The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album, Boy (1980). Subsequent work such as their first UK number-one album, War (1983), and the singles "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "Pride (In the Name of Love)" helped establish U2's reputation as a politically and socially conscious group. By the mid-1980s, they had become renowned globally for their live act, highlighted by their performance at Live Aid in 1985. The group's fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international superstars and was their greatest critical and commercial success. Topping music charts around the world, it produced their only number-one singles in the US, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".
Facing creative stagnation and a backlash following their documentary/double album, Rattle and Hum (1988), U2 reinvented themselves in the 1990s through a new musical direction and public image. Beginning with their acclaimed seventh album, Achtung Baby (1991), and the multimedia-intensive Zoo TV Tour, the band integrated influences from alternative rock, electronic dance music, and industrial music into their sound, and embraced a more ironic, flippant image. This experimentation continued through their ninth album, Pop (1997), and the PopMart Tour, which were mixed successes. U2 regained critical and commercial favour with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which established a more conventional, mainstream sound for the group. Their U2 360Ā° Tour of 2009ā2011 is the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history. The group's thirteenth album, Songs of Innocence (2014), was released at no cost through the iTunes Store, but received criticism for its automatic placement in users' music libraries.
U2 has released 14 studio albums and is one of the world's best-selling music artists in history, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes, including Amnesty International, Jubilee 2000, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, War Child, and Music Rising.
Foundation: The band originally formed in 1976 when Larry Mullen posted a bulletin in his school asking for musicians to form a rock band. The band then consisted of the four current members plus three additional guitarists, including The Edgeās brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldnāt play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldnāt sing. He was, however, incredibly enthusiastic about the band, extremely charismatic, a great writer, and was strangely able to reach the audience when the band played, something he is known for still today. Bono will reach out into the crowd and dance or mess with someone in the crowd at every concert. He was kept as a member. The extra guitarists would soon leave the band and the group would go through the names āFeedback ā and āThe Hypeā before finally settling on U2.
The 70s & 80s: 1978 was a jumping point year for the band, finally finding their sound / voice. U2 won a talent contest in 1978: Ā£500 and funds to make a record. Paul McGuinness became the bandās manager and U2 released an EP called Three and the single Another Day, the following year. U2 went on to release their first album, Boy and then more critically acclaimed albums incl.: October, War, Under A Blood Red Sky, and The Unforgettable Fire (featuring the song PlayMLK dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr). Seen by many as a political band with more charisma than others, they were called āa different kindā of band. After a short break U2 returned with The Joshua Tree & the USA music inspired Rattle And Hum (also a movie of the same name, based on the tour).
The 90s: Promising āto dream it all up againā, they added industrial and dance styles to their music. Trying to drop a goody two shoes image, they went to Berlin (Germany), supposedly to develop new self-expressions. From there they started to make fun of themselves and had a good time of it in albums like Achtung Baby (meaning āwatch out, babyā, artwork feat. make-up artist Nassim Khalifa) & Zooropa. Bono took on many stage personae such as āThe Flyā, āMirrorball Manā and āMr. MacPhistoā for the gigantic ZOO TV Tour. Later they continued to make fun of Pop culture and all its extremes with the album Pop and consequent PopMart tour which was announced to be launched at a Kmart store and included a giant golden arch across the stage.
The 00s: At the end of the 90ās into 00ās U2 became less image and more reality. With the death of Bonoās good friend Michael Hutchence, the lead singer of INXS, Bono wrote more songs from the heart surrounding ideas like life and death, children, hope, and the real world past all the pop culture and TV. Some say theyāve returned to a more band-centric sound with albums like All That You Canāt Leave Behind which features a song, Kite, dedicated to Bonoās father who passed away shortly after the albumās conception and 2004ās How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
The 10s: U2 went on the U2 360Ā° Tour in 2009 and 2010. This tour set records for the highest-grossing concert tour. The band worked with producer Danger Mouse for their thirteenth album Songs of Innocence, which was released on 9 September 2014 for free to all Apple iCloud users.
