This is a
timeline of the history of rock band U2:
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13 March 1960: Adam Clayton is born in
Chinnor,
Oxfordshire.
10 May 1960: Paul Hewson (
Bono) is born in
Dublin.
8 August 1961: Dave Evans (
The Edge) is born in
East London.
31 October 1961: Larry Mullen, Jr. is born in
Artane,
Dublin.
September 1974: Bono’s mother Iris Hewson dies of a brain aneurysm in Dublin four days after collapsing at her father’s funeral.
Autumn: Paul Hewson and his neighbourhood friends form the "Lypton Village" in which they made their own language, dressed differently, and put on art installation. The group gives Paul the nickname Bono after a Dublin hearing aid store.
25 September 1976: The band forms in Dublin after Mullen posts a notice on the
Mount Temple Comprehensive School notice board in search of musicians for a new band. Mullen was on drums, Bono on lead vocals, The Edge and his older brother Dik on guitar, Adam Clayton, a friend of the Evans brothers on bass guitar, and initially Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, two other friends of Mullen. Martin did not return after the first practice, and McCormick left the group within a few weeks.
September 1976: The group settle on the name "Feedback", because it was one of the few technical terms they knew.
late 1976: The band play their first performance in the school gym.
February/March: The band records a performance of their song "The Fool" in February for the RTÉ prorgramme, ''Our Times''. It airs in March and is the band's first television appearance.
17 March 1978: On Saint Patrick's Day, the band win a talent show in
Limerick, Ireland, the prize of which is £500 and studio time to record a demo for CBS Ireland.
20 March 1978: The band plays their last concert as The Hype. Dik leaves the stage and the remaining four continue to play but as "U2".
28 April 1978: Bill Graham writes his first interview with U2 in
Hot Press.
April 1978: The band records their first demo tape at Keystone Studios, Dublin.
25 May 1978: Paul McGuinness agrees to become U2's manager.
9 September 1978: U2 support
The Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom. Their biggest gig so far, they are paid £50.
February 1979: Using borrowed money, Bono travels to London to plug U2 at the offices of record companies and music magazines.
September 1979: U2's first release, an Ireland-only EP entitled ''
Three'', becomes the band's first Irish chart success.
5 October 1979: U2 play their first television performance on
RTE at a televised concert in the
Cork Opera House.
15 January: The band performs "Stories for Boys" live on ''
The Late Late Show''.
19 March: U2 share the bill with
Berlin and
The Virgin Prunes at the ''Sense of Ireland'' festival. Record company executives are present, and four days later U2 sign an international deal with
Island Records.
27 July: U2 play their first open-air festival to an audience of 15,000 at Leixlip Castle in Kildare. The Police top the bill which includes Squeeze and Q-Tips.
27 September: U2 support Echo and the Bunnymen in London's Lyceum Ballroom.
9 December: U2 perform their debut concert in Canada the day after John Lennon's death. The angry and emotional performance receives glowing reviews in Canadian media.
3 March: ''Boy'' is released in the United States.
3 March – 31 May: U2 commence their first major tour of the United States playing almost 60 dates across the country largely in clubs.
4 June: U2 make their American television debut on the Tomorrow Show to promote the Boy album. Bono and the Edge are interviewed briefly by host Tom Snyder and the band plays "I will Follow" and and incomplete version of "Twilight" during the credits
July: U2 begin recording their second album. The sessions are complicated when the briefcase containing Bono's lyrics was stolen by fans after a show in Portland, Oregon.
July: The single "Fire" is released.
July – August: The band record the second album at Windmill Lane Studios, in Dublin.
5 October: "
Gloria" is released as a single and makes the UK charts. The video for "Gloria" is directed by
Meiert Avis and shot in the Canal Basin in Dublin.
12 October: The band's second album, ''
October'', is released. During the album's recording sessions, Bono and The Edge left the band due to spiritual conflicts, and U2 ceased to exist for a brief period of time. The album received mixed reviews and limited radio play. It enters the UK charts at number 11.
