Geldof responded “Fuck ’em,” and the band played as planned.Ġ:37 Some backing synth-like sounds have been playing gently, but now we get the actual opening of the song, a lick that insinuates itself and keeps looping back on itself, like the ouroboros serpent swallowing its own tail. and threatened to pull them out unless they got a soundcheck. The night before the show, however, U2’s management called Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof at 2 a.m. U2 managed to book a Live Aid slot that would maximize their American exposure – they supported the cause of ending African famine, but they also knew the broadcast had the potential to break them to a much larger audience. they had scored three Top 10 singles and two chart-topping albums. – their sole Top 40 single, “Pride (In the Name of Love),” topped out at Number 33 – but in the U.K. At this point, U2 was scratching on the door of the U.S.A. U2 has clearly won the hearts and minds of the crucial British flag-waving demographic. He’s removed the sunglasses he wore during “Sunday Bloody Sunday.” He looks scruffy and dazed, as if he just rolled out of bed on a submarine.Ġ:25 We get a wide shot of the crowd, which has lots of banners reading “U2” – some of which were visible during the sets of earlier bands. After being introduced by Jack Nicholson (“a group that’s never had any problem saying how they feel”), U2 kicked off their set, which they intended to be three songs long, with “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”Ġ:23 Bassist Adam Clayton, standing behind Bono, is in head-to-foot gray. on the East Coast of the States) they had a 20-minute slot between Bryan Adams and the Beach Boys (both performing in Philly). Freddie Mercury flirted with Bono, who was previously unaware that the Queen singer was gay.Ģ0 Insanely Great U2 Songs Only Hardcore Fans Know

Backstage at Wembley, U2 met some of their heroes, including Pete Townshend, David Bowie, Paul McCartney, and Muhammad Ali. On July 13th, 1985, seemingly every major rock act on Earth played the Live Aid concert for African famine relief, hosted primarily in Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium and London’s Wembley Stadium and broadcast to over a billion people worldwide. Between 19, they released four albums ( Boy, October, War and The Unforgettable Fire). Since 2020, ONE and (RED) have also been fighting COVID-19 and its impact on the developing world.īono is also a cofounder of the Rise Fund, a global impact fund investing in entrepreneurial companies driving positive social and environmental change in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.īono has received a number of awards for his music and activism, including the Freedom of the City of Dublin (with U2), the Légion d’honneur from the French government, an honorary British knighthood, the Fulbright Prize for International Understanding, and TIME magazine’s Person of the Year (along with Bill and Melinda Gates).U2 formed in Dublin as teenagers in 1976. (RED)-which partners with companies to raise public awareness about, and corporate contributions for, the AIDS crisis-has to date generated more than $700 million for the Global Fund to treat and prevent AIDS in Africa. PEPFAR AIDS program, that have helped to save tens of millions of lives over the past twenty years.

With ONE, Bono has lobbied heads of state and legislatures all around the world, helping to ensure the passage of global health and development programs, such as the U.S. A leader in Jubilee 2000’s Drop the Debt campaign, he next took on the fight against HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty, co-founding sister organizations ONE and (RED). In 2005, U2 was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.Īlongside his role in U2, Bono is a groundbreaking activist. Acknowledged as one of the best live acts in the world, U2 have sold over 157 million albums and won numerous awards, including 22 Grammys and the Amnesty International Ambassador of Conscience Award. and Adam Clayton at school, and in 1978 U2 was formed. The lead singer of Irish rock band U2, Bono was born Paul David Hewson in Dublin.

U2 members