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 360° Tour of 2009–2011 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 Edge’s brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldn’t play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldn’t 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 “Feedback ” and “The Hype” 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: £500 and funds to make a record. Paul McGuinness became the band’s 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 “a different kind” 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 ”to dream it all up again”, 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 ”watch out, baby”, artwork feat. make-up artist Nassim Khalifa) & Zooropa. Bono took on many stage personae such as “The Fly”, “Mirrorball Man” and “Mr. MacPhisto” 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 90’s into 00’s U2 became less image and more reality. With the death of Bono’s 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 they’ve returned to a more band-centric sound with albums like All That You Can’t Leave Behind which features a song, Kite, dedicated to Bono’s father who passed away shortly after the album’s conception and 2004’s How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
The 10s: U2 went on the U2 360° 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 “You too” and “You two”, etc. Nonetheless the official line on the name’s origins remains unknown. The band has been quoted as saying that they did think of the U2 spy plane, but remain hushed about other reasons… U2
Come on Everybody
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was down the hold just passing time
Last time we met was a low-lit room
We were as close together as a bride and groom
We ate the food, we drank the wine
Everybody having a good time
Except you
You were talking about the end of the world
I took the money
I spiked your drink
You miss too much these days if you stop to think
You lead me on with those innocent eyes
You know I love the element of surprise
In the garden I was playing the tart
I kissed your lips and broke your heart
You... you were acting like it was
The end of the world
(Love... love...)
In my dream I was drowning my sorrows
But my sorrows, they learned to swim
Surrounding me, going down on me
Spilling over the brim
Waves of regret and waves of joy
I reached out for the one I tried to destroy
You... you said you'd wait
'til the end of the world
The U2 song Come on Everybody tells the story of two people who haven't seen each other for a while, and their last meeting was overwhelmed by a sense of doom and gloom. The singer reminisces about their last encounter, which took place in a low-lit room where they were as close as a bride and groom. Despite everybody else having a good time, this person was only focused on the end of the world. In the chorus, the singer reveals that he spiked this person's drink because he believed they were missing out by being too focused on the negativity and wanted to inject some excitement and surprise into their life.
The second verse changes the tone, as the singer reflects on drowning his sorrows in his dreams. He reveals that his sorrows eventually learned to swim and surround him, but despite the waves of regret and waves of joy, he ultimately reached out for the person he previously tried to destroy. The song ends with this person telling the singer that they will wait for him until the end of the world.
Overall, the song explores themes of love, regret, and the human tendency to focus on negativity rather than embracing excitement and surprise. The singer tries to bring some levity to a situation that seems bleak, but by the end of the song, he ultimately realizes that he can't escape his true feelings and longs for the person he hurt.
Line by Line Meaning
Haven't seen you in quite a while
It has been a long time since the singer has seen the addressee.
I was down the hold just passing time
The singer was aimlessly occupying their time.
Last time we met was a low-lit room
Their previous meeting was in a poorly lit space.
We were as close together as a bride and groom
The artist and addressee were intimately close in proximity.
We ate the food, we drank the wine, Everybody having a good time
Everyone else was enjoying themselves with food and drink.
Except you, You were talking about the end of the world
The addressee was discussing apocalyptic topics and was not having a good time.
I took the money, I spiked your drink
The singer deceived the addressee by manipulating their money and drink.
You miss too much these days if you stop to think
The artist believes one can avoid pain and gain more by not overthinking decisions.
You lead me on with those innocent eyes
The addressee seduced the artist with their seemingly genuine eyes to get their way.
You know I love the element of surprise
The artist enjoys unpredictable actions and reactions.
In the garden I was playing the tart
The singer was being promiscuous.
I kissed your lips and broke your heart
The artist harmed the addressee emotionally by kissing them harmfully.
You... you were acting like it was The end of the world
The addressee's fatalistic demeanor continued during their time with the singer.
(Love... love...)
An interlude of repetition of the word 'love'.
In my dream I was drowning my sorrows
The singer was suffering in their dreams.
But my sorrows, they learned to swim
The artist's sorrow seems to be able to endure.
Surrounding me, going down on me, Spilling over the brim
The sorrows seem to be submerging and overwhelming the artist.
Waves of regret and waves of joy
The singer experiences mixed feelings.
I reached out for the one I tried to destroy
The singer attempts to reconcile with the person they had harmed before.
You... you said you'd wait 'til the end of the world
The addressee promised they would wait for the artist until the end of the world.
Contributed by Lila S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Randy R
Never heard them cover this rocker. Fantastic job
CEIVE4EVER
When they began to play at stadiums during The Joshua Tree tour, they weren't confortable with the sound of Where the Streets Have no Name. So till they found how to do it well live they began with this song in their first arena's shows. This maybe is the first performance live of this Eddie Cochran's song one year before.
Joerg Scheding
Ja in Köln sind sie 1987 mit Stand by me und dann come on everybody angefangen, das war so super - alle waren total überrascht und sind ausgerastet - so ein geiler Start - mit 2 Cover Versionen - das muss man sich erstmal trauen 🎉🚀❤️🔥👍🏼🤷🏻♂️😉
roey bronstein
He was 26 years old there. Time passes too fast.
MysticEdge4
U2 is life
Maximino Morales
Bono se veía rudo y lejos de ser un Rockstar....aún con la mística de U2
nlgbbbblth
the best bit is 1:48 - "FUCK 'EM"
Intro DJ 101
Wtf? Eddie Cochran mad? Maybe. I just want to clarify that is not his song.
Duszek z Lego
what a poor performance of such a great song :(
cs292
Great song... But Bono is a poser.