January: The new album's first single, "
New Year's Day" is released and becomes the band's first hit outside Ireland or the UK.
28 February: The band release their third album ''
War''. which debuts at number one in the UK.
11 March: The single "
Two Hearts Beat as One" is released in Europe, North America, and Australia. In Germany and The Netherlands, "
Sunday Bloody Sunday" is released instead.
23 April: The American leg of the War Tour starts in
Kenan Stadium,
Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
5 June: U2 plays in the
Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver.
12 July: The Edge marries Aislinn O'Sullivan with Bono serving as best man.
November: The live mini album ''
Under a Blood Red Sky'' is released alongside the video of the Denver concert, ''
Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky''.
22 November: U2 play their first Japanese concert in debut in Osaka.
30 November: The War Tour ends.
December: U2 is voted "Band of the Year" in the
Rolling Stone magazine writer's poll.
1984: U2 re-sign with Island Records under far more lucrative terms.
7 May - 5 June: U2 work on their fourth album at Slane Castle. The band hire Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers.
6 June - 7 August: U2 complete work on their fourth album at
Windmill Lane Studios.
4 July: The Edge's wife Aislinn gives birth to their first child, Hollie.
1 October: U2’s fourth album, ''
The Unforgettable Fire'', is released.
October – November: The Unforgettable Fire Tour plays 21 shows in halls and
arenas in
Western Europe.
1 December: The band play 10 dates in major
United States cities. Demand for tickets significantly outstrip supply indicating that U2 will no longer be able to play these smaller theatres and halls.
1985: ''Rolling Stone'' magazine calls U2 the "Band of the 80s", saying that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters".
January – February: The band play 13 shows in Western Europe. The leg included 5 shows in Germany and the band's first concert in Italy.
Late February – May: U2 play 40 shows in 29 cities in the United States and Canada. For the first time, the band play solely in arenas with multiple nights in many of the locations.
April: The album's second and final single, "The Unforgettable Fire", is released. It reaches #6 on the UK Singles Chart and #8 on the Dutch singles chart, but does not perform as well in the U.S.
May: The four-track EP ''Wide Awake in America'' is released.
Late May – mid July: U2 play nine concerts in the European festival season.
29 June: They play a home-coming concert at Dublin's
Croke Park, their first headlining show in a stadium.
13 July: U2 play
Live Aid for
Ethiopian famine relief at
Wembley Stadium. The band's performance, which included a 14-minute version of "
Bad", is a pivotal point for the band's career, showing a television audience of millions the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences.
September: Bono and wife, Ali, volunteer as relief workers for
World Vision in
Ethiopia.
15 October: The Edge and wife Aislinn's second child, Arran, is born.
30 January: Bono and Mullen are interviewed for half an hour on Irish TV show, ''TV Gaga'', before the band play a song called "Womanfish", a rough early version of "Trip Through Your Wires", and a cover of "Knocking on Heaven's Door".
February: The debut issue of ''Propaganda'', U2's new fanclub magazine, is published.
27 February: U2 are among the readers’ choice for in ''Rolling Stone''
's Music Awards, for Band of the Year. Best Songwriter was Bono, Best Live Performance was U2. In the Critics' Picks, the Band of the Year was U2.
17 May: U2 play the
Self Aid festival in Dublin. The event is organised to create jobs and raise money during Ireland's unemployment crisis.
3 July: U2 crew member Greg Carroll is killed in a motorcycle accident in Dublin.
10 July: Band members perform at Carroll's burial Kai-iwi Marae in New Zealand.
mid-July: Bono and wife Ali travel to
Nicaragua on a visit organised by
Central American Mission Partners (CAMP), which is dedicated to human rights and economic development in Latin America. They visit
Ernesto Cardenal of the
Sandinista government and musician
Carlos Mejía Godoy.
