free U2 "gift" angers many customersKim Peterson — 12 September 2014
- 296NewsU2, Apple and rock-and-roll as dystopian junk mailChris Richards — 10 September 2014
- 297MagazineBono Treated With Metal Plates, 'Intensive Therapy' After Bike InjuryJason Newman — 19 November 2014
- 298Bono says he may never play guitar again after cycling accidentTim Jonze — 2 January 2015
- 299NewsU2 guitarist The Edge falls off edge of stage in Vancouver15 May 2015
- 300MagazineU2 Announces 'Innocence + Experience' TourRay Waddell — 3 December 2014
- 301NewsU2's Flight to Now (Turbulence Included)Jon Pareles — 3 May 2015
- 302MagazineU2 Reinvent the Arena Show at Triumphant 'Innocence' Tour OpenerAndy Greene — 15 May 2015
- 303NewsAt U2's Tour Opener in Vancouver, Bono Sucks His Thumb, the Edge Falls off the EdgeChris Kornelis — 15 May 2015
- 305NewsU2 postpones its Paris concert that was to air live on HBO Saturday nightBethonie Butler — 13 November 2015
- 306U2 reschedules Paris concerts, HBO will air Dec. 7 show23 November 2015
- 307MagazineAmerican DreamsTom Doyle — April 2017
- 308U2 speaks with The Edge about new single, 'You're The Best Thing About Me'The Edge (interviewee) — 6 September 2017
- 309MagazineThe Edge on U2's 'Songs of Experience,' Bono's 'Brush With Mortality'Andy Greene — 18 September 2017
- 310MagazineBono on How U2's 'Songs of Experience' Evolved, Taking on Donald TrumpAndy Greene — 20 September 2017
- 311Bono had heart surgery in 2016 to repair 'blister' on his aortaTom Skinner — 3 November 2022
- 312BookSurrender: 40 Songs, One StoryBono — Knopf — 2022
- 313MagazineThe Edge Breaks Down U2's Upcoming 'Joshua Tree' TourAndy Greene — 9 January 2017
- 314NewsU2 to outline tour dates for The Joshua Tree on MondayBrian Boyd — 8 January 2017
- 315U2 brings massive Joshua Tree Tour to Cleveland's FirstEnergy StadiumMalcolm X Abram — 28 June 2017
- 316U2's Joshua Tree tour: stuck in the past, or a new sense of purpose?Barry Nicolson — 15 May 2017
- 317U2 Turns Great Stage Park Into Joshua Tree Friday Night at BonnarooThe Spin — 10 June 2017
- 318MagazineU2's Joshua Tree 2017 Tour Wraps With $316 Million EarnedBob Allen — 1 November 2017
- 319U2 Tops Pollstar's Year-End Touring Chart With $316 Million Gross, Veteran Male Acts Dominate Top 20Jem Aswad — 28 December 2017
- 320NewsU2 Offer 'Songs of Experience' to a World That's on FireJon Pareles — 10 September 2017
- 321MagazineHard-Won ExperienceTom Doyle — December 2017
- 322MagazineHear U2's Lustrous New Single 'You're the Best Thing About Me'Elias Leight — 6 September 2017
- 323U2's 'Songs of Experience' Receives Mediocre Reviews, But Concert Ticket Album Bundle Disguises Poor SalesDaryl Deino — 7 December 2017
- 324These Were The 10 Bestselling Albums In The World In 2017Hugh McIntyre — 24 April 2018
- 325MagazineU2 Wraps Experience + Innocence Tour With $125 Million EarnedEric Frankenberg — 20 November 2018
- 326MagazineU2's 2018 eXPERIENCE + iNNOCENCE TourNook Schoenfeld — July 2018
- 327Giant augmented reality avatar of Bono appears on Es Devlin's U2 stage setNatashah Hitti — 9 May 2018
- 328Storytelling techZoe Mutter — 7 December 2018
- 329MagazineU2 Sets 'Joshua Tree' Tour of Australia, NZ and AsiaLars Brandle — 3 June 2019
- 330U2 to Finish 2019 'The Joshua Tree' Tour With First Trip to IndiaBob Diehl — 18 September 2019
- 331MagazineExclusive: A.R. Rahman and U2 Collaborate on New Single 'Ahimsa'Riddhi Chakraborty — 22 November 2019
- 332MagazineU2 Earn $73 Million From Just 15 'Joshua Tree' Anniversary Shows in 2019Eric Frankenberg — 17 January 2020
- 333MagazineU2 to Revisit 40 Classic Tracks on 'Songs of Surrender' CollectionGil Kaufman — 11 January 2023
- 334U2 Set to Release 'Songs of Surrender' Album in March, With 40 Remakes of Older SongsChris Willman — 10 January 2023
- 335Magazine'We are turning the amps on.'Tom Doyle — April 2023
- 336MagazineU2 at the Crossroads: Inside the Band's Ambitious Reinvention for 2023Andy Greene — 6 March 2023
- 337Songs of Surrender Puts U2's Songwriting Legacy on the LineAlan Light — 17 March 2023
- 338News'Bono gets too much for me sometimes...'Neil McCormick — 4 March 2023
- 339U2 is recording new versions of 40 old songs because The Edge started experimenting with keyboards during lockdownDavid Bauder — 14 March 2023
- 340MagazineU2 in Talks With Azoffs for Management — But Deal's Not DoneDave Brooks — 6 October 2022
- 341MagazineBono Sets 'Stories of Surrender' Book TourLars Brandle — 4 October 2022
- 342Bono live in London: U2 frontman brings his memoir to life with songs and fascinating storiesDamian Jones — 17 November 2022
- 344U2 secure 11th UK Number 1 album with Songs of SurrenderCarl Smith — 24 March 2023
- 345MagazineU2: Chart History – Billboard 200
- 346'Bono & The Edge' Documentary Special With David Letterman Greenlit at Disney+ Ahead of Upcoming U2 AlbumSelome Hailu — 13 January 2023
- 347Bono adds shows to 'Stories of Surrender' run at Beacon TheatreAmanda Hatfield — 5 January 2023
- 348U2 add 4 new dates to their Sphere run due to high demandRiley Glaister-Ryder — 5 December 2023
- 349U2 Announces 'Achtung Baby' Concerts at New Las Vegas Venue — Without Drummer Larry Mullen Jr.Jem Aswad — 12 February 2023
- 350NewsU2 returning to stage in Las Vegas, minus one of quartetDavid Bauder — 13 February 2023
- 351U2 Share New Song 'Atomic City' Ahead of Las Vegas Concerts: ListenEvan Minsker — 29 September 2023
- 352NewsU2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere in Las Vegas: What the first reviews say30 September 2023
- 353MagazineU2 Launch New Era of Live Music at Stunning Sphere Opening Concert in Las VegasAndy Greene — 30 September 2023
- 354U2, Sphere review: this spectacular concert will change live entertainment foreverNeil McCormick — 30 September 2023
- 355Auf Wiedersehen, Baby: U2 Wraps Sphere RunJ. R. Lind — 14 March 2024
- 356Magazine25 Biggest Concert Residencies of All TimeEric Frankenberg — 5 April 2024
- 357Sphere's Next Attraction: Immersive U2 Concert FilmJ. R. Kind — 21 August 2024
- 358MagazineU2 Meet the Moment With 'Days of Ash' EP Spotlighting Renée Good Killing, Gaza, Ukraine Wars: 'These EP Tracks Couldn't Wait'Gil Kaufman — 18 February 2026
- 359U2 Releases the Band's Second Six-Song EP of 2026, 'Easter Lily'Chris Willman — 2 April 2026
- 360U2 Releases 'Street of Dreams,' First Single From Upcoming Album, the Band's First All-New Effort in Nine YearsChris Willman — 7 July 2026
- 361Bono: 'The new U2 album is called ...'Róisín Ingle — 23 September 2026
- 362U2 announce title of next album and new singleFlo Laurent — 23 September 2026
- 363U2 Announce New Album, Carnaval de Luz, Out Nov. 13Brian Hiatt — 24 September 2026
- 364U2 goes back to school to put on a show where it all began 50 years agoPeter Morrison et al. — 25 September 2026
- 365U2 Share New Song "The Greatest Show on Earth", Announce 2027 World TourDaniel Kreps — 15 October 2026
- 366MagazineU2's Leading EdgeJohn Hutchinson — September 1986
- 367BookPopular Musicians: Sonny and Cher-ZZ TopSalem Press — 1999
- 368BookU2: A Musical BiographyDavid Kootnikoff — Greenwood Press — 2010
- 369Morley, Paul. Boy remastered 2008 Liner Notes, Mercury Records Ltd (London), ASIN: B0013LPS6Q
- 370Reynolds (2006), p. 368
- 371BookYeah! Yeah! Yeah!: The Story of Pop Music from Bill Haley to BeyoncéBob Stanley — W. W. Norton — 2014
- 372NewsNeo-psychedelic rock from BritainWayne Robins — 15 February 1981
- 373NewsFurs and Burma step into the fogJim Sullivan — 2 July 1981
- 374NewsU2 brings U.S. an original soundLynn Van Metre — 13 April 1981
- 375MagazineReview: WarJ.D. Considine — 20 January 1983
- 376NewsUnder A Golden Arch, Sincerely U2Jon Pareles — 28 April 1997
- 377BookAll Music Guide to Rock: The Definitive Guide to Rock, Pop, and SoulStephen Thomas Erlewine — Hal Leonard Corporation — 2002
- 378BookThe Virgin Encyclopedia of Rock: The World's Most Comprehensive Illustrated Rock ReferenceMichael Heatley — Virgin — 1996
- 379BookNoisey Island: A Short History of Irish Popular MusicGerry Smyth — Cork University Press — 2005
- 380Jobling (2014), p. 300.
