
a book
U2 by U2
Neil McCormick · 2006 · 345 pages
In 1975, four teenagers gathered in a kitchen in Dublin to discuss forming a band. The drum kit just about fit into the room, the lead guitarist had a homemade guitar, the bassist could barely play at all and nobody wanted to sing. Over thirty years later, they are still together, bound by intense loyalty, passionate idealism and a relentless belief in the power of rock and roll to change the world. U2 have sold over 130 million albums, revolutionized live performance all over the world, spearheaded political campaigns and made music that defines the age we live in. From the anarchic days of their Seventies punk origins, through their Eighties ascent to superstardom, the dark post-modern ironies of the Nineties and their 21st-century resurgence as rock's biggest and boldest band, this is a tale of faith, love, drama, family, birth, death, survival, conflict, crises, creativity--and a lot of laughter.--From publisher description.
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Phoebe Robinson
“I’m a huge fan of U2. I saw them six times last summer. My boyfriend’s like ‘We get it, they’re almost 60, relax.’ The band gives an oral history of their entire career like they’ve never done before. I’m always intrigued by books in which people retrace their steps — this thing didn’t work out and this thing didn’t work out, then this thing sorta did, then we lost our momentum… but it really was cool to see their creative process from before they started as a band in high school. Hopefully I can do even one tenth of the things they do to inspire people. It’s long, so you’ll have to buckle up for a bit. But it’s definitely worth it.”↗