Does Bono alone = U2?
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
alanah
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
Bono is the man. I always thought that the band should be called Bono and not U2, the rest of their members isn't even that good..just kidding.
I love the whole band as a group, and I think it's so nice to see / listen to their reactions whenever they're together.. there's nothing like it. and hey, welcome to the forum! 
Screwtape2
Blue Crack Addict
As a Cure and Smashing Pumpkins fan I have wondered about what has to remain for a band to remain in spirit and not just name. I have come to the conclusion that it comes down to the main songwriters. The lineup for The Cure has changed so much but at their heart they were always an extension of Robert Smith. As long as he is there they are still The Cure to me. The same goes for The Smashing Pumpkins. The main songwriter was always Billy Corgan so as long as he is there I will consider whatever lineup The Smashing Pumpkins. In terms of U2, as long as Bono and Edge are there they will still be U2 to me. They have always been the main songwriters and heart of the band. Together they could carry on the spirit of U2.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Most but not all ?
Name one that's survived.
Of course Adam and Larry are replaceable in a technical sense, but I don't think it would sound the same, even to the general public.
Listen to NYD or Gloria or WOWY. There are so many off beat, unique little fills that Larry adds in his own style. Plus, there are not too many drummers that have Larry's marching band type background that gives so many of U2's songs their militant, aggressive quality.
Same goes for Adam. Larry and Edge, though maybe not musical virtuosos, are extremely unique in terms of their colleagues on drums and guitar. Would another bass player really be able to pick up their styles and fit the sound to both of them the way Adam has done for so many years? The main guitar parts of alot of U2 songs are carried by Adam- NYD, WOWY as Edge is often playing piano or keyboards or doing something a little more complicated apart from the main riff of a song.
I am not saying the general public could explain it, but they would probably recognize a difference. I can't think of New Year's Day sounding the same without Adam or Sunday Bloody Sunday sounding the same without Larry.
Plus, if you listen to Zooropa and Pop and even a lot of NLOTH, you can see plain as day that both Adam and Larry are extremely versatile and dynamic. I am not ready to say either of these guys could win a drum and bass solo contest or will go down as the best in the history of the instrument, but they do not get enough credit in many ways. Think about it---- how many other major rock acts have been together for 30+ years and undergone as many evolutions in sound as U2? I think the answer is zero. I don't think average joe session drummer or average john session bassist could have done the kind of adapting that Larry and Adam have done over the years. I will leave the technical stuff to the people here who know what they are talking about, but to me, this suggests that they both have a lot more talent as individual musicians than they are given credit for.
Listen to NYD or Gloria or WOWY. There are so many off beat, unique little fills that Larry adds in his own style. Plus, there are not too many drummers that have Larry's marching band type background that gives so many of U2's songs their militant, aggressive quality.
Same goes for Adam. Larry and Edge, though maybe not musical virtuosos, are extremely unique in terms of their colleagues on drums and guitar. Would another bass player really be able to pick up their styles and fit the sound to both of them the way Adam has done for so many years? The main guitar parts of alot of U2 songs are carried by Adam- NYD, WOWY as Edge is often playing piano or keyboards or doing something a little more complicated apart from the main riff of a song.
I am not saying the general public could explain it, but they would probably recognize a difference. I can't think of New Year's Day sounding the same without Adam or Sunday Bloody Sunday sounding the same without Larry.
Plus, if you listen to Zooropa and Pop and even a lot of NLOTH, you can see plain as day that both Adam and Larry are extremely versatile and dynamic. I am not ready to say either of these guys could win a drum and bass solo contest or will go down as the best in the history of the instrument, but they do not get enough credit in many ways. Think about it---- how many other major rock acts have been together for 30+ years and undergone as many evolutions in sound as U2? I think the answer is zero. I don't think average joe session drummer or average john session bassist could have done the kind of adapting that Larry and Adam have done over the years. I will leave the technical stuff to the people here who know what they are talking about, but to me, this suggests that they both have a lot more talent as individual musicians than they are given credit for.
Genesis didn't end when first singer left.
AC/DC didn't end when the first singer died, either.
From U2's generation of bands, REM didn't end when the drummer quit and Depeche Mode have had one or two keyboard players come and go.
Slightly off topic, how does that 2008 album still have Guns N Roses as the band name ? Only Axl is really left from the original lineup...
nathan1977
Rock n' Roll Doggie
The Cure too -- Robert Smith's the only mainstay.
And Van Halen's changed singers a couple times...
jphelmet
Refugee
i immediately thought of corgan when this topic came up. the most successful sp album, he wrote and played every note on the album. he is such a control freak, and really is smashing pumpkins. doesn't matter who backs him, he is still sp.
Salome
you are what you is
it helps though that Smashing Pumpkins weren't the same group together for 30 years when Corgan decided to fire anyone else in it
Axl owns the rights to the name Guns N Roses.
U2 will only be U2 with all four of them.
They own the masters of their recordings......and will still own the masters of their recordings 75 years after the last band members death. (I think I read that somewhere).
Tainted_Angel
War Child
You can add Metallica to that list as well.
They kept going after their original bass player died in a tour bus crash. (RIP Cliff
) And they're also still relavent.
ETA: I'm with those that say U2 could go on if Adam or Larry left. But not without Bono or Edge.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Genesis kept the same name, but they were two completely different bands.
AC/DC is probably the rare example, of course when you base a whole career on the same song over and over can anyone really tell?
REM is an example of not replacing, but also I wouldn't say Berry was essential to the REM sound.
Depeche Mode lost one person before really making it and then later lost what many would say was a non-key member in the band.
I would say Van Halen is a good example had pretty big success with two different singers.
The Cure's success fluxuated along with their lineup.
So I would really say AC/DC and Van Halen are really the only examples I can think of where key players to their sound left and they still had success.
The_acrobat
Rock n' Roll Doggie VIP PASS
If Adam or Larry were replaced I'd still go to the concerts, buy the albums, and have a great experience. But there would definitely be something missing. No other