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 360ยฐ Tour of 2009โ2011 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 Edgeโs brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldnโt play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldnโt 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 โFeedback โ and โThe Hypeโ 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: ยฃ500 and funds to make a record. Paul McGuinness became the bandโs 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 โa different kindโ 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 โto dream it all up againโ, 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 โwatch out, babyโ, artwork feat. make-up artist Nassim Khalifa) & Zooropa. Bono took on many stage personae such as โThe Flyโ, โMirrorball Manโ and โMr. MacPhistoโ 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 90โs into 00โs U2 became less image and more reality. With the death of Bonoโs 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 theyโve returned to a more band-centric sound with albums like All That You Canโt Leave Behind which features a song, Kite, dedicated to Bonoโs father who passed away shortly after the albumโs conception and 2004โs How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb.
The 10s: U2 went on the U2 360ยฐ 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 โYou tooโ and โYou twoโ, etc. Nonetheless the official line on the nameโs origins remains unknown. The band has been quoted as saying that they did think of the U2 spy plane, but remain hushed about other reasonsโฆ U2
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U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or do you feel the same
Will it make it easier on you
Now you got someone to blame
You say
One love
One life
In the night
It's one love
We get to share it
It leaves you baby
If you don't care for it
Did I disappoint you?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
You act like you never had love
And you want me to go without
Well it's too late
Tonight
To drag the past out
Into the light
We're one
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other
One
Have you come here for forgiveness
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come here to play Jesus
To the lepers in your head
Did I ask too much
More than a lot
You gave me nothing
Now it's all I got
We're one
But we're not the same
We hurt each other
Then we do it again
You say
Love is a temple
Love a higher law
Love is a temple
Love the higher law
You ask me to enter
But then you made me crawl
And I can't be holding on
To what you got
When all you got is hurt
One love
One blood
One life
You got to do what you should
One life
With each other
Sisters
Brothers
One life
But we're not the same
We get to carry each other
Carry each other
One
One
The U2 song "One" is a commentary on human relationships and the difficulties that arise in them. The first verse suggests that the singer is questioning whether things will get better or if things will stay the same. Having someone to blame might make things easier, but it won't solve the underlying issues. The second verse is more confrontational, with the singer directly addressing their partner and asking if they have come for forgiveness or to raise the dead. The chorus then reflects the idea of unity and shared experiences, with the repeated line "we're one but we're not the same" suggesting that despite differences, there can still be a collective bond.
The concept of love is explored throughout the song, with the idea that it can be a temple and a higher law. However, love can also hurt and cause pain. The final verse also emphasizes the importance of unity, with the lines "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers" suggesting that despite individual differences, people can still be connected and supportive of one another.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it getting better
Are things improving?
Or do you feel the same
Or are you still feeling the same way?
Will it make it easier on you
Will having someone to blame make the situation easier for you?
Now you got someone to blame
Now that you have someone to blame, does that make you feel better?
You say
You claim
One love
We have a common bond of love
One life
We only have one life to live
When it's one need
When we all have the same need
In the night
At night time
It's one love
We share one love
We get to share it
We're lucky enough to share it together
It leaves you baby
If you don't nurture the love, you can lose it
If you don't care for it
If you don't take care of it
Did I disappoint you?
Did I let you down?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
Did I offend or upset you?
You act like you never had love
You behave as though you've never experienced love
And you want me to go without
And you want me to leave without any explanation or reason
Well it's too late
It's already too late
Tonight
This evening
To drag the past out
To bring up past mistakes or issues
Into the light
To confront them and discuss them openly
We're one
We're united
But we're not the same
But we're different in many ways
We get to carry each other
We support each other
Carry each other
Help each other
Have you come here for forgiveness
Did you come here seeking forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead
Have you come to bring back what's lost?
Have you come here to play Jesus
Are you here to save us?
To the lepers in your head
To your own personal demons and fears
Did I ask too much
Did I expect too much of you?
More than a lot
More than what's reasonable or fair
You gave me nothing
You didn't give me anything
Now it's all I got
Now it's all I have left
We hurt each other
We can cause each other pain
Then we do it again
And then we repeat the cycle
Love is a temple
Love is sacred
Love a higher law
Love is a universal principle
You ask me to enter
You invite me in
But then you made me crawl
But then you made me beg and grovel
And I can't be holding on
And I can't continue to hold on
To what you got
To what you have left to offer
When all you got is hurt
When all you have left is pain and suffering
One love
We have a common bond of love
One blood
We are all human beings
One life
We only have one life to live
You got to do what you should
You should do what's right
With each other
Together
Sisters
Women
Brothers
Men
But we're not the same
But we're different in many ways
We get to carry each other
We support each other
Carry each other
Help each other
One
United
Lyrics ยฉ Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Adam Clayton, Dave Evans, Larry Mullen, Paul David Hewson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@carlosmeikel2043
I just lost my son a few weeks ago... he was 19. He came to us from a troubled background, we did our best, and then some, to help him forget those times and find happiness, and for a while... he did. But, he always had these personal demons he was fighting and unfortunately... they won in the end. This song always reminded me of him and his search for happiness. He knew the world was his... he had so much talent in everything he did, but there was always some longing in him... something always gnawing at the back of his mind that wouldn't let him be satisfied. He never found what he was looking for in this life... I pray he finds it in the next. Daddio loves and misses you mi hito.
@TheJuarezG
God bless you my friend
@TheMomdad64
That breaks my heart โค๏ธ. God bless you and your family. You are in my thoughts and prayers.
@koswifty
I'm so sorry for your loss. This is heartbreaking x
@simoneb4352
All my concern for such a loss my friend!!!
@hadassaisabel1463
Im so sorry for your lost ๐ I wish you the biggest strength in the world โค๏ธ
@DumpTruck0733
Many years ago this was my song until one day I met My Judy. We were together for 20 years then she passed 6 month ago, I DID find what I was looking for and now this song brings tears. She was the one great love we all looked for and I had her for a little time, I love you and miss you so MY JUDY
@frankieromano1429
Love It.
@michaelelphick2412
Beautiful mateโฆ x
@melissacotter1412
Beautiful. She is with you always.