19 July: The group listens to President
Daniel Ortega speak on the country's Revolution Day.
October: U2 see blues legend
B.B. King play in Dublin and they meet him backstage.
late December: U2 call in
Steve Lillywhite to remix a few of the new songs which he works on into the new year.
February: U2 shoot a video for "
Red Hill Mining Town", which was intended to be one of the album's singles but it was not released. A video is also shot for "
With or Without You" in Dublin.
27 March: U2 perform on the roof of a shop in downtown Los Angeles and film the video for "Where the Streets Have No Name".
30 March: In rehearsals for
The Joshua Tree Tour, Bono falls backwards off the stage and his chin is gashed. He still carries the scar.
2 April: U2 open The Joshua Tree Tour in the
Arizona city of
Tempe. The hot dry desert air has affected Bono's voice, and he is barely able to sing in front of the world's music press on opening night. Concert promoter,
Barry Fey, reads out a statement on behalf of the band denouncing Arizona Governor,
Evan Mecham's intention to abolish the
Martin Luther King Day holiday in that State.
7 April: ''The Joshua Tree'' reaches number 1 on the Billboard, where it remains for nine weeks.
27 April: U2 become the fourth rock band to be featured on the cover of ''
Time'' magazine, which declares U2 "Rock's Hottest Ticket".
May: Sales of ''The Joshua Tree'' pass seven million. "
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is released and reaches number one in the United States.
27 May: U2 begin the European leg of the Joshua Tree Tour at the
Stadio Flaminio in
Rome. Most of the leg's 31 shows are in outdoor stadiums.
2 June: After listening to Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" the night before, Bono starts writing a song for Orbison. After that night's show at Wembley Arena, Orbison makes a surprise visit to the band backstage whereupon Bono plays the song, "She's a Mystery to Me" for him.
4 July: The show at the
Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris is filmed for Island Records' 25th birthday celebrations. A canister of tear gas is set off in the crowd causing mild panic and the band interrupt their performance of "With or Without You".
August: "Where the Streets Have No Name" is released as ''The Joshua Tree'''s third single.
August: U2 find out that Island Records is in financial difficulties and cannot pay them $5 million in ''The Joshua Tree'' royalties. U2 reinvest the unpaid amount into the company in return for an estimated 10% stake in the company.
26 September: U2 rehearse "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" with the New Voices of Freedom in a Harlem church, footage of which later appears in the movie
Rattle and Hum.
October: Eamon Dunphy's official biography of the band, ''Unforgettable Fire: The Definitive Biography of U2'' is published.
November: "In God's Country" is released as a single in Canada and the US. Import sales are so strong that it charts in the UK.
1 November: The Dalton Brothers make the first of three appearances on The Joshua Tree Tour as support act for U2. A
country and western four-piece that plays two songs, they are actually U2 in western disguise and all but the front few rows of the audience fail to recognise them.
8 November: U2 play the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. The same day, an IRA bomb had killed eleven people at a Remembrance Day ceremony in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen. During the performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", Bono condemned the violence and his ''"Fuck the revolution!"'' remark earns him the ire of the IRA. This performance and six other songs from the concert are later used in the ''Rattle and Hum'' film.
11 November: U2 play an impromptu "Save the Yuppie" concert in
Justin Herman Plaza in
San Francisco as a mock benefit following the
October 1987 stock market crash. A cover version of
Bob Dylan's "
All Along the Watchtower" is captured for ''Rattle and Hum''. During a performance of "Pride", Bono spray-painted "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" on the
Vaillancourt Fountain. The city issues a warrant for Bono's arrest and Bono writes a letter of apology.
29 November: U2 visit
Graceland and footage from the visit is later included in the ''Rattle and Hum'' movie.
19 – 20 December: The final two shows of The Joshua Tree Tour are played in the Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona. 5 songs are later used in ''Rattle and Hum''.
