It was in 1976 when 14 year old Larry Mullen Jr., an aspiring drummer, posted a bulletin ad in a Dublin high school board, seeking musicians to form The Larry Mullen Band. Among those who effectively auditioned at Mullen’s residence were two guitarists — Adam Clayton (bass) and Dave Evans (later known as The Edge). Another member, Dik Evans, Dave’s brother, became the third guitarist. After a few gigs and practices, Paul Hewson, the band’s vocalist, (who we know currently as Sonny Bono) would later step in as the group leader, much to Larry Mullen’s satisfaction. And the band’s name would be changed to Feedback.
They were lacking in skills, as acknowledge by the band members themselves. But the band remained tight because they all loved music and they all enjoyed entertaining the crowd. In 1978, and after once again deciding to change their band’s name from Feedback to Hype, the group joined a talent contest in Limerick, Ireland where they luckily won the grand prize. On top of that, a record producer was in the audience and offered them a chance to record their first demo. By the time things were rolling pretty well for the boys, Dik announced he was leaving the band. His departure coincided with the band’s fourth and final name change to U2.
In 1979, U2 released their first vinyl record. It was called U2: 3 (Three) and remained on top of the Irish Music charts. Although hugely accepted in Ireland, the band faced a tough market elsewhere. But in 1980, after signing up with Island Records and after holding a series of road tours in London and other places in the UK, they began to extend their fan base to even as far as the United States.
The release of their album, “War” in 1983, reached number one in the UK charts. It included the song, “Sunday, Bloody, Sunday” which was a religious and personal homage to Ireland and evoked a message of non-violence, unity and peace. And with this, the hits and the recognition were just unstoppable.
What is probably one of the high points of U2’s career is that unforgettable performance at the Live Aid concert. Live Aid was an event organized to help raise funds to feed and support the men, women and children suffering from hunger in places with widespread famine, like Ethiopia and Africa. At that time, U2 was still considered a relatively new band compared to the others who came to perform there. They were not the expected main attraction of the event. But the band gave what is probably the most remembered moment of the occasion — lead singer Sonny Bono and the rest of U2 performed their song, “Bad” while engaging the crowd for about 12 long minutes. This established how much charisma U2 carry and how much the audience connected to them.
In 1987, their “Joshua Tree” album climbed the number one list in the American charts and stayed number one for nine more weeks. This was also the year when the band landed on Time Magazine’s cover; making them only the third rock band to ever do so (the other two were The Beatles and The Who). At the end of the 80’s decade, U2 was officially elevated to rock nobility. And they do not seem to be going anywhere.
U2 released a score of other hits in the 90’s with songs like “Zooropa” and “Achtung Baby” and organized the Zoo TV Tour. The band departed from their usual style for these releases and tried to embrace a more modern and techno approach which, surprisingly, fans received quite well. They continued to experiment with their music for a 1997 album, Pop, but this earned mixed reviews.
By the new millennium, U2 was done with their experimentation and returned to their 80’s roots with the release of “Beautiful Day,” “Elevation” and “Vertigo.” The latter song came from the album, “How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb,” which earned the band multiple awards at the 2006 Grammy’s: Album of the Year, Song of The Year, Rock Album of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group and Best Rock Song. The awards were fitting recognitions to a band who was celebrating their 20th year in the business that year.
In the middle of creating number one songs, releasing gold records and mounting sold-out concert Tours, U2 also busied themselves by supporting worthy causes and benefits for victims of poverty, famine, violence, crimes and the like. Dubbed as the ultimate “Band of the 80’s” by Rolling Stone’s Magazine, U2 was not only responsible for a string of hit songs. They were also influential musicians, whose music transcended deep, poetic and meaningful words and sounds, which stir up awareness and consciousness among its listeners and followers.
