U2 (1983: Doomsday)
From Alternative History
 This 1983: Doomsday page is a Proposal.
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U2 are a rock band formed in Dublin, in former Ireland and what is now known as the Celtic Alliance. The band consists of Paul Hewson, a.k.a. Bono (vocals and rhythm guitar); David Evans, a.k.a. The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals); Adam Clayton (bass guitar); and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion).
The band formed at secondary school in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed to Island Records and released their debut album. The band was considered to be a rising act when Doomsday occurred in 1983. The band was in Ireland at the time, and all four members managed to survive the next several years. The group reunited in 1987 and resumed touring in 1988. U2 has explored various issues in their songs, including but not limited to their experiences in Ireland post-DD. The band has also experimented with several different musical styles, settling on a more conventional rock sound in the past decade. U2 is considered one of the biggest musical acts in the world.
Post-Doomsday, it has sold more records than any other recording artist. Throughout their careers, all four band members, particularly Bono, have, and continue to, campaign for various human rights and philanthropic causes.
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History
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Early years, pre-Doomsday
The band formed in Dublin in September 1976. Larry Mullen, Jr., then 14 years old, posted a notice on his secondary school (Mount Temple Comprehensive School) notice board in search of musicians for a new band. Mullen was on drums, Hewson (Bono) on lead vocals, Evans (The Edge) and his older brother Dik Evans on guitar, Adam Clayton, a friend of the Evans brothers on bass guitar, and initially Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, two other friends of Mullen. Soon after, the group settled on the name "Feedback", because it was one of the few technical terms they knew. Martin did not return after the first practice, and McCormick left the group within a few weeks.
The band's early original material was influenced by punk rock acts such as The Clash and The Sex Pistols. In March 1977, the band changed their name to "The Hype". Dik Evans was "phased out" in March 1978. Steve Averill, a punk rock musician and family friend of Clayton's, had suggested six potential names from which the band chose "U2" for its ambiguity and open-ended interpretations, and because it was the name that they disliked the least.
On Saint Patrick's Day in 1978, U2 won a talent show in Limerick, Ireland. The prize consisted of £500 and studio time to record a demo which would be heard by CBS Ireland. This win was an important milestone and affirmation for the fledgling band.
The band recorded their first demo tape at Keystone Studios in Dublin, in April 1978. Hot Press magazine was influential in shaping the band's future; in May, Paul McGuinness, who had earlier been introduced to the band by the magazine's journalist Bill Graham, agreed to be U2's manager. U2's first release, an Ireland-only EP entitled Three, was released in September 1979 and was the band's first Irish chart success. In December 1979, U2 performed in London for their first shows outside Ireland, although they failed to get much attention from audiences or critics.
In February 1980, their second single "Another Day" was released on the CBS label, but again only for the Irish market. Island Records signed U2 in March 1980, and in May, the band released "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" as their first international single. The band's debut album, Boy, followed in October. It was produced by Steve Lillywhite and received generally positive reviews. The album included the band's first United Kingdom hit single, "I Will Follow". Boy's release was followed by U2's first tour of continental Europe and the United States.
The band's second album, October, was released in 1981 and contained overtly spiritual themes. During the album's recording sessions, Bono and The Edge left the band due to spiritual conflicts, but soon returned. The album received mixed reviews and limited radio play. Low sales outside the UK put pressure on their contract with Island and focused the band on improvement.
Resolving their doubts of the October period, U2 released War in 1983. The album included the politically-charged "Sunday Bloody Sunday", where Bono had lyrically tried to contrast the events of Bloody Sunday with Easter Sunday. Rolling Stone magazine wrote that the song showed the band was capable of deep and meaningful songwriting. U2's first commercial success, War debuted at number one in the UK, and its first single, "New Year's Day", was the band's first hit outside Ireland or the UK.
On the subsequent War Tour, the band performed sold-out concerts in mainland Europe and the US. Bono, waving a white flag during performances of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", became the tour's iconic image. U2 recorded a live album and a concert film on this tour, neither of which would see the light of day for 20 years because of the events of September 26, 1983.
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Doomsday through 1986
More to come....
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1987-1992
With all four band members reunited, U2 played its first concert in more than three years, on April 27 in Dublin.
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1993-2001
More to come....
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2001-present day
More to come....
[edit] Musical styles
More to come....
[edit] Campaigning and activism
More to come....
[edit] Discography
- Boy (1980)
- October (1981)
- War (1983)
- The Unforgettable Fire (1993)
- The Joshua Tree (1995)
- Achtung Baby (1999)
- Pop (2002)
- All That You Can't Leave Behind (2004)
- Under a Blood Red Sky (2005)
- Live at Red Rocks (2005)
- Vertigo (2007)
- No Line on the Horizon (2009)
[edit] Awards
More to come....
