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File:2005-05-17 U2 @ CAA by ZG.JPG U2, Vertigo Tour, 2005. U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland. The band consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). U2 have been one of the most popular acts in the world since the mid-1980s. The band has sold upwards of 170 million albums worldwide, and they have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other rock band. U2 formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. By the mid-1980s, however, the band had become a top international act, noted for its anthemic sound, Bono's impassioned vocals, and The Edge's textural guitar playing. Their success as a live act was greater than as a record-selling act until their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree, brought them mega-stardom. Their alternative rock/dance-infused 1991 album Achtung Baby and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour were part of a significant reinvention for the band; it was a response to their own sense of musical stagnation, the dance and alternative music revolutions, and criticism of their image. This experimentation continued for the rest of the 1990s. In the early years of the 21st century, U2 have pursued a more traditional sound while maintaining influences from their previous musical explorations. They continue to enjoy the highest level of commercial and critical success. The band is active in human rights, international development, and social justice causes, such as Amnesty International, Make Poverty History, the ONE Campaign, Live Aid, Live 8, Bono's DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade in Africa) campaign, and Music Rising. edit  Selected article The U2 Portal "Love Is Blindness" is a song by the rock band U2. It is the twelfth and final track on their 1991 album Achtung Baby. The song was written on a piano by lead singer Bono during the recording sessions for U2's 1988 album Rattle and Hum. Intended for singer Nina Simone, the band elected to keep it for Achtung Baby after playing it together. Thematically, the song describes a failing romance, mixing personal themes with imagery of metaphorical acts of terrorism. During the recording sessions for Achtung Baby, guitarist The Edge separated from his wife, Aislinn O'Sullivan. The separation had a major effect on the development of the song; the ending guitar solo was a cathartic experience for The Edge, as he snapped several guitar strings during the song's recording. "Love Is Blindness" made its live debut on the group's 1992–1993 Zoo TV Tour and was performed regularly during the tour, appearing in 154 of its 157 concerts. It was commonly played as either the penultimate or closing song; as the penultimate song, it was usually followed by a rendition of the Elvis Presley song "Can't Help Falling in Love". Following the tour, "Love Is Blindness" has been played live only two other times. The track was favourably received by critics and has been covered by multiple artists. edit  Selected picture U2 on stage in a stadium U2 perform on their U2 360° Tour on Saturday 25 July 2009 in Croke Park, Dublin, Ireland. ... that "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is the most covered U2 song? ... that Bono used to be known as "Steinvic von Huyseman", "Huyseman", "Houseman", "Bon Murray", "Bono Vox of O'Connell Street", and "Bono Vox"? ... that Dublin's Windmill Lane Studios is regularly visited by tourists wishing to view the U2-inspired graffiti adorning the walls? ... that U2's latest live EP was created as part of a program to draw customers to independent record shops during the 2010 holiday shopping season? ... that both the Angelina Jolie Trapdoor Spider (pictured) and Bono's Joshua Tree Trapdoor Spider inject their prey with venom after ambushing it from their burrows? 300px WikiProject U2 is a project that helps to assemble writers and editors interested in U2. The aim of this project is to standardise and improve articles related to U2, as well as to create any missing articles. To become a member of this WikiProject (anyone may join), simply click here - and add {{user|username}}. Departments: Assessment • Outreach (Newsletter) • Collaboration of the Fortnight/of the Month Template:/box-footer edit  Selected biography The U2 Portal Dave Fanning (born 1955) is an Irish rock journalist, DJ, retired film critic and veteran broadcaster. He currently hosts The 11th Hour on RTÉ Two and two radio shows: Drivetime with Dave on RTÉ Radio 1 and The Dave Fanning Show on RTÉ 2fm. He also fills in for other presenters on RTÉ Radio, including acting as a surrogate for Ryan Tubridy in June 2009. Likewise, John Creedon has worked as a surrogate for Fanning. Due to his much celebrated friendship with U2, Fanning has for three decades been granted the first airing of any of the band's new singles before anyone else in the world, with band members often calling Fanning to tell him what they are doing. He has presented over twenty different series for RTÉ Television, including Rock Sundown, 2TV, Jobsuss, Visual Eyes, The Arts Show, documentaries on Cambodia and Ethiopia, Number One, a pop quiz which ran for six years, and The Movie Show, a movie review show which ran for ten years, and more recently The Last Broadcast. He also hosted RTÉ's live television coverage of Live 8 in Hyde Park, London (July 2005) and Live Earth in Wembley Stadium, London (July 2007). He claims to have conducted around 200 interviews with global rock stars. Fanning is the receiver of several awards and nominations, the first of which was a Jacob's Award in 1980. He won numerous IRMA awards and has won Best DJ at the Meteor Music Awards a total of three times, and been nominated at least twice more in 2008 and 2009, this after being granted the Industry Award in 2004. "See across the field / See the sky ripped open / See the rain comin' through the gapin' wound / Howlin' the women and children / Who run into the arms / Of America." —"Bullet the Blue Sky" (Bono), The Joshua Tree (1987) "And a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle / When you're tryin' to throw your arms around the world." —"Tryin' to Throw Your Arms Around the World" (Bono), Achtung Baby (1991) "The fact that we can come and put on, not just a concert, but the same concert that we've put on in Paris, New York, and London, I think is maybe a symbol for the people of Sarajevo that things are getting back to normal." —The Edge, in PopMart: Live from Mexico City – "The Road to Sarajevo" directed by Ned O'Hanlon (2007) "Where you live should not decide / Whether you live or whether you die." —"Crumbs from Your Table" (Bono), How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004) "My room overlooks the park and yesterday during the afternoon I'd opened up all the blinds and taken back the curtains so I could look out over the park. Come nightfall, I was grooving to some rap record in my room, bopping around the room for maybe half an hour. I don't know what I was doing, just messing around...and at one stage I looked out of the window and there were about 200 people looking up, clapping, applauding my dancing. That was funny." —The Edge, on dancing The U2 Portal To display all subcategories click on the [►] ▼ U2 ► U2 albums ► U2 concert tours Ireland Human rights The Beatles The Clash Bob Dylan Green Day Elvis Presley The Rolling Stones 90x90px Alternative music Electronic music Punk rock Rock music

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