February: U2 move to Los Angeles to work with
Phil Joanou on the ''
Rattle and Hum'' documentary. While in LA, they also record new songs at A&M; Studios and STS Studios.
March: "One Tree Hill" is released as a single exclusively in New Zealand.
2 March: At the Grammy Awards, U2 win "Best Vocal of the Year" for "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Album of the Year" for ''The Joshua Tree''.
May: U2 record additional material for the movie at Dublin's
Point Depot. Footage of performances of "Van Diemen's Land" and "
Desire" are later used in the movie.
7 June: Roy Orbison, for whom Bono and the Edge had recently written "She's a Mystery to Me", dies in the United States before the release of his ''Mystery Girl'' album.
September: "Desire" is released as the new album's first single. It is the band’s first number one single in the UK.
10 October: The part live, part studio, double album ''Rattle and Hum'' is released.
27 October: The ''Rattle and Hum'' film has its world premiere.
November: The Edge joins Bryan Ferry on-stage for a surprise appearance in the RDS in Dublin.
17 December: "
Angel of Harlem" is released as ''Rattle and Hum''s second single.
April: "When Love Comes to Town" is released as ''Rattle and Hum'''s third single.
13 June: "All I Want is You" is released as ''Rattle and Hum'''s fourth and final single. Its release in Australia is held off until October to coincide with the Lovetown Tour. It reaches number 1 on the Australian charts.
6 August: Clayton is arrested in Dublin on drug charges.
21 September: The Lovetown tour starts in Australia.
30 December: On one of the final shows of the Lovetown Tour, Bono says onstage in Dublin that "this is just the end of something for U2" and that "we have to go away and … and dream it all up again".
31 December: At midnight, U2 open their final of four Dublin shows with "Where The Streets Have No Name" as the audience counts down the last seconds of the 1980s. The show is played live on radio throughout Europe.
January: U2 begin its longest break to date, which includes a two-year break from public performance.
17 January: With the rest of U2 in attendance, Bono inducts
The Who into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
6 February: The
Royal Shakespeare Company's theatrical version of ''
A Clockwork Orange'' debuts in London. Bono and Edge provided the score.
18 February: U2 is named Best International Group at the
Brit Awards. The song is recorded in Edge's basement and produced by Edge and Paul Barrett, according to the Red Hot + Blue album credits.
mid 1990: The band record demos at STS studios in Dublin that later evolve into "
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", "
Until the End of the World", "
Even Better Than the Real Thing", and "
Mysterious Ways".
3 October: The band arrive in East Berlin to work begin work on a new album. With producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, they are seeking inspiration and renewal on the eve of
German reunification.
4 October: U2 shoot the music video for "Night and Day" at director
Wim Wenders' home in Berlin.
December: U2 do several photo shoots with
Anton Corbijn around their hotel and at
Hansa Studios for the new album sleeve and publicity shots.
Christmas: In Dublin, the band get together to talk about the group's future after the difficulties of the Berlin sessions. They all agree to continue.
9 February: U2 arrive in
Tenerife for two weeks of photo and video shoots that the band hopes will change its image. The band dresses in masks and joins the crowds in the
Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it is during this time that the famous photos of U2 in drag are taken.
Easter: The Edge separates from his wife, Aislinn. The pain of the separation strongly influences the album material for which is being written.
17 March: U2 meet with Willie Williams to continue discussions on the band's next tour.
May: U2 sue the ''
Sunday Independent'' over an October 1990 article based on third-hand reports about U2 behaving badly in a Dublin restaurant. The matter is settled out of court including a printed apology from the paper which says the original article had "no foundation in fact".
mid-May: Island Records advertises that it will pursue legal action against anyone selling U2's bootlegged studio tapes. In late May, authorities trace the tapes' distribution to Germany and a factory is shut down.
July: U2, Anton Corbijn, and designer Steve Averill meet in
Morocco for a four-day photo shoot.
12 October: The new album’s first single, "
The Fly", is released. It becomes U2’s second #1 single in the UK.
