U2'S BIO

The glitz, the glamour, the music and the mania, the attitude and agenda to save the world - it all began with a note pinned to Mount Temple's school noticeboard, relating 'money wasted on a drum kit' and inquiring whether there were others out there who'd done the same on guitars. With that, Larry Mullen Jr. had intended to form a rock band, but what he did indeed initiate was an international phenomenon and a rock 'n' roll revolution.

However, their future didn't look quite so bright at the outset when the boys reported to Larry's residence in response to the note. Dave and Dik Evans had arrived with their homemade electric guitar; Adam with an amp, a guitar, and a whole lotta 'bluff' about the business; and finally Bono with a friend and nothing else but his charismatic personality. As they tested their abilities, it became overwhelming evident that the only ones with an established musical talent were Edge and Larry, and despite the others' underdeveloped skills in playing the instrument, they all wanted to be lead guitarist. In the end, no one could deny Edge that role, so Bono soon assumed the part of vocalist in the band that they dubbed Feedback.

Feedback, which at that time included Dik, began rehearsing 3 times a week in Larry's kitchen until a teacher got them a rehearsal room at Mount Temple. A few months later, they reaped the rewards of their hard work and savoured their first taste of success when they performed at the school's annual talent show. Once Bono felt that initial wave of fanaticism and adoration from the crowd's response to his antics, he was instantly hooked on the attention. Also, Edge would no longer be a loner, no longer that shy, intellectual boy that you'd probably never pick out of a crowd; he emerged as the guitarist of a rock band with a halo of light that has perpetually surrounded him since.

Their next step on the road to stardom came with the Harp Lager Talent Contest that the band, renamed The Hype before their second gig, had learned from The Evening Press. The contest gave new groups a first prize of £500 and a chance to audition for a CBS record company. While they prepared for the contest, Adam was calling around for advice, thus spreading the news about the band, when he got in touch with Steve Rapid of the Radiators (or Steve Averill as he was known by day). Adam asked him for suggestions on the band's name, Steve presented U2 as a possibility, and Adam relayed the suggestion to his bandmates. At the talent contest, they played their first sets as The Hype as a signoff to Dik who had to quit the band for college and finished the show as U2.

After their victory in the contest, Adam still continued seeking out advice from the pros, making his way down his contact list to Bill Graham. He invited the journalist to a rehearsal, where Graham was wowed not by their talent but by their potential and referred Paul McGuinness as a prospective manager for the "baby band." Through Paul's connections, U2 got their demo produced by Barry Devlin, the bass player of the Horslips, and began making greater headway in their musical career. In a stroke of marketing genius, Paul devised a plan where U2 would play 3 songs for Dave Fanning's radio audience who would then choose the A-side for their limited edition single. The thousand copies sold quickly, but more importantly, U2 were making a name for themselves in Ireland.

Meanwhile, Pod and Guggi, of Bono's Lypton Village crew, began attending the meetings of the Shalom bible group of the Charismatic Christianity movement and convinced the rest of the Village and U2, minus Adam, to come check it out. As they gained a newfound spirituality, U2 got their big break. After being disappointed by the empty promises of some record execs, U2 and Paul McGuinness decided to go for broke with their concert at the National Boxing Stadium in Dublin, where Bill Stewart, Island Record's A & R man, was due to watch them. To boost the band's morale, they invited hundreds of their own guests and strategically placed them to create the effect of a full venue. After their apparently mind-blowing performance, Stewart met them backstage in their dressing room and offered them a record deal on the spot. Buoyed by the faith of Chris Blackwell, U2 had finally made it.

The band recruited Steve Lillywhite to produce their first album. With the cover image of Guggi's brother Peter Rowen, the album became known as Boy. To promote its release, U2 set off touring the US, where they knew they'd have to popularize themselves if they were ever going to achieve the grand scale of success they'd dreamed of. During the tour, U2 took a break in the Bahamas with Steve to plan their next album. Six weeks before they were due to record it, Bono lost all his lyrics. Because they had to keep the studio date, U2 was in a crunch to produce enough songs for the album.

When it came time to promote October, Bono, Edge, and Larry told Paul that they didn't want to tour the album, because their rock 'n' roll life had come in direct conflict with their Christian beliefs. Paul was sympathetic, but he reminded them of their contractual obligations. Faced with that choice, Edge, putting his principles before his career, considered leaving U2. Once he picked up his guitar and started strumming, however, he realized "that Christianity without life is as empty as life without Christianity" (Dunphy, The Unforgettable Fire). And so U2 went forward and went back to Windmill Lane to record War, the album that really broke them throughout the world. And since then, as you all know, they've become the best band on the planet.