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
Introduction & New Years Day
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All is quiet on New Year's Day
A world in white gets underway
I want to be with you, be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year's Day
On New Year's Day
I will be with you again
Under a blood red sky
A crowd has gathered, black and white
Arms entwined, the chosen few
The newspapers says, says
Say it's true, it's true
We can break through
Though torn in two
We can be one
I, I will begin again
I, I will begin again
Oh, maybe the time is right
Oh, maybe tonight
I will be with you again
I will be with you again
And so we are told this is the Golden Age
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
Though I want to be with you, be with you night and day
Nothing changes on New Year's Day
On New Year's Day
On New Year's Day
The opening lines "All is quiet on New Year's Day, A world in white gets underway" paints a picture of the new year beginning with a serene, clean slate. It seems like a moment of opportunity to start anew, to make changes in your life. The singer then expresses a desire to be with someone, night and day. This person could be seen as someone who will support the singer through the changes they want to make, and will make the new year a brighter time. However, as the song progresses, we see that not everything is as hopeful as it once seemed. The lyric "And so we are told this is the Golden Age, And gold is the reason for the wars we wage" points out that the greed of people and nations is causing conflict around the world, even in this new beginning. Despite these obstacles, the singer insists that they will begin again, and will be with their loved one - it is a defiant promise to themselves and their partner, that regardless of the strife in the world, they will continue forward in hope.
The second part of the song, "Under a blood red sky, A crowd has gathered, black and white, Arms entwined, the chosen few," is a stark contrast to the image of a quiet new year. Here, a crowd is united, possibly in protest or rally, joining together with their arms around each other regardless of race or other differences, bound by a common goal or belief. The newspapers may say that this kind of unity is impossible, but the singer believes that "Though torn in two, We can be one." There is a continued hopefulness in the face of adversity, and the refrain "I will begin again" reaffirms that the new year will be a time for change and progress.
Line by Line Meaning
All is quiet on New Year's Day
The world is calm and peaceful on the first day of the year
A world in white gets underway
The world is covered in snow and winter has begun
I want to be with you, be with you night and day
I desire to be with you all the time
Nothing changes on New Year's Day
The new year does not bring any significant change
On New Year's Day
The first day of the new year
I will be with you again
I promise to be with you once more
Under a blood red sky
The sky is red due to the effects of war and violence
A crowd has gathered, black and white
People from different races have come together as one
Arms entwined, the chosen few
A select group of people embrace one another
The newspapers says, says
The news reports
Say it's true, it's true
It has been confirmed as true
We can break through
We have the ability to overcome obstacles
Though torn in two
Despite being divided
We can be one
We can unite as a whole
I, I will begin again
I will start anew
Oh, maybe the time is right
Perhaps now is the opportune moment
Oh, maybe tonight
It could be this very night
And so we are told this is the Golden Age
We are informed that we are living in a prosperous era
And gold is the reason for the wars we wage
We fight wars over valuable resources such as gold
On New Year's Day
The first day of the year
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CLAYTON, ADAM / EVANS, DAVE / HEWSON, PAUL DAVID / MULLEN, LARRY / CLARKE, MOUSSA / HANSON, NICHOLAS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
DiscoStu
I just went through all of your NYD tutorials and I FINALLY GET IT thanks to you! I can't thank you enough for these tutorials, by far the best ever. I know Sunday is an easy song to play but I can't get the strumming part down. Could you post a tutorial for Sunday when you get the chance please? Thanks a bunch!
you0nlylivetwice
13 years later, I was searching his videos for the same, have watched a lot of live performances in slow mow to get it right but it's not quite there yet, I think this is the better one for reference https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INy6ptN8-Qk
U2 Guitar Tutorials
I didn't use the sustainer on this song. This was my first sustainer called the Sustainiac, but I didn't think it had enough power. It doesn't require any routing to be installed. I later had a guitar tech install a Fernandes which works well. I would not recommend doing it yourself unless you have experience routing and shielding guitars. See WOWY videos for close up of my Fernandes guitar controls. Battery lasts a few hours, more than enough.
SuperFrankOnGuitar
Hi, Michael. You have a very nice collection of U2 tutorial videos. About the you use in this video, i´m watching you´ve a Fernandes system in neck position pick-up, have you make any routing working on your guitar body (for the battery at least)? Did you install it by yourself or take it to a luthier or technician? How do you activate the system, with the pick-up selector or any toggle switch (that i can´t see)? How long the battery work in good condition? Thanks a lot, greetings.
yesmitch
Hi Michael - very nice job on Edge's tone. I have a more basic question. Does he tune down the whole guitar 1/2 step? I noticed that when you play a D chord in the vid, it's actually a Db chord on the piano.
SuperEventide
I believe the Slane tone is FA-1 Tc2290 into the AC30. Drive coming from the Pod Pro and the two signal paths blended through the PA. Listen to the difference between Slane and Chicago live dvds… Great tone all the same tho!👍
Paul Tillett
I believe you have your guitar tuned down half a step? Brilliant tutorials. Nice work.
U2 Guitar Tutorials
Yes, I was based on the Slane Castle version, which was tuned to Eb. Thank your for your kind words.
U2 Guitar Tutorials
@shatteredmemorie : This was all done with the Axe-Fx Ultra. You need a drive like the Boss SD-1 and a high quality modulated delay like the Boss DD-20 or Eventide. Watch my vids for hints on delay times, etc.
rude_mech
Exactly as hard as it is for any other pitch ;) Just slacken the tension of the springs to compensate - do enough Floyd setups and you get the feel for it. Still, gimme a hardtail any day!