September 1974: Bono's mother Iris Hewson dies of a brain aneurysm in Dublin four days after collapsing at her father's funeral.[5]
Autumn: Paul Hewson and his neighbourhood friends form the "Lypton Village" in which they made their own language, dressed differently, and put on art installation. The group gives Paul the nickname Bono after a Dublin hearing aid store.[6]
25 September 1976: The band forms in Dublin after Mullen posts a notice on the Mount Temple Comprehensive School notice board in search of musicians for a new band. Mullen was on drums, Bono on lead vocals, The Edge and his older brother Dik on guitar, Adam Clayton, a friend of the Evans brothers on bass guitar, and initially Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin, two other friends of Mullen.[7] Martin did not return after the first practice, and McCormick left the group within a few weeks.
September 1976: The group settle on the name "Feedback", because it was one of the few technical terms they knew.[8]
late 1976: The band play their first performance at a talent contest in the school canteen.[9]
February/March 1978: The band records a performance of their song "The Fool" in February for the RTÉ programme, Our Times. It airs in March and is the band's first television appearance.[10]
16 March 1978: The band win a talent show in Limerick, Ireland, the prize of which is £500 and studio time to record a demo for CBS Ireland.[11]
20 March 1978: The band plays their last concert as The Hype. Dik leaves the stage and the remaining four continue to play but as "U2".[11]
9 September 1978: U2 support The Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom. Their biggest gig so far, they are paid £50.[5]
November 1978: Mullen's mother, Maureen Mullen, is killed in a car accident.[5]
December 1978: U2 play support to The Greedy Bastards, a band made up of Sex Pistols, Thin Lizzy and Boomtown Rats members, at the Stardust nightclub in Dublin.[5]
February 1979: Using borrowed money, Bono travels to London to plug U2 at the offices of record companies and music magazines.[5]
May 1979: U2 play the first of six afternoon concerts at the Dandelion Market in Dublin. Organised for young people otherwise prohibited from the venues U2 play, the concerts greatly expand their Dublin audience.[15]
September 1979: U2's first release, an Ireland-only EP entitled Three, becomes the band's first Irish chart success.[16]
5 October 1979: U2 play their first television performance on RTÉ at a televised concert in the Cork Opera House.[5]
26 October 1979: U2 are featured on the cover of Hot Press magazine.[5]
1 November 1979: U2 receive their first cover story outside Ireland in British magazine Record Mirror.[5]
1 December 1979: With ₤3,000 borrowed from family and friends, U2 begin a two-week tour of London clubs, their first shows outside Ireland.[17]
26 February: Their second single "Another Day" is released on the CBS label for the Irish market only.[18]
19 March: U2 share the bill with Berlin and The Virgin Prunes at the Sense of Ireland festival. Record company executives are present, and four days later U2 sign an international deal with Island Records.[5]
23 May: "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" is released in Ireland, and as the band's first internationally released single, in the UK.[19]
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.[5]
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.[5]
15 October: U2 play their first continental Europe gig at Melkweg ("The Milkyway") in Amsterdam.[5]
20 October: The band's debut album, Boy, is released in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It peaks at No. 52 in British charts.[5]
6 December: U2 play their first American concert at The Ritz in New York City as part of a 14-date tour.[23]
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.[5]
1981
24 January – 28 February: U2 play dates in the United Kingdom and play their first tour of continental Europe.[24]
3 March:Boy is released in the United States.[citation needed]
3 March – 31 May: U2 commence their first major tour of the United States playing almost 60 dates across the country largely in clubs.[25]
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 – 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.[26] 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.[27] 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.[28] The album received mixed reviews and limited radio play. It enters the UK charts at number 11.[26]
21 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.[29]
29 August: The band’s first tour of Australia and New Zealand begins in Christchurch. Dubbed, "Under Australian Skies Tour",[39] it comprises 15 concerts with Australian band Matt Finish and a largely War Tour setlist is played.[39]
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.[40]
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.[42]
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".[43]
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.[44]
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.
