U2 Biography - Music bands & groups

 
 

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U2

Name: U2                                                                           
Origin: Dublin, Ireland                                                           
                                                                                   
U2  are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of                     
Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton   
(bass guitar) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion).                         
                                                                                   
U2 formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical             
proficiency. By the mid-1980s, however, the band had become a top international   
act, noted for their anthemic sound, Bono's impassioned vocals, and The Edge's     
textural guitar playing. Their success as a live act was greater than their       
success at selling records until their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, increased     
the band's stature "from heroes to superstars," according to Rolling Stone. U2     
responded to the dance and alternative rock revolutions, and their own sense of   
musical stagnation by reinventing themselves with their 1991 album Achtung Baby   
and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour. Similar experimentation continued for the rest   
of the 1990s. Since 2000, U2 have pursued a more traditional sound that retains   
the influence of their musical explorations.                                       
                                                                                   
U2 have sold more than 170 million albums worldwide and have won more Grammy       
Awards than any other band. In 2005, the band were inducted into the Rock and     
Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone Magazine       
listed U2 at #22 in their 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 social justice causes, including Amnesty International, the ONE   
Campaign, and Bono's DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign.