U2: A look at the legendary rock band's career 🎸

U2 are one of the biggest rock bands in the world. Formed in Dublin in 1976, U2 have gone on to achieve immense success with hits like 'With Or Without You', 'Beautiful Day' and 'Where The Streets Have No Name'.

One of the best-selling music acts in the world, U2 have released 15 studio albums - arguably their most popular being 'The Joshua Tree' released in 1987. Read on to learn more about U2, who will perform at the Grammy Awards 2024...

Who are U2 and how did they form?

U2 are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1976. Drummer Larry Mullen Jr. pinned an ad to his school's notice board asking for musicians, attracting singer Paul Hewson AKA Bono, guitarist David "The Edge" Evans and bassist Adam Clayton.

What was their original band name?

Initially called Feedback and then The Hype, the band continued to perform around their local area and built a good reputation. The band changed their name to in March 1978 and thus U2 as we know it was born.

Are U2 still together?

U2 are still together and now have a residency in Las Vegas.

Are they on tour?

They aren't on tour, however they have a residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas called 'U2:UV Achtung Baby Live'. The Sphere is at the Venetian in the desert city. This started on the same day that they released their song 'Atomic City'.

U2 at the Grammy Awards 2024

U2 have been announced to perform at the Grammy Awards in 2024. The band will make history by performing at the Sphere, while the main Grammy event takes place in Los Angeles.

The band's segment during the awards show will also feature a Special Awards presentation.

Bono and The Edge perform in Kyiv

Bono and The Edge were invited by the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to perform a concert in Kyiv. The pair played to a crowd of 100 people in a subway station in a surprise concert on 8th May 2022.

They played some of their biggest songs including ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’, ‘Vertigo’, ‘Desire’, ‘With or Without You’, ‘Pride (In the Name of Love)’ and closer ‘One’.

Bono addressed the crowd during the performance to say: "The people in Ukraine are not just fighting for your own freedom, you are fighting for all of us who love freedom. We pray that you will enjoy some of that peace soon."

Watch Bono and The Edge perform in Kyiv:

What are their biggest songs?

U2 have had some huge international hits during their career of nearly half a century!

'With Or Without You'

Released in March 1987, 'With Or Without You' is the lead single from U2's seminal fifth studio album 'The Joshua Tree'.

'Where The Streets Have No Name'

Also on 'The Joshua Tree', 'Where The Streets Have No Name' was written by lead vocalist Bono and was produced by legendary producer, composer and musician Brian Eno.

'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For'

Another huge tune from 'The Joshua Tree', 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' scored the band their second consecutive Number 1 single in the US. It was nominated for Record of the Year and Song of the Year at the Grammys.

'Beautiful Day'

'Beautiful Day' is the first track on U2's 10th studio album 'All That You Can't Leave Behind', released in 2000. The song earned U2 three Grammy Awards, Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

How many albums have U2 released?

There have been 14 studio albums: 'Boy' (1980), 'October' (1981), 'War' (1983), 'The Unforgettable Fire' (1984), 'The Joshua Tree' (1987), 'Rattle and Hum' (1988), 'Achtung Baby' (1991), 'Zooropa' (1993), 'Pop' (1997), 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' (2000), 'How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb' (2004)', 'No Line on the Horizon' (2009), 'Songs of Innocence' (2014)' and 'Songs of Experience' (2017).

'Songs Of Surrender'

In January 2023, U2 revealed that they would be releasing rerecorded versions of 40 of their biggest songs in a compilation album called 'Songs Of Surrender'.

The album was released on 17th March. Ahead of the release, the band shared a teaser video along with the announcement with a montage of photos from their time together to the soundtrack of a new version of their 2000 track 'Beautiful Day'.

'Songs of Surrender', according to the Official Charts Company, was outselling the rest of the Top 5 combined during its first week of release, and it’s a dead cert for the top spot on Friday.

Has Bono written a memoir?

Bono announced in May 2022 that he would be releasing a memoir called Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story on 1st November. The book will explore the origins of 40 U2 songs, with each chapter named after the song it covers.

Stories about Bono's life will be included throughout the book, from his early days in Dublin through to U2 becoming one of the world's most influential rock bands. In October 2022, he announced three UK dates to promote the book, saying: "I miss being on stage and the closeness of U2’s audience.

"In these shows I’ve got some stories to sing, and some songs to tell... Plus I want to have some fun presenting my ME-moir, SURRENDER, which is really more of a WE-moir if I think of all the people who helped me get from there to here."

Are U2 the biggest band in the world?

U2's incredible success and longevity have led many to regard them as one of the biggest bands in the world. They have sold in excess of 170 million records and continue to play to huge, packed-out stadiums.

Did U2 perform at Live Aid?

Yes! U2 played a 12-minute rendition of their song 'Bad'. Live Aid is often heralded as making stars of the Irish band, with every U2 album available at the time returning to the chart after their performance at Live Aid.

Check out these incredible photos from Live Aid:

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• U2
• Bono
• the edge
• adam clayton
• larry mullen
• David Evans
• paul hewson