#223 - U2 - War (1983)
MUSIC HISTORY COMPILED BY ADAM BERNARD:
BACKGROUND – U2
U2 are an Irish rock band that formed in Dublin in 1976. The group consists of Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar),the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion). Initially rooted in post-punk, U2's musical style has evolved throughout their career, yet has maintained an anthemic quality built on Bono's expressive vocals and the Edge's chiming, effects-based guitar sounds. Bono's lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal and sociopolitical themes. Popular for their live performances, the group have staged several ambitious and elaborate tours over their career.
At the age of 14, future U2 Drummer Larry Mullen Jr posted a note on the school's notice board in search of musicians for a new band. All of the band's current members responded, and after weeding out a couple of other people, and the inclusion of additional guitarist Dik Evans (older brother of David Evans, aka The Edge), the band called themselves "Feedback", before changing to "The Hype". Dik was a little older then the rest, and became the odd man out by 1978, which the group then changed their name to U2.
Affter forming as a band, they won a contest in Limerick with the prize consisting of 500 pounds, a recording session for a demo that would be heard by the CBS Ireland record label. While that didn't go anywhere initially, they made a connection with a journalist at the Irish magazine "Hot Press", who introduced them to their future manager, Paul McGuiness. After recording more demos, they eventually got a break with CBS Ireland with their Ireland-only EP "Three". They released their first album "Boy" in 1980 to positive reviews. "I Will Follow" was the first song to get airplay in the States. Their 2nd album "October" (1981) experienced some difficulties when Bono lost his briefcase containing lyrical and musical ideas after a show in Portland. During this period, the band also had a decision to make with 3 of the band member's being religious, and the lifestyle of a rock band isn't exactly Christian. The track "Gloria" was U2's first music video on MTV. The 1983 release "War" followed, and was the band's first big success, which included "New Year's Day" and "Sunday Bloody Sunday". 1984's Unforgettable Fire was more on the artsy side, but their Live Aid performance in 1985 is what elevated them to becoming one of the bands of the decade. They followed this up by releasing the iconic The Joshua Tree in 1987, which included the hit singles "With or Without You", "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", and "Where the Streets Have No Name", the first two of which became the group's only number-one hits in the US. U2 became the fourth rock band to be featured on the cover of Time magazine. The album and its songs received 4 Grammy Award nominations, winning for Album of the Year and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
In October 1988, the group released Rattle and Hum, a double album and theatrically released documentary film that captured the band's experiences on the Joshua Tree Tour. The band became dissatisfied with their live performances. With a sense of musical stagnation, Bono hinted at changes to come during a concert near the end of the tour; before a hometown crowd in Dublin, he said on stage that it was "the end of something for U2" and that they had to "go away and... just dream it all up again". Throughout the 1990s, U2 experimented with alternative rock and electronic dance music, starting with 1990's Achtung Baby, and culminating with their 1997 album Pop and the accompanying PopMart Tour. Guitarist the Edge said that with Pop, the band had "taken the deconstruction of the rock 'n' roll band format to its absolute 'nth degree." However, following the poor reception to the album and tour, the band wished to return to song arrangements that consisted almost entirely of guitar, bass, and drums, and to quickly regroup in the studio after the tour.
The band's tenth studio album, All That You Can't leave Behind was released on October 30th 2000 and following the less than overwhelming response to 1997's POP, it was instantly judged a triumphant return to form. Bono said ahead of release "Were 'reapplying for the job of best band in the world'. Mission accomplished - It took three Grammy Awards in 2001 - a year later the album won four more, including Record of the Year for 'Walk On', won the previous year by 'Beautiful Day' - the first time a band had achieved this. The band wanted to shift to a harder sound for their next album, "How To Dismantle A Bomb" in 2004, and accomplished that with songs like Vertigo. No Line on the Horizon was released in February 2009, more than four years after How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, marking the longest gap between albums of the band's career to that point, but wasn't considered as experimental as originally billed. The next album was Songs of Innocence in 2014, which you received whether you wanted it or not as part of iphone purchase around that period (at no additonal cost). making it available to over 500 million people in what Apple CEO Tim Cook called "the largest album release of all time". Apple reportedly paid Universal Music Group and U2 a lump sum for a five-week exclusivity period in which to distribute the album and spent $100 million on a promotional campaign. Songs of Experience came next in 2017, followed buy 2022's Songs of Surrender. They are currently wrapping up a 40 date residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas as they debut act in the state-of-the-art performance venue.
U2 have released 15 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold close to 200 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band, and in 2005, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and social justice causes, including Amnesty International, Jubilee 2000, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, War Child, and Music Rising.
Emerging punk rock acts such as the Stranglers, the Jam, the Clash, Buzzcocks, and Sex Pistols were strong influences on the group. The popularity of punk convinced them that musical proficiency was not a prerequisite to success. The band also cites the Who, the Ramones, the Beatles, Joy Division, Elvis Presley, Patti Smith, Bob Dylan, and Kraftwerk as influences. In addition, Van Morrison has been cited by Bono as an influence.
Bands that have cited U2 as an influence are Coldplay, The Killers, Muse, Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Pearl Jam, Rage Against The Machine (Tom Morello has said he tried to copy The Edge when he was first learning to play, the first record Zach De La Rocha ever bought was 11 O'Clock Tick Tock).
ALBUM BACKGROUND – WAR
This is U2's third album, and the one that began to put them on the map before becoming on of the biggest bands of the 1980s. None of these songs were huge hits, but they all earned some airplay and energized the band's live shows, which were still at theaters and similar-sized outdoor venues at this point. Word-of-mouth helped them snowball into bona fide superstars by the end of the decade.
This is their first album with strong political themes, dealing with the human effects of war – suffering, loss and the constant reminder of mortality which shrouds daily life during wartime. It was a massive success for the band, dethroning Michael Jackson’s Thriller to become the #1 album in the UK and U2’s first gold-certified record.
War was a commercial success, becoming a #1 hit in the UK and #12 in the United States and became the band's first album certified gold. War received generally favorable reviews, although some British journalists criticized it. It sold over 3 million copies.
The sound of War is arguably harsher than that of the band's other albums. A major reason for this is that the Edge uses far less delay and echo than in previous and subsequent works.
The album was titled War for several reasons; in 1982, Bono said, "War seemed to be the motif for 1982," adding that "Everywhere you looked, from the Falklands to the Middle East and South Africa, there was war. By calling the album War we're giving people a slap in the face and at the same time getting away from the cosy image a lot of people have of U2." The Edge said that "It's a heavy title. It's blunt. It's not something that's safe, so it could backfire. It's the sort of subject matter that people can really take a dislike to. But we wanted to take a more dangerous course, fly a bit closer to the wind, so I think the title is appropriate."
The boy on the cover is Peter Rowen (brother of Bono's friend, Guggi). He also appears on the covers of Boy, Three, The Best of 1980–1990, Early Demos and many singles. Bono described the reasoning behind the cover: "Instead of putting tanks and guns on the cover, we've put a child's face. War can also be a mental thing, an emotional thing between loves. It doesn't have to be a physical thing."
Over the course of the tour, the band began to play progressively larger venues, moving from clubs to halls to arenas. Bono attempted to engage the growing audiences with theatrical, often dangerous antics, climbing scaffolding and lighting rigs and jumping into the audience. The sight of Bono waving a white flag during performances of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" became the tour's iconic image.