19 November: U2 release ''Achtung Baby''.
25 November: "Mysterious Ways" is released as ''Achtung Baby''
's second single. The song reaches #9 on the
Hot 100, making it the band's fourth highest charting single.
15 January: The Edge inducts
The Yardbirds into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On stage he joins
Keith Richards,
Neil Young, and
Jimmy Page for a version of "
Big River".
29 February: The Zoo TV Tour begins in Lakeland, Florida.
March: The third single from ''Achtung Baby'', "One", is released. It reached #7 in the UK charts, #10 in the US charts, and #1 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks and the US Modern Rock Tracks charts.
5 March: U2 issue a statement denying newspaper reports that the words shown on video screens during performances of "The Fly" include "Bomb Japan Now" and that they have no wish to offend the people of Japan.
27 March: Bono orders 10,000 pizzas on stage for the audience at a concert in Detroit. The pizza supplier manages to deliver 100 pizzas.
7 May: The European leg of the Zoo TV tour opens in Paris.
31 May: Bono meets author
Salman Rushdie for the first time backstage after a show in London.
7 June: The fourth single from ''Achtung Baby'', "
Even Better Than the Real Thing" is released. It reaches number 32 in the US and number 12 in the UK. A remix version reaches number 8 in the UK.
29 June: Bono records a solo version of "
Can't Help Falling In Love''.
7 August: After three weeks of stage erection and a week of rehearsals, U2 provide a public rehearsal. Morleigh Steinberg makes her debut as the belly dancer in "Mysterious Ways".
12 August: The Outside Broadcast leg of the Zoo TV tour opens in New Jersey.
August: The fifth and final single from ''Achtung Baby'', "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses", is released.
28 August: During a New York interview with Rockline, US Presidential candidate Bill Clinton contacts U2 live on air.
20 January: Mullen and Clayton attend the inauguration of United States President
Bill Clinton in Washington. That evening, they perform with
R.E.M's
Michael Stipe and
Mike Mills in Washington for a performance of "One" at the
MTV 1993 Rock and Roll Inaugural Ball. They dub the one-off group, "
Automatic Baby", after merging the names of the bands' most recent albums ''
Automatic for the People'' and ''Achtung Baby''.
February: U2 start recording new material in Dublin.
23 February: Bono brings model
Naomi Campbell to a U2 organisation party to meet up with
Adam Clayton who has a crush on Campbell. They start dating over the following days.
24 February: ''Achtung Baby:'' wins "Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo" but loses "Album of the Year" to Eric Clapton's ''Unplugged''.
4 March: In ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's readers' poll U2 win Best Band, Artist of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Best Tour, Best Album, and Best Album Cover, and Best Single (for "One"). Bono is voted Best Male Singer, Best Songwriter and Sexiest Male Artist. Mullen is voted Best Drummer and Edge and Clayton are runners up in their respective categories. Critics are slightly less enthusiastic.
Late April: Having almost finished the ''
Zooropa'' album, U2 rehearse for the European concerts. The concert includes the premier of Bono's new alter-ego MacPhisto. Throughout the month of May, the band often fly back to Dublin following concerts to finalise mixing of the ''Zooropa'' album.
June: "
Numb" is released as the first single from the new album. It is released only on video.
5 July: U2 release ''Zooropa''.
14 July: At a concert in
Marseille, Bono's holds the first of a number of live on-stage interviews with documentary maker
Bill Carter who is in the besieged city of
Sarajevo.
11 August: Author
Salman Rushdie, the subject of a death Fatwa, joins U2 on stage in front of 70,000 people in Wembley Stadium.
28 August: On the final Zooropa concert in Dublin, Clayton's fiance, model
Naomi Campbell appears on stage.
September: "Lemon" is released as the second single from ''Zooropa''.
3 September: At the MTV awards in Los Angeles, The Edge makes his first ever solo appearance where he performs "Numb" in front of a miniature version of the Zoo TV set.
