| Song Name - | "Pride (in the Name of Love)" |
| Artist - | U2 |
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Though U2 is often described as post-punk band, they actually formed in 1976, before punk had arrived in their native Dublin; in fact, the band's members didn't experience punk rock until Larry Mullen visited London in the summer 1977 and returned with records by the Clash, the Jam, and the Ramones. However, U2 were also influenced by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and David Bowie, artists drenched in American soul and rhythm and blues. Bono and the Edge started U2 for pragmatic reasons: to express themselves artistically and to get girls. Their career looked like it would take off in 1978 when the band won a talent contest sponsored by Guinness and their first single, "U2:3" topped the charts in Ireland. However, it was several years before they landed a contract with Island Records and released their first album, Boy. Boy and the follow-up, October, sold respectably well, but the single, "New Year's Day," from their third album, War, was U2's first legitimate hit, reaching the #10 spot on the British charts and almost cracking the top fifty in the United States. Early on U2 was tagged as a Christian rock band, a label at that time applied to bands whose members were known to be religious and avoided lyrics about sex and drugs. U2's lyrics rarely espouse Christian doctrine directly-October and The Joshua Tree are their most explicit statements-but their songs often explore spiritual subjects, and Bono frequently incorporates Christian symbolism into his work. The band received more attention for its political stance, which was unprecedented for mainstream Irish bands. Bono was a fan of John Lennon (particularly the song "Imagine") and Bob Dylan, and he believed music was best when it was provocative. "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" referenced "the troubles" in Northern Ireland, though Bono introduced song in concert as "NOT a rebel song!" and wrapped himself in a white flag while he sang it. "Sunday, Bloody Sunday" gave U2 a reputation as socially conscious band. In the early 1980s, a reporter from Rolling Stone gave Bono a book on Martin Luther King, which shaped his ideas about intersection of faith, politics, social justice, and non-violence, and prompted him to write "Pride (in the Name of Love)." This was reinforced by 1984's The Unforgettable Fire which was named for a series of paintings by survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; the band's appearance at the Live Aid concert; and Bono's commitment to relieving hunger in Africa. The documentary Rattle and Hum (1988) was an effort to justify their reputation as the biggest band in rock and roll thatirritated critics, who regarded the film as pretentious and egotistical. Their next album, 1991's Achtung Baby, took the band in a more pop-oriented direction; Bono once described it as "the sound of four people chopping down The Joshua Tree." |
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"I Will Follow"
