About U2

Once they were teens who couldn’t even play. Then they quit the band for spiritual reasons. Then they became the biggest band in the world. Then the most recognizable social activists in the world. There’s little that U2 hasn’t done in their 30 plus years together. In 1980, they released Boy, produced by Steve Lillywhite (Siouxsie and the Banshees , Peter Gabriel) to favorable reviews, and 3 years later released War, their first commercially successful album. In 1984, the group started their partnership with Brian Eno (Depeche Mode, Grace Jones, Coldplay) on The Unforgettable Fire. It was in 1985, at Live Aid that U2 really started to emerger as the “Band of the 80s.” After forming friendships with rock legends Van Morrison and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, U2 released The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum (featuring an appearance by B.B. King) as looks at American music. U2 would reinvent itself in the 90s with albums Achtung Baby and Zooropa and working with everyone from Johnny Cash to Luciano Pavaratti to Homer Simpson. Though they kept reinventing themselves, they were still able to maintain their own distinctive instantly recognizable sound, while constantly reinventing themselves, whether it’s rock n roll, alternative dance, or ballads. Drawing heavily from their influences like The Ramones and The Who, U2 has gone on to influence several of today’s top bands like The Killers, Snow Patrol, and OneRepublic and have worked with Green Day, Elvis Costello, and R.E.M. Ireland’s most famous export has sold over 140 million albums, been inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, and won more Grammies than any other rock band in history. In 2009, U2 released their twelfth studio album, No Line on the Horizon.