22 November: "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)" is released as ''Zooropa'''s third single.
26 November: Clayton doesn’t play the first of two concerts in Sydney. Bono tells the audience that he is suffering from a virus and his guitar technician Stuart Morgan fills in. It is the first time a member of U2 has missed a performance. It is later revealed that Clayton was too hung over to play.
10 December: U2 play the final gig of the Zoo TV tour at the Tokyo Dome. Sales were poor compared to previous U2 releases.
15 April: "Staring at the Sun" is released as ''Pop'''s second single.
25 April: The PopMart Tour commences in Las Vegas.
14 July: "Last Night on Earth" is released as the third single from ''Pop''.
8 September: The live EP ''PopHeart'' is released.
20 September: U2 plays a PopMart show at the Festival Site in Reggio Emilia, Italy to an estimated 150,000 people, making it the biggest concert on the entire PopMart Tour.
23 September: U2
play a concert in Sarajevo; they were the first major group to perform there following the
Bosnian War. Mullen described the concert as "an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and if I had to spend 20 years in the band just to play that show, and have done that, I think it would have been worthwhile."
20 October: "Please" is released as the fourth single from ''Pop''.
8 December: "If God Will Send His Angels" and "Mofo" are released as the fifth and final singles respectively.
21 March: The PopMart Tour concludes in Johannesburg, South Africa.
26 April: One month following the conclusion of the PopMart Tour, U2 appeared on the 200th episode of ''
The Simpsons'', "
Trash of the Titans", in which
Homer Simpson disrupted the band on stage during a PopMart concert.
19 October: "Sweetest Thing" is released as a single.
2 November: ''The Best of 1980-1990 B-Sides'' is released.
9 November: ''
The Best of 1980-1990'' is released.
22 November: The ''
PopMart: Live from Mexico City'' video is released.
20 November: U2 appear on the ''
Late Late Show'' in Dublin for the
Omagh Tribute.
23 December: Larry Mullen Jr and partner Ann Acheson have a baby girl whom they name Ava after the actress Ava Gardner.
21 August: Bono and wife Ali have a baby boy who is named Elijah Bob Patricious Guggi Q.
9 October: "Beautiful Day" is released as a single, debuting at #1 in Australia, Canada, the UK, and #21 in the US.
30 October: ''
All That You Can't Leave Behind'' is released. For many of those not won over by the band's 1990s music, it was considered a return to grace; ''Rolling Stone'' called it U2's "third masterpiece" alongside ''The Joshua Tree'' and ''Achtung Baby''. The album debuted at number one in 22 countries.
22 February: The single "Beautiful Day" wins 3 Grammy Awards. U2 perform in a scaled-down setting, returning to arenas after nearly a decade of stadium productions. A heart-shaped stage and ramp permitted greater proximity to the audience.
29 February: "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" is released as the second single from ''All That You Can't Leave Behind''.
24 March: American Leg of the
Elevation Tour starts in Miami, Florida.
12 June: "Elevation" is released as the third single from the album.
7 July: European Leg of the Elevation Tour starts in Copenhagen, Denmark.
21 August: Bono's father, Brendan Robert 'Bob' Hewson, dies of cancer before U2's third performance at Earl's Court Arena in London, England. However, "the show goes on", with Aung San Suu Kyi appearing in a new video before "Bullet the Blue Sky".
25 August: U2 play two sold out concerts at Slane Castle.
10 October: U2 commence the 2nd American leg of the Elevation Tour. Following the
September 11 attacks, the new album gained added resonance, and from 24 --27 October, U2 performed at
Madison Square Garden in New York City.
19 November: "Walk On" is released as ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'''s fourth and final single. The song is written about and dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi.
3 February: U2 perform during halftime of
Super Bowl XXXVI, which
SI.com ranked as the best halftime show in Super Bowl history.
March: U2 wins 4 Grammy awards for ''All That You Can't Leave Behind''.
