Music: U2, desktop wallpaper nr. 39217

Formation and breakthrough (1976-1980)

U2 formed in Dublin in Ireland after that 14-year-old Larry Mullen jr. hung up a piece of paper at school, where he searched for band members to their new band. The results were a sextet consisting of Mullen on drums, Adam Clayton on bass, Paul Hewson on guitar and vocals, and brothers Dick and Dave Evans and Ivan McCormick on guitar. All were students at Mount Temple High School in Dublin. The band called themselves "Feedback" and made his most noted that it was just the Mullen and the Evans brothers who had mastered their instruments. After a short time the group changed its name to The Hype, then without McGormick. Although U2 is considered to be an Irish band, is both the Evans brothers and bassist Adam Clayton was born in England.

Paul Hewson was an early nickname "Bono Vox" by his friends round, which had a tradition to give each other different names. While nicknames were often replaced after a short time, Hewson is still best known as Bono. The name came from a sign in a local store that sold hearing aids. The Latin phrase was intended to mean a good voice, but the correct Latin spelling for this term is vox bona. Dave Evans was called "The Edge" by Bono. The origin of this is a bit more vague, but the most popular theory is that it comes from the way he plays guitar on. Or a reference to Evans' sharp brain.

After 18 months of exercises and a name change to "The Hype", they took part in a talent contest in Limerick in Ireland on 17 March 1978. They won, and the prize was 500 GBP and the ability to record a demo. Shortly after the band was reduced to a quartet. Dick Evans left voluntarily to join the group, Virgin Prunes, while Ivan McCormick had to stop because he was too young to get into many places they played. Adam Clayton, who had served as manager since he dropped out of school, left the manager in charge of Paul McGuinness, who is still in the band.

But it was time to NOK a name change, and a friend of the band, Steve Averill, suggested that they would rather call themselves U2. This was a much cooler name, with references to both a spy plane and a submarine, plus it had an appealing sound (You too - you too).

In Sept. 1979 they released their first EP, Three, which came top in Ireland. In December the band went on tour in England, but failed to engage either the public or critics.

Boy og October (1980�1982)

The band was designed by Island Records in March 1980, and in October the same year was the debut album Boy was released. It was very well received and is by many considered one of rock's better debut album. The album was followed by many gigs around England, and Bono appeared to many as a charismatic and energetic frontman. The year after, the sequel album October, where the band appeared from a more spiritual side. Bono, The Edge and Mullen was at the time of churchgoers in the parish and Shalom did not hide it. The band was on the verge of resolution, since they did not know if they could combine religion with rock existence. After long discussions they decided that this was possible, and has always been openly with their faith.

Christian band profile has leads to debates about what kind of band that is in konfesjonell respect: Catholic or Protestant? This somewhat bizarre discussion had a particular interest in Ireland, with its many-hued history in terms of the relationship between faith communities. The answer is not clear no matter how one considers it: some of the members come from Catholic parents backgrounds, others from Protestant. Bono's parents belonged to their own communities, and he has even answered that he perceives it as if he was "sitting on the fence".

War (1983)

In 1983 U2 back after the internal crisis of the political heavy album War. With clear anti-war songs like "The Refugee," "Seconds" and especially "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" (which was about Bloody Sunday in Derry in 1972), U2 showed that it was possible to mix rock and a political message. The first single from the album, New Year's Day, was their first hit single. It came in a tenth place in the United Kingdom and almost managed to reach the Top 50 in the United States. On MTV in the United States was the video for the single played frequently, which meant that the band gained a foothold there. The band started to play concerts in Europe and the United States and was sold out everywhere. 21. August 1983 played U2 on Kalv�ya festival outside Oslo, and in Arbeiderbladet concert was described among as follows: "U2 will remain as the major positive surprise from this year's festival. A sparkling good bands that mastered the stage almost to perfection. They went up the mood among the public and achieved tremendous response. " (Bent Inge Bye, Arbeiderbladet, August 22, 1983) During the War tour they recorded a live album Under a Blood Red Sky. The concert was also released on video.

