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U2: The band that could not get any bigger outdoes itself again.
The Irish rock band U2 performs under a huge video screen during the North American leg of their 360 Tour at Soldier Field on Sept. 12 in Chicago. Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press
By SARAH HART Assistant Scene Editor
Published: 10/18/2009 2:29 AM
Last Modified: 10/19/2009 9:37 AM
 Related story: Get to know the discography of U2.
It's a name that doesn't take up much space. Yet it says a mouthful.
Two figures — one alphabetic, one numeric — combine to form an iconic statement, conveying welcome and acceptance. It might have started out just as U2, but now, those two figures carry more impact, inspiration and influence than anyone could have imagined from four lads out of Ireland.
And that very big band with a very small name will be in Norman on Sunday.
It all started in 1976 in Dublin, when drummer Larry Mullen Jr. posted an ad seeking band mates. Seven guys showed up, and they formed a band called Feedback. That group dwindled to four and they took the name U2. The final lineup was set in 1978 — it was Mullen, Paul Hewson (now and forever Bono), Dave Evans (The Edge) and Adam Clayton.
They began as emulators of post-punk: Sex Pistols, Clash, Joy Division — that English sound that blossomed after the bloodbath of the hippie music — and they've bloomed, shrank near death through a brief period of experimental, misunderstood music, and regenerated so many times that they no longer really have a genre. They don't identify with an epoch. And their fans certainly have no age limit.
U2 has remained relevant, keeping in touch with styles and trends in music, while maintaining a sound exclusively theirs. They've had some bummer albums, experimental attempts that didn't wow fans, such as 1997's "Pop," panned by many loyal fans but praised by critics.
Still, you compare "Pop" to some of the music coming out of the birth of the death of grunge, and it's still a U2 record. It's still deliberate and good, intelligent and relevant.
Yes, he's still running
Despite a possession of marijuana charge Clayton collected in 1989, you aren't likely to read about them in the tabloids. They don't beat up their spouses (Bono's been married to his high school sweetheart Alison since 1982); they don't curse grandly.
They've even been called a religious band. They sum up their beliefs in short, they are all Christians, according to their well-informed fan site, .u2faqs.com. It's also evident in many songs, such as "40," an interpretation of Psalm 40 in the Bible:
"I waited patiently for the Lord
He inclined and heard my cry
He brought me up out of the pit
Out of the miry clay"
You can see it again in "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For:"
"You broke the bonds
And you loosed the chains
Carried the cross
Of my shame
Oh my shame
You know I believe it."
In 2002, Bono said on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "I'm a believer, but religion is the thing when God, like Elvis, has left the building. But when God is in the house, you get something else. I'm happy in a Catholic cathedral or a tent show down in the South with gospel music."
Out of that religious bedrock, the band has formed a Teflon shell of protection while firing out missiles of hope, peace and understanding. They've always been revolutionaries, even when Americans didn't know anything about them.
'War' of the worlds
"War," U2's third full-length album, was a self-proclaimed "crusade of pacifism." It's a constant tightly wound thread that has stitched together a band that can give its opinions and still maintain respect, a band that has put its money where its hope is. They became associated — without need for fanfare or applause — with Amnesty International, Greenpeace and a multitude of humane coalitions and causes. They've lent their voices and cash to HIV/AIDS awareness, Hurricane Katrina and political campaigns, to name just a small fragment.
U2 played the inaugural celebration for President Obama, and during a performance of "Pride," Bono said: "This is not just an American dream, but also an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream an Israeli dream and a Palestinian dream."
Early fans of MTV, the network that at one time showed videos, might remember Bono as a mullet-sporting, flag waving, exuberant singer when the video for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" began getting airplay, a live video recorded at Red Rocks. That song — with a riff so strong it commands respect and revolution-inspiring lyrics — spoke of the long-fought war raging in Ireland and carried the refrain "How long? How long must we sing this song? How long? Tonight, we can be as one."