13 March: Bono meets President Bush at the White House as the U.S. pledges development boost.
May: Bono tours 4 African countries with the U.S. Treasury Secretary,
Paul O'Neill.
September: Bono appears on ''
The Oprah Winfrey Show'' and urges Oprah's audience to take action in the fight against AIDS in Africa.
21 October: "Electrical Storm" is released as a single.
12 November: ''The Best of 1990–2000'' is released.
December: Bono and
DATA begin the Heart of America tour.
8 February: The exhibit "In the Name of Love: Two Decades of U2" opens at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.
February: Bono receives the '
Knight of the Legion of Honour' medal from French President
Jacques Chirac.
March: U2 performs "
The Hands That Built America" live at the Academy Awards.
April: Bono is on the cover of ''Time Magazine'' as one of a group of great European Heroes.
Mid: U2 play live at the 11th Special Olympics World Summer Games; Nelson Mandela joins them on stage.
January: The single "Take Me to the Clouds Above", a house-pop collaboration by LMC vs U2, is released.
16 September: Bono is nominated a third time for the Nobel Peace Prize.
8 November: The new album's first single, "Vertigo", is released. It reaches number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, number 1 on the Billboard charts, and number 5 on the Australian charts.
23 November: ''
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' is released. The album debuted at number one in the U.S. where first week sales doubled that of ''All That You Can't Leave Behind'' and set a record for the band. The same day, ''
The Complete U2'' digital
box set is released by
Apple Computer on the
iTunes Store. It is the first major release of a purely-digital online set by any artist. It contains the complete set of U2 albums and singles, and also contains live, rare and previously unreleased material from 1978 to 2004, with a total of 446 songs. The release accompanies a U2 Special Edition iPod.
2005: ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' and its singles won Grammy Awards in all eight categories in which U2 were nominated.
7 February: "All Because of You" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" are released as the second and third singles from the album in North America and Europe respectively.
March: In 2005,
Bruce Springsteen inducted U2 into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
28 March: The Vertigo Tour tour commences in the US city of San Diego.
27 April: U2 shoot a video for "City of Blinding Lights" at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. Members of the public are invited into the venue as an audience backdrop.
9 - 10 May: Two concerts in Chicago, Illinois are filmed for a video release of the tour.
6 June: "City of Blinding Lights" is released as the fourth single from ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb''.
10 June: The European leg of the Vertigo Tour commences in Brussels.
2 July: U2 perform at
Live 8, opening the show. The band plays "
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with
Paul McCartney, "Beautiful Day", "Vertigo", and "One". The performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is released as a digital-single during the day and sets a world record as the fastest-selling online song.
20 - 21 July: Two concerts in Milan, Italy are filmed. Ten tracks would later be included on the bonus DVD for ''U218 Singles''.
12 September: A second North American leg of the Vertigo Tour commences in
Toronto,
Ontario.
10 October: "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" and "All Because of You" are released as the fourth single from ''How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb'' in North America and Europe respectively, switching territories from their earlier releases.
November: "Original of the Species" is released as the album's fifth and final single in a digital-only format.
14 November: ''Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago'' is released on DVD.
12 February: An eight-date Latin American leg of the Vertigo tour commences in Mexico.
March: U2 arrive in Australia to prepare for the Australian leg of the Vertigo Tour. The tour, however, is postponed until further notice due to a band family member’s illness.
3 April: A duet of "One" with Mary J. Blige is released as a single.
Mid-2006: The band begin work on material for a new album writing and recording with producer Rick Rubin; the material is later shelved.
August: The band incorporates its publishing business in The Netherlands following the capping of Irish artists' tax exemption at €250,000. The move was criticised in the
Irish parliament.
25 September: U2 play with Green Day to open an NFL game in the Louisiana Superdome. It is the first game in the stadium following the heavy damage it sustained from Hurricane Katrina. They play a four song set of "Wake Me Up When September Ends", "House of the Rising Sun", "The Saints Are Coming", and "Beautiful Day".
