This is a timeline of the history of rock band U2:
NotesReferences
Pre-1976
13 March 1960: Adam Clayton is born in Chinnor, Oxfordshire. 10 May 1960: Paul David Hewson (Bono) is born in Dublin. 8 August 1961: David Howell Evans (The Edge) is born in Essex. 31 October 1961: Larry Mullen Jr. is born in Artane, Dublin. 10 September 1974: Bono's mother, Iris Hewson, dies of a brain aneurysm in Dublin four days after collapsing at her father's funeral.Stokes (1996), p. 140. Autumn: Paul Hewson and his neighbourhood friends form the "Lypton Village," in which they create their own language, dress differently, and put on art installations. The group nicknames Hewson Bono after a Dublin hearing aid store.McGee (2008), p. 9
1976 25 September: The band that will become U2 forms in Dublin after Mullen posts a notice seeking musicians for a new band on the Mount Temple Comprehensive School notice board. Attending the first practice are Mullen (playing drums), The Edge and his older brother Dik Evans (playing guitar), the Evans brothers' friend Adam Clayton (playing bass guitar), Bono (performing lead vocals), and Mullen's friends Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin.Chatterton (2001), p. 130 September: The band name themselves "Feedback" because it was one of the few technical terms they knew.McCormick (2006), p. 30 Autumn: Martin leaves the band after the first practice, and McCormick leaves within a few weeks. Late 1976: Feedback give their first public performance at a talent contest held in the school canteen.Parra (1996), p. 6.
1977 April: Feedback play their first gig for a paying audience at St. Fintan's High School.McGee (2008), pp.11-12 April: Feedback change their name to "The Hype".
1978 February: The Hype record a performance of "The Fool" for the RTÉ programme, Our Times. March: The Our Times performance airs, marking the band's first television appearance.McGee (2008), p. 14 4 March: The band played their last concert as The Hype at Presbyterian Hall in Sutton. During the performance, Dik Evans ceremonially leaves the stage, and the remaining four members play a set as "U2".McCormick (2006), pp. 46–48 18 March: As a four-piece playing under the name "U2", the band win a talent show in Limerick, Ireland. The prize is £500 and studio time to record a demo for CBS Ireland. 28 April: Bill Graham publishes his first interview with U2 in Hot Press. April: U2 record their first demo tape at Keystone Studios, Dublin.Wall, Mick, (2005). Bono. Andre Deutsch Publishers. (Promotional edition published by Paperview UK is association with the Irish Independent), p. 45
25 May 1978: Paul McGuinness agrees to become U2's manager.Stokes (1996), p. 140; McCormick (2006), pp. 53–56 9 September 1978: U2 play in support of The Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom, their biggest gig to date. They are paid £50. November 1978: Mullen's mother, Maureen Mullen, is killed in a car accident. December 1978: U2 play in support of The Greedy Bastards, a band made up of members of Sex Pistols, Thin Lizzy, and Boomtown Rats, at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin.Stokes (1996), p. 140.
1979 February: Using borrowed money, Bono travels to London to plug U2 at the offices of record companies and music magazines. May: U2 play the first of six-afternoon concerts at the Dandelion Market in Dublin. Organised for young people prohibited from the venues U2 normally play, the concerts greatly expand their Dublin audience.de la Parra (1994), p. 8; Stokes (1996), p. 140. September: U2's first release, an Ireland-only EP entitled Three, becomes the band's first Irish chart success.de la Parra (1994), p. 8 5 October: U2 play their first television performance on RTÉ at a televised concert at the Cork Opera House. 26 October: U2 are featured on the cover of Hot Press magazine. 1 November: U2 receive their first cover story outside Ireland in British magazine Record Mirror. 1 December: With £3,000 borrowed from family and friends, U2 begin a two-week tour of London clubs, their first shows outside Ireland.; Stokes (1996), p. 140.