The Unforgettable Fire og Live Aid (1984�1986)

In 1984, U2 in the studio again, this time with new producers (Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois). The album was a turning point for U2 when it came to the musical expression of their. The Edge created a much broader sound using effects than he had done previously, the rhythm section was looser and not as bombastic as it had been, and Bono's lyrics became more complex and subtle. The songs still had the political message of the past, but the listener had not pushed as much into the neck as before.

The first single from the album, Pride (In The Name Of Love), is a song about the American human rights activist Martin Luther King. The song entered the Top 5 in UK and Top 50 in the United States. "Bad," which never came as a single, but is regarded as one of their best songs to date, looks at the growing heroin abuse in Dublin.

One of the band's most magical moments, and that was the first step to becoming the world's biggest band, was their performance at Live Aid in 1985. The band was not among those expected to draw the largest audience in advance, but was one of the concert's highlights. During a 13-minute version of the song "Bad", Bono walked out among the audience and danced with a fan.

Rolling Stone magazine named U2 80-century band and said that for an increasing amount of rock and roll fans U2 has been one of the bands that matter most. Maybe even the only band that matters.

The Joshua Tree og Rattle and Hum (1987�1989)

In 1987, U2 out the critically acclaimed album The Joshua Tree, which has sold more than 25 million travelers. The album debuted in first place in Britain and climbed almost to the same location in the United States. Two of the singles, With Or Without You and I Still Have not Found What I'm Looking For, went straight to the top of the U.S. charts. The album led to the band was the fourth rock band that was on the cover of Time Magazine. The previous three were The Beatles (31 pics), The Band and The Who. The band was named by the magazine "Rock Hottest Ticket".

They embarked on a world tour that sold out stadiums throughout the world. During the tour was more of the band's concerts filmed and recorded, and later with the album and film Rattle And Hum The rest of the Rattle And Hum was the band considered a tribute to the American musical heritage, and several of the songs were recorded in the legendary Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Both the album and the film had a rather mixed reception from audiences and critics, and after the last concert in 1989 the band decided to take a short break and at the same time trying to figure out which way forward was to go.

Achtung Baby, Zoo TV og Zooropa (1991�1994)

After a short break the band met in Berlin to record a new album with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The stay in Berlin was so full of conflicts that the band almost broke up because of disagreements about the new musical direction. Bono and The Edge will explore a more electronic approach to music, while Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen jr. would stick to the style that made previous albums so good. With only a few songs nailed, the band decided to go back to Dublin to record the album finished there. And in November 1991, the experimental and industrial Achtung Baby. The album was hailed by both audiences and critics and led U2 in a new direction musically.

In 1992 the band embarked on another world tour. The tour was a giant multimedia shows, known as Zoo TV. The audience was met with a number of TV screens, flying Trabant and Bono's new stage characters such as "The Fly," "Mirror Ball Man" and "MacPhisto". The band will tour with the ridicule they solemn rock heroes U2 had been considered.

During a break in the tour the band went back into the studio to record an EP. But the project grew in size, and in 1993 the album was released Zooropa. The style was a continuation of the Achtung Baby sound, the album was very electronic effects. In 1995 the band recorded an album with Brian Eno under the name the Passengers. Apart from the song "Miss Sarajevo", where the famous tenor Luciano Pavarotti appeared, got the album Original Soundtracks No.. 1, very little attention. Since then, Larry Mullen jr. stated that he was very unhappy with the result, but just "Miss Sarajevo".

Pop og Popmart (1996�1998)

In 1996, joined U2 worked with their eighth studio album, Pop. The band would NOK again renew itself, and experimented a lot with music programming and samples. Work on the album took much longer than expected, and the band had early planned dates of the tour that was to follow the album, and would thus give away an album they were not finished. Despite the unfinished feel, the album debuted in first place on the lists in 28 different countries. Very many critics were up by enthusiasm for the album, while the audience in the United States felt that the band had gone too long away for what U2 once was. In Europe, however, Pop and PopMart been very well received.

