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
Lost Highway
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a rollin' stone all alone and lost
For a life of sin I have paid the cost
When I pass by all the people say
Just another guy on the lost highway
Just a deck of cards and a jug of wine
And a woman's lies makes a life like mine
I started rolling down that lost highway
I was just a lad, nearly 22
Neither good nor bad, just a kid like you
And now I'm lost, too late to pray
Lord I take a cost, o the lost highway
Now boy's don't start to ramblin' round
On this road of sin are you sorrow bound
Take my advice or you'll curse the day
You started rollin' down that lost highway
written by: H. Williams
first time played live: 1987-04-08: LA Club, Houston, Texas
last time played live: 1993-08-08: Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland
In U2's song Lost Highway, the lyrics describe a sense of directionless purpose in life, a feeling of being lost on a desolate path. The singer of the song is a "rolling stone" who has lived a life of "sin" and paid the price for it. He is recognized by passersby as "just another guy on the lost highway." He reminisces about the woman who led him astray and how he met her, leading him down the path of the lost highway. He warns others not to fall into the same trap as he did.
The lyrics can be interpreted in a few different ways - it could be about living a life of constant travel, without any real sense of home or direction. It could also be about addiction, with the singer relying on alcohol and gambling. The repeated chorus of "the lost highway" could be seen as a metaphor for the aimlessness of life, where each day feels like a journey without a clear destination.
The song has a mournful, country-western feel to it, with a simple guitar riff and twangy vocals. This is a departure from U2's more rock-driven sound from their earlier albums, and shows their willingness to experiment with different styles and genres.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm a rollin' stone all alone and lost
I feel like I'm constantly moving and changing, but I don't really have a clear direction in life which makes me feel unsure and lost.
For a life of sin I have paid the cost
I've made a lot of mistakes and have faced the consequences for them, even if it's cost me a lot.
When I pass by all the people say
When people see me, they assume I'm just like any other person who has made mistakes and ended up in a tough place in life.
Just another guy on the lost highway
I'm just one of many people who feel lost in life, wandering aimlessly and unsure of what direction to take.
Just a deck of cards and a jug of wine
I don't have much, just a deck of cards and some alcohol to keep me company.
And a woman's lies makes a life like mine
I've been led astray by a woman's lies which has contributed to me feeling lost and unsure in life.
O the day we met, I went astray
I made some poor decisions after meeting this woman that led me down a path I shouldn't have gone down.
I started rolling down that lost highway
After making those poor decisions, I felt like my life was out of my control and I was just drifting aimlessly, like a car on a highway with no destination in mind.
I was just a lad, nearly 22
I was still very young and inexperienced, unsure of what I wanted to do with my life.
Neither good nor bad, just a kid like you
I wasn't a particularly bad or good person, just an average kid trying to find my way in life.
And now I'm lost, too late to pray
I've gotten to the point where I feel truly lost and uncertain of how to move forward in life. I feel like it's too late for me to pray or hope for things to get better.
Lord I take a cost, o the lost highway
I'm paying the price for the mistakes I've made and the life I've lived so far, while feeling lost and directionless on this journey.
Now boy's don't start to ramblin' round
I'm warning others not to follow in my footsteps, not to wander aimlessly and make the same mistakes I did.
On this road of sin are you sorrow bound
If you give in to temptation and make poor choices, you'll find yourself feeling lost and unhappy, stuck in a cycle of sin and regret.
Take my advice or you'll curse the day
I'm urging others to take my advice and avoid the path I took, or they'll end up regretting it as much as I do.
You started rollin' down that lost highway
If you start down the same path I took, you'll find yourself lost and unsure, drifting without direction or purpose.
Contributed by Jack H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Antoinette Bongart
Bono's voice is great !!!
eNeNe
It simply doesn't get any better than that. They're the best and seeing them like this is unbelievable.
u2santos
Awesome. Simply awesome. "It was the first time we made money by playing live. And we have became the biggest kickass rock band in the world!!" Awesome. Amazing. _O_
Lee Istrail
Love it. Very soulful.
SurfinSanDiego
These were the true days of U2. When we were all fans and crowding the stage in San Diego in the late eightees. Well we can never go back to those days, and neither can they. Joshua Tree for ever .Thanks for posting.
AcoU2sticMike
Just great. Love the U2 history recap by Bono in the middle. LOL. And Adam singing for a brief moment. Classic clip.
Alexa T
They must at least half drunk. Adam singing! Bono's 'ya'll' Edge's voice and of course, the great drumming performance by the one and only Larry.
Kelly Draper
I love this song of U2
Patricia Palma
we never says goody u2...u2 still continue the best band all time..love u2 from portugal..paul
Roberto Von Lookinland
Edge cracks whips even when kicking back, my boys!