31 October: A studio cover with Green Day of The Skids' song "The Saints Are Coming" is released as a single for the charity Music Rising.
7 November: The 13 postponed dates in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and Hawaii commence in Brisbane.
17 November: ''U218 Singles'' and ''U218 Videos'' are released. The bonus DVD on ''U218 Singles'' includes ten tracks taken from the 2005 concerts in Milan.
1 January: The "Window in the Skies" single is released.
June: The band continue writing and recording for the album, this time with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno as co-writers and producers. A two-week trip to Fez, Morocco where the six recorded led to the band experimenting with North African influences.
20 November: ''The Joshua Tree'' is re-released as a 20th anniversary triple album.
23 January: A 3-D concert film, ''U2 3D'', filmed at nine concerts during the Latin America leg of the Vertigo Tour is released at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
19 February: The single "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" - a collaboration between U2, The Dubliners, Kíla, and "A Band of Bowsies" - is released. All proceeds went towards the Irish Cancer Society; the song is an homage to Ronnie Drew, who was dying of cancer at the time.
31 March: U2 sign a 12 year deal with
Live Nation worth an estimated $100 million (£50 million), which includes Live Nation controlling the band's merchandise, sponsoring, and their official website.
Mid-2008: ''Boy'', ''October'', ''War'', and ''Under a Blood Red Sky'' are remastered and released. Three different formats of each were made available, featuring remastered tracks, B-sides, live, and unreleased songs.
December: The band completed ''No Line on the Horizon'' in December 2008,
23 January: "Get on Your Boots" is released as the first single from the new album.
27 February: U2's twelfth studio album, ''
No Line on the Horizon'', is released.
4 May: "Magnificent" is released as the second single from the album.
30 June: The
U2 360° Tour begins on 30 June 2009 in Europe. The shows feature a 360-degree staging/audience configuration, in which the fans surround the stage from all sides.
17 August: "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is released as third single from ''No Line on the Horizon''.
25 October: YouTube broadcast their concert at the
Rose Bowl Stadium. With a sellout crowd of 97,014, it is the highest attendance on record for one U.S. show by a single headliner based on box office totals reported to Billboard. The previous record had been set by U2 in 1987.
27 October: A 25th Anniversary remastered edition of ''
The Unforgettable Fire'' is released by
Mercury Records.
28 October: U2 finish the 2009 legs of the U2 360° Tour in Vancouver.
30 October: U2 headline the second of two consecutive concerts at
Madison Square Gardens to celebrate the 25 anniversary of the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
5 November: U2 are invited by Berlin Lord Mayor to play a concert at the
Brandenburg Gate to commemorate the fall of the
Berlin Wall. They play a six-song set to 10,000 fans.
21 May: Bono has emergency surgery on a back injury during tour preparations, and the band postpones the North American leg of the U2 360° Tour and their appearance at the Glastonbury Festival.
26 June: The Edge makes a special guest appearance with Muse at Glastonbury to perform "Where the Streets Have No Name".
13 July: U2 announce the rescheduled dates for the postponed North American leg of the U2 360° tour.
6 August: The second European leg of the U2 360° Tour starts on 6 August 2010 in Turin. It marks their first performance since Bono recovered from his back injury.
25 November: U2 begin their Australasian leg of the 360° tour in Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland.
31 January: Announces last date on the their U2 360° tour to be in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada. Their first date ever in Atlantic Canada.
24 June: Headline the first night of the Glastonbury Festival.
30 July: Last concert of the 360° tour held in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.
8 September: World premiere of U2 Documentary, "From the Sky Down", Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
McCormick, Neil (ed), (2006). ''U2 by U2''. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0-00-719668-7
de la Parra, Pimm Jal (2003). ''U2 Live: A Concert Documentary''. Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-7119-9198-7
Category:U2
Category:Timelines of music
