U2

A Dublin, Ireland, rock band - released their first studio album, Boy, in 1980. Of another ten albums, eight have topped the UK charts. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, their latest album, has sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won the Grammy for Album Of The Year.

Members: Bono (vocals / guitar / harmonica), The Edge (guitar / keyboards / vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar) and Larry Mullen (drums / percussion).

Foundation: The band originally formed in 1976 when Larry Mullen posted a bulletin in his school asking for musicians to form a rock band. The band then consisted of the four current members plus three additional guitarists, including The Edge's brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldn't play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldn't sing. He was, however, incredibly enthusiastic about the band, extremely charismatic, a great writer, and was strangely able to reach the audience when the band played, something he is known for still today. Bono will reach out into the crowd and dance or mess with someone in the crowd at every concert. He was kept as a member. The extra guitarists would soon leave the band and the group would go through the names "Feedback " and "The Hype" before finally settling on U2.

The 70s & 80s: 1978 was a jumping point year for the band, finally finding their sound / voice. U2 won a talent contest in 1978: £500 and funds to make a record. Paul McGuinness became the band's manager and U2 released an EP called Three and the single Another Day, the following year. U2 went on to release their first album, Boy and then more critically acclaimed albums incl.: October, War, Under a Blood Red Sky, and The Unforgettable Fire (featuring the song MLK dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr). Seen by many as a political band with more charisma than others, they were called "a different kind" of band. After a short break U2 returned with The Joshua Tree & the USA music inspired Rattle and Hum (also a movie of the same name, based on the tour).

The 90s: Promising "to dream it all up again", they added industrial and dance styles to their music. Trying to drop a goody two shoes image, they went to Berlin (Germany), supposedly to develop new self-expressions. From there they started to make fun of themselves and had a good time of it in albums like Achtung Baby (meaning "watch out, baby", artwork feat. make-up artist Nassim Khalifa) and Zooropa. Bono took on many stage personae such as "The Fly", "Mirrorball Man" and "Mr. MacPhisto" for the gigantic ZOO TV Tour. Later they continued to make fun of Pop culture and all its extremes with the album Pop and consequent PopMart tour which was announced to be launched at a Kmart store and included a giant golden arch across the stage.

The 00s: At the end of the 90's into 00's U2 became less Image and more reality. With the death of Bono's good friend Michael Hutchence the lead singer of INXS, Bono wrote more songs from the heart surrounding ideas like life and death, children, hope, and the real world past all the pop culture and TV. Some say they've returned to a more band-centric sound with albums like All That You Can't Leave Behind which features a song, Kite, dedicated to Bono's father who passed away shortly after the album's conception and 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

The Name: There are many theories as to the origin of the name U2. For example, U2 was an intelligence airplane that was in use by the United States during the Cold War. Other obvious candidates include "You too" and "You two", etc. Nonetheless the official line on the name's origins remains unknown. The band has been quoted as saying that they did think of the U2 spy plane, but remain hushed about other reasons...


From The Blogsphere

Dave Matthews, Gogol Bordello Are Larger Than Life in 3D HD

via cinematical.com ( 89 Days ago )
AEG and Action 3D are betting on music lovers that will want to catch their favorite performers in a movie theater -- on the screen, that is. According to Variety, the two companies have already been getting footage from different festivals for their limited-run, 3D-only concert movies, which will be offered in a similar manner as U2 3D. The first series of movies will be footage [...]

Bar Refaeli Puts on The Ritz in Berlin

via buzznet.com ( 95 Days ago )
After a fun day at the MTV Europe Music Awards yesterday, Bar Refaeli leaves the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Berlin on Friday (November 6). The 24-year-old model, who presented the award for Best Live Act to U2 with Pete Wentz, helped the EMAs become a success on the internet. “Wow you guys rule,” Pete tweeted yesterday. “3 million plus watched online. Thanks!” 10+ [...]

