U2

U2 is an alternative rock band from Dublin (Ireland) formed in 1976 by Bono (vocals), The Edge (guitar, keyboard and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums). U2's initial sound had its roots in post-punk, but later they incorporated elements from other genres into their music: "Their songbook is extensive and full of variations: from the most classic rock to the roundest pop, through flirting with electronics or homages to gospel". Throughout the band's musical search, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals, highlighted by the musical texture of The Edge and the Bono's expressive voice, to which is added a characteristic base integrated by the drums of Mullen and the bass of Clayton. His lyrics, often sequenced with spiritual imagery, focus on personal issues and thematics of social justice and peace.

U2 formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, when its initial members were teenagers with limited musical knowledge. After four years, they signed their first record deal with Island Records and released their debut album, called Boy. In the mid-eighties, the band became known worldwide. They were more successful as live artists than commercial artists in terms of album sales, until their breakout 1987 album The Joshua Tree, which according to magazine Rolling Stone, elevated the band "from heroes to superstars". The reaction to their "stalemate" musical at the end of the eighties, made the group decide to reinvent itself with their 1991 album, Achtung Baby in the company of the Zoo TV Tour; during this decade U2 would be influenced by pop, electronic, dance and alternative rock and would integrate them into their sound. His furthest leap back to his roots would be in 1997 with the album Pop, an album that ranged from pure pop songs, to more pop rock songs, to some extremely alternative ones like "Please". The album met with a medium level of success, but its introductory single, "Discothèque", gave the band their first US top 10 single since 1992. U2 again gained major commercial success in in 2000 with the album All That You Can't Leave Behind. After this album, U2 put aside the experimental sounds that they carried out in the 90s, becoming more conventional while maintaining their initial musical influences, returning to the sound of their first albums. They are one of the world's best-selling music artists, selling more than 170 million copies worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. i>Rolling Stone ranked them number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".

U2 have recorded fourteen studio albums, their most recent work is Songs of Experience which contains 13 songs and was released on December 1, 2017. The next day, December 2, it becomes number one worldwide on iTunes.

History

Formation, Boy and October (1976–1982)

Young Larry Mullen Jr. posted an ad on the bulletin board at his school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, looking for people to form a group. At first he made the guitarists come by. Dave Evans (& # 34; The Edge & # 34;) was the third and last to enter, since Larry was convinced that he would not get better. Dave's brother, Dick Evans, also attended the announcement, although he would leave the band before the recording of the first album, later founding the band & # 34; The Virgin Prunes & # 34;. Then it was the turn of the bassists, where Adam Clayton won the position not only because of his overwhelming talent, but also because of his experience in other previous bands. Finally, Larry wanted a second guitar and vocals, and then it was Paul Hewson's turn. Paul started out playing the guitar, and he did it badly. So, Larry asked her to sing, and she did worse. So Larry always accused his nose of what at the time seemed crazy: "A singer should have personality, and he did,", Larry said years later.

The band had only drums, Edge's electric guitar and his brother's acoustic guitar, both without amps, and Adam's bass, with a rather old amp. They started playing songs by The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, etc. Paul changed his name to Bono Vox, (later shortened to Bono) after a Dublin headphone shop, which is Latin for 'Good Voice'. Dave also adopted a stage name, calling himself The Edge, and Larry added the "JR" to his name, since he had the same name as his father..

They were called Feedback before changing to The Hype in 1977, but U2's arrival was a bit strange, as Dick left the group in the middle of a concert. for reasons difficult to define, and there U2 was born. Dick ended up playing with the Virgin Prunes. The group is often said to have been named U2 after the Lockheed U-2 spy plane, which was shot down by the Russians around the time of Bono's birth; Actually, as the members of the group themselves admit in their autobiography "U2 by U2", the choice of the name was more or less provisional until they found another more suitable one, but their growing fame and international projection established the name. Steve Averill (designer of the group's album and single covers) was the one who suggested the name. U2 is also a play on words, as it is pronounced the same as you too or you two (English: "you too" or "you two").

