[歌手简介]

U2

　　With its textured guitars, U2's sound was undeniably indebted to post-punk, so it's slightly ironic that the band formed in 1976, before punk had reached their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. Larry Mullen Jr. posted a notice on a high-school bulletin board asking for fellow musicians to form a band. Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton, and Dick Evans responded to the ad, and the group formed as a Beatles and Stones cover band called the Feedback, before changing their name to the Hype in 1977. Shortly afterward, Dick Evans left the band to form the Virgin Prunes. Following his departure, the group changed its name to U2.

　　U2's first big break arrived in 1978, when they won a talent contest sponsored by Guinness; the band were in their final year of high school at the time. By the end of the year, the Stranglers' manager, Paul McGuinness, saw the band play and offered to manage them. Even with a powerful manager in their corner, the band had trouble making much headway -- they failed an audition with CBS Records at the end of the year. In the fall of 1979, U2 released their debut EP, U2 Three. The EP was available only in Ireland, and it topped the national charts. Shortly afterward, they began to play in England, but they failed to gain much attention.

　　Released in the spring of 1983, the Lillywhite-produced War was U2's breakthrough release, entering the U.K. charts at number one and elevating them into arenas in the United States, where the album peaked at number 12. War had a stronger political message than its predecessors, as evidenced by the U.K., college radio, and MTV hits "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day." During the supporting tour, the band filmed its concert at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater, releasing the show as an EP and video titled Under a Blood Red Sky. The EP entered in the U.K. charts at number two, becoming the most successful live recording in British history. U2 had become one of the most popular bands in the world, and their righteous political stance soon became replicated by many other bands, providing the impetus for the Band Aid and Live Aid projects in 1984 and 1985, respectively.

　　For the follow-up to War, U2 entered the studios with co-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who helped give the resulting album an experimental, atmospheric tone. Released in the fall of 1984, The Unforgettable Fire replicated the chart status of War, entering the U.K. charts at number one and reaching number 12 in the U.S. The album also generated the group's first Top 40 hit in America with the Martin Luther King Jr. tribute "(Pride) In the Name of Love." U2 supported the album with a successful international tour, highlighted by a show-stealing performance at Live Aid. Following the tour, the band released the live EP Wide Awake in America in 1985.

　　While U2 had become one of the most successful rock bands of the '80s, they didn't truly become superstars until the spring 1987 release of The Joshua Tree. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews, many of which proclaimed the album a masterpiece, The Joshua Tree became the band's first American number one hit and its third straight album to enter the U.K. charts at number one; in England, it set a record by going platinum within 28 hours. Generating the U.S. number one hits "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," The Joshua Tree and the group's supporting tour became the biggest success of 1987, earning the group the cover of respected publications like Time magazine.

　　Unlike many of their contemporaries, U2 were able to sustain their popularity in the '90s by reinventing themselves as a postmodern, self-consciously ironic dance-inflected pop/rock act, owing equally to the experimentalism of late-'70s Bowie and '90s electronic dance and techno. By performing such a successful reinvention, the band confirmed its status as one of the most popular bands in rock history, in addition to earning additional critical respect.

　　这个成立于1976年的乐队由主音Bono，吉他手The Edge, 贝司手Adam Clayton和鼓手Larry Mullen 组成。乐队开始时曾用过Feedback、Hype两个名字演出，但最后还是确定了用U2这个很有个性的名字。1979年，他们发行了自己的第一张唱片。1980年，乐队与Island唱片签约，随后发行了第一支单曲《11 o'clock Tick Tock》和第一张专辑《Boy》。接着，他们又于1981年发行了第二张专辑《October》。

　　1983年3月，第三张专辑《War》 的发行把乐队带向了成功，这张专辑取得了英国榜的冠军。从此，U2开始成为世界知名的乐队。同年，首张现场演唱唱片《Under A Blood Red Sky》发行，同样登上了英国榜的冠军位置。1984年，乐队发行了第四张专辑《 The Unforgettable Fire》，又在英国获得了冠军。随后，他们进行了一次较大规模的巡演，获得成功。

　　1987年，《The Joshua Tree》发行，在英国和美国等22个国家都获得冠军，卖出超过一千万张，使U2大红大紫。之后，他们的欧洲和北美巡演也大获成功，U2成为全世界歌迷的偶像。1988年，U2获得了格莱美年度最佳专辑和最佳摇滚表演奖，1989年，又获得最佳音乐片和最佳摇滚表演两项奖。他们又举办了世界巡演，足迹遍布欧洲、亚洲、大洋州。

　　90年代初，乐队开始转型，U2进行了几次大规模的全球巡演，获得成功的同时，也让他们感到很疲惫。于是，乐队进行了长时间的休息，其间，只为电影《Batman Forever》(《永远的蝙蝠侠》)和《Mission Impossible》(《碟中谍》)写了一些歌曲。

　　2000年底，期待已久的新专辑《All That You Can't Leave Behind》终于发行，引起了巨大的反响，其中的首支单曲《Beautiful Day》在全球各地成为热门冠军曲。随着他们在格莱美奖上风光地拿到包括最佳歌曲在内的三项大奖，U2也开始了新一轮的全球巡演。