Late May – mid July: U2 play nine concerts in the European festival season.
29 June: They play a home-coming concert at Dublin's Croke Park, their first headlining show in a stadium.[45]
13 July: U2 play Live Aid for Ethiopian famine relief at Wembley Stadium.[46] The band's performance, which included a 14-minute version of "Bad", is a pivotal point for the band's career,[47] showing a television audience of millions the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences.[48]
September: Bono and wife, Ali, volunteer as relief workers for World Vision in Ethiopia.[49]
15 October: The Edge and wife Aislinn's second child, Arran, is born.[50]
1986
30 January: Bono and Mullen are interviewed for half an hour on Irish TV show, TV Gaga, before the band play a song called "Womanfish", a rough early version of "Trip Through Your Wires", and a cover of "Knocking on Heaven's Door".[51]
February: The debut issue of Propaganda, U2's new fanclub magazine, is published.[52]
27 February: U2 are among the readers’ choice for in Rolling Stone's Music Awards, for Band of the Year. Best Songwriter was Bono, Best Live Performance was U2. In the Critics' Picks, the Band of the Year was U2.[citation needed]
17 May: U2 play the Self Aid festival in Dublin. The event is organised to create jobs and raise money during Ireland's unemployment crisis.[51]
4–15 June: U2 interrupt writing for their album to serve as a headline act on Amnesty International's A Conspiracy of Hope tour. Rather than distract, the tour adds extra intensity and power to their new music.[53]
3 July: U2 crew member Greg Carroll is killed in a motorcycle accident in Dublin.
10 July: Band members perform at Carroll's burial Kai-iwi Marae in New Zealand.
mid-July: Bono and wife Ali travel to Nicaragua on a visit organised by Central American Mission Partners (CAMP), which is dedicated to human rights and economic development in Latin America. They visit Ernesto Cardenal of the Sandinista government and musician Carlos Mejía Godoy.[54]
19 July: The group listens to President Daniel Ortega speak on the country's Revolution Day.[54]
20 July: Bono is moved by churchgoers calling out the names of loved ones who have died fighting the contras.[54]
late July: Bono and Ali's group flies to Nicaragua for 4 to 5 days. They meet the group COMADRES – the Mothers of the Disappeared – a group of women whose children have been killed or disappeared at the hands of the government.[54] As the group walks through a remote rural area north of San Salvador, government troops shoot in their direction scaring the group.[54]
1 August: The band recommence recording sessions at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. Bono's first-hand experience of the conflicts in Central America become a central influence on songs such as "Bullet The Blue Sky" and "Mothers of the Disappeared". Motivated by friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Keith Richards, the band looked back to the roots of rock music, and Bono focused on his skills as a song and lyric writer.[55]
October: U2 see blues legend B.B. King play in Dublin and they meet him backstage.[54] The band and King later record the song "When Love Comes to Town".
November: Recording sessions for the new album finish.[citation needed]
14–16 December: U2 travel around the Californian desert with photographer Anton Corbijn and designer Steve Averill shooting pictures in the desert landscape for the new album's cover.[54] On the evening after the first day's shooting, Corbijn tells the band about Joshua Trees and suggests their use on the sleeve. The following day they find an unusual lone-standing tree, images of which are used for the album sleeve and the album is named The Joshua Tree.[56]
late December: U2 call in Steve Lillywhite to remix a few of the new songs which he works on into the new year.[54]
1987
January: U2 complete B-side recordings for the album's single releases including the tracks "Walk To The Water", "Luminous Times", and "Spanish Eyes".[57]
February: U2 shoot a video for "Red Hill Mining Town",[58] which was intended to be one of the album's singles but it was not released. A video is also shot for "With or Without You" in Dublin.[58]
21 March: "With or Without You" is released and becomes the band's first number one single in the United States.[59]
27 March: U2 perform on the roof of a shop in downtown Los Angeles and film the video for "Where the Streets Have No Name".[60]
30 March: In rehearsals for The Joshua Tree Tour, Bono falls backwards off the stage and his chin is gashed. He still carries the scar.[60]The Joshua Tree enters the Billboard charts at number 7.[61]
2 April: U2 open The Joshua Tree Tour in the Arizona city of Tempe. The hot dry desert air has affected Bono's voice, and he is barely able to sing in front of the world's music press on opening night. Concert promoter, Barry Fey, reads out a statement on behalf of the band denouncing Arizona Governor, Evan Mecham's intention to abolish the Martin Luther King Day holiday in that State.[60]
7 April:The Joshua Tree reaches number 1 on the Billboard, where it remains for nine weeks.[61]
27 May: U2 begin the European leg of the Joshua Tree Tour at the Stadio Flaminio in Rome. Most of the leg's 31 shows are in outdoor stadiums.[66]
2 June: After listening to Roy Orbison's "In Dreams" the night before, Bono starts writing a song for Orbison. After that night's show at Wembley Arena, Orbison makes a surprise visit to the band backstage whereupon Bono plays the song, "She's a Mystery to Me" for him.