U2 made their first big break in 1978, when they won a contest sponsored by Paul McGuinness in their senior year of high school. On May 25, 1978, Paul McGuinness, until then manager of The Straglers saw them perform and offered them a contract. Even with that, the band had trouble moving forward, because CBS didn't eventually sign them. In the autumn of 1979, U2 recorded their debut single, 'U2 Three', releasing 1,000 copies in Ireland alone, where it topped the charts. Later they began to act in England, but they were not very successful.

U2 had another single, "Another Day" and in 1980 Island Records made them a contract. At the end of the year they released their debut album, Boy, produced by Steve Lillywhite. "Boy" triumphed due to its dynamics coming from Post Punk, combining it with an absolutely avant-garde sound, especially in its peculiar guitar sound. Without a doubt, they were promising, and their lyrics carried strong political messages, due to the permanent adverse situations in Ireland. The most important song on this record was "I Will Follow", still played live in their recitals today, but songs like "Another Time, Another Place" and "Stories For Boys". Thanks to continuous gigs, including opening performances by Talking Heads and a small tour called the Boy Tour, U2 was able to take Boy to 70 on the US charts. in early 1981. With the production of Lillywhite they released the album October. It was very unsuccessful and the band suffered greatly, as they were surprised by a poor popular response just as they were reaching the mainstream music scene. But maintaining a dynamic from record to record, they always had something on their hands.

War, Under a Blood Red Sky and The Unforgettable Fire (1983-1985)

Bonus during the "The War Tour 1983".

Lillywhite continued to produce the band's records with the album War, released in the spring of 1983.

This album had more of a political message than the previous albums and featured two of the quartet's most famous songs; "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and 'New Year's Day', U2's belligerent declaration of peace, turns 32 without losing relevance. With these songs they reached the top of several rankings and War aroused the curiosity of those who were looking for a new sound and lyrics that really aroused the feelings of the young Irish people.

During the War Tour they released the album and the video entitled Under a Blood Red Sky, recorded in Red Rocks Colorado, with which U2 was already beginning to revolutionize the way to present a live concert. The album entered the charts at number 2 and became the most successful direct from the British Isles.

During this period in which U2 was already beginning to win over the British public, they received an important invitation from John Paul II. It was known that U2 loaded some of their songs with religious messages, but really the invitation was contradictory. After a long debate they decided to accept, but they asked that there be no cameramen or paparazzi, they wanted an intimate talk with the pope. They replied that without cameras or film cameras there was no grace, that it was the same as not being there. "Do what you want, but without us,", Bono replied.

After War, U2 returned to the studios with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers, who gave it an experimental touch. Released in the fall of 1984, The Unforgettable Fire returned to the success of War. It was one of the band's most revolutionary albums, adopting a completely different style from its beginnings, loading their songs with melodic fractions, and exploiting the creativity of their guitar more than ever. It was even one of the most creative periods for Adam the bass player. It entered number 1 on the British charts and 12 on the American charts. The album led to a top 40 US chart entry with the Martin Luther King tribute song "Pride (In the Name of Love)". U2 went on tour to promote the album, titled Unforgettable Fire Tour; Within the concerts of that tour, he highlighted a memorable performance at Live Aid, where they already had the world at their fingertips. After the tour, they released the live mini-LP Wide Awake in America in 1985.

The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum (1986–1989)

Plate at the place where the photograph of the cardboard was taken The Joshua Tree

Although U2 had become one of the most successful rock bands of the 1980s, they still hadn't achieved stardom until the spring of 1987 when they released The Joshua Tree. Acclaimed with rave reviews, many called it a masterpiece. This record became his first number one in the United States and his third album to reach number one in the United Kingdom. With their North American number ones, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", The Joshua Tree and the tour that preceded it (The Joshua Tree Tour) were worthy of covers in magazines as prestigious as Time. The album also included the mythical single "Where the Streets Have No Name".

U2 decided to film a documentary about their US tour, also recording new material along the way. The project was called Rattle and Hum, which was backed by a double disc containing live songs along with new material. While the album Rattle and Hum achieved success, both the documentary and the film received poor reviews, highlighting the group's fascination with American roots music such as blues, soul, country and folk. After going on one of their best tours, the Lovetown Tour, the group took a break.