Fans of 1980s new wave might remember them being on Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" a fledgling effort led by fellow activist Bob Geldof, and the jumping off point for Live Aid. But they weren't big-time. Not yet.
Band of the '80s
They started establishing a sound around 1984, with the help of legendary producers and music legends Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Their political leanings, obvious to those who'd been paying attention all along, came into full view with a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., "Pride (In the Name of Love)." The lyrics: "That morning, April 4, shots ring out, in the Memphis sky — 'Free at Last!' They took your life, but they could not take your pride" were a badge of their politics, a cry against terrorism, a call for peace. And they gained more and more respect.
They performed at Live Aid before they were superstars, at London's Wembley Stadium. Oddly enough, they were named The Band of the 80s by Rolling Stone magazine after that performance.
That launched their fame. And when you consider the time, it really makes no sense.
"Sunday Bloody Sunday" was up against Van Halen's "Jump," Duran Duran's "The Reflex," and the early days of light-spirited hair metal (Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Bon Jovi ), and still, somehow, they caught on with their anthems of hope, peace, strife and change.
But it wasn't until 1987 that they became gods of rock. They looked back to their roots and polished off a bluesy style that didn't quite fit the decade, yet fit hand in glove.
The band again branched, giving the world "Achtung Baby" in 1991, and then they stopped being rock musicians and started being legends. This album looked inward, though it still contained the poetry infused in so many of their other albums.
After "Achtung Baby," U2's only known rough patch began. From 1994 to the end of the millennium, they were somewhat out of the music picture, seemingly gearing up for a time when the world needed them.
In 2000, the band declared it was "reapplying for the job of the best band in the world." They released "All That You Can't Leave Behind," reconnecting with old engineers and producers (Lanois and Eno) and reseeding their garden of peace and hope. They have ruled the 2000s since, releasing "How to Dismantle the Atomic Bomb" and becoming synonymous with iPods with the song "Vertigo." They hooked the next generation of fans, who've immersed themselves in the past recordings without thought to it being out-of-date or old.
And Sunday, when the Irish invasion begins in Norman, Oklahomans will be privy to the U2 Effect. Stand still and soak it all in — you're witnesssing legend.
360 degrees of U2
U2 is coming to Oklahoma, and
they’re bringing one crazy stage.
I went to the U2 concert in Arlington,
Texas, on Monday and was
impressed, if not confused, by the
stage. It was a tall, insect/spaceship
structure with a video board hanging
beneath it.
The stage for the tour is designed
to give everyone a good look at the
stage from any angle. The cylindrical
video board was one of the coolest
parts of the show. The flexible honeycomb
design let it descend close
to the floor for a couple of songs.
U2 played many of their greatest
hits, including “Mysterious Ways”
and “Beautiful Day.” (U2 let the
crowd sing the first part of “I Still
Haven’t Found What I’m Looking
For.” They saved “One” for the first
encore and “With or Without You”
for the second.)
They also played some unfamiliar,
tougher-sounding songs (what I
presumed to be the newer ones), but
those songs got a much less enthusiastic
response than the hits. Use
that time to get some nachos.
Bono was his usually mobile self,
fully utilizing the circular stage and
the bridges that connected it to the
outer ring. At one point he was atop
the speakers behind the drummer.
The latter part of the show was
more globally political. I admit I later
had to look up some of what they
were even talking about. Apparently,
“Walk On” was a tribute to a
Burmese politician.
The opening act, Muse, was enjoyable,
but I also would have liked
to have seen the Black-Eyed Peas,
who open in Norman.
I’m not necessarily a huge U2 fan,
but I still had a blast. After so many
years, the band is still relevant and
popular around the world. And they
know how to put on a grand show.
— Stacey Dickens, World Staff Writer
Sarah Hart 581-8480
sarah.hart@tulsaworld.com
By SARAH HART Assistant Scene Editor
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