4 July: The show at the Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris is filmed for Island Records' 25th birthday celebrations. A canister of tear gas is set off in the crowd causing mild panic and the band interrupt their performance of "With or Without You".[67]
August: U2 find out that Island Records is in financial difficulties and cannot pay them $5 million in The Joshua Tree royalties. U2 reinvest the unpaid amount into the company in return for an estimated 10% stake in the company.[68]
26 September: U2 rehearse "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" with the New Voices of Freedom in a Harlem church, footage of which later appears in the movie Rattle and Hum.[69]
October:Eamon Dunphy's official biography of the band, Unforgettable Fire: The Definitive Biography of U2 is published.[70]
November: "In God's Country" is released as a single in Canada and the US. Import sales are so strong that it charts in the UK.
1 November:The Dalton Brothers make the first of three appearances on The Joshua Tree Tour as support act for U2. A country and western four-piece that plays two songs, they are actually U2 in western disguise and all but the front few rows of the audience fail to recognise them.[71]
8 November: U2 play the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver. The same day, an IRA bomb had killed eleven people at a Remembrance Day ceremony in the Northern Irish town of Enniskillen. During the performance of "Sunday Bloody Sunday", Bono condemned the violence and his "Fuck the revolution!" remark earns him the ire of the IRA. This performance and six other songs from the concert are later used in the Rattle and Hum film.
11 November: U2 play an impromptu "Save the Yuppie" concert in Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco as a mock benefit following the October 1987 stock market crash. A cover version of Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower" is captured for Rattle and Hum. During a performance of "Pride", Bono spray-painted "Rock and Roll Stops the Traffic" on the Vaillancourt Fountain. The city issues a warrant for Bono's arrest and Bono writes a letter of apology.[72]
29 November: U2 visit Graceland and footage from the visit is later included in the Rattle and Hum movie.[73]
19–20 December: The final two shows of The Joshua Tree Tour are played in the Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona. 5 songs are later used in Rattle and Hum.
1988
February: U2 move to Los Angeles to work with Phil Joanou on the Rattle and Hum documentary. While in LA, they also record new songs at A&M Studios and STS Studios.[74]
March: "One Tree Hill" is released as a single exclusively in New Zealand.
2 March: At the Grammy Awards, U2 win "Best Vocal of the Year" for "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" and "Album of the Year" for The Joshua Tree.[74]
May: U2 record additional material for the movie at Dublin's Point Depot. Footage of performances of "Van Diemen's Land" and "Desire" are later used in the movie.[74]
September: "Desire" is released as the new album's first single. It is the band's first number one single in the UK.
10 October: The part live, part studio, double album Rattle and Hum is released.
27 October: The Rattle and Hum film has its world premiere.
November: The Edge joins Bryan Ferry on-stage for a surprise appearance in the RDS in Dublin.