1980
15 January: U2 perform "Stories for Boys" live on The Late Late Show. 26 February: U2's second single, "Another Day", is released on the CBS label for the Irish market only.Stokes (1996), p. 142; McCormick (2006), p. 88 19 March: U2 share the bill with Berlin and The Virgin Prunes at the Sense of Ireland festival. Record company executives are present. 23 March: U2 sign an international deal with Island Records. March – September: The band record their first album at Windmill Lane Studios. 23 May: "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" is released in Ireland, and as the band's first internationally released single, in the UK.Stokes (1996), p. 142 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. August: "A Day Without Me" is released as a single. 6 September – 4 December: The band play a 57-date tour of Europe.Parra (1996), pp. 15–17. 27 September: U2 support Echo and the Bunnymen in London's Lyceum Ballroom. October: "I Will Follow" is released as a single and peaks at number 20 on the Mainstream Rock charts. 14 October: The band play to a small audience in KRO Studios in Hilversum, The Netherlands. The show is broadcast the following day to coincide with the following day's first mainland European concert. 15 October: U2 play their first continental Europe gig at Melkweg ("The Milkyway") in Amsterdam. 19 October: U2 play the Lyceum Ballroom, opening for Slade with the hardcore punk fame Discharge and Last Words. 20 October: The band's debut album, Boy, is released in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It peaks at No. 52 on the British charts. 6 December: U2 play their first American concert at The Ritz in New York City as part of a 14-date tour.Parra (1996), p. 17. 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.
1981 24 January – 28 February: U2 play dates in the United Kingdom and play their first tour of continental Europe.de la Parra (2003), pp. 18–19 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.Parra (1996), pp.19–24. 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 an incomplete version of "Twilight" during the credits July: The single "Fire" is released. July – August: The band record their second album at Windmill Lane Studios, in Dublin. The sessions are complicated after the briefcase containing Bono's lyrics was lost earlier in the year during a show in Portland, Oregon. 5 October: "Gloria" is released as a single and makes the UK charts.Parra (1996), p. 25. 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.
1982 March: The single "A Celebration" is released. 18 July: U2 support Rory Gallagher at Punchestown Racecourse festival where acts such as Simple Minds and Phil Lynott were also on the bill. 31 August: Bono marries high school sweetheart, Alison Stewart, in Raheny, Dublin. They honeymoon in Jamaica where Bono reportedly works on the lyrics for the new album. 1 December: The pre-War Tour begins in Glasgow, Scotland.
1983 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."New Year's Day" reached number ten on the UK charts, and received extensive radio coverage in the US, almost breaking that country's Top 50. (McCormick (2006), p. 139); 29 January: The band hire Willie Williams to be part of the design team of the forthcoming tour, beginning a creative relationship that lasts more than forty years. 28 February: The band release their third album War.Stokes (1996), p. 36 which debuts at number one in the UK. 11 March: The single "Two Hearts Beat as One" is releasedStokes (1996), p. 142. 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. 30 May: US Festival at Glen Helen Regional Park, San Bernardino, CA, USA 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, debuting 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 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 hired Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois as producers. 6 June – 7 August: U2 complete work on their fourth album at Windmill Lane Studios.McGee (2008), p. 75 4 July: The Edge's wife Aislinn gives birth to their first child, Hollie. 1 August: U2 establish Mother Records. 29 August: The band's first tour of Australia and New Zealand begins in Christchurch. Dubbed, "Under Australian Skies Tour", it comprises 15 concerts with Australian band Matt Finish and a largely War Tour setlist is played. September: "Pride (In the Name of Love)" is released as the album's first single and becomes the band's biggest hit to that point, including being their first to enter the U.S. top 40.Graham, (2004), pp. 23–24 1 October: U2's fourth album, The Unforgettable Fire, is released.Parra, Pimm Jal de la U2 Live: A Concert Documentary, pp. 52–55, 1996, Harper Collins Publishers, October – November: The Unforgettable Fire Tour plays 21 shows in halls and arenas in Western Europe.Parra (1994), pp. 55–58 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.Parra (1994), pp. 58–60.
1985 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".Peake, Steve. U2, the Only Band that Mattered in the '80s? about.com. Retrieved 31 January 2007. 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.Parra (1994), pp. 60–62. 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 No. 6 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 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: U2 play a homecoming concert at Dublin's Croke Park, their first headlining show in a stadium.Parra (1996), pp. 71–72.