Achtung Baby, Zoo TV and Zooropa (1990–1993)

U2 met in Berlin in 1990 to record a new album, with Eno, Lillywhite and Lanois. Although the recording sessions were difficult and the band nearly disbanded, the result, Achtung Baby, represented a triumphant reinvention of the band's foundational sound. If in its early days it had been influenced by post-punk and American music in its middle stage, now it was immersed in dance music and electronic music. Inspired by 1970s Bowie and the "Manchester sound," alike, Achtung Baby had a more varied and edgy sound than U2? He did not disappoint his audience. The album debuted at number one and spawned top ten hits like "Mysterious Ways" and "One".

The song that appears on the 1991 Achtung Baby LP, "One," is considered by many to be the best song written by Bono, being one of the most emotional in terms of performance and in terms of songwriting. feeling when performed live. Curiously, this song was not written with love in mind, but quite the opposite of what Bono might think at the time, this song, in Bono's own words, is a view of the world we live in, where the idea cannot be controlled. of selfishness between religions, customs, ideas, etc... between the countries that inhabit this planet, the song recalls the brotherhood that must exist and the opportunity to love as brothers without necessarily being. But it also has the meaning of accepting the ways in which the human being is accepted in this world.

It should be noted that this song is used very frequently in social events, commonly weddings, in this regard Bono has said that it has no meaning to be considered as a song that talks about love relationships.

In early 1992, the group embarked on a new tour in support of their Achtung Baby. Called the Zoo TV Tour, this tour was a novel combination of multimedia effects, with a stage made up of gigantic screens, dangling cars, and mobile phone calls. Bono created an alter ego for himself called "The Fly" ("the fly"), which represented stardom. It was clear that U2 were more outgoing and having more fun than ever, but they hadn't abandoned their social involvement.

After finishing the Zoo TV Tour in America at the end of 1992 and before beginning their European leg, U2 entered the studio to record new material: Zooropa, released in 1993 to coincide with his tour of the same name. The album proved to have a greater techno and dance influence than Achtung Baby and received good reviews and some singles including "Lemon" and "Stay (faraway, so close!)". Although the album was not a sales success, since it did not reach two million copies sold, it won a Grammy for "Best Alternative Album" 1994. During the Zooropa tour, "The Fly" became MacPhisto in its second leg. The tour, which ended on an emotional night in Tokyo on December 10, 1993 (almost two years after beginning in Lakeland on February 29, 1992 and after 159 concerts), the band took another break.

The Zooropa tour was considered since then as one of the greatest and most original tours in the history of rock, and that era is remembered by the vast majority of the group's fans and by the specialized critics, as the group's most creative and successful period.

U2 concert in Kansas City, during the Elevation Tour, in which the band traveled North America and Europe (2001).

Passengers, Pop and Popmart (1995–1998)

During 1995, U2 reappeared with "Hold me, Thrill me, Kiss me, Kill me", a glam rock piece for the movie Batman Forever, produced by Nellee Hooper Later that year, they collaborated on Brian Eno's Original Soundtracks 1. They released the album under the pseudonym The Passengers, going unnoticed by critics. From this album, the song "Miss Sarajevo" who sing together with Luciano Pavarotti. Many devoted fans of the group and the band's drummer, Larry Mullen, were disappointed by the Passengers project, so U2 promised to release a rock album in the fall of 1996.

This record took a long time to be released, being postponed until the spring of 1997. During the delay, some songs leaked, like "Discothèque", their first single. It became clear that the new album had strong influences from techno, dance and electronic music. When it finally came out, Pop garnered strong initial sales and some of the worst reviews of their career, with which they kicked off their Popmart tour that took them to the UK for the first time. South America with presentations in Argentina, Brazil and Chile, as well as Mexico for the second time.

In late 1998, the group returned with The Best of 1980-1990, the first in a series of compilations released by Polygram. The Sweetest Thing", which became a success reaching privileged positions on the main music billboards.

All That You Can't Leave Behind and the Elevation Tour (2000–2002)

Three years after Pop, U2 teamed up with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois again to perform All That You Can't Leave Behind in the fall of 2000, album with which the band returned to its characteristic guitar sound. It included songs like "Beautiful Day", (which received a Grammy Award), "Walk on", "Kite" and "Elevation". In 2002 they released a new compilation from their second decade as a band, called The Best of 1990-2000. There, the single "Electrical Storm" which became a success during this year.