10 May: Bono and Ali's first child, Jordan, is born on Bono's 29th birthday.
13 June: "All I Want is You" is released as Rattle and Hum's fourth and final single. Its release in Australia is held off until October to coincide with the Lovetown Tour. It reaches number 1 on the Australian charts.
6 August: Clayton is arrested in Dublin on drug charges.
21 September: The Lovetown Tour starts in Australia.
30 December: On one of the final shows of the Lovetown Tour, Bono says onstage in Dublin that "this is just the end of something for U2" and that "we have to go away and … and dream it all up again".
"It's your future. The only limits are the limits of your imagination. Dream up the kind of world you want to live in. Dream out loud. At high volume.""
31 December: At midnight, U2 open their final of four Dublin shows with "Where The Streets Have No Name" as the audience counts down the last seconds of the 1980s. The show is played live on radio throughout Europe.[76]
1990
January: U2 begin its longest break to date, which includes a two-year break from public performance.[77]
18 February: U2 is named Best International Group at the Brit Awards.[78]
March: Bono writes two songs with the Neville Brothers called "Jah Love" and "Kingdom Come".[78]
April: Mullen writes the official anthem of Ireland's 1990 World Cup Soccer Team. It is released under a Mother Records subsidiary and reaches number one on the Irish Charts.[78]
June: U2 record "Night and Day" for the first of the Red Hot + Blue releases.[80] The song is recorded in Edge's basement and produced by Edge and Paul Barrett, according to the Red Hot + Blue album credits.
3 October: The band arrive in East Berlin to begin work on a new album. With producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, they are seeking inspiration and renewal on the eve of German reunification.[82]
4 October: U2 shoot the music video for "Night and Day" at director Wim Wenders' home in Berlin.[83]
December: U2 do several photo shoots with Anton Corbijn around their hotel and at Hansa Studios for the new album sleeve and publicity shots.[84]
Christmas: In Dublin, the band get together to talk about the group's future after the difficulties of the Berlin sessions. They all agree to continue.[84]
1991
January: The band return to Berlin to finalise some recording work.[85]
9 February: U2 arrive in Tenerife for two weeks of photo and video shoots that the band hopes will change its image. The band dresses in masks and joins the crowds in the Carnival of Santa Cruz de Tenerife and it is during this time that the famous photos of U2 in drag are taken.[85]
late February/March – July: Back in Dublin, U2 rent the Dalkey seaside manor, "Elsinore House", to continue work on the new album.[86]
Easter: The Edge separates from his wife, Aislinn. The pain of the separation strongly influences the album material for which is being written.[81][87][88]
17 March: U2 meet with Willie Williams to continue discussions on the band's next tour.[86]
April: Tapes from the album's earlier Berlin session's are leaked and bootlegged.[89]
May: U2 sue the Sunday Independent over an October 1990 article based on third-hand reports about U2 behaving badly in a Dublin restaurant. The matter is settled out of court including a printed apology from the paper which says the original article had "no foundation in fact".[90]
mid-May: Island Records advertises that it will pursue legal action against anyone selling U2's bootlegged studio tapes. In late May, authorities trace the tapes' distribution to Germany and a factory is shut down.[90]
June: Anton Corbijn is commissioned for another photo shoot, this time in Dublin, the results of which include the nude photo of Clayton that is used on the album sleeve.[90]
14 June: U2 meets with Willie Williams and Catherine Owens to discuss the next tour. New ideas include placing TV monitors all over the stage and using Trabants as overhead light sources.[91]
July: U2, Anton Corbijn, and designer Steve Averill meet in Morocco for a four-day photo shoot.[91]
7 July: Bono and Ali's second child, Eve, is born.[91]
20 August: Electronic band, Negativland, release a single called "U2" which includes an unauthorised sample of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For".[91]
5 September: Island Records obtain an injunction against the sale and promotion of Negativland's "U2" single.[91]
13 September: Parts of the video for the new album's first single, "The Fly" are shot in Dublin. The rest of the video is shot in London a few weeks later.[91]
21 September: Upon the deadline for completion of the new album, U2 stay up all night choosing mixes and the album's running order.[91]