PopMart, the tour that followed the album, took the ideas from the Zoo TV even further: the stage consisted of a giant arch, inspired by McDonald's-logo, a 45 meters long video display and a ten meter high disco ball lemon. The idea behind PopMart was to give a kick against modern consumer life. Bono has said that the show was perhaps a little exaggerated, but it looked incredibly good on TV. The tour was the tour that played the second most money in 1997, with an income of 80 million USD, only beaten by the Rolling Stones' Bridges to Babylon tour. But it cost 100 million USD to produce, so they went in, plus only thanks to the sale.

U2 was still a very political band, and in 1998 they played a charity concert in Belfast for the Good Friday Agreement. Later that year they played on Irish TV in conjunction with a fundraiser to support the victims of the Omagh bombing, which killed 29 people. At the end of the year was their first best-of-print collection.

All That You Can't Leave Behind og Elevation (2000�2001)

Early next year, 1999, U2 in the studio again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. After the overwhelming excesses which had been PopMart, wanted the band to focus on classic rock songs. When working on the album, they also worked together with Salman Rushdie, who wrote the words to "The Ground Beneath Her Feet", a song based on the book of the same name. The song ended with a bunch of second U2 songs on the soundtrack to The Million Dollar Hotel, a movie based on a story by Bono.

In October 2000, All That You Can not Leave Behind, and was warmly received by audiences, who saw it as a step back to the sound from The Joshua Tree. The album debuted in first place in 22 countries, and first single "Beautiful Day was a worldwide hit. Elevation "tour that followed the album, was a stripped-down affair compared to the two previous tours. The tour was less comprehensive than its predecessors, and the band priority this time North America, where they played 80 of its 113 concerts.

Bono continued his campaigns for the work against HIV / AIDS, and at the end of 2002, their second best-of collection.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb og Vertigo (2004�2006)

In 2004, let U2 How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. With this album U2 would show that they still had a rock band, and let it rock "Vertigo" as first single. The single enjoyed a solid playing time on radio stations before it was released for sale. The album was released in November 2004, and debuted in first place in 32 countries. The band did a lot of TV appearances to promote the album, as they entered into a partnership with Apple and their iTunes. "Vertigo" was used in a television commercial for iTunes, and all the band's albums (plus some exclusive live recordings and collections) were offered for sale on the service. It was also possible to buy a special U2 iPod.

Vertigo "tour that followed was a major sales success. Despite high ticket prices worldwide, all the dates sold out almost immediately. The tour was very politically charged, where Bono during each show kept talking about how the public might support the fight against poverty in the world. The band also performed at the Live 8 concert in London, where among other things, performed "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band "with Paul McCartney. Vertigo "tour started in San Diego, California 28 March 2005 and was completed 11 December 2006 at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii after 131 concerts worldwide.

No Line On The Horizon (2009-present)

U2's next and total twelfth studio album, No On The Horizon Line has been under recording since late 2006, and the release date 2 March 2009. The album has been described as "hand-played, but also electro." Bono has said that the album leaves the themes from the previous two studio albums, and that the new music has some influences from trance. Producer Daniel Lanois has said that the new album will push the boundaries of sound in a similar way as Achtung Baby did several years ago. The album's first single, "Get On Your Boots" started playing on the radio 19 January 2009 and was released on physical format 16 February.

In an interview with The Guardian, 15 February, Bono said that U2 will release another album in late 2009, where some of the materials that came with the No Line On The Horizon will be used. According to the singer this album is "a more thoughtfully album of pilgrimage as a theme."

U2 promoted the album No Line on the Horizon at Late Show with David Letterman a whole week of Monday 3 March to Friday 6 March 2009 and performed the songs "Get On Your Boots", "Beautiful Day", "I'll Go Crazy If I Do not Go Crazy Tonight," "Magnificent" and "Breathe".