U2 Biography

U2 (IPA: /ju.tu/) are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), The Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). U2 have been one of the most popular acts in the world since the mid-1980s. The band has sold more than 170 million albums worldwide, and has won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other rock band.

U2 formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. By the mid-1980s, however, the band had become a top international act, noted for its anthemic sound, Bono"s impassioned vocals, and The Edge"s textural guitar playing. Their success as a live act was greater than their success as a record-selling act until their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, brought them mega-stardom. Their 1991 album Achtung Baby and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour were part of a significant reinvention for the band; it was a response to their own sense of musical stagnation, the dance and alternative rock revolutions, and criticism of their image. This experimentation continued for the rest of the 1990s.

In the early years of the 21st century, U2 have pursued a more traditional sound while maintaining influences from their previous musical explorations. They continue to enjoy high levels of commercial and critical success. The band are active in human rights, international development, and social justice causes, such as Amnesty International, Make Poverty History, the ONE Campaign, Live Aid, Live 8, Bono"s DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign, and Music Rising.

Careers Formation:

U2 formed in Dublin, Ireland on 25 September 1976. Larry Mullen Jr., then fourteen, posted a notice on his secondary school notice board (Mount Temple Comprehensive School) seeking musicians for a new band. Seven teenage boys and four teenage girls attended the initial practice in Mullen"s kitchen. Known for about a day as "The Larry Mullen Adventure," the group featured Mullen on drums, Adam Clayton on bass guitar, Paul Hewson (Bono) on lead vocals, Dave Evans (The Edge) and his brother Dick Evans on guitar, as well as Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, two other friends of Mullen. Soon after, the group settled on the name "Feedback", because it was one of the few technical terms they knew. Martin did not return after the first practice, and McCormick left the group within a few weeks.

We couldn"t believe it. I was completely shocked. We weren"t of an age to go out partying as such but I don"t think anyone slept that night....Really, it was just a great affirmation to win that competition, even though I"ve no idea how good we were or what the competition was really like. But to win at that point was incredibly important for morale and everyone"s belief in the whole project.

— The Edge on winning the CBS competition^[7]

In March 1977, the band changed its name to "The Hype". Dick Evans, who was older and by this time at college, was becoming the odd man out as the rest of the band was leaning towards the idea of a four-piece ensemble; he was "phased out" in March 1978. During a farewell concert in the Presbyterian Church Hall in Howth, which featured The Hype playing covers, Dick ceremoniously walked offstage. The remaining four band members completed the concert playing original material as "U2". The origin of the name "U2" is unclear; on a list of six names provided by the Dublin punk rock guru Steve Averill, "U2" was chosen for its ambiguity and open-ended interpretations, and because it was the name that the members of the band disagreed with the least.

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