Larry Mullen, Jr., a 14-year-old student at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, posted a posting on the school's bulletin board looking for musicians for a new band; six people responded. 1)
U2 has recorded 13 studio albums and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, selling over 170 million copies worldwide. 2)
The artist formerly known as Paul Hewson was a member of the Dublin street gang 'Lypton Village' as a young teen. His friends began referring to him as Bono Vox, after the nearby hearing-aid store Bonavox (Latin for “excellent voice”). Since then, he's been known as Bono. 3)
The theme music for Seasons 1 and 2 of the animated television series The Batman was written by The Edge. 4)
They have received the most Grammy nominations (22), more than any other band. 5)
U2 won a talent event in Limerick on St. Patrick's Day in 1978. The prize was £500 and studio time to record a demo that CBS Ireland would hear. 6)
Three, the group's debut release, was an Ireland-only EP issued in September 1979. 7)
During one of U2's first tours outside of Ireland, they played a show at Islington's Hope and Anchor to a crowd of only nine people. 8)
U2's performance in front of 72,000 supporters in the stadium in front of a global television audience of two billion people was a watershed moment in the band's history. 9)
U2 used to be known as Feedback, and then as The Hype.10)
In time for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. co-wrote and produced “Put 'Em Under Pressure,” a song for the Republic of Ireland national football team that topped the Irish charts. 11)
Bono and his wife, Ali, launch the EDUN apparel line in 2005. 12)
The Joshua Tree became the fastest-selling album in British chart history, and it topped the Billboard 200 for nine weeks in a row in the United States. 13)
U2 became only the fourth rock band to appear on the cover of Time magazine in 1987. (following The Beatles, The Band and The Who). 14)
The Edge has also collaborated with Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jah Wobble, Jay-Z, and Rihanna, among others. 15)