About the band: U2 are an Irish rock band, formed in 1976. They have released 14 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold an estimated 150–170 million records worldwide. U2 currently have three songs in my list of 200 best pop/rock songs of all time (and one under the name Passengers).
About the song: it is difficult to imagine that there was a time when U2 were struggling for success, but they actually had to wait for their fourth album to make it big. Their first album (Boy) was a good collection of straightforward rock songs, but it gave no indication yet of things to come. The second album (October) was a bit mixed, with some questionable tracks, and some great songs, in particular the title song. Their third album (War) from 1983 was their artistic breakthrough, helped to a large extent by the success of the single New year's day, for me the best U2 song of all time. It is one of a number of classics in this list inspired by the continued violence in Northern Ireland. Run time 4:18.
