U2是一支成立于1976年的愛爾蘭都柏林搖滾樂隊，自80年代竄起走紅之后，一直到進入21世紀的今天，仍然非?；钴S于全球流行音樂樂壇。音樂風格上，除了傳統的另類搖滾之外，在90年代中、后期U2也曾一度嘗試過將搖滾與電子舞曲融合的流行搖滾。在歌曲主題上U2的創作內容也非常廣泛，尤其是對于政治性的話題并不避諱，例如對社會公平公正的追求以及對人權問題的探討。 樂隊于1976在愛爾蘭成立，由四名成員組成，分別是： Bono：原名保羅·大衛·休森（Paul David Hewson），主唱兼節奏吉他手，1960年5月10日出生于都柏林。 亞當·克萊頓（Adam Clayton):U2的貝斯手。1960年3月13日出生于英格蘭牛津郡。 拉里·木倫（Larry Mullen,Jr.):U2的鼓手，他其實也是當初發起創立這樂團的提議人。1961年10月31日出生于都柏林。 The Edge：原名大衛·荷威·伊凡斯（David Howell Evans），是U2的主吉他手、鋼琴手與合音。1961年8月8日出生于英格蘭東倫敦。 迄今為止U2樂隊的專輯銷量在世界范圍內已高達1億7千，滾石雜志把U2列入全世界最偉大的100位藝人之一，由于其極高的知名度與良好的形象，今日的U2已經成為愛爾蘭重要的象征之一。 風 格： Alternative Rock(另類搖滾) Pop Rock(流行搖滾) Post-Punk(后朋克) Album Rock(專輯搖滾) College Rock(學院搖滾) 無可爭議，80年代英國和愛爾蘭最受矚目的偉大樂隊是U2，他們1977年在都柏林的一所學校里開始了音樂生涯。博諾.沃克斯(Bono Vox，原名保羅.休森(Paul Hewson)，1960年5月10日生于都柏林，主唱)、“ 刀刃”(the Edge，原名戴維.埃文斯(David Evans)，1961年8月8日生于埃塞克斯的巴金)、亞當.克萊頓(Adam Clayton，1960年3月13日生于英格蘭牛津，貝司手)及拉里.馬倫(Larry Mullen，1960年10月1日生于都柏林，鼓手)起初曾以“回授”(Feedback)樂隊的名義演唱過一些“滾石”(the Rolling Stone)及“沖浪”(The Beach Boys)樂隊的老歌。后來他們更名為Hype，到了1977年改稱U2，那年他們在利默里克舉行的一個選拔賽上獲勝，投到保羅.麥吉尼斯(Paul McGuinness)門下順利地與愛爾蘭的CBS唱片公司簽了約。在愛爾蘭的首張EP專輯《U2:3》及單曲“失去控制”(Out of Control)(1979)把樂隊帶到愛爾蘭排行榜第1名的位置。他們1980年的單曲“另一天”(Another Day)再創此佳績，這首歌還得到英國CBS公司的接受，使樂隊得以與愛爾蘭以外的Island唱片公司簽約。在英國的首張單曲“嘀嘀噠噠11點鐘”(11 O' Clock Tick Tock)由馬丁.漢內特(Martin Hannett)制作，雖然很受歡迎卻未能上榜。后來的“一天沒有我”(A Day Without Me)和“我將跟隨”(I Will Follow)兩首單曲有了一定的銷量，這時，他們正在為出版首張專輯做準備，它將由史蒂夫.利利懷特(Steve Lillywhite) 擔任制作。 《男孩》(Boy,1980)是一張感人肺腑，激勵年輕人意志的紀實性專輯，利利懷特使他們的聲音有了“響亮、輝煌和具有侵略性的效果”，這正是樂隊一直追求的。這張專輯的風格介于當代流行音樂同朋克時期粗糙、強硬的音樂之間，得到評論界的好評。博諾的嗓音具有一種很富煽動性的深度和共鳴；“刀刃”的吉他一直很新鮮特別；而克萊頓和馬倫善于以一種軍人般的準確性把這些凝聚到他們風格獨特的音樂之中。同時，U2在各地做現場演出時也備受歡迎。博諾熱情詳溢的歌喉以及樂隊明快的節奏使他們成為1981年最有前途的樂隊。他們的聽眾也雨后春筍般地增長著，但唱片的銷量平平。 美國巡演結束后，樂隊回到英國，直到單曲“火”(Fire)打入排行榜前 30名，他們的成績才越來越好。在轟動的杰出專輯《十月》(October)之后推出的另一首單曲“榮耀”(Gloria) 也甚受好評?！妒隆穼］嬕苑N贊美詩般濃郁的宗教色彩，達到了近乎福音書傳教的絕妙效果。1983年2月，樂隊憑著一曲“新年”(New year's Day) 成為他們第1首英國榜前10名的單曲，它寫的是波蘭團結工會運動帶來的希望。同年3月，《戰爭》(War)專輯不久在樂評界的一片贊揚中出版，該專輯涉及了政治和宗教，尤其是主題曲“血腥的星期天”(Sunday Bloody Sunday) ，展現了樂隊超凡脫俗感人至深的演唱風格?！稇馉帯烦蔀榈?張英國排行榜冠軍的專輯?！堆炜障隆?Under A Blood Red Sky)亦未讓人失望，一舉升至英國排行榜第2名，同時在美國榜上居第28位。 到了1984年的夏天，U2已步入搖滾精英的前列，博諾在薩蘭城堡舉行的演唱會上與鮑勃·迪倫(Bob Dylan)合唱了一首歌，而后U2建立了自己的公司——Mother唱片公司，意圖在愛爾蘭地區發掘音樂新人?！峨y忘的火》(The Unforgettable Fire)專輯由布賴恩.伊諾(Brian Eno)、丹尼爾.拉努瓦(Daniel Lanois)制作，顯示出樂隊的新風范，使之在美國唱片界與新聞界的地位逐步提高。而隨后的單曲“自豪(以愛的名義)”(Pride(In The Name of Love))再現了U2詞曲中已為人熟知的那股熱情及人道精神。樂隊所信奉的理想通過他們在“愛爾蘭賑災義演”、“大赦國際”、“小史蒂文的反種族隔離”(Little Steven's anti-Apartheid)和“太陽城”(Sun City) 等活動中的表演得到進一步展示。這期間，U2在全球巡回演出并完成了另一張專輯《喬舒亞樹》(The Joshua Tree)的制作，它于1987年推出后更加鞏固了U2的地位，他們成為全世界最著名的樂隊之一。該專輯在英、美同時排名榜首，它體現了一種前途無量的全新音樂模式，是對U2“靈魂反省”式的歌詞的補充。人們熟悉的拯救心靈的主題貫穿著U2的作品，尤其表現在“有或沒有你”(With Or Without You)、“我還沒找到要找的東西”(I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For)兩首歌上，它們皆列美國排行榜榜首。 這張里程碑式的唱片推出后，樂隊在1988年顯得比較平淡，博諾與“刀刃”表演了羅伊.奧比森(Roy Orbison)的歌曲“神秘女郎”(Mystery Girl)，并推出現場演出的雙唱片《嘎嘎嗡嗡》(Rattle And Hum)和同名紀實電影。他們在晚些時候憑一首節奏與布魯斯風格的單曲“欲望”(Desire)首次登上英國單曲榜冠軍。出版下一張堪與《喬舒亞樹》(The Joshua Tree)相媲美的的專輯恐怕要花很長時間，未來的唱片將在德國同拉努瓦與伊諾制作。這段時間樂隊在科爾·波特(Cole Porter)的紀念專輯《紅熱┼藍》(Red Hot +Blue)中露面并演唱了一首激進的“晝與夜”(Day And Night)。1991年末，單曲“蒼蠅”(The Fly)升上英國榜榜首位置，取得了與“欲望”同樣的佳績。 《注意，寶貝》(Achtung Baby)是個很感人的作品，它繼承了U2過去專輯的那種高尚品味，成功地確立了新的聲音商標。他們的音樂靈感來自早期的后朋克和他們演藝生涯中期時的美國音樂，在這張專輯中，U2深入探索了電子樂和舞曲音樂。受70年代戴維·鮑伊(David Bowie)和80年代英國曼徹斯特現象的啟發，這張專輯在聲響上的電子化和冒險性要比他們以往的任何專輯都要強烈，而且并沒有失去他們的核心聽眾，并使音樂趨向于能夠抒發內心里那種最本能的真實情感。專輯中的兩首單曲“不可思議的方式”(Mysterious Ways)和“一個”(One)在世界許多國家的排行榜獲得冠軍。1992年初，樂隊精心策劃了促銷該專輯的全球巡回演出，這張專輯強調了U2的國際地位，是他們自70年代末以來非凡的凝聚力和穩定性的真實寫照。 巡演結束后， U2回到錄音棚里制作一張EP專輯，結果變成了一張長專輯 《歐共體動物園》(Zooropa)，于1993夏天出版并同時進行巡回演出?！稓W共體動物園》證明了他們受到的技術派電子樂和舞曲音樂的影響比《注意，寶貝》還要重，并且受到了普遍的好評。盡管這樣，該專輯只賣掉了200萬張而且沒有產生一首熱門歌曲。直到1993年底，巡回演出才結束。此時的樂隊由于在音樂方向的不同，一度瀕于解體。1995年，U2以一首電影《永遠的蝙蝠俠》插曲“抓住我，刺激我，親吻我，殺死我”(Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me)重新露面，此曲由內利.胡珀(Nellee Hooper)制作。年底，樂隊與布賴恩.