In 1975, four teenagers from Mount Temple School in Dublin
gathered in a crowded kitchen to discuss forming a band. The drum
kit just about fit into the room, the lead guitarist was playing a
homemade guitar, the bassist could barely play at all and nobody
wanted to sing. Over thirty years later, Bono, The Edge, Adam
Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr are still together, bound by intense
loyalty, passionate idealism and a relentless belief in the power
of rock and roll to change the world.
In a epic journey that has taken them from the clubs of Dublin
to the stadiums of the world, U2 have sold over 130 million albums,
been number one all over the world, revolutionized live
performance, 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 with the epic rock of 'The
Joshua Tree', the dark post-modern ironies of 'Achtung Baby' in 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.
Told with wit, insight and astonishing candour by the band
themselves and manager Paul McGuinness, with pictures from their
own archives, 'U2 by U2' allows unprecedented access into the inner
life of the greatest rock band of our times.