U2 Continues To Churn Out The Hits
Few people familiar with popular music have not heard of the band U2. The group, formed as an alternative rock band in Dublin, Ireland, in 1976, has dominated the mainstream music scene since the 1980s, and is still going strong. The band consists of Bono, lead singer and songwriter; The Edge, lead guitar, keyboards, vocals; Adam Clayton, bass guitar; Larry Mullen Jr., drums.
U2 takes stands on human rights and political issues. They have created and are involved with numerous charities. Lead singer Bono literally puts his time and money where his mouth is. He was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 and was honored by the Nobel laureate with the “Man of Peace” Award in 2008 for helping to tackle African debt, poverty, and disease. Bono was dubbed an honorary English knight and is a past Time Magazine Man of the Year. He continues to fight for an end to poverty throughout the world, campaigns for relief from AIDS, and promotes trade in Africa.
However, not all of these social causes and personal accolades should overshadow the band’s musical accomplishments. Their lyrics are infused with themes that resonate with the youth of the past three decades. 1983′s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” was a lyrical plea to end the slaughter of innocent civilians in Ireland. With this song as their backdrop, the band campaigned against the Irish Republican Army’s (IRA’s) fund-raising efforts to support continued armed warfare. The campaign caught the attention of the IRA, who threatened to kidnap the band members if they continued their protest. They continued.
U2′s theme of non-violent protest of all things unjust has continued through subsequent albums to present day. The group also penned songs dedicated to their heroes. The singles “Pride” and “MLK” from 1984′s Unforgettable Fire both were tributes to the band’s icon Martin Luther King, Jr. The band has written songs about social themes such as heroin addiction, the excesses of commercialism, and poverty.
U2 even selects tours that support the causes in which they believe. The group participated in 1985′s historic Live Aid concert, which raised approximately 0 million for Ethiopian drought relief. They played in Sarajevo soon after it was devastated by war, and did a concert in New York City shortly after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
In 2005, U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To date, U2 has won 22 Grammy Awards, the most of these ever won by a group and a number exceeded only by two other artists in history. Fans will surely tell you that the awards will keep on coming as long as the group is in existence.
No Line on the Horizon is the group’s latest album. Fans less familiar with the group’s history might be surprised to learn that U2 has released only 12 studio albums. Not to mention, four out of five of these were released during the first five years of the group’s three decade-long career.
Tickets for the 2010 worldwide leg of the group’s 2010 360 degree Tour are currently on sale. Several tour dates are already sold out, so be sure to purchase tickets soon. You do not want to miss your chance to see this classic group perform.
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