- 381MagazineHow U2 became the most hated band in AmericaNico Lang — 18 September 2014
- 382NewsU2, "No Line on the Horizon" (Universal)Jim DeRogatis — 23 February 2009
- 383Zooropa Turns 20Ryan Leas — 3 July 2013
- 384MagazineU2's Unsatisfied — and Unsatisfying — New AlbumJosh Tyrangiel — 26 February 2009
- 385BookExpression in Pop-rock Music: Critical and Analytical EssaysSusan Fast — Routledge — 2008
- 386McCormick (2006), p. 289
- 387Book25 Albums That Rocked the World!Chris Charlesworth — Omnibus — 2008
- 388BookProceedings, Inaugural Joint Conference, New Zealand Geographical Society and Institute of Australian Geographers, Auckland, January 1992The Society — 1994
- 389CG: U2Robert Christgau — n.d.
- 390MagazineThe History of PopNiall Stokes — 1997
- 391The Edge's 20 Greatest Guitar Moments, RankedOwen Bailey — 19 January 2021
- 392Fast (2000), pp. 33–53
- 393NewsAlbum review: The Joshua TreeColin Hogg — 20 March 1987
- 394Rooksby (2001), pp. 122–123
- 395NewsU2 Takes a Turn From the Universal To the DomesticJon Pareles — 17 November 1991
- 396NewsOn Music: U2's latest CD takes time to settle inGene Stout — 2 March 2009
- 397MagazineEven Better Than the Surreal ThingJoe Jackson — 16 June 1993
- 399U2's Songs of Innocence Forget the hype: what about the music?Ed Power — 15 September 2014
- 400MagazineThe 100 Greatest Singers of All TimeJonathan Lethem — 27 November 2008
- 401McCormick (2006), p. 58
- 402Age of Innocence: U2's Dublin BeginningsBjørn Hammershaug — 23 October 2014
- 403MagazineSpins: U2 – The Joshua TreeJohn Piccarella — June 1987
- 404MagazineThe World About UsNiall Stokes — 26 March 1987
- 405MagazineTaking it seriously: intertextuality and authenticity in two covers by the Pet Shop BoysMark Butler — Cambridge University Press — January 2003
- 406Fast (2000), p. 48
- 407Fast (2000), pp. 45–48
- 408Fast (2000), pp. 49–50
- 409NewsU2 bounces backSteve Morse — 15 November 1991
- 410MagazineBurn, Bono, BurnBill Wyman — 29 November 1991
- 411Stokes (2005), p. 96
- 412News'Where craft ends and spirit begins'Robert Hilburn — 8 August 2004
- 413NewsA Raucous U2 Moves Farther Out on a LimbJon Pareles — 4 July 1993
- 414MagazineBono vs. The BeastJoe Jackson — August 1993
- 415MagazineU2 Go Back to Basics and Revisit Their Epic Career on 'Songs of Surrender'Joe Gross — 14 March 2023
- 416MagazineStop in the Name of LoveJim Miller — 31 December 1984
- 417Gulla (2009), pp. 57–65
- 418MagazineThe Edge of U2Tom Nolan et al. — June 1985
- 419MagazineBasic Instincts: The Edge Brings the U2 Sound Full CircleDarrin Fox — January 2001
- 420Magazine10 Things You Gotta Do to Play Like The EdgeVincent DeMasi — November 2008
- 421McCormick (2006), pp. 72–75
- 422NewsU2 Takes the FifthJon Pareles — 11 March 1981
- 423Gibson Guitars and U2's The Edge: Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of BoyTed Drozdowski — 22 July 2010
- 424MagazineHow to Play Like .... The EdgeAndy Ellis — February 2005
- 425Calhoun (2018), p. 17
- 427MagazineShaking the Tree: Exploring the Edge's Sonic Innovations on the 30th Anniversary of U2's The Joshua TreeVinnie DeMasi — September 2017
- 428NewsU2: One since '76Geoff Edgers — 4 December 2022
- 429Edge pays tribute to legendary bluesman who 'laid road' for U2Treacy Hogan — 17 June 2006
- 430MagazineMemory ManJoe Bosso — September 2005
- 432VideoIt Might Get LoudSony Pictures Classics — 2008
- 433U2 Exclusive: The Edge's stage setup revealedJoe Bosso — 14 October 2009
- 434NewsHas the axeman lost his mojo?Neil McCormick — 20 August 2009
- 435MagazineU2 – The Joshua Tree Re-Mastered (R1987)Andrew Mueller
- 436Guilty Pleasure: U2 – PopJoe Marvilli — 9 May 2009
- 43710 Things About The Edge and His GuitarsDaniel Eriksson — 21 July 2013
- 438McGee (2008), p. 18
- 439MagazineOn the Edge of SuccessTom Nolan — May 1982
- 440NewsU2 conquers Toronto!Owen Jones — 27 March 1992
- 441MagazineStyle and Analysis: U2's Larry MullenMichael Bettine — January 1984
- 442NewsU2 'tore down the walls' in dynamic Atlanta showLynne Lucas — 11 December 1987
- 443Concert review: U2 lights the way for Manila fansAlcuin Papa — 12 December 2019
- 444MagazineThe Larry Mullen Jr. InterviewMark Cunningham — U2 World Service — Spring–Summer 1995
- 445MagazineLarry Mullen, Jr.Connie Fisher — August 1985
- 446Flanagan (1996), pp. 208–209
- 448MagazineThe PossibilianBurkhard Bilger — 25 April 2011
- 449The Almighty TambourineJayson Brinkworth — 2 March 2010
- 450Spicing Up Songs with Hand PercussionSam Hill — 3 March 2016
- 451Jobling (2014), p. 243
- 452McCormick (2006), pp. 30, 34
- 453MagazineReluctant Rock Star: How U2's Adam Clayton Learned to Play – and Conquer the World OnstageGregory Isola — December 2000
- 454MagazineU2's Ground ControlBrian Fox — January 2006
- 455Adam Clayton: Soundtrack of my lifeGareth Grundy — 22 May 2011
- 458NewsThe Catharsis in the CathedralJon Pareles — 14 November 2004
- 459McCormick (2006), pp. 135, 139
- 460McGee (2008), p. 98
- 461Stokes (1995), pp. 62–77
- 462Top 10 U2 Songs of the '80sSteve Peake
- 463MagazineU2 – How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb ReviewDecember 2004
- 464The soaring nothingness of U2David Plotz — 25 January 2002
- 465McCormick (2006), p. 113
- 466Clash Star Strummer Dies27 December 2002
- 467NewsEulogy: Bono Remembers Joey RamoneBono — April 2001
- 468Saint Bono26 July 2003
- 469NewOrderStory DVD. Warner Bros., 2005.