伊諾合作以“旅客”(Passengers)的名義錄制了一張專輯《原聲音樂，第1集》(Original Soundtracks, Vol. 1)，但在評論界和商業上只獲得了極弱的反應。 許多U2的鐵桿歌迷對他們這個“旅客”計劃十分不滿，樂隊允諾他們將在1996年秋出版的下一張專輯中錄制一張搖滾樂風格的唱片。但這張經過漫長的等待的專輯直到1997年春天才與人們見面，而且也不是像他們所說的那樣是“一張搖滾風格的唱片”。在推遲發行專輯的期間，他們出版了幾首單曲，包括“迪斯科”(Discotheque)，樂隊通過這首單曲有意透露了他們的音樂方向──新專輯中將有大量的技術化音樂、舞曲和電子樂，最后這張專輯命名為《流行曲》(Pop)。但出人意料的是，它在市場的銷售勢頭十分看好，并且獲得了在U2的演藝生涯中最好的評論。 by Stephen Thomas Erlewine Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock & roll bands of the 80s. Equally known for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion, they were rock & roll crusaders during an era of synthesized pop and heavy metal. The Edge provided the group with a signature sound by creating sweeping sonic landscapes with his heavily processed, echoed guitars. Though the Edges style wasnt conventional, the rhythm section of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr., played the songs as driving hard rock, giving the band a forceful, powerful edge that was designed for arena rock. And their lead singer, Bono, was a frontman who had a knack of grand gestures that played better in arenas than small clubs. Its no accident that footage of Bono parading with a white flag with Sunday Bloody Sunday blaring in the background became the defining moment of U2s early career — there rarely was a band that believed so deeply in rocks potential for revolution as U2, and there rarely was a band that didnt care if they appeared foolish in the process. During the course of the early 80s, the group quickly built up a dedicated following through constant touring and a string of acclaimed records. By 1987, the bands following had grown large enough to propel them to the level of international superstars with the release of The Joshua Tree. Unlike many of their contemporaries, U2 was able to sustain their popularity in the 90s by reinventing themselves as a postmodern, self-consciously ironic dance-inflected pop/rock act, owing equally to the experimentalism of late-70s Bowie and 90s electronic dance and techno. By performing such a successful reinvention, the band confirmed its status as one of the most popular bands in rock history, in addition to earning additional critical respect. With its textured guitars, U2s sound was undeniably indebted to post-punk, so its slightly ironic that the band formed in 1976, before punk had reached their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. Larry Mullen, Jr. (born October 31, 1961; drums), posted a notice on a high-school bulletin board asking for fellow musicians to form a band. Bono (born Paul Hewson, May 10, 1960; vocals, guitar), the Edge (born David Evans, August 8, 1961; guitar, keyboards, vocals), Adam Clayton (born March 13, 1960; bass), and Dick Evans responded to the ad, and the group formed as a Beatles and Stones cover band called the Feedback, before changing their name to the Hype in 1977. Shortly afterward, Dick Evans left the band to form the Virgin Prunes. Following his departure, the group changed its name to U2. U2s first big break arrived in 1978, when they won a talent contest sponsored by Guinness; the band were in their final year of high school at the time. By the end of the year, the Stranglers manager, Paul McGuinness, saw the band play and offered to manage them. Even with a powerful manager in their corner, the band had trouble making much headway — they failed an audition with CBS Records at the end of the year. In the fall of 1979, U2 released their debut EP, U2 Three. The EP was available only in Ireland, and it topped the national charts. Shortly afterward, they began to play in England, but they failed to gain much attention. U2 had one other chart-topping single, Another Day, in early 1980 before Island Records offered the group a contract. Later that year, the bands debut, Boy, was released. