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
Love You Like Mad
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nothing was shaking but baby you really shook
No one was waking until you kept me up
If your heart was breaking you know I won't see you stuck
The pain never felt so good
To feel so bad
I love you like mad
I love you
I love you like mad
No one worth knowing has ever known a thing
No one who knew how could ever teach the world to sing
You are the only one I've ever listened to
So don't wait for me to ask tell me what to do
The pain never felt so good
To feel so bad
I love you
I love you like mad
Love you
I love you like mad
I Love
I Love you like mad
Don't worry baby if you're in the spotlight
I'll do the maximum time for you tonight
You know that we're not crazy
Well maybe just a touch
Some sweet delight usher you rush
And some gets us close too much
I love you
I love you like mad
Love you
I love you like mad
Love you
Love you like mad
Love you
Love you like mad
Hey hey
Love you love you like mad
Love you love you like mad
Love you love you like mad
Love you love you like mad
Love you love you like mad
The song "Love You Like Mad" is a tribute to a lover who has broken down the walls of the singer's heart and brought him intense emotions that he has never experienced before. The singer reflects on how he never had anything worth taking in his life until he met this person who shook his world. He also mentions how he never really felt awake until this lover came into his life. The line "if your heart was breaking you know I won't see you stuck" suggests that the singer is willing to do anything to support this person and help them through any difficult times. The chorus emphasizes the intensity of the singer's love by repeating the phrase "I love you like mad", reinforcing that his feelings are too intense to be contained.
The second verse reveals the impact that this lover has had on the singer's life. He believes that no one else he has known has been able to teach him anything, but this person has captured his attention and he's willing to listen to them. He asks them to guide him, telling them not to wait for him to ask, but to tell him what to do. He is so deeply invested in this relationship that he's willing to take the blame for anything that goes wrong, even if it means taking the fall for his lover.
The song as a whole explores the intensity of love and the lengths that one is willing to go for the person they love. It's a declaration of complete devotion and a willingness to give everything to make the relationship work. The repeated phrase "I love you like mad" emphasizes the almost manic nature of the singer's love, showcasing the power that love can have in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Nothing worth taking so I never really took
I never took anything from anyone because those things were not worth it.
Nothing was shaking but baby you really shook
Nothing was exciting until I met you, you have changed my life and made it more interesting.
No one was waking until you kept me up
I was not living my life to the fullest until you came along and made me stay up and enjoy every moment.
If your heart was breaking you know I won't see you stuck
If you’re ever going through a tough time, I will always be there to support you and help you get through it.
The pain never felt so good
To feel so bad
The pain of being in love with you is bittersweet because it feels good to love you but it hurts to not be with you all the time.
I love you
I love you like mad
I love you
I love you like mad
I love you more than anything and I want you to know it, the intensity of my feelings for you makes me feel crazy in love.
No one worth knowing has ever known a thing
I have met many people in life but no one has ever taught me anything of value.
No one who knew how could ever teach the world to sing
Even if people know how to make music, they cannot teach the world to sing like you do in my heart.
You are the only one I've ever listened to
You are the only one whose voice I want to hear, and whose words I heed and take to heart.
So don't wait for me to ask tell me what to do
I want you to take charge, tell me what you need me to do to make you happy because I want to be supportive and helpful to you.
Don't worry baby if you're in the spotlight
I'll do the maximum time for you tonight
If you ever need to take the spotlight and shine, I will be your support and take care of everything else so that you can focus on your success.
You know that we're not crazy
Well maybe just a touch
We may not be completely crazy, but our love for each other makes us feel passionate and a little bit wild or reckless.
Some sweet delight usher you rush
And some gets us close too much
Our love is like a rush of sweet delight, but sometimes it makes us want to get too close and become too deeply attached to each other.
Hey hey
Love you love you like mad
Love you love you like mad
Love you love you like mad
Love you love you like mad
I cannot stop loving you, it is a madness that consumes me, but it feels amazing to love you like this and I will never stop loving you.
Contributed by Connor B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
A me
on eleven o' clock tick tock
And girls can make children but not like this one...so will just have to walk around with a painted face then...
LMewdowlark
on One
Baby, baby, baby, I know I'm not alone
Ha, ha, ha
Oh, it's not a hill it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
You see, for me, I've been shouting
Let's shout into the darkness, squeeze out sparks of light
You know we're gonna go crazy, you know we'll go crazy
You know we'll go crazy, if we don't go crazy tonight
Oh, slowly
Oh
Hold me slow
Again, these are the wrong lyrics. They are not the lyrics for 'One' but a different song. I pasted the correct lyrics in my other comment.
LMewdowlark
on One
And there's a part of you that wants me to riot
Everybody needs to cry or needs to spit
Every sweet-tooth needs just a little hit
Every beauty needs to go out with an idiot
How can you stand next to the truth and not see it?
Oh, change of heart comes slow
It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
Do you believe me or are you doubting?
We're gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight
Every generation gets a chance to change the world
Pity the nation that won't listen to you boys and girls
Is the sweetest melody the one we haven't heard?
Is it true that perfect love drives out all fear?
The right to be ridiculous is something I hold dear
Oh, but change of heart comes slow
It's not a hill, it's a mountain
As you start out the climb
You see, for me, I've been shouting
But we're gonna make it all the way to the light
But I know I'll go crazy if I don't go crazy tonight
Is it getting better
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
When it's one need in the night
One love, we get to share 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
Well, 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 make me crawl
And I can't be holdin' 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