|
|  |
In 1976, Paul Hewson, Larry Mullen, Adam Clayton, Dik and Dave Evans formed a band called "Feedback" after Larry pinned a notice on the school notice board. The band were so terrible, the only reason, according to Bono, that they wrote their own material, was because they actually couldn't string together more than two bars of someone else's song.
By March, 1978, the band had renamed themselves "The Hype" and had improved enough to win a talent contest in Limerick, Ireland, picking up a £500 prize. Dik left the band and it was this point that they became more famously know as "U2".
In 1980 they signed a major record deal with Island records, and many say this was the turning point in their career. After stunning with their live performance at Red Rocks, 1983, influencing the live album "Under a Blood Red Sky" they seemed unstoppable.
As the members matured, so did the music. In 1985, U2 played at Live Aid in Wembley Stadium.
In March, 1987, The Joshua Tree became the fastest selling album in UK history. It hit the top spot in the US charts and remained there for 9 weeks.
By 1991 the band decided to be a bit more ambitious with their sound and began straying away from the traditional U2 feel with the album "Achtung Baby".
By the time "Pop" was released in 1997, the U2 sound had evolved into something less popular with the masses.
After releasing their "Best of 1980-1990) album, U2 went back to the drawing boards and created the chart smashing "All that you can't leave behind".
|
|
| |
|
|
Albums:
Boy (1980)
October (1981)
War (1982)
Under a Blood Red Sky (1983)
Unforgettable Fire (1984)
Wide Awake in America (1985)
The Joshua Tree (1987)
Rattle and Hum (1988)
Achtung Baby (1991)
Zooropa (1993)
Pop (1997)
The Best of 1980-1990 (1998)
Million Dollar Hotel (2000)
All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
ELEVATION TOUR, 2001.
Emma's review. (Best frelling night of my life)
Venue: Earl's Court, London
Date: 22nd August, 2001
After looking forward to this concert for about.... 3 months, the day finally came, and as many people know, I could hardly contain my excitement. While the support band, JJ72, were playing, I was practically bouncing off the walls like a feret on speed and it was only a matter of time before I ended up *ON* my chair. (We had ground floor tickets so we were pretty close to the action) The lights went down, the announcement to "take your seats in the auditiorium" was played, and suddenly the band came on and yes, I cried. It was amazing. They started with "Elevation", which was pretty explosive, and went on to play "Beautiful Day". I don't really remember all that much, but I remember Bono being extremely vibrant and energetic, even after the funeral of his father, only the day before. He dedicated "Kite" to his memory. There were several classics played which really got the crowd of mostly middle agers going. "Pride (in the name of love)" was particularly memorable because Bono just stopped singing and let the audience take over. Another particularly great moment was when Bono and The Edge came to the front of the walkway to play "Staring at the Sun", in just a spotlight. I was beautiful. The lighting throughout the concert was incredible, but unlike so many bands, U2 managed to not let the quality of the lighting overtake the quality of the music. They played "The Fly" during which Bono attatched himself to a light panel like a fly on a wall and didn't move, t'was amusing. After about an hour and a quarter of classic songs, new ones and the most amazing lighting I've ever seen at a concert, everything went eerily quiet as U2 prepared to play the incredibly moving and powerful "Bullet in the Blue Sky". Bono sang it with such force, it was scary. He then talked about the G8 summit and global equality with such a passion. They then played "With or Without you" which was absolutely incredible. I cried (again) but soon resumed dancing about on my (by this point) rather unsteady chair. They then said "Thankyou and Goodnight", but everyone was just waiting for the encore... we knew it was coming. After the whole of Earls Court tried to break the place down by stamping, they came back on and as they played the opening bar of "One", I think half the audience felt a lump in their throats, and not even necessarily the female half. They finished with "Walk On" and I was left speechless by the evening. Hands down, best night of my life. Page created by Emma |
|
| |
