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
Dirty Old Town
U2 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Unplugged
Old Town
Lyrics & Music By: Philip Lynott & Jimmy Bain
The girl's a fool, she broke the rules, she hurt him hard
This time he will break down
She's lost his trust and so she must know all is lost
Romance has broke down
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broken down
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broke down
She plays it hard, she plays it tough
But that's enough - the love is over
She's broke his heart and that is rough
But in the end he'll soon recover
The romance is over
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broken down (yeah yeah)
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broke down
(Trumpet solo - joined by Sharon on violin)
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broken down (yeah yeah)
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broke down
I've been spending my money in the old town
It's not the same honey, with you not around.
I've been spending my time in the old town
Sure miss you honey - you're not around
You're not around this old town
Ola
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broken down (yeah yeah)
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broke down
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broken down (yeah yeah)
This boy is cracking up
This boy has broke down
The song Dirty Old Town was originally written by Irish singer-songwriter Ewan MacColl, but it was popularized by The Pogues in 1985. U2 performed a cover of the song during their early days, and this version was recorded for the album Rattle and Hum in 1988. The song is about a man who is heartbroken and feeling lost after a breakup with his partner. The opening lines describe the girl as a "fool" who broke the rules and hurt the man hard. He is feeling like everything has broken down and that there is no hope for the romance to continue. He is cracking up emotionally and has broken down mentally because of the pain he feels.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "This boy is cracking up, this boy has broken down" to emphasize the man's emotional state. The lyrics then shift to describe the girl as someone who played hard and tough, but ultimately caused the end of the romance. The man is devastated by the loss of the relationship, but he will soon recover. The song ends with the man reminiscing about the good times he had with his partner in the old town, but now that she is gone, things are not the same.
Line by Line Meaning
The girl's a fool, she broke the rules, she hurt him hard
The girl behaved foolishly by breaking the rules and hurting him greatly
This time he will break down
He will not be able to cope with it this time and will have an emotional breakdown
She's lost his trust and so she must know all is lost
Her actions have caused him to lose faith in her and she should accept that the relationship is over
The system has broke down
The relationship has failed to work out
Romance has broke down
The romantic aspect of the relationship has failed
This boy is cracking up
The guy is falling apart mentally and emotionally
She plays it hard, she plays it tough, But that's enough - the love is over
Even though the girl acted tough, her behavior has caused the love between them to end
She's broke his heart and that is rough, But in the end he'll soon recover
The girl has caused him heartache, which is tough, but he will eventually heal and move on
The romance is over
Their romantic relationship has ended
I've been spending my money in the old town, It's not the same honey, with you not around.
He spent his money in the town they used to go to, but it is not the same without her
I've been spending my time in the old town, Sure miss you honey - you're not around, You're not around this old town
He has been spending time in the town, but misses her presence, which is not there anymore
Contributed by Molly S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
dunskie
Don't you just hate it when an over-zealous audience insists on clapping all around the beat and fucking up the feel? I do. Very cool Larry. Love it.
Tim Witek
Just read about this in U2 by U2. Love it, but poor Larry
MysticEdge 4
Haha me too
Melissa Destanovic
this is the first time i see larry stay with a mic..
redqueen77
I looove him XDDD
TheMusiclover68
Where was this in Basel?
Alex Witchhunter
St. Jakob stadium