22 September: The Edge takes the tapes of the new album to the United States for final mastering.[91]
12 October: The new album's first single, "The Fly", is released. It becomes U2's second No. 1 single in the UK.[93]
19 November: U2 release Achtung Baby.
25 November: "Mysterious Ways" is released as Achtung Baby's second single. The song reaches No. 9 on the Hot 100, making it the band's fourth highest charting single.[citation needed]
29 February: The Zoo TV Tour begins in Lakeland, Florida.
March: The third single from Achtung Baby, "One", is released. It reached No. 7 in the UK charts, No. 10 in the US charts, and No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks and the US Modern Rock Tracks charts.
5 March: U2 issue a statement denying newspaper reports that the words shown on video screens during performances of "The Fly" include "Bomb Japan Now" and that they have no wish to offend the people of Japan.[95]
27 March: Bono orders 10,000 pizzas on stage for the audience at a concert in Detroit. The pizza supplier manages to deliver 100 pizzas.[74]
7 May: The European leg of the Zoo TV tour opens in Paris.[74]
31 May: Bono meets author Salman Rushdie for the first time backstage after a show in London.[96]
7 June: The fourth single from Achtung Baby, "Even Better Than the Real Thing" is released. It reaches number 32 in the US and number 12 in the UK. A remix version reaches number 8 in the UK.[96]
19 June: U2 play the "Stop Sellafield" show in Manchester. They play alongside Kraftwerk, Public Enemy, and Big Audio Dynamite II in protest against the operation of a second nuclear reactor at Sellafield.[74] The following day, the band participate in a demonstration organised by Greenpeace whereby protesters land on the beach at Sellafield in rubber dinghies and display 700 placards for the waiting media.[97]
7 August: After three weeks of stage erection and a week of rehearsals, U2 provide a public rehearsal. Morleigh Steinberg makes her debut as the belly dancer in "Mysterious Ways".[71]
12 August: The Outside Broadcast leg of the Zoo TV tour opens in New Jersey.[citation needed]
28 August: During a New York interview with Rockline, US Presidential candidate Bill Clinton contacts U2 live on air.[74]
1993
20 January: Mullen and Clayton attend the inauguration of United States President Bill Clinton in Washington. That evening, they perform with R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe and Mike Mills in Washington for a performance of "One" at the MTV 1993 Rock and Roll Inaugural Ball. They dub the one-off group, "Automatic Baby", after merging the names of the bands' most recent albums Automatic for the People and Achtung Baby.[99]
February: U2 start recording new material in Dublin.[74]
23 February: Bono brings model Naomi Campbell to a U2 organisation party to meet up with Adam Clayton who has a crush on Campbell. They start dating over the following days.[100]
24 February:Achtung Baby: wins "Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Group or Duo" but loses "Album of the Year" to Eric Clapton's Unplugged.[100]
4 March: In Rolling Stone magazine's readers' poll U2 win Best Band, Artist of the Year, Comeback of the Year, Best Tour, Best Album, and Best Album Cover, and Best Single (for "One"). Bono is voted Best Male Singer, Best Songwriter and Sexiest Male Artist. Mullen is voted Best Drummer and Edge and Clayton are runners up in their respective categories. Critics are slightly less enthusiastic.[101]
Late April: Having almost finished the Zooropa album, U2 rehearse for the European concerts.[101]
9 May: Dubbed "Zooropa", the Zoo TV Tour recommences with a European stadium leg starting in Rotterdam. U2 play to 2,100,000 people over 43 shows.[102] The concert includes the premier of Bono's new alter-ego MacPhisto.[103] Throughout the month of May, the band often fly back to Dublin following concerts to finalise mixing of the Zooropa album.[104]
June: "Numb" is released as the first single from the new album. It is released only on video.[citation needed]
14 July: At a concert in Marseille, Bono's holds the first of a number of live on-stage interviews with documentary maker Bill Carter who is in the besieged city of Sarajevo.[105]
11 August: Author Salman Rushdie, the subject of a death Fatwa, joins U2 on stage in front of 70,000 people in Wembley Stadium.[74]
28 August: On the final Zooropa concert in Dublin, Clayton's fiancé, model Naomi Campbell appears on stage.[106]
September: "Lemon" is released as the second single from Zooropa.
