The band

U2 is an Irish rock band from Dublin, formed in 1976. The group consists of Bono (lead vocals and rhythm guitar), the Edge (lead guitar, keyboards, and backing vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion).

My album

Achtung baby (1991). Stung by criticism of their 1988 release Rattle and Hum, U2 shifted their musical direction to incorporate influences from alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music into their sound.

My song

• Where the streets have no name (Joshua Tree, 1987). Why? Because of The Edge's immediatly recognizable guitar riff. The song was performed on a Los Angeles rooftop for the filming of its music video. Watch it here.

Did you know?

In 1976, Larry Mullen Jr., then a 14-year-old student, posted a note on the school's notice board in search of musicians for a new band. Six people responded and met at his house on 25 September. Set up in the kitchen, Mullen was on drums, with Paul Hewson (Bono) on lead vocals, David Evans (the Edge) and his older brother Dik Evans on guitar, Adam Clayton, a friend of the Evans brothers, on bass guitar and Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, two other friends of Mullen.