U2’s Affect On 80′S Culture Essay, Research Paper

Jack Sheehan

March 25, 1999

Mr. Howard

Period 7

During the early eighties there was social and political turmoil all over the world. At the same time a band was forming in Northern Ireland. The band was U2, and they used all of the problems around them in their music. U2 is one of the most politically involved groups of the eighties, and it showed in their music. U2 was not only influenced by the events around them. They also took part in helping the cause.

U2 is an Irish rock group that consists of four members; Paul Hewson (Bono), Larry Mullen, Dave Evans

(The Edge), and Adam Clayton. The four met while attending high school at Mount Temple, a private school in Northern Ireland. When they started out they were all about fifteen years old. Larry Mullen can be attributed with starting the band, in 1976 he posted a flyer in the school asking if anyone wanted to start a band. When they first started out none of them knew how to play their instruments, but that changed over time. They named themselves Feedback because of the sound their cheap instruments made. Soon after they renamed themselves The Hype. Early on the band ?s influences included acts such as David Bowie and The Clash, they wouldn?t discover the American sound until later on in their careers.(Dunphy 23)

The Hype began to play small gigs in clubs or in small contests. Once they built a name for themselves people started questioning the name?s meaning. Adam was concerned that The Hype sounded too loud and up front, so he chose a subtler name, U2. He thought U2 was a good choice because it had many meanings. U2 was the name of an American spy plane, a submarine and a popular battery. In 1978 the band got its big break. They entered a contest, the prizes were five hundred pounds and a day in CBS studios to record a demo tape. Going into the contest no one thought they would win, but they did. Immediately after recording the demo they hired their long time manager, Paul McGuiness. The band was doing great, and then a tragedy struck. Larry Mullens mother died in late 1978. Larry was so upset that he wanted to leave the band, but Bono helped him in his struggle and kept him in the band. They then continued to play shows gaining popularity and radio air time. In 1980 U2 played a show at a stadium in Dublin. In attendance was Bill Stewart, a representative of Island Records. Back stage after the show he offered U2 a record contract, they accepted.(Dunphy 36)

In September of 1980 U2 released their first album it was titled Boy. They were 18 years old. The album had a fresh new sound and got good reviews from critics. Soon after the release of their first album U2 left Ireland to tour America. They played small clubs and colleges across the nation. During the tour Bono, Larry, and The Edge maintained their strong Christian views, but Adam wanted to party and have fun. This started the band?s first conflict. They turned to their manager for advice, he sided with Adam believing that they were only kids and should be having fun and taking advantage of a great opportunity. The Christian group wanted the three members to leave U2, but they stayed and backed out of the strong Christian beliefs. After coming back together the band had matured as a group and was ready to focus on their music. Their second album was called War. War was a commercial success and gained them American popularity. They had hit singles, major air time on radios, and a popular video on the new music channel MTV. At this time they played their largest show to date. It was in front of 125,000 people at the Us Festival in California.(Jennings 64)

The album War was one of U2?s most political album?s. The album featured songs such as; ?Sunday Bloody Sunday?, ?The Refugee? and ?Surrender.? ?The Refugee? was inspired by the fighting they witnessed in Ireland as children. It had lyrics such as;

?War, war she?s a refugee she sees them fight, but she don?t know what for.?

Another song dealing with Irish conflicts is ?Sunday Bloody Sunday?. Much of the violence they saw was between the Catholics and Protestants. These two groups had varied political views, and often clashed violently. The Protestants want to remain a free country, and the Catholics want to join the Free Republic of Ireland. In their songs U2 does not favor a side, they mainly sing about the harm the two sides cause everyone. The song ?Sunday Bloody Sunday? was written about an actual incident. On January 30, 1972 thirteen Catholics were killed by the members of a British parachute regiment at a civil rights demonstration. The soldiers said the Catholics fired at them first, but Catholics say the soldiers shot the victims in the backs as they fled. The incident became known as Bloody Sunday.(Bell 249)

While on their tour they saw an exhibit at the Chicago Peace Museum called The Unforgettable Fire. It displayed art work and literature done by survivors of the atomic bomb in Nagasaki. The exhibition also featured a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. These images inspired their next album titled The Unforgettable Fire, it also opened them up to the problems of the world. Once aware of the adversities people faced U2 was determined to do what they could to help the cause. On July 13, 1985 they played at Live Aid, a musical project whose proceeds benefited starving people in Africa. U2 was an up and coming band that was playing with major headliners, but they stole the show. The band showed great enthusiasm and was very serious about the concert and its purpose. Following Live Aid U2 headlined the Amnesty International Conspiracy of Hope tour. During this tour they were named the band of the eighties by Rolling Stone Magazine. They had now achieved their goal of becoming rock stars and cultural spokesmen. (Jennings 62)

Inspired by Live Aid Bono and his wife Alison went to Ethiopia to work in refugee camps. They also went to El Salvador and Nicaragua with Amnesty International. While staying in El Salvador Bono witnessed a bombing. The bombing nearly wiped out an entire village. These images inspired Bono to write the song ?Bullet the Blue Sky?. ?Bullet the Blue Sky? discussed the issues of the American bombings in third world countries. The song came out on U2?s fourth album The Joshua Tree. On this album U2 played with a more rock or blues sound. The band had been in America for a few years and was opened up to blues and country music. The album?s success prompted a long tour playing large venues. While on this tour U2 shot a documentary film titled Rattle and Hum. The movie was knocked by critics who said the band came off as arrogant and egotistical. However, The live album accompanying the movie went straight to number one in both America and Europe. the band decided to take a break and try to start something new.(Dunphy 98)

When U2 was starting their break the Berlin Wall was being knocked down. The band thought it would be a good idea to travel to Germany and try to capture some of positive energy in their song writing. Bono and The Edge began exploring the electronic sound in Germany?s Dance clubs. Adam and Larry were not very enthused about the electronic sound. This disagreement almost caused the band to break up. U2 left Germany and went home to Ireland. They agreed on a sound and released a new album, Achtung Baby. The sound of the album was edgy, and had a different mood than their previous albums. Changing their sound was a risk, but U2 pulled it off and managed to maintain their popularity. To back up their new image U2 launched a two year tour. The tour was called Zoo t.v. The band was just having fun and enjoying their music. During their concerts U2 made fun of the political events going on at the time . The media disliked their new look and tasteless actions on stage. They used these negative publications as a part of their act.(Dunphy 117)

U2?s next album was even more daring than Achtung Baby. The sound used was more electronic, and the tour planned was bigger and more expensive. The album was called Pop and the tour was called the Pop Mart tour. The album was rushed because U2 had set tour dates before the album was even recorded. During the two year super tour two major political events involving U2 occurred. In September of 1997 U2 played a show in Sarajevo. It was the first concert in the war torn nation since 1992. They received assistance from the UN to get the tour into the city. The next major event was during the spring leg of the tour. U2 had returned home to play a free concert in Belfast to raise support for the Northern Irish Peace Accord. During the show Protestant Dave Thimble and Catholic John Hume came on stage with Bono and shook hands. The Peace Accord was passed, and Dave Thimble and John Hume received the Noble Peace Prize. U2 was honored to be apart of Irish history. (?U2 Makes Like UN? 111)

U2 has been having a successful career for the past twenty years. During this time they have defined their own sound, and adapted to the musical changes that took place. They also over came adversities that most bands face while in the public spotlight. More importantly U2 has led the way in voicing political opinions through music. They also demonstrated their political awareness by taking part in charity events, and benefit concerts. They have proved to be one of the most involved rock bands of our generation.