3 September: At the MTV awards in Los Angeles, The Edge makes his first ever solo appearance where he performs "Numb" in front of a miniature version of the Zoo TV set.[106]
November: Bono records the vocal for his duet with Frank Sinatra on "I've Got You Under My Skin" in Dublin.[74]
12 November: U2 commence the "Zoomerang" leg of Zoo TV in Melbourne.[107]
26 November: Clayton doesn’t play the first of two concerts in Sydney. Bono tells the audience that he is suffering from a virus and his guitar technician Stuart Morgan fills in. It is the first time a member of U2 has missed a performance. It is later revealed that Clayton was too hung over to play.[107]
27 November: The second Sydney concert is filmed and shown around the world as a pay per view TV show. The video is released the following year in VHS.[107]
10 December: U2 play the final gig of the Zoo TV tour at the Tokyo Dome.[107]
1994
February: U2 issue a writ challenging the Performing Rights Society on their exclusive rights to collect songwriting royalties for song performances.[74]
March:Zooropa wins "Best Alternative Album" award at the Grammy's.[citation needed]
"It was my idea to relocate to New York for the year off and start a new life as non-drinker, which is commonly known as 'doing the geographic'. It was surprisingly easy to stop but it was difficult to stay stopped."
7 November: The Passengers album Original Soundtracks 1 is released worldwide. "Miss Sarajevo" featuring Luciano Pavarotti was the only single from the release. On the same day, Tina Turner releases "Goldeneye", the theme for the new James Bond film of the same name, written by Bono and the Edge-on Capitol Records.[74]
1996
January: U2 begin working on a new album in Dublin.[74]
April: The band move to Miami for further work on the album.[74]
1 May: Clayton and Mullen release their version of the Mission: Impossible theme track. It enters the charts in the Top 10 in the US, the UK, and other countries.[74]
11 May: Hot Press journalist Bill Graham dies at his home in Howth. The band fly back to Dublin from America to attend the funeral.[74]
1997
3 February: "Discothèque" is released as the new album's first single.
4 March: U2 release Pop. The album debuts at number one in 35 countries and drew mainly positive reviews.[108][109] Sales were poor compared to previous U2 releases.[110]
20 September: U2 plays a PopMart show at the Festival Site in Reggio Emilia, Italy to an estimated 150,000 people, making it the biggest concert on the entire PopMart Tour.
23 September: U2 play a concert in Sarajevo; they were the first major group to perform there following the Bosnian War.[111] Mullen described the concert as "an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life, and if I had to spend 20 years in the band just to play that show, and have done that, I think it would have been worthwhile."[112]
20 October: "Please" is released as the fourth single from Pop.
21 March: The PopMart Tour concludes in Johannesburg, South Africa.
26 April: One month following the conclusion of the PopMart Tour, U2 appeared on the 200th episode of The Simpsons, "Trash of the Titans", in which Homer Simpson disrupted the band on stage during a PopMart concert.[113]
23 December: Larry Mullen Jr and partner Ann Acheson have a baby girl whom they name Ava after the actress Ava Gardner.
1999
17 August: Bono and wife Ali have a baby boy who is named Elijah Bob Patricious Guggi Q.
2000
9 October: "Beautiful Day" is released as a single, debuting at No. 1 in Australia, Canada, the UK, and No. 21 in the US.
30 October:All That You Can't Leave Behind is released. For many of those not won over by the band's 1990s music, it was considered a return to grace;[114]Rolling Stone called it U2's "third masterpiece" alongside The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.[115] The album debuted at number one in 22 countries.[116]
2001
22 February: The single "Beautiful Day" wins 3 Grammy Awards. [citation needed] U2 perform in a scaled-down setting, returning to arenas after nearly a decade of stadium productions. A heart-shaped stage and ramp permitted greater proximity to the audience.
