U2
After nearly 25 years together and still packing out concerts
across the globe, few bands can claim to have had as large an impact on popular
music as U2. Known for their political activism almost as much as their music,
there are also few artists of any field who have done quite as much to right
the many wrongs of the world. With a suffusion of majestic, melodic ballads and
politically charged lyrical content, U2 are an elemental force, a whirlwind of
passion and charismatic performance, and are probably the only ‘super band’
still active that remain as popular now as they were when they first burst onto the music scene in
the early 1980s.
Since their beginnings in Dublin during the late seventies, U2 have fashioned and perfected a unique style that remains largely unchanged to this day and their multi platinum selling records coupled with a tour de force live act have earned the band a large fortune along the way. Guitarist ‘The Edge’ is largely responsible for the band’s ambient yet exhilarating musical sound, whilst lead singer Bono has refined an operatic style of vocal delivery in tandem with an angle on song writing that tackles contemporary social and political issues head on. Although adhering to this musical blueprint throughout their long and successful career, the band has also introduced new musical elements to their sound with every album release. With a beginning cemented in post-punk and influenced most notably by Joy Division, U2 quickly adopted aspects of funk, rock anthem and dance to become more adaptable in output and more assertive in tone. While this format carried the band through the 1980s, they were quick to adopt the new technologies emergent in the 1990s, incorporating synthesisers and electronic beats into the music featured on albums ‘Achtung Baby’ and ‘Zooropa’. This eclectic mixture of both consistency and reinvention has produced 12 studio albums, won the band 22 Grammy Awards, and achieved a staggering level of commercial success, selling over 145 million albums to date.
As well as an indefatigable approach to their musical career, U2 are also famous for their staunch devotion to philanthropic causes and human rights campaigning. Although this passion has always been evident in their music, their need to help change the world for the better was truly realised in 1984 when they collaborated with Bob Geldof in organising and performing at the famous ‘Band Aid’ concert, and the 1985 follow up ‘Live Aid’. Since then, U2 have worked with Amnesty International, War Child and World Vision, and lent their support to the recent ‘Make Poverty History’ campaign. Few musicians have ever given so much to the world, both musically and politically, and U2 will almost certainly continue to do so as long as they are able. History will remember them well: undoubtedly, they deserve it.