These two releases were preceded by the Elevation Tour,. which began in Miami on March 24, 2001 and ended in the same city, but almost nine months after it began, on December 2. On this tour, as on the promoted album, the more intimate atmosphere returned in front of the macro concerts of Zoo TV and Popmart. During that tour two DVDs were released; Elevation: Live from Boston and U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle.

In 2002, U2 along with other bands such as Kiss, Metallica, The Offspring, Red Hot Chili Peppers and Rancid, participated in a tribute album to the punk rock band, The Ramones called We're A Happy Family. The album was produced by Johnny Ramone and released under the Columbia Records label.

How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and the Vertigo Tour (2004–2006)

The Edge during the U2 presentation at the Live 8 concert in London, 2005.

U2 during the concert they offered in Brussels in the framework of the Vertigo Tour.

At the end of 2004, U2 released their album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, a rock album from which they have extracted singles such as " Vertigo", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "City Of Blinding Lights", "Original of the Species" and "All Because of You".

The promotional tour for this material began on March 28, 2005 in the city of San Diego, California, under the title Vertigo Tour. On this tour U2 toured the United States and Canada between March and May of that year, to continue in Europe in the summer (between June 10, in Brussels and August 14 in Lisbon) and return to the United States and Canada in the fall, starting on September 12 in Toronto and through December 19 in Portland. During January and February of 2006, the group carried out the fourth leg of the tour, which included the triumphant return of U2 to countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina, which had not been included in the previous tour, Elevation in 2001. On March 8, 2006, between the concerts in Argentina and New Zealand, the group announced that the band was forced to postpone the last 10 dates, which spanned New Zealand, Australia and Japan due to the illness of a close relative of one of the members of the grouping. These dates were rescheduled starting on November 7 with the concert in Brisbane, Australia, ending the tour in Honolulu, Hawaii on December 9, 2006.

In 2005 the autobiographical book U2 by U2 (HarperCollins, 2005) was published in England, edited by Neil McCormick, with texts from more than 150 hours of interviews with the band and 1500 photographs. In this 352-page book the band tells their story from their childhood years to date. The Spanish edition is provided by RBA, and was published in September 2006.

That same year, U2 participated in Live 8 performing, along with Paul McCartney, The Beatles' song "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', which iTunes later offers for digital download. He also records a version of "One" for the album The Breakthough by Mary J. Blige, which is published as one of the promotional singles from the album.

At the end of 2006, together with Green Day, they recorded a version of the song by the Scottish punk group The Skids, "The Saints are Coming". This song is released as a single to benefit the Music Rising campaign, carried out by The Edge to help musicians in New Orleans who, after the devastating floods caused by Hurricane Katrina, were left without their livelihood; their musical instruments. The version was presented on September 25, 2006, as part of the reopening of the Louisiana Superdome, in New Orleans.

On November 20, 2006, they released a new compilation, U218 Singles, with 16 of their best-known songs and two new songs (the version "The Saints are Coming" and the previously unreleased "Window in the Skies", released as a promotional single).

In October of that same year the band changed to Mercury Records after 26 years affiliated with Island Records, both subsidiaries of Universal Music Group.

In January 2008, the band's manager, Paul McGuinness, announced that U2 is preparing the follow-up to How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb to be released in February 2009.

In March 2008, the film U23D was released in much of Latin America. It was filmed during the Vertigo tour in four countries: Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina.

No Line On The Horizon and U2360°Tour (2009-2011)

On March 2, 2009, after more than 4 years of preparation, his twelfth album, No Line on the Horizon, was released. Recorded in places as diverse as Fez (Morocco), France, Hanover Quay Studios in Dublin and finally at Olympic Studios in London. His first single was titled "Get on Your Boots"; the second single is 'Magnificent', released on May 4, 2009; the third single, titled "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight", was released on September 7, 2009. On June 30 of the same year, U2 started in Barcelona the 360° Tour that took them in 2009 to Europe, the United States and Canada. In 2010 they performed in Europe and Oceania. For 2011, in February, they performed in South Africa, on March 25 in Santiago, Chile, in April with 3 shows in La Plata, Argentina and 3 shows in São Paulo, Brazil, then in May they performed in Mexico City, with 3 shows. In June and July, U2 rescheduled the concerts canceled in the United States and Canada, due to an operation on Bono's spine. This is the final stage of the 360° Tour, which is considered the best tour in history, with a total attendance of 7,742.,000 spectators in just 85 shows.