20 May: Bono and Ali had their fourth child, a son, named John Abraham.[29]
12 June: "Elevation" is released as the third single from the album.
7 July: European Leg of the Elevation Tour starts in Copenhagen, Denmark.[citation needed]
21 August: Bono's father, Brendan Robert 'Bob' Hewson, dies of cancer before U2's third performance at Earl's Court Arena in London, England. However, "the show goes on", with Aung San Suu Kyi appearing in a new video before "Bullet the Blue Sky".
25 August: U2 play two sold out concerts at Slane Castle.[29]
10 October: U2 commence the 2nd American leg of the Elevation Tour. Following the September 11 attacks, the new album gained added resonance,[117] and from 24 --27 October, U2 performed at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
19 November: "Walk On" is released as All That You Can't Leave Behind's fourth and final single. The song is written about and dedicated to Aung San Suu Kyi.
2002
3 February: U2 perform during halftime of Super Bowl XXXVI,[118] which SI.com ranked as the best halftime show in Super Bowl history.[119]
March: U2 wins 4 Grammy awards for All That You Can't Leave Behind.[citation needed]
13 March: Bono meets President Bush at the White House as the U.S. pledges development boost.[citation needed]
April: Bono is on the cover of Time Magazine as one of a group of great European Heroes.[29]
Mid: U2 play live at the 11th Special Olympics World Summer Games; Nelson Mandela joins them on stage.[citation needed]
17 NovemberU2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, a concert film from the European leg of U2's Elevation Tour is released. Bono dedicates a performance of "Kite" to his father, who had died on 21 August 2001, several days before the concert.
16 September: Bono is nominated a third time for the Nobel Peace Prize.
8 November: The new album's first single, "Vertigo", is released. It reaches number 1 on the UK Singles Chart, number 1 on the Billboard charts, and number 5 on the Australian charts.
23 November:How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb is released. The album debuted at number one in the U.S. where first week sales doubled that of All That You Can't Leave Behind and set a record for the band.[120] The same day, The Complete U2 digital box set is released by Apple Computer on the iTunes Store. It is the first major release of a purely digital online set by any artist. It contains the complete set of U2 albums and singles, and also contains live, rare and previously unreleased material from 1978 to 2004, with a total of 446 songs.[121] The release accompanies a U2 Special Edition iPod.
2005
2005:How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and its singles won Grammy Awards in all eight categories in which U2 were nominated.[citation needed]
27 April: U2 shoot a video for "City of Blinding Lights" at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. Members of the public are invited into the venue as an audience backdrop.
9 - 10 May: Two concerts in Chicago, Illinois are filmed for a video release of the tour.
6 June: "City of Blinding Lights" is released as the fourth single from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
10 June: The European leg of the Vertigo Tour commences in Brussels.
2 July: U2 perform at Live8, opening the show. The band plays "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" with Paul McCartney, "Beautiful Day", "Vertigo", and "One". The performance of "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" is released as a digital-single during the day and sets a world record as the fastest-selling online song.[124]
20–21 July: Two concerts in Milan, Italy are filmed. Ten tracks would later be included on the bonus DVD for U218 Singles.
12 September: A second North American leg of the Vertigo Tour commences in Toronto, Ontario.[citation needed]
10 October: "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own" and "All Because of You" are released as the fourth single from How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in North America and Europe respectively, switching territories from their earlier releases.
November: "Original of the Species" is released as the album's fifth and final single in a digital-only format.
12 February: An eight-date Latin American leg of the Vertigo tour commences in Mexico.
March: U2 arrive in Australia to prepare for the Australian leg of the Vertigo Tour. The tour, however, is postponed until further notice due to a band family member’s illness.
3 April: A duet of "One" with Mary J. Blige is released as a single.
Mid-2006: The band begin work on material for a new album writing and recording with producer Rick Rubin; the material is later shelved.
