U2: You Two, You Too, the Boat, the Plane, or the Submarine?
A stadium stuffed to the brim with screaming fans pulses as the main act takes the final breath before breaching the hidden door on the stage floor. Pyrotechnics detonate bringing a fantastic show of colorful lights and queuing the band to take the stage under the smoke screen provided by the explosion. As the smoke begins to dissipate, the silhouettes of four men start to appear, and the stadium irrupts into a deafening roar as the crowd recognizes one of the most recognizable bands of all time: U2. And through their years of success, U2 has surmounted an enthralling history, a battalion of accolades, and a political reputation.
Although U2 has sold over 100 million albums in its reign of over thirty years, they weren't an instant success (McFliker 19). In fact, they may not have even found each other if it weren't for their drummer, Larry Mullen Jr. While he was attending Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, Ireland, Larry made it known through a posting on his school bulletin board that he was looking for fellow musicians to start up a band, and the four came together rather quickly (McFliker 20).
They started out performing in the parking lots of Dublin in 1976 when the four of them were fifteen and sixteen years of age (U2.com). In the very early days of the band, they performed mostly covers and went by the name Feedback. However, they were not entirely satisfied with what that name insinuated. Together, the band decided to give another name a try, {text:soft-page-break} so they were temporarily dubbed the Hype. Still unsatisfied with the name, they searched for a more inconspicuous title and settled on U2. The four members were finally uncategorized and satisfied with this vague name with five possible meanings: you two, you too, the boat, the plane, or the submarine (Bianco 190). Although U2 could have any one of the five aforementioned meanings, the band's inspiration for the...