Beat 360° 11/6/09

via cnn.com ( 95 Days ago )
Ready for today's Beat 360°? Everyday we post a picture – and you provide the caption and our staff will join in too. Tune in tonight at 10pm to see if you are our favorite! Here is the 'Beat 360°' pic: Mick Jagger performs onstage with Bono of U2 at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Concert at Madison Square Garden. Have fun with it. We're [...]

U2 feat Jay Z - Sunday Bloody Sunday Live at MTV Europe Music Awards 2009 Berlin HQ (video)

via showhype.com ( 96 Days ago )
u2 and jay-z sunday bloody sunday live @ mtv ema europe music awards 11-05-2009 high quality videoSMARTENUPNAS.COM found this 2 hours ago on youtube.com Find more top entertainment news, videos, and blogs on ShowHype: Music, U2, Jay-Z

U2 - Jayzs Bono Lessons

via contactmusic.com ( 101 Days ago )
Jay-Z used to be a "horrible" performer.The 'Run This Town' singer had to study U2 singer Bono to learn what to do while he was onstage.The rapper...

U2 stream LA concert live on YouTube

via telegraph.co.uk ( 107 Days ago )
U2 have become the first bigselling band to allow a full live show to be streamed for free on YouTube.

U2 Want Their Own Version of 'Rock Band'

via spinner.com ( 124 Days ago )
Filed under: NewsThe odds are good that most people will never be able to experience what being a part of U2 is like. But now, fans of the megastar rockers might be able to get the next best thing, as a U2-centric version of 'Rock Band' could be on the way.Last year, the band was in negotiations with MTV Games and Electronic Arts to do a version of the popular video game franchise, [...]

Bono's Shout-Outs

via washingtonpost.com ( 132 Days ago )
The U2 show at FedEx Field featured more shout-outs to cronies than a Joe Biden stump speech, as Bono took time to hail from the stage pretty much every political player in the house, and more than a few not present. Here's a partial list:

Jenny Slate won’t be fired

via theblemish.com ( 134 Days ago )
The season premiere of SNL was last Saturday. Megan Fox hosted and U2 was the musical guest and, oh, new cast member Jenny Slate dropped the f-bomb during the live broadcast. People made it out to be a bigger deal than it was. It happened at about 12:43 a.m. when everyone already forgot that SNL was on. Slate puffed her cheeks in a whoops expression after the slippage. Good news [...]

Jenny Slate drops F-Bomb on SNL

via celebridiot.com ( 136 Days ago )
Megan Fox and U2 might have been featured on the September 26, 2009 season premiere of Saturday Night Live, but they won’t be the big story tomorrow.  Newcomer Jenny Slate was in a Biker Chick sketch with Kristen Wiig and Megan Fox which is all good, except that instead of using the word Friggin’ she used another F word that isn’t approved by the censors.  She [...]

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Discography

Album Cover

18 SINGLES

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7

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A VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS

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ACHTUNG BABY

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ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIN...

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ALL THAT YOU CANT LEAVE BEHIND

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BATMAN FOREVER

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BEST OF 1980-1990

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BEST OF 1990-2000

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BOY

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CITY OF ANGELS

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ELECTRICAL STORM

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HASTA LA VISTA BABY!

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HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOM

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HOW TO DISMANTLE AN ATOMIC BOM...

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JOSHUA TREE

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OCTOBER

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ONE

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POP

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RATTLE AND HUM

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REALITY BITES

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SWEETEST THING

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SWEETEST THING (PROMO)

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THE BEST OF 1980 - 1990

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THE BEST OF 1980 - 1990 / B SI...

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THE BEST OF 1980-1990

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THE BEST OF 1990-2000

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THE BEST OF 1990-2000 (BONUS D...

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THE JOSHUA TREE

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THE MILLION DOLLAR HOTEL

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THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE

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U2 7

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U218 SINGLES

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U218 SINGLES (DELUXE VERSION)

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UNDER A BLOOD RED SKY

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VERTIGO

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WAR

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WE'RE A HAPPY FAMILY: A TRIBUT...

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WHO'S GONNA RIDE YOUR WILD HOR...

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WIDE AWAKE IN AMERICA

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WINDOW IN THE SKIES

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ZOOROPA

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