On October 25, 2009, a concert of the "U2360°Tour" from the Rose Bowl Stadium (California, United States) became the first full concert broadcast on I live on YouTube. The same concert was released in various editions containing DVD and Blu Ray formats in June 2010. Included in the deluxe edition is the single "Soon (Kingdom Of Your Love)", a song that it was played at all the concerts of the tour just before the band appeared.

Through his subscription service U2 Online, he offers a Remixes album titled "Artificial Horizon", including collaborations with Trent Reznor, Justice, Hot Chip or David Holmes, among others.

Songs of Innocence and the thirty years of The Joshua Tree (2014-2017)

Before the release of the next studio album, the band will release two tracks, "Ordinary Love" and "Invisible". At the time, it seemed that they were advances of the album that was to come, but none of them will finally appear included in it, although "Invisible" It will be included on disc 2 of a limited edition.

"Ordinary love" appears in October 2013 on YouTube. It is part of the soundtrack of the film "Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom", and in addition to winning the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, it was nominated for the Oscars in the same category, losing to "Let It Go" from the movie "Frozen".

On November 13, 2013, it is announced that Paul McGuinness is no longer managing U2, with Guy Oseary being mentioned as the new manager. This is because Live Nation buys Principal Management (company that managed the band).

"Invisible" was introduced by the band on February 2, 2014 as part of an AIDS campaign: during that day, the song was available for free download from iTunes, and for each download, Bank of America donated one dollar to RED, an organization led by Bono who fights against the disease. With this fact, more than 3 million dollars were raised.

On September 9, 2014, U2 launched their new album titled Songs of Innocence by surprise on Apple's Keynote. The group performed the song "The Miracle" and then announced, along with Tim Cook, that the album would be available completely free on iTunes from September 9 to October 13, 2014.

Just a few minutes later, Bono announced that a second new album was almost ready to be called Songs of Experience. Both titles, Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience allude to two poetic works by the English poet, painter and printmaker William Blake.

Songs of Experience and The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 (2017-present)

In early September 2017, U2 revealed that the first single from the new album, Songs of Experience, would be 'You're the Best Thing About Me', which is finally released on September 6 in digital download format.

That same month they announced that the new album would go on sale on December 1, 2017, and in the months that followed, the band published a second advance on their website, this time a video with live sound of the song "The Blackout", and later the live performance of the song "Get Out of Your Own Way". They also claim that the song "The Little Things that Give You Away", performed repeatedly on "The Joshua Tree Tour 2017", would be part of the album.

December 1, 2017 Songs of Experience is released as scheduled. The album contains 13 songs, including those mentioned, and in its deluxe version it adds one more unpublished song ("The Book of Your Heart"), as well as 3 other covered songs. Among the unpublished, there is the remix of the song 'You're the best thing about me' by the Norwegian DJ and producer, Kygo. The day after its publication, this album becomes world number one on iTunes.

The release of the album was followed by the Experience + Innocence Tour, which reversed the name of the previous one, the Innocence + Experience Tour, and which began in May 2018 and ended in Berlin on November 13, 2018. At the end of the Last concert, Bono said a few words that created a rumor in the press that the band would possibly break up after this stage.

However, in November 2019 they return to the stage with The Joshua Tree Tour 2019, which takes them through New Zealand, Australia, Japan and -for the first time in its history- Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines and India.

Precisely, in India they recorded a new single, "Ahimsa", in collaboration with the Indian musician A. R. Rahman, winner of an Oscar and a Grammy for the soundtrack of Slumdog Millionaire and his song "Jai Ho".