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the records sweeping, atmospheric but edgy sound was unlike most of its post-punk contemporaries, and the band earned further attention for its public embrace of Christianity; only Clayton was not a practicing Christian. Through constant touring, including opening gigs for Talking Heads and wet T-shirt contests, U2 was able to take Boy into the American Top 70 in early 1981. October, also produced by Lillywhite, followed in the fall, and it became their British breakthrough, reaching number 11 on the charts. By early 1983, Boys I Will Follow and Octobers Gloria had become staples on MTV, which, along with their touring, gave the group a formidable cult following in the U.S. Released in the spring of 1983, the Lillywhite-produced War was U2s breakthrough release, entering the U.K. charts at number one and elevating them into arenas in the United States, where the album peaked at number 12. War had a stronger political message than its predecessors, as evidenced by the U.K., college radio, and MTV hits Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Years Day. During the supporting tour, the band filmed its concert at Colorados Red Rocks Amphitheater, releasing the show as an EP and video titled Under a Blood Red Sky. The EP entered in the U.K. charts at number two, becoming the most successful live recording in British history. U2 had become one of the most popular bands in the world, and their righteous political stance soon became replicated by many other bands, providing the impetus for the Band Aid and Live Aid projects in 1984 and 1985, respectively. For the follow-up to War, U2 entered the studios with co-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who helped give the resulting album an experimental, atmospheric tone. Released in the fall of 1984, The Unforgettable Fire replicated the chart status of War, entering the U.K. charts at number one and reaching number 12 in the U.S. The album also generated the groups first Top 40 hit in America with the Martin Luther King, Jr., tribute (Pride) In the Name of Love. U2 supported the album with a successful international tour, highlighted by a show-stealing performance at Live Aid. Following the tour, the band released the live EP Wide Awake in America in 1985. While U2 had become one of the most successful rock bands of the 80s, they didnt truly become superstars until the spring 1987 release of The Joshua Tree. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews, many of which proclaimed the album a masterpiece, The Joshua Tree became the bands first American number one hit and its third straight album to enter the U.K. charts at number one; in England, it set a record by going platinum within 28 hours. Generating the U.S. number one hits With or Without You and I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For, The Joshua Tree and the groups supporting tour became the biggest success of 1987, earning the group the cover of respected publications like Time magazine. U2 decided to film a documentary about their American tour, recording new material along the way. The project became Rattle & Hum, a film that was supported by a double-album soundtrack that was divided between live tracks and new material. While the album Rattle & Hum was a hit, the record and film received the weakest reviews of U2s career, with many critics taking issue with the groups fascination with American roots music like blues, soul, country, and folk. Following the release of Rattle & Hum, the band took an extended hiatus. U2 reconvened in Berlin 1990 to record a new album with Eno and Lanois. While the sessions for the album were difficult, the resulting record, Achtung Baby, represented a successful reinvention of the bands trademark