U2 Information

U2 hit it big again in 2004, as their new album How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb gave the band from Ireland yet another No. 1 album, with two singles, "Vertigo" and "All Because of You" making noise on the charts and radio as well. U2 took a step forward in their careers by taking a step back in their catalogue. How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb reversed the band's trend of writing more involved, intricate, postmodern music in favor of straight-ahead hard rock, and the results are everything you would expect from a band that has not lost a step in their fourth decade of existence.

Paul Hewson (now Bono), David Evans (now the Edge), Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. formed U2 in the late 1970s as high schoolers in Ireland. The found immediate success in their homeland, but it took a few years and a few auditions for U2 to get a foothold in the U.S. Their sound, featuring majestic vocals, soaring and sweeping guitar lines and a tight rhythm section, was apparent from the beginning, and they eventually found their way into America by opening for groups like Talking Heads, as well as playing small venues and parties.

MTV, which was new at the time, would eventually propel U2 into super-stardom. In hindsight, it seems like an obvious match made in heaven for the band, which tried to accomplish more in terms of music as a revolution than the radio could capture. "I Will Follow" and "Gloria" from the albums Boy and October, respectively, made their way in video form onto MTV, setting the stage for the breakthrough War. American fans would experience what U2 was all about with War, infusing their trademark sound with strong political messages. Fans in the States liked what they heard -- War reached No. 11, and U2 had their first bona (or is it Bono?) fide hit with "Sunday Bloody Sunday." The studio album had a reach that stretched around the world, and after the live album Under a Blood Red Sky also made it into the charts, U2 had established themselves as one of the world's top rock bands.

After a couple of years of touring and playing benefit shows, U2 became a household name with their follow-up, The Joshua Tree. They weren't just making the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine, but they were making the cover of Time as well. The Joshua Tree featured two of the songs that would fast become the band's signature, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," and "With or Without You." A mega-successful tour followed, establishing the quartet as the world's most popular group.

From that point on, U2 became known for their ability to push the envelope both in terms of self-promotion and sound. In support of The Joshua Tree, U2 performed a spontaneous concert on the rooftop of a liquor store in Los Angeles that police had to shut down after the crowd grew too large. Five years later, during the Zoo TV tour, the group put on a startling multimedia extravaganza that featured suspended cars, cell phone calls and a wall of TVs. The ability to pull off the unpredictable came in handy when the grunge movement took over the 1990s and shunned everything that embodied the 80s. U2 gradually shifted their sound from straight-ahead rock to danceable pop music without affecting their record sales. Achtung Baby, Zooropa and Pop showed another dimension of the band, and while they weren't as hip as they used to be in the eyes of the grunge crowd, their carefully crafted albums still helped them gain respect from their fans and critics alike.

With the grunge movement left in the wake of American culture after the turn of the millenium, the paying public was ready for straightforward rock again -- and U2 was ready to deliver. All That You Can't Leave Behind became a huge success, as did the Elevation Tour that followed. The sound of the album -- as well as a rooftop performance in Times Square -- brought the group back to its trademark sound and image. "Beautiful Day" became a huge hit, and it propelled them back to the top of rock music. How To Dismantle An Atom Bomb solidified their return to the top, and their video of "All Because of You" showed they still had that knack for pulling off the incredible; it was filmed atop a flatbed truck that drove through Times Square. For more than a quarter century, U2 has created some of the world's finest rock, and they show no signs of slowing down.

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