August: The band incorporates its publishing business in The Netherlands following the capping of Irish artists' tax exemption at €250,000.[125] The move was criticised in the Irish parliament.[126][127]
June: The band continue writing and recording for the album, this time with Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno as co-writers and producers. A two-week trip to Fez, Morocco where the six recorded led to the band experimenting with North African influences.
20 November:The Joshua Tree is re-released as a 20th anniversary triple album.
2008
23 January: A 3-Dconcert film, U2 3D, filmed at nine concerts during the Latin America leg of the Vertigo Tour is released at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.
19 February: The single "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" - a collaboration between U2, The Dubliners, Kíla, and "A Band of Bowsies" - is released. All proceeds went towards the Irish Cancer Society; the song is an homage to Ronnie Drew, who was dying of cancer at the time.
31 March: U2 sign a 12-year deal with Live Nation worth an estimated $100 million (£50 million),[129] which includes Live Nation controlling the band's merchandise, sponsoring, and their official website.
Mid-2008:Boy, October, War, and Under a Blood Red Sky are remastered and released. Three different formats of each were made available, featuring remastered tracks, B-sides, live, and unreleased songs.
4 May: "Magnificent" is released as the second single from the album.
30 June: The U2 360° Tour begins on 30 June 2009 in Europe. The shows feature a 360-degree staging/audience configuration, in which the fans surround the stage from all sides.[132]
25 October: YouTube broadcast their concert at the Rose Bowl Stadium. With a sellout crowd of 97,014, it is the highest attendance on record for one U.S. show by a single headliner based on box office totals reported to Billboard. The previous record had been set by U2 in 1987.[133]
5 November: U2 are invited by Berlin Lord Mayor to play a concert at the Brandenburg Gate to commemorate the fall of the Berlin Wall. They play a six-song set to 10,000 fans.[136]
21 May: Bono has emergency surgery on a back injury during tour preparations, and the band postpones the North American leg of the U2 360° Tour[138][139] and their appearance at the Glastonbury Festival.
26 June: The Edge makes a special guest appearance with Muse at Glastonbury to perform "Where the Streets Have No Name".
13 July: U2 announce the rescheduled dates for the postponed North American leg of the U2 360° tour.[140]
6 August: The second European leg of the U2 360° Tour starts on 6 August 2010 in Turin. It marks their first performance since Bono recovered from his back injury.
25 November: U2 begin their Australasian leg of the 360° tour in Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland.
16 November: Bono was involved in a "high energy bicycle accident" when he attempted to avoid another rider. Bono was rushed to New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center's Emergency Department and underwent "multiple X-rays and CAT scans" followed by five hours of surgery.[156]
^Wall, Mick, (2005). Bono. Andre Deutsch Publishers. ISBN978-0-233-00159-3 (Promotional edition published by Paperview UK is association with the Irish Independent), pages 45
^Stokes (1996), p. 140; McCormick (2006), pages 53–56
^de la Parra (1994), page 8; Stokes (1996), p. 140.
^McCullough, David (8 December 1979), "Honesty goes out of control", Sounds magazine, retrieved 04-11-09((citation)): Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Stokes (1996), p. 140.
^McCormick, Neil (2008). October (Remastered deluxe edition CD booklet). U2. Island Records. B0010948-02. ((cite AV media notes)): Unknown parameter |titlelink= ignored (|title-link= suggested) (help)
^"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), page 139); "Songfacts: New Year's Day by U2". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 6 September 2007.
^Mueller, Andrew. "U2's Pop reconsidered". andrewmueller.net. Archived from the original on 31 October 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2008. ((cite web)): Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help); Breimeier, Russ. "The Best of 1990–2000 – U2". Christianity Today. Retrieved 7 January 2008.
^U asked U2! msn.com. Retrieved 15 January 2007; Furthermore, Bono described the show as "one of the toughest and one of the sweetest nights of my life". (Bono in Conversation.The Independent (26 September 1997). Retrieved 15 January 2007)