Addicted To Bad said:
Anyway, I need to be honest with you and say that I heard here for the first time in my life about U2 being influenced by some kind of music... That´s why I got a little ....
Can I ask you how old are you and when did you get into U2? I don't mean to patronise but if you were very young and a new fan (the start of you membership could suggest that but then again I only joined in September and I have been a fan for a tiny bit more..) well, this would explain why you not hearing U2 were influenced by others before.
I want to cite an example I lifted off U2.com regarding the publication of Boy.
These are Edge's own words:
‘Going back through the early stuff, nothing really horrified me. Particularly on Boy, I can hear a bit of the Banshees and The Buzzcocks and some hint of The Skids, as well as - ha ha - some wildly original ideas of our own...[...]’
Edge speaking to Q Magazine, December 1998
Another example, Bono on Bomb:
'It started out to be a rock 'n' roll album, pure and simple. We were very excited that Edge wasn't sitting at the piano or twiddling a piece of technology, because he is one of the great guitarists. Halfway through, we got bored, because it turns out you can only go so far with rifferama. We wanted more dimension. Now you've got punk rock starting points that go through Phil Spectorland, turn right at Tim Buckley, end up in alleyways and open onto other vistas and cityscapes and rooftops and skies. It's songwriting by accident, by a punk band that wants to play Bach.' Bono
I know... I am pedantic
it's my job.