The Name: There are many theories as to the origin of the name U2. For example, U2 was an intelligence airplane that was in use by the United States during the Cold War. Other obvious candidates include āYou tooā and āYou twoā, etc. Nonetheless the official line on the nameās origins remains unknown. The band has been quoted as saying that they did think of the U2 spy plane, but remain hushed about other reasonsā¦ U2
All I Want Is You / October
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night
You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbor in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold
All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You all I want is
You all I want is
You all I want is
You
"All I Want Is You" is a love song that explores the idea of true love and companionship above all else. The lyrics are presented in two parts with the verses led by the singer's partner, who promises wealth and security in the relationship (diamonds, treasure, riches), while the choruses bring out the singer's simple yet heartfelt desire for the person he loves (all he wants is them). The promises made in life often fall short, but the singer knows that all he truly wants is his partner by his side.
The opening lines reveal the partnerās desire for lavish displays of affection, "diamonds on a ring of gold." They also desire to keep their story untold - possibly indicating that the lover wants to keep the details of their relationship private. The chorus highlights the disconnect between the material possessions and the authentic love that is eternal, stating that no matter the riches promised, all they want is their partner. The final verse brings together both partnersā desires as they both seek a love that lasts, shown through the line "Your love not to grow cold." The song ends with the repetition of the line "You all I want is You," underlining that oneās affection and attention can be entirely focused on the person they cherish most.
Line by Line Meaning
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You desire material riches and an extravagant symbol of your love
You say you want
Your story to remain untold
You crave privacy and wish to keep the intimate details of your relationship to yourself
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
Despite all the lofty aspirations and grandiose plans we make in life, all I really desire is you
You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night
You promise to provide me with solitary experiences of beauty and wealth
You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbor in the tempest
You vow to be there for me through the toughest times, offering comfort and support when all seems lost
You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night
You hope for a lasting and fulfilling relationship with me, one that can withstand the challenges that come with time
Your love not to grow cold
You hope that our love remains passionate and warm, rather than fading away over time
All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
Despite our best intentions, we often fall short of our promises and dreams, but ultimately all I really want is you
You all I want is
You all I want is
You all I want is
You
You are the only thing that truly matters to me, and all I want is to be with you
Lyrics Ā© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul Hewson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tspot816
1:40 When she looks at him and knows;
1:46, when the Strongman looks at his friend and immediately knows how lost his friend is in love and knows it will only bring pain to his friend;
I always was so grateful to the strong man for being his friend;
3:16 with the ring and that smile;
3:24 hopping in the Strongman's sidecar, meaning his buddy had his back on the trip;
3:47 That heartbreaking smile he shoots her;
4:01 Dashed;
4:50 ending the only way it could ever end.
6:00 Tossing the ring into the grave because his love died (or did he die);
6:03 The Strongman sees the ring and shares the pain with his friend and knows what a loss this is for his friend.
Amazing video. One of the all time greats.
@lucianolovito7283
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
You say you want
Your story to remain untold
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you'll give me
A highway with no one on it
Treasure just to look upon it
All the riches in the night
You say you'll give me
Eyes in a moon of blindness
A river in a time of dryness
A harbor in the tempest
But all the promises we make
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You say you want
Your love to work out right
To last with me through the night
You say you want
Diamonds on a ring of gold
Your story to remain untold
Your love not to grow cold
All the promises we break
From the cradle to the grave
When all I want is you
You all I want is
You all I want is
You all I want is
You
Rattle and Hum album.
@damianjackson6835
I sang this song to my new wife at our wedding reception. Later that night on the way back to our hotel, as we were driving across the Sydney Harbour Bridge, this song came onto the radio. It was such a surreal moment!
@davejmanning544
No such thing as coincidence Damien.
@brandinickole7161
Perfect Wedding Song. š
@DeuceBiggerHo
Yeah I think itās a great choice for a song at a wedding. First dance or whatever. The other one I thought of was U2ās ālove rescue meā. However I think playing it on a first date like the guy above said is putting the poor girl under too much pressure! šÆItās a very emotional song.
@alibrown5917
Amazing your a top guy
@redrobin7868
It's my fantasy proposal. We are someplace special and he steps out and I hear this song outside. He is holding something that is playing this like in the John Hughes movie or has musicians playing the string instalment like the song while he sings to me
@deanetteknight4565
This song takes me to my late husband. I lost him to pancreatic cancer March 1st, 2006. He's visited me 3 times in my dreams since 2012 warning of the times we're in now in the world. I cry everytime I hear it now. I miss him.
@fernandeaux1631
Beautiful.
@ericac.brooks1851
Im sooo sorry for your loss i loss my very deer friend we were secteatly inlove and i did not knnow that the last time i saw him would be the it rip chris a.k.a crispy i will always love u
@stevemeyer6308
So sorry for your loss