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| U2 biography & albums  Added on November 13, 2006 The new single "The Saints Are Coming" by U2 was released on November 3, 2006. Get it from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com or Amazon.de. Article added in February 2001 All That You Can't Leave Behind, includes the 2001 Grammy Award winning track Beautiful Day. Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. Universal/Interscope/Island, October 2000. Get the CD from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de or Cede.ch. U2 are at the top again. At the 2001 Grammy Awards, the four autodidact musicians won three prizes for the track Beautiful Day from their current album All That You Can't Leave Behind: Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal. U2 is unique because no one has ever left or joined the band. It consists of Bono (Paul Hewson, 1960) on vocals and guitar, Adam Clayton (1961) on bass, Larry Mullen Jr. (1961) on drums and The Edge (David Evans, 1961) on guitar and piano. U2 was formed in Dublin in 1976. The 14-year old teenager Larry Mullen Jr. posted a note on the bulletin board at Dublin's Mount Temple School seeking musicians for a new band. At Mullen's home, a first group called Feedback was formed, with Mullen, Adam Clayton, Paul Hewson and Dave Evans and his brother Dick (on guitar). In 1977, Feedback changed their name to The Hype. They performed at youth clubs. After Dick left Feedback to join the Dublin band the Virgin Prunes, The Hype changed their name to U2. In March 1978, they won a talent competition in Limerick, Ireland, with the CBS Records representative Jackie Hayden as a judge. U2 won, Paul McGuinness took over the management of the band and, in September 1978, they recorded their first demo tape at the Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. But the group did not manage to get a record deal yet. The band members were now out of school and played numerous concerts in the Dublin area, building a fan base. After a sesssion for Radio 2 Irish in the summer of 1979, their first single U2:3, released only in Ireland, rose to #1 in the national charts. U2 became the "most popular band in Ireland" (Hot Press). In December, they traveled to London, were mistakenly announced as V2 at the punk-pub Hope And Anchor and, allegedly, only attracted nine visitors. Not only fans, but also music critics were hard to convince in England. In February 1980, the journalist Chas de Whalley, who had organized the demo session two years ago, produced Another Day, which became another #1 for U2 in Ireland. In April 1980 , Chris Blackwell signed the band to Island Records and, in May and October, released 11 O'clock Tick Tock, A Day Without Me and I Will Follow, three flops. Under the guidance of Steve Lillywhite, U2 concentrated on their album Boy, which remained unnoticed at its release in October 1980. U2 toured tirelessly and played as support for Talking Heads. In February 1981, Boy (US#95, UK#21) appeared in the US top 100 for three weeks and, half a year later, the U2 craze began in the UK. The singles Fire (UK#20) and Gloria (UK#23) prepared the ground for the second album, also produced by Lillywhite. October was released in October 1981 and reached UK#11. Bono, The Edge and Larry had joined Shalom, a religious group in Dublin. The three questioned the relationship between the Christian faith and the rock 'n' roll lifestyle - and came to the conclusion that it was compatible and continued as a band. But according to some, the band's confusion resulted in an "unfocused" album, October, which, therefore, produced no hit single. In April 1982 followed the release of the song A Celebration (UK#29), which was part of no LP.  U2. Photo Copyright Universal Music. U2 toured around the globe and, again with Lillywhite as producer, released the political album War (UK#3, US#9, Germany#59) in March 1983. Its songs New Years Day (UK#9), Two Hearts Beat As One (UK#13) and Sunday Bloody Sunday stand out. In the United States, U2 attracted audiences up to 50,000 people. In November 1983, U2 released Under A Blood Red Sky (UK#1, US#28), a live recording of their concert at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater and The Unforgettable (UK#1, US#12, Germany#14) with its hit singles Pride (UK#2) and The Unforgettable Fire (UK#4). Pride became U2's biggest single until then and the album entered the charts at #1. The studio album, produced with the help of Brian Eno (who was responsible for the electronic and orchestral elements) and Daniel Lanois (Neville Brothers) was named named after a series of paintings drawn by survivors of the atomic explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Unforgettable Fire was the beginning of a new era for the band. The Rolling Stone writers' poll named U2 1983's Band Of The Year. U2 invested in the Windham Hill Studios, directed by Bono and helped groups like Tua Nua, Cactus World News, Painted Word and Hothouse Flowers. Their albums were distributed through U2's own label Mother Records. U2 were part of Band Aid, Live Aid, supported Amnesty International and Artists United Against Apartheid. In 1986, U2 founded Self Aid, a foundation with the mission to fight unemployment. The Edge wrote the soundtrack for The Captive together with Sinead O'Connor. In September 1986, U2 performed together with Bruce Springsteen. In February 1987, U2 embarked on a world tour, presenting their new studio album, The Joshua Tree (UK#1, US#1, Germany#1). It included the hits With Or Without You (UK#6, US#6, Germany#7) and Where The Streets have No Name (UK#4, US#13, Germany#44). The Joshua Tree sold over 15 million copies, reached #1 in 22 countries and was widely acclaimed by critics. Time magazine even put U2 on its cover. The world tour was sold out.  The Edge & Billie. Photo © Universal Music 2006. 
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