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
one (special live orchestral v
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
When it's one need in the night
One love, we get to share 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 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
Ooh, oh
Makin' it, makin' it, makin' it
Higher, higher, higher, higher
The song "One Love" by U2 feat. Luciano Pavarotti is a beautiful ballad about the complexities and challenges of love. The lyrics start by asking whether things are improving or whether things are still difficult, and whether having someone to blame makes it any easier. The chorus highlights the importance of love, but also the fragility of it. The line "One love, we get to share it, it leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it" speaks to how love requires care and attention to thrive.
The second verse addresses the possibility of disappointment and the difficulties that arise when two people in a relationship have different experiences and perspectives. The chorus repeats, and then the bridge asks some deeper questions. It questions whether the other person has come seeking forgiveness, or if they are trying to play the role of Jesus. Then Bono sings about feeling hurt and wanting to hold on but realizing that it's impossible to hold on to something that just causes pain.
The song concludes with the last chorus, emphasizing the importance of our shared humanity and the need to carry each other. The repetition of "one" and the last line "Makin' it, makin' it, makin' it, Higher, higher, higher, higher" create a sense of unity and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it getting better?
Are things improving?
Or do you feel the same?
Or do you see things the same way?
Will it make it easier on you now
Will things be easier for you now
You got someone to blame
You have someone to hold responsible
You say one love, one life
You say that love and life are inseparable
When it's one need in the night
When all that's needed is mutual love
One love, we get to share it
We have a chance to share a unique bond
It leaves you, baby, if you don't care for it
If you neglect it, love will leave you behind
Did I disappoint you?
Did I let you down?
Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?
Or cause you to feel resentment?
You act like you never had love
You display apathy towards love
And you want me to go without
And you're willing to let me go without love
Well, it's too late tonight
It's too late to talk about it tonight
To drag the past out into the light
To bring up old issues that are best left in the past
We're one, but we're not the same
We are in this together, but we are different
We get to carry each other, carry each other
We have the responsibility to support each other
Have you come here for forgiveness?
Are you seeking forgiveness?
Have you come to raise the dead?
Do you want to revive something that is over?
Have you come here to play Jesus
Are you trying to be a savior?
To the lepers in your head?
To those who you deem outcasts?
Did I ask too much, more than a lot?
Did I ask for too much?
You gave me nothing, now it's all I got
You didn't give me anything, now love is all I have
We hurt each other then we do it again
We sometimes hurt each other, but we keep going
You say love is a temple, love, a higher law
You believe that love is a sacred thing, a higher force
Love is a temple, love, the higher law
Love is a sacred thing, the highest force
You ask me to enter, but then you make me crawl
You invite me in, then make it difficult for me
And I can't be holding on to what you got
I can't hold onto something that hurts me
When all you got is hurt
When all that you offer is pain
One love, one blood
We all share one love and one life
One life, you got to do what you should
We have one life to live, and we should do what's right
One life with each other
We have one life to share with each other
Sisters, brothers
We are like siblings
One life, but we're not the same
We are all unique individuals
We get to carry each other, carry each other
We have the responsibility to support each other
Ooh, oh
Makin' it, makin' it, makin' it
Higher, higher, higher, higher
We aspire to achieve something better
Contributed by Noah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Valmir Gonçalves de Souza
Simplesmente sublime. As vezes somos surpreendidos, como foi caso, de um interpretação tão explorada de One - U2 e que não imaginamos que possa ter melhor. Realmente essa combinação cantora/orquestra ficou acima da expectativa. Parabéns a todos!!!
Bob George
A beautiful song that will always be defined by Bono's performance but it is so encouraging to see the music across the spectrum of performance. That defines a great song.
luvideo
Love it. The orchestra is excellent. McKenna puts such feeling into the song. Goosebumps
Jeff Underwood
Can’t tell you how many time I have played this..... Truly magnificent 👏👏👏
Lucas Húpalo Metzler
Que interpretação LINDA! ♡
Baz Manoid
Her voice is beautiful. Soul touching
Willy Bareño
This song always brakes me into tears, don't know why, it's got sth deep in it that move my soul.
Michael Barone
Yes! Completely agree! There’s something so other worldly about this song, lyrics that transcend the moment when a band is deciding if they can find a path back from the brink and apply universally to all of us!
bdeyesful
She doesn't do it as smooth or as emotional as Bono. The orchestra carry her.
JC Jasik
I thought I was the only one to feel that...