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 2009â2011 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 Edgeâs brother Dick Evans (later a member of Virgin Prunes), Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin. According to legend, Bono originally auditioned as a guitarist but couldnât play. He auditioned as lead vocals, but really couldnât 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 âFeedback â and âThe Hypeâ 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: ÂŁ500 and funds to make a record. Paul McGuinness became the bandâs 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 âa different kindâ 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 âto dream it all up againâ, 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 âwatch out, babyâ, artwork feat. make-up artist Nassim Khalifa) & Zooropa. Bono took on many stage personae such as âThe Flyâ, âMirrorball Manâ and âMr. MacPhistoâ 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 90âs into 00âs U2 became less image and more reality. With the death of Bonoâs 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 theyâve returned to a more band-centric sound with albums like All That You Canât Leave Behind which features a song, Kite, dedicated to Bonoâs father who passed away shortly after the albumâs conception and 2004âs 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 âYou tooâ and âYou twoâ, etc. Nonetheless the official line on the nameâs 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
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band feat. Paul McCartney
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
They've been going in and out of style
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.
So may I introduce to you
The act you've known for all these years,
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
Sit back and let the evening go.
Sgt. Pepper's lonely, Sgt. Pepper's lonely,
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
It's wonderful to be here,
It's certainly a thrill.
You're such a lovely audience,
We'd like to take you home with us,
We'd love to take you home.
I don't really want to stop the show,
But I thought that you might like to know,
That the singer's going to sing a song,
And he wants you all to sing along.
So let me introduce to you
The one and only Billy Shears
And Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Oh yeah, all right
Are you going to be in my dreams
Tonight?
And in the end
The love you take
Is equal to the love you make.
The song "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is an iconic track by U2 and Paul McCartney. The opening lines "It was twenty years ago today, Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play" refer to the Beatles album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," which was released in 1967. The title of the song is a tribute to the Beatles album and introduces the band to the audience. The lyrics mention that the band has been going in and out of style, but their music never fails to "raise a smile." The band then introduces themselves as the "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" and invites the audience to sit back and enjoy the show.
The song then shifts to a more personal note, expressing the band's joy of performing in front of such a lovely audience, and how they hope to take the audience home with them. The tone becomes more playful as the singer suggests that they don't want to stop performing, but they do want the audience to join in on singing along. The song ends with the memorable line "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make," which McCartney later described as the philosophy of the song and the album.
Line by Line Meaning
It was twenty years ago today,
It has been exactly twenty years since Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play music.
Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play
Sgt. Pepper is responsible for teaching the band how to play music.
They've been going in and out of style
The band's popularity has fluctuated over time.
But they're guaranteed to raise a smile.
Despite the changes in their popularity, the band's music still has the power to make people happy.
So may I introduce to you
Allow me to present to you
The act you've known for all these years,
The band you're already familiar with
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
This is a band formed by Sgt. Pepper whose music is meant to bring joy and comfort to those who are lonely.
We're Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band,
We are members of the band formed by Sgt. Pepper.
We hope you will enjoy the show,
We hope you will have a good time watching our performance.
Sit back and let the evening go.
Relax and enjoy the rest of the night.
Sgt. Pepper's lonely, Sgt. Pepper's lonely,
Sgt. Pepper is still lonely despite forming a band to bring joy to others.
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
This is the name of the band formed by Sgt. Pepper.
It's wonderful to be here,
We are happy to be performing here.
It's certainly a thrill.
We are excited to be here and performing for you.
You're such a lovely audience,
We are grateful for having a kind and supportive audience.
We'd like to take you home with us,
We wish we could always have such a great audience with us.
We'd love to take you home.
We would love to have you with us always.
I don't really want to stop the show,
I do not want to halt the performance.
But I thought that you might like to know,
I want to share something with you that I think you would like to hear.
That the singer's going to sing a song,
One of the members of the band will now sing a song.
And he wants you all to sing along.
He would like the audience to sing along with him.
So let me introduce to you
Allow me to present to you
The one and only Billy Shears
This is the stage name of the singer who will perform next.
And Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
This band is still performing and bringing joy to others.
Oh yeah, all right
An exclamation of excitement or approval
Are you going to be in my dreams
Will you be present in my dreams tonight?
Tonight?
This evening, after the performance is over.
And in the end
Ultimately, in the grand scheme of things
The love you take
The amount of love and positivity you receive from others
Is equal to the love you make.
Will be proportional to the love and positivity you spread to others.
Lyrics Š Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN LENNON, JOHN WINSTON LENNON, PAUL MCCARTNEY, PAUL JAMES MCCARTNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Random-cs5om
Fun Fact: Paul McCartney has said that if John Lennon was still alive and they were all present, The Beatles would have reunited at the original Live Aid.
@RafaelRamone1990
And George too, of course.
@loganpudak7283
@@RafaelRamone1990 george was still alive when live aid happened he died in 2001
@RafaelRamone1990
@@loganpudak7283 Yeah, I was confused. I was thinking about live 8 in 2005.
@loganpudak7283
@@RafaelRamone1990 oh ok I got confused too
@matthewloughran73
I'm not sure, I think at the time of live aid George and Paul were still on rough terms.
@nevohyams
The way Bono was looking at him. You can tell that every other musician absolutely adores Paul, he's like a God
@aliasmith0425
Ikđâ¤
@jackdoheny5704
Of course he's a god he's Paul McCartney
@nightwingtt
The one above all.