The Irish rock band U2 has been one of the most popular rock bands since the 1980s. Paul David Hewson, also known as Bono, David Howell Evans – the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr have sold over 120 million albums worldwide, and are considered as one of the most successful groups of the last 25 years.

 

It all began in Dublin, in October 1976, when Larry Mullen, at the time 14 years old, posted a note searching musicians for a new band. Soon he had a band with 6 members; Paul Hewson (Bono) on vocals, David and Dik Evans and Ivan McCormick on guitar, Adam Clayton on bass guitar and himself playing the drums. They called themselves the Feedback.

 

Later, they changed their name to the Hype and after 18 months of rehearsals they went to a talent show in Limerick in March 1978. Right before the contest, Dik Evans and Ivan McCormick left the band. However, the Hype performed very well and won the contest and the £500 prize. Luckily, CBS Records Jackie Hayden, was one of the judges on the show, and he was impressed enough to give them studio time to record their first demo. After the contest they also changed their name again, to U2, and got the businessman Paul McGuiness to manage them.

 

In September 1978, U2 released their first single, “U2-3”, and it got # 1 in Irish charts, most because of U2’s own unique stile. In 1980 they were signed by Island Records, and in October the same year, they released their first album, “Boy”. They got a lot of attention, both because of their music and their attitude. U2 stood forward as a Christian band with clear meanings and a meaningful message.

Autumn 1981, their second album, “October”, came, and it got even more attention then the first and became # 11 on the English charts.

 

U2’s breakthrough came in 1983, with their third album, “War”. It topped the list in England, and got also great response in US. It included U2’s first international hit single, “New Year’s Day”, and MTV showed it dozens of times, witch introduced U2 to the American audience. The album also included the famous song “Sunday Bloody Sunday”, which dealt with the political situation in Northern Ireland. Because of their breakthrough, U2 now began performing on sold-out concerts for the first time in Europe and US.

 

In 1984, the album “The Unforgettable Fire” was released with the single “In the Name of Love”. It was a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr, and for the first time, U2 entered the American top 40.

 

They then decided to do something for charity. In July, 1984, U2 took part in the Live Aid concert for Ethiopian famine relief, witch was seen by more than a billion people. They weren’t expected to be one of the main attractions, but U2 and Bono stole the show with a 13-minute version of “Bad”. Therefore, U2 became the main attraction on the Conspiracy of Hope tour for Amnesty the year after. They performed on sold out concerts all over the US, and helped Amnesty triple its membership.

 

U2 soon after began on their fifth studio album, with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers, and in 1985 they released “Wide Awake in America”. U2 was now well established and considered to be the 80s most important and biggest rock band. However, they were still not superstars, but that was about to change.

 

The legendary album, “The Joshua Tree”, witch came out in 1987, and U2 became world known superstars. “The Joshua Tree” debuted at # 1 in the UK, and soon became # 1 in the US. Within 28 hours it had sold to platinum, and the singles “With or Without You”, “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” and “Where the Streets Have No Name” also became # 1 in the US. U2 now had become the biggest band in the world. The Joshua Tree Tour sold out stadiums everywhere, and U2 got fans all over the world.

 

They began filming and recording various shows from the tour for the documentary and album “Rattle and Hum”, witch was released in 1988 and on video in 1989. The album was a tribute to American music, especially since they recorded it at Sun Studios in Memphis, where Elvis Presley began his career, and performed with Bob Dylan and B.B King. After that, they took some time of from the band and each other.

 

 However, they where back again in autumn 1990. They met in East Berlin, and began working on their next album, again with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers. In November 1991, U2 released “Achtung Baby”. They had changed their style, and were rougher then ever. They used a lot of industrial guitars, feedback, altered vocals and electronic dance beats. The album was well received by both the fans and the critics.

 

  In 1992, they began their first American tour for more than four years, The Zoo TV tour. U2 used dozens of huge video screens, stage cameras, a hand held Bono camera and even satellite TV links. After the tour, U2 used less then tree days to record their next album, “Zooropa”, their 7th studio album. It was released in 1993, and the critics were mixed, however, the fans where satisfied. They than took another brake, to work on the projects with the movies Batman Forever and Mission Impossible.

 

  In 1996, U2 began working on a new album; witch resulted in the album “Pop”. The album, witch was released in March 1997, was inspired by techno and dance, but U2 seemed lees inspired and they got some bad critics. However, “Pop” debuted as # 1 in 28 countries. A month later, U2 hit the road once again, with the Popmart Tour. It was the their most colourful show ever, and the set included a 100-foot long golden yellow arch, the worlds largest video screen and a 35 foot tall mirror ball lemon. They earned over $80 million on the tour, but it cost more than $100 million to produce. When the tour ended in March, 1998, U2 had performed for over two million people.

 

  After the Popmart Tour, U2 went back to the studio and began on a new album. “All That You Can’t Leave Behind” was released in October 2000 and was considered as U2’s third masterpiece, after “Achtung Baby” and “The Joshua Tree”. The album debuted at # 1 in 22 countries and got three prices at the Grammy Awards. The single, “Beautiful Day”, was played all over the world. U2 then followed with a major tour in 2001. The Elevation Tour was nearly a complete sell-out, and the band’s 80 shows in North America earned over $110 million. The tour was completed at Slane Castle in Dublin, in September, in front of 80.000 fans.

 

 

Bono and the rest of U2 then continued their campaigns for debt and HIV/AIDS relief, witch included a meeting with President George W. Bush and an 11-days tour in Africa in 2002.

 

In 2004, a new album was ready, and “How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb” and the single “Vertigo” was released. The album debuted at # 1 in amazing 32 countries, and sold over 840 000 units in the US the first week. It was a great success.

 

It’s reported that U2 has plans for a new album in 2006, and after more than 20 years in the highlights, they still manage to perform. The four band members are still close friends, and U2 is one of the few bands qualified to call them self one of the Worlds Biggest Band ever.

Other popular musicians, clothes and hairstyle

 

 

  U2 has been popular since the early 80’s, and got their breakthrough in 1983. In the 80’s there were a lot of popular artists and groups. Queen, Bob Dylan, Beach Boys, Santana, Madonna, Alphaville, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney, Wham, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Phil Collins and Bruce Springsteen are some of them.

 

 

 

 

The clothes and hairstyle in the 80’s, are very different from today’s style. Young people in the 80’s used a lot of jeans, witch were so tight that it was almost impossible to wear boots under them. They had drainpipe jeans, straight jeans, jeans with paint splattered on them, jeans with sparkly bits and stonewashed jeans. In the 80’s almost everyone was wearing Kickers shoes. The colourful shoes from Belgium came with a little flower-shaped leather logo attached to the laces.

 

 

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  In the 80’s you should have a big hair with a lot of volume. The hair was curly, and never straight. Your hair should go up, out and down, but it could also be short and asymmetrical or pushed up with a hair band. The more hair, the better.