  Who are U2? Paul
"Bono" Hewson, Dave "The
Edge" Evans, Adam Clayton, and Larry
Mullen, Jr. U2 came together in Dublin,
Ireland in 1976. The band spent the end of
the 70s finding their "alternative"
niche, gradually rose to rock super-stardom
in the 80s, and continues their mastery of
rock, pop, alternative fusion into the 90s.
U2 provides rock music with a message - often
on politics and religion. With large-scale
world tours and successful LP releases, U2
have made their mark as one of the great
bands of the century.
 U2 began in 1976 when 14
year-old Larry Mullen wanted to form a band
at his high school in Dublin, the Mount
Temple School. Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton,
and a guy named Dick Evans responded to
Larry's as and they formed a band named
Feedback. A year later they changed their
name to Hype and Dick Evans left the band.
With Evans gone, the name was changed to U2.
In 1978, U2 caught a break when
they won a talent contest and were approached
by a manager. An EP called U2:3 was
successful in Ireland but the band was not
making much headway elsewhere.
 U2 signed with Island Records
and released their debut LP, Boy. The LP introduced
U2's sound to America's alternative radio
with a refreshing dose of alternative-rock in
a sea of post-punk synthesizers. The band had
a moderate alternative hit with "I Will
Follow."
 Increasing success in the U.S.
and England came with release of October and the tracks
"Gloria," "Fire," and
"I Threw A Brick Through A Window."
 # 177
Singles Artist of the Year
 College radio success turned
into rock radio dominance with the release of
War. The LP presented the
band's harder edge and even harder lyrical
preaching. Tracks such as "New Years
Day," "Sunday Bloody Sunday,"
and "Two Hearts Beat As One" became
instant rock classics and U2 became known for
their live concert performances.
War was ranked # 40 in Rolling
Stone magazine's "100 Best
Albums of the 80s" and sold over 7
million copies world-wide.
 U2 hit the Top 40 for the first
time with "New
Years Day."
War was certified gold.
 U2's live work was made
available with Under
A Blood Red Sky. The live performances were
taken from the band's "War" tour
recorded in Denver, Boston, and West Germany.
 # 107
Singles Artist of the Year
Under
A Blood Red Sky was certified gold.
 U2 released The
Unforgettable Fire and had their first
major pop hit with their tribute to Martin
Luther King, Jr., "Pride (In The Name Of
Love)."
The
Unforgettable Fire was certified gold.
The
Unforgettable Fire was certified platinum
and War was certified
platinum.
 U2 also released the live EP, Wide
Awake In America with the classic live
performance of "Bad" from "The
Unforgettable Fire" tour.
War was certified 3x
platinum.
Under
A Blood Red Sky was certified platinum.
U2 toured extensively and gave a
memorable performance at Live Aid.
 The video for "Pride (In
The Name Of Love)" was nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Group Video.
U2 performed with the Amnesty
International Tour.
 # 2
Singles Artist of the Year (# 1
Group/Duo of the Year)
 U2 achieved super stardom with
the release of The
Joshua Tree. The LP hit #1 and gave U2 two
#1 hits on the pop charts: "With Or
Without You" and "I Still Haven't
Found What I'm Looking For." Additional
hits included "Where The Streets Have No
Name" and "In God's Country."
U2 followed the LP release with their most
successful tour to date while claiming the
accolades of fans and critics.
U2 appeared on the cover of Time magazine with the
headline "Rock's Hottest Ticket"
and The
Joshua Tree was later ranked # 3 on Rolling
Stone magazine's "100 Best
Albums of the 80s." The LP sold over 15
million copies world-wide.
 The
Joshua Tree was certified 2x platinum.
U2 hit #1 with "I Still
Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
where it stayed for 3 weeks.
 The
Joshua Tree was certified 3x platinum.
The video for "With Or
Without You" won a MTV Video Music
Award for Viewer's Choice and was nominated for Video of the Year, Best Group Video, Best Direction, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, and Best Overall Performance.
 The
Joshua Tree was certified 4x platinum.
 # 42
Singles Artist of the Year
U2 were nominated for 2 American Music
Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album (The
Joshua Tree).
 U2 won 2 Grammy
Awards for Album of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a
Duo or Group (The
Joshua Tree), and was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year (songwriter) ("I
Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking
For").
The videos for "I Still
Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and
"Where The Streets Have No Name"
were nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Video of the Year and Best Group Video. "Where The
Streets Have No Name" was nominated for Best Stage Performance Video and "I Still
Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" was
nominated for Best Concept Video.
 U2 band followed up the success
of The
Joshua Tree with a movie and soundtrack
based on their Joshua Tree Tour. Rattle
& Hum was released as a double CD
with 6 live performances and 9 studio tracks.
The LP wasn't well received by some critics
although it was moderately successful
commercially. The first single
"Desire" did hit #1, and U2 had
success with the singles "Angel Of Harlem," "When Love
Comes To Town" with B.B.
King, and "All I Want Is You."
The
Joshua Tree was certified 5x platinum.
 Rattle
& Hum was certified 2x platinum.
 # 70
Singles Artist of the Year
U2 hit the Top 40 with "Angel Of Harlem."
Rattle
& Hum was certified 3x platinum and
the single "Desire" was certified
gold.
 U2 won 2 more Grammy
Awards for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a
Duo or Group ("Desire") and Best Performance Music Video ("Where The
Streets Have No Name").
U2 hit the Top 10 with "Angel Of Harlem."
 The video for "When Love
Comes To Town" with B.B. King won a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Video from a Film.
U2 were nominated for a few Grammy Awards for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a
Duo or Group (Rattle
& Hum and "When Love Comes To
Town" with B.B.
King) and Best Song Written
for a Motion Picture, Television or Other
Visual Media (songwriter) ("Angel Of Harlem").
 # 100
Singles Artist of the Year
 U2 entered the new decade with a
more electronic sound with the release of Achtung
Baby. The band hit the Top 10 with
"Mysterious Ways" and their
AIDS-related track "One." Additional hits
included "The Fly," "Even Better Than The
Real Thing," and "Who's Gonna Ride Your
Wild Horses." The LP was supported
with a worldwide tour called Zoo TV. The band
had fun with their success - mocking the
media that made them famous while using media
to incredible heights to create their tour.
The LP sold over 10 million copies
world-wide.
 U2 hit the Top 40 with "The Fly."
U2 hit the Top 40 with "Mysterious Ways."
 # 10
Singles Artist of the Year
 U2 hit the Top
10
with "Mysterious Ways."
Achtung
Baby was certified 3x platinum.
U2 hit the Top 40 with "One."
U2 topped the Billboard Album
Rock Tracks chart for 2 weeks and the Modern
Rock Tracks chart for a week with "One."
 U2 hit the Top 10 with "One."
U2 hit the Top 40 with "Even Better Than The
Real Thing."
 U2 topped the Billboard Album
Rock Tracks chart for 3 weeks with "Even Better Than The
Real Thing."
Achtung
Baby was certified 4x platinum.
The video for "Even Better Than The
Real Thing" won 2 MTV Video Music
Awards for Best Group Video and Best Special Effects (Simon Taylor), and
was nominated for Best Editing.
 U2 hit the Top 40 with "Who's Gonna Ride Your
Wild Horses."
 # 76
Singles Artist of the Year
U2 was
nominated for 2 American Music
Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group and Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Achtung
Baby).
Achtung
Baby was certified 2x platinum.
U2 won another Grammy
Award for
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