- 470McCormick (2006), p. 56, 58, 96
- 471MagazineThe Immortals – The Greatest Artists of All Time: Elvis PresleyBono — 15 April 2004
- 472MagazineBono – The Rolling Stone InterviewJann Wenner — 3 November 2005
- 473Magazine9 Biggest Revelations in Bono's 'BBC' Interview About U2Jason Newman — 3 February 2014
- 474BookThe Glamour Chase: The Maverick Life of Billy MacKenzieTom Doyle — Polygon — 2011
- 475Bayles (1994), p. 321
- 477McCormick (2006), pp. 39, 113, 343
- 478MagazineBono Remembers David Bowie: 'He Is My Idea of a Rock Star'27 January 2016
- 479McCormick (2006), p. 238
- 480On this day in 1998: U2, Ash, John Hume and David Trimble took part in the historic Good Friday Agreement gig in BelfastStuart Bailie — 19 May 2022
- 481Ali's Chernobyl trip to hit screensLorna Nolan — 27 August 2008
- 482McCormick (2006), pp. 295–296
- 483NewsU2 set for 2nd Mandela gigTine Calder — 26 December 2004
- 486NewsBono unveils clothes brandGary Silverman — 26 January 2006
- 487NewsU2's Edge offers musical relief to New OrleansEdna Gundersen — 22 November 2005
- 488MagazineU2, Green Day Unite For New Orleans Benefit SongBrian Hiatt — 5 October 2006
- 489U2 'couldn't be prouder' as Music Generation provides education to more than 85,000 childrenAdrianna Wrona — 12 March 2024
- 490U2's Joshua Tree Tour will help fund musical tuition for young people across Ireland.Mark Conroy — 19 July 2017
- 491NewsU2 rank music education scheme as one of their proudest achievementsRonan McGreevy — 5 March 2024
- 492U2, Government and The Ireland Funds commit €20m to New Music Generation InitiativeZöe Percival — 19 June 2026
- 493Music project linked to U2 now teaching one in 12 children in the StateRonan McGreevy — 3 July 2024
- 494Legendary rockers make a $300K gift to UNLVJohn Katsilometes — 21 January 2025
- 495U2 donates €10 million to support frontline workers in fight against coronavirus in IrelandDavid Young — 9 April 2020
- 496MagazineU2 Donates Whopping Sum to Live Music Industry During PandemicJoe Lynch — 30 July 2020
- 497Nirvana reunite at FireAid as music's biggest acts raise money for LA wildfire reliefMaria Sherman — Associated Press — 31 January 2025
- 498NewsU2 to be honored at iHeartRadio event28 March 2016
- 499NewsFrancophile Bono receives honour from a grateful nationLara Marlowe — 17 July 2013
- 500MagazinePERSONS OF YEARS PAST Bono16 December 2009
- 501NewsBono becomes knight of empireShawn Pogatchnik — 30 March 2007
- 503McCormick (2006), p. 169
- 504McCormick (2006), p. 211
- 505McCormick (2006), p. 215
- 506Magazine15. 'Alex Descends into Hell for a Bottle of Milk'Andy Greene — 14 March 2014
- 508de la Parra (2003), p. 141
- 509de la Parra (2003), p. 132
- 510Gossip Girl Sings! Sonic Youth Returns! And Where's Your Famous Blue Raincoat?Joe Pompeo — 3 March 2009
- 511Believe It or Not! Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark Opens on Broadway June 14Andrew Gans — 14 June 2011
- 512MagazineHear Martin Garrix's New Song 'We Are the People,' Featuring Bono and the EdgeAndy Greene — 13 May 2021
- 513Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch to release documentary about Beat writer William S Burroughs – videoAdam Bychawski — 3 June 2010
- 514Flanagan (1996), pp. 110–111
- 515Up On The Roof With U2 & Allen GinsbergGil Kaufman — 8 March 1997
- 516NewsRushdie Puts Words to U2's Music23 January 1999
- 517U2 and Kendrick Lamar join forces for new song but some fans are unhappyJoe Nerssessian et al. — 11 April 2017
- 518NewsMusiCares Names U2 The 2027 Persons of The YearSarah Pittman — September 10, 2026
- 519Gold & PlatinumRIAA
- 520NewsNew U2 album No Line on the Horizon given lukewarm receptionAdam Sherwin — 3 March 2009
- 522MagazineU2 Scores Eighth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart With 'Songs of Experience'Keith Caulfield — 10 December 2017
- 523Acts with the most Number 1 albums on the Official UK ChartJustin Myers — 5 April 2024