Influences

U2 have been influenced by The Who,The Ramones, The Clash, The Beatles, Siouxsie And The Banshees, Buzzcocks, Joy Division and Patti Smith and have influenced OneRepublic,30 seconds to Mars, Keane, Robbie Williams, Muse, Travis, Coldplay, The Fray, Pearl Jam, The Killers, Delirious? and Angels & Airwaves. Has worked with: Green Day, R.E.M. (in a project called Automatic Baby, consisting of R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Mike Mills with U2's Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr.), Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Pearl Jam, Mary J. Blige, B.B. King, Luciano Pavarotti, Wim Wenders and Anton Corbijn., Jay-Z, Mick Jagger and Fergie

Groups and artists who have covered U2 songs: Avalanch, Paramore, Sepultura, James Blunt, Johnny Cash, Joe Cocker, Pearl Jam, tobyMac, Pet Shop Boys, Dream Theater, The Smashing Pumpkins, Darlene Zschech, Ignite, Keane, Pillar, Utada Hikaru, Saul Williams.

Activism

Bono with Horst Köhler, president of the IMF, in 2000.

In addition to being known for their music, the band has stood out for their social work, especially Bono, who, in 2008, has already been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize 3 times. Their activism has also led them to collaborating with different organizations such as Amnesty International, Greenpeace, DATA, ONE and with causes that support mainly less developed countries, such as their participation in events such as Live Aid (1985) and twenty years later, Live 8 (2005), both massive concerts organized by Bob Geldof for the G-8 countries (the seven richest countries in the world and Russia) to help African countries.

In the photo, image of the concert in Santiago de Chile of 1998, where the group protested against Augusto Pinochet, who in the later days would assume as a designated senator

Since the early 1980s, members of U2, as a group or individually, have collaborated with other musicians, artists, celebrities, and politicians to address issues of poverty, disease, and social injustice. In 1985, Bono and Adam Clayton participated in Band Aid to raise money for famine in Ethiopia. In 1986, U2 participated in A Conspiracy of Hope and in Self Aid for unemployment in Ireland. The same year, Bono and Ali Hewson also visited Nicaragua and El Salvador at the invitation of the Sanctuary movement and saw the effects of the civil war in El Salvador. These events were heavily influenced by The Joshua Tree album, which was being recorded at the time.

In 1992, the band participated in the "Stop Sellafield" with Greenpeace during their Zoo TV tour.

In 1998 at the end of the PopMart Tour in Santiago de Chile in full concert, in the middle of the performance of the song "One" and "Mothers of the Disappeared", is performed on stage with the mothers of the Agrupación de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos, as a way of protesting the incorporation of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet to the Senate, as senator for life,a at the same time that Bono asks for the clarification of where the bodies of the detainees disappeared during the military period are. This fact is one of the most remembered of the Popmart Tour.

In late 2005, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, The Edge helped introduce Music Rising, an initiative to raise money for musicians who lost their instruments in the storm that ravaged the Gulf Coast.

Other projects

The members of U2 have undertaken various team projects, sometimes in collaboration with some of their bandmates. In 1985 Bono recorded the song "In A Lifetime" with the Irish band Clannad. The Edge recorded the solo soundtrack for the film "Captive" in 1986, which featured a vocal performance by Sinéad O'Connor that preceded her debut album. Bono and The Edge wrote the song "She She Is A Mystery To Me"; for Roy Orbison, which was included on his 1989 album Mystery Girl. In 1990, Bono and The Edge recorded a version of "A Clockwork Orange" for the Royal Shakespeare Company London (it was only released on the B-Side on the single "The Fly"). The same year, Larry co-wrote and produced a song for the Irish international soccer team in Italy '90, called "Put 'Em Under Pressure" which topped the Irish charts. Along with Edge, Bono wrote the song "GoldenEye" for the James Bond film GoldenEye which was played by Tina Turner. Clayton and Mullen arranged the Theme for "Mission:Impossible" for the 1996 film.

Bono provided the voice in "Joy" for Mick Jagger's 2001 album Goddess in the Doorway. Bono also recorded a quasi-spoken version of "Hallelujah" by Leonard Cohen for the 1995 compilation. In 1998 Bono collaborated with Kirk Franklin and Crystal Lewis (along with R Kelly and Mary J Blige) for a thriving gospel song called 'Lean On Me'. Additionally, Bono sang some of the lyrics to "Slide Away" along with Michael Hutchence, which was published in 1999, after the death of the Australian interpreter.

Aside from musical collaborations, U2 have worked with a few writers. The American writer William S. Burroughs had a special appearance in the video "Last Night on Earth" shortly before his death. His poem & # 34; A Thanksgiving Prayer & # 34; it was used as a video sequence during the Zoo TV tour. Other contributors include William Gibson and Allen Ginsberg.

