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
Feel Free!
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was aching, the darkest night
To give up in the darkness of the night
So you enter to give me love
I... feel free
And i... i, I feel free
I feel free, yeah
I wanna hear you talk
Hear your sweet talk
I wanna love you talk
I wanna feel free
Yeah, feel free
Baby give me your love
Give it to me, you know
Your love...
I... feel free
Oh where did you go now
Oh where did you go
I couldn't tell you, love
Digging to love you, baby
Digging your love
I wanna took you down
I feel free
Isn't a not to baby
Don't you know that
I love it the time is on you know
And i... feel free
I...
I... feel free
I... i feel free
The song "Feel Free" by U2 is a song about embracing freedom and the feelings that come with it. In the beginning of the song, the singer talks about how he was feeling down and ready to give up, but then someone (presumably a lover) entered his life and gave him the love he needed to feel better. The lyrics "I'll be there when you get things on tonight" suggest that the person is offering some sort of emotional support or comfort.
As the song progresses, the singer talks about wanting to hear the other person's "sweet talk" and how he wants to love them, all while feeling completely free. The chorus repeats the line "I feel free," with the singer emphasizing the freedom he feels.
In the bridge of the song, the singer talks about loving the person and wanting to "took you down," which could be interpreted as wanting some sort of intimate encounter with them. However, he still feels free and doesn't want to be tied down by anything. The song ends with the repetition of "I... feel free," emphasizing the theme of freedom and the positive emotions that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
I was aching, the darkest night
The singer was emotionally in pain and despair in the darkest night
To give up in the darkness of the night
The singer was feeling the urge to give up during the darkest night
So you enter to give me love
Someone enters the singer's life with their love
I'll be there when you get things on tonight
The artist promises to be there when the person they love wants to take action tonight
I... feel free
The artist feels free
And i... i, I feel free
The singer continues to feel free
I want to hear you talk
The singer desires to hear the person they love speak
Hear your sweet talk
The artist desires to hear the person they love's sweet talking
I wanna love you talk
The artist desires to talk about love with the person they love
I wanna feel free
The artist wants to feel free with the person they love
Yeah, feel free
The singer encourages the person they love to feel free
Baby give me your love
The artist asks for the person they love's love
Give it to me, you know
The singer knows that the person they love will give them their love
Your love...
The singer thinks about the love they receive
I... feel free
The singer once again feels free
Oh where did you go now
The artist wonders where the person they love went
Oh where did you go
The artist repeats their questioning
I couldn't tell you, love
The singer doesn't know where the person they love went from there
Digging to love you, baby
The singer confesses their desire to love the person they love
Digging your love
The artist appreciates the love they receive back
I wanna took you down
The artist wants to be with the person they love
I feel free
The artist notes that they feel free
Isn't a not to baby
The singer reassures the person they love
Don't you know that
The artist wants the person they love to realize something
I love it the time is on you know
The singer loves spending time with the person they love
I... feel free
The singer concludes with expressing their freedom once again
I... i feel free
The singer concludes that they continue to feel free
Contributed by Gianna S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Loch Ness Exploration
I know U2 live by the philosophy in trying new sounds and reinventing themselves but I genuinely think they should go back and listen to their B-sides and demos for more vintage inspiration!
Stephen Romano
literally one of the best things they ever dd, much better than "Until the end of the world", by orders of magnitude.
Chris Walden
U2 should have done a full concert of just playing b-sides and alt versions because some of these are phenomenal
Christopher Anderson
I think this is being mis-titled. U2 did a song, featured on the Achtung Baby leaked tapes, called I feel Free or Fine. It became Until The End Of The World. It had the same riff etc. It's been a while since I've heard it. I think this is it.
𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴
Sounds like until the end of the world obviously but I also hear playboy mansion in there