- 524Acts with the most Number 1 singles in IrelandRob Copsey — 30 October 2020
- 525U2 clinch 10th Irish number one album with SOS26 March 2023
- 526BookExploring U2Kevin J. H. Dettmer — Scarecrow Press — 2011
- 527BookThe History of Alternative RockStuart A. Kallen — Lucent Books — 2012
- 528Magazine35 Highlights From 35 Years of Billboard's Alternative Airplay Chart: Red Hot Chili Peppers, U2, Billie Eilish & MoreGary Trust — 7 September 2023
- 529Snow (2014), p. 186
- 530Top Touring Artist of the Pollstar Era10 June 2022
- 531MagazineMadonna Extends Record as Highest-Grossing Solo Touring Artist: $1.31 Billion EarnedBob Allen — 23 March 2016
- 532MagazineThe Decade in Music: Decade-End Top 25 Tours19 December 2009
- 533Artist Of The Decade: U2's Experience + DominanceRyan Borba — 22 November 2019
- 535Forbes Celebrity 10016 February 2006
- 536NewsIrish Rich List 2020: profiles 18-50, featuring U2 and Michael O'Leary18 October 2020
- 537MagazineWhat U2's Apple Album Launch Means for U2Zack O'Malley Greenburg — 11 September 2014
- 538MagazineThe 50th Anniversary of Rock: The Immortals – 22: U2Chris Martin — 15 April 2004
- 539MagazineThe 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time8 December 2011
- 540Magazine100 Greatest Drummers of All TimeMatt Diehl et al. — 31 March 2016
- 541MagazineThe 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time13 August 2015
- 542Q: Which is biggest band of all time? A: And readers say ...Anthony Barnes — 3 October 2004
- 543VH1 100 Greatest Artists Of All TimeBrandon Stosuy — 3 September 2010
- 544Magazine500 Greatest Songs of All Time2010
- 54510 Bands That Shook The WorldJeff Pollack — 7 February 2011
- 546NewsThe Best U2 Songs Not Actually Written by U2John Seaborn Gray — 14 October 2009
- 547NewsU2: success moves in mysterious waysScott Mervis — 24 July 2011
- 548Ireland at the BRIT Awards: look back at every Irish winner and nomineeJack White — Official Charts Company — 19 February 2019
- 550George Clooney, Gladys Knight among Kennedy Center honorees4 December 2022
- 551Kennedy Center Honors 2022: Julia Roberts salutes George Clooney, Eddie Vedder channels U2Melissa Ruggieri — 5 December 2022
- 552U2 to get highest honour at Britain's Ivors songwriting awards20 March 2025
- 554NewsLive (ish) at a venue near youSimon Hardeman — 13 December 2014
- 555BookHole in Our Soul: Loss of Beauty and Meaning in American Popular MusicMartha Bayles — Free Press — 1994
- 556BookThe U2 Reader: A Quarter Century of Commentary, Criticism, and ReviewsHal Leonard Corporation — 2003
- 557BookU2: The Complete EncyclopediaMark Chatterton — Firefly Publishing — 2001
- 558BookU2: An Irish PhenomenonVišnja Cogan — Pegasus Books — 2008
- 559BookU2 Live: A Concert DocumentaryPimm Jal de la Parra — Omnibus Press — 2003
- 560BookU2 at the End of the WorldBill Flanagan — Delacorte Press — 1995
- 561BookU2: The Complete Guide to Their MusicBill Graham et al. — Omnibus Press — 2004
- 562BookGuitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made Rock HistoryBob Gulla — Greenwood Press — 2009
- 563BookU2: The Definitive BiographyJohn Jobling — Thomas Dunne Books — 2014
- 564BookThe Greatest Albums You'll Never HearBruno MacDonald — Aurum Press — 2014
- 565BookU2 and the Religious Impulse: Take Me HigherHenrik Marstal — Bloomsbury Publishing — 2018
- 566BookU2: A DiaryMatt McGee — Omnibus Press — 2008
- 567BookThe World and U2: One Band's Remaking of Global ActivismAlan McPherson — Rowman & Littlefield — 2015
- 568BookRip It Up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984Simon Reynolds — Penguin Books — 2006
- 569BookU2: The Ultimate Compendium of Interviews, Articles, Facts and Opinions from the Files of Rolling StoneRolling Stone — Sidgwick & Jackson — 1994
- 570BookU2: RevolutionMat Snow — Race Point Publishing — 2014
- 571BookInto the Heart: The Stories Behind Every U2 SongNiall Stokes — HarperCollins — 1996
- 573BookCrank It Up: Live Sound Secrets of the Top Tour EngineersClive Young — Backbeat Books — 2004