In early 2000 the band recorded three songs for the The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack, including "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" (song released as a single) that was co-written by Salman Rushdie and motivated by his eponymous book.

In 2007 Bono appeared in the film Across the Universe and performed songs by The Beatles ("I Am The Walrus" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds&# 3. 4;). Bono and The Edge also wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.

Additionally, The Edge created the theme song for seasons 1 and 2 of the animated TV series The Batman.

Discography

Studio albums:

• Boy (1980)
• October (1981)
• War (1983)
• The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
• The Joshua Tree (1987)
• Rattle and Hum (1988)
• Achtung Baby (1991)
• Zooropa (1993)
• Original Soundtracks 1 (accredited as Passengers) (1995)
• Pop (1997)
• All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
• How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
• No Line on the Horizon (2009)
• Songs of Innocence (2014)
• Songs of Experience (2017)
• Songs of Surrender (2023)

Tours

• Irish Tour (1976-1979)
• Irish + London Tour (1979)
• U2-3 Tour (1979-1980)
• 11 O'Clock Tick Tock Tour (1980)
• Boy Tour (1980-1981)
• October Tour (1981-1982)
• War Tour (1982-1983)
• Unforgettable Fire Tour (1984-1985)
• A Conspiracy of Hope Tour (1986)
• Joshua Tree Tour (1987)
• Lovetown Tour (1989-1990)
• Zoo TV Tour (1992-1993)
• PopMart Tour (1997-1998)
• Elevation Tour (2001)
• Vertigo Tour (2005-2006)
• U2 360° Tour (2009-2011)
• Innocence + Experience Tour (2015)
• The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 (2017)
• Experience + Innocence Tour (2018)
• The Joshua Tree Tour 2019 (2019)

Awards and recognitions

In their career the band has achieved several awards and nominations, such as:

• Grammy
  • 1987 - Best rock performance of a duo or vocalist group (I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For) and Album of the Year (The Joshua Tree)
  • 1988 - Best rock performance of a duo or vocalist group ("Desire"), Best performance in a music video ("Where The Streets Have No Name")
  • 1992 - Best instrumental rock group (Achtung Baby)
  • 1993 - Best Alternative Music Album (Zooropa)
  • 1994 - Best concert music video (Zoo TV: Live From Sydney)
  • 2000 - Best album, Song of the Year and Best instrumental rock group ("Beautiful Day")
  • 2001 - Best album ("Walk On"), Best instrumental pop group("Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get out of"), Best instrumental rock group ("Elevation"), Best Rock Album (All That You Can't Leave Behind)
  • 2004 - Best instrumental rock group, Best rock song and Best music video ("Vertigo")
  • 2005 - Best instrumental rock group and Best song of the year ("Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"), Best rock song ("City Of Blinding Lights"), Best rock album of the year and Album of the year (How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb)
• 7 Brit Awards
  • 1988, 1989 and 1990 (International Group), 1993 (Increased live performance), 1998 (International Group), 2001 (International Group, Exceptional Contribution).
• Golden Globe Awards
  • 2003 Best original song ("The Hands That Built America")Winner)
  • 2010 Best Original Song ("Winter") (Nominated)
  • 2014 Best Original Song ("Ordinary Love") ("Mandela: from myth to man") (Winner)
• 5 MTV Video Music Awards
  • 1987 (Viewer's Choice - "With Or Without You"), 1988 (Best video of a movie - "When Love Comes to Town"), 1992Best video - "Even Better Than the Real Thing"), 1995 (Viewer's Choice Europe - "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me"), 2001 (Video Vanguard Award)
• 3 MTV Europe Music Awards
  • 1995 (Better group), 1997 and 2009 (Best live act)
• 14 Meteor Ireland Music Awards (2001 (3), 2002 (7), 2003 (1), 2006 (3)
• Amadeus Austrian Music Award 2001 and nominations in 2004, 2005, 2006.
• Nomination for the Oscar Prize in the category Music - Original song by "The Hands That Built America", from the film Gangs of New York (2003) and "Ordinary Love", from the film Mandela: from myth to man (2013)
• Integration in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2005
• Recognition of Amnesty International, 2005