sound. Where they had been inspired by post-punk in the early career and American music during their mid-career, U2 delved into electronic and dance music with Achtung Baby. Inspired equally by late-70s Bowie and the Madchester scene in the U.K., Achtung Baby was sonically more eclectic and adventurous than U2s earlier work, and it didnt alienate their core audience. The album debuted at number one throughout the world and spawned Top Ten hits with Mysterious Ways and One. Early in 1992, the group launched an elaborate tour to support Achtung Baby. Dubbed Zoo TV, the tour was an innovative blend of multimedia electronics, featuring a stage filled with televisions, suspended cars, and cellular phone calls. Bono devised an alter ego called the Fly, which was a knowing send-up of rock stardom. Even under the ironic guise of the Fly and Zoo TV, it was evident that U2 was looser and more fun than ever before, even though they had not abandoned their trademark righteous political anger. Following the completion of the American Zoo TV tour in late 1992 and before the launch of the European leg of the tour, U2 entered the studio to complete an EP of new material that became the full-length Zooropa. Released in the summer of 1993 to coincide with the tour of the same name, Zooropa demonstrated a heavier techno and dance influence than Achtung Baby and it received strong reviews. Nevertheless, the album stalled at sales of two million and failed to generate a big hit single. During the Zooropa tour, the Fly metamorphosed into the demonic MacPhisto, which dominated the remainder of the tour. Upon the completion of the Zooropa tour in late 1993, the band took an extended break. During 1995, U2 re-emerged with Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me, a glam rock theme to Batman Forever that was produced by Nellee Hooper (Björk, Soul II Soul). Later that year, they recorded the collaborative album Original Soundtracks, Vol. 1 with Brian Eno, releasing the album under the name the Passengers late in 1995. It was greeted with a muted reception, both critically and commercially. Many hardcore U2 fans, including drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., were unhappy with the Passengers project, and U2 promised their next album, to be released in the fall of 1996, would be a rock & roll record. The album took longer to complete than usual, being pushed back to the spring of 1997. During its delay, a few tracks, including the forthcoming first single Discotheque, were leaked, and it became clear that the new album was going to be heavily influenced by techno, dance, and electronic music. When it was finally released, Pop did indeed bear a heavier dance influence, but it was greeted with strong initial sales, and a few positive reviews. In late 1998, the group returned with Best of 1980-1990, the first in a series of hits collections issued in conjunction with a reported 50 million dollar agreement with Polygram. Three years after the mediocre response to Pop, U2 teamed up with Eno and Lanois once again to release All That You Cant Leave Behind in fall 2000. It topped charts around the world, reached number three in America, earned the band Grammy Awards for the singles Beautiful Day and Walk On, and became their biggest-selling record in years. (The Elevation tour that followed also brought U2 a hefty paycheck.) Steve Lillywhite, producer of the early-80s landmarks Boy, October, and War, returned to the helm for U2s next record, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Released in November 2004, it hit the top of the Billboard charts and quickly gained platinum status. The album also garnered eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, and Song of the Year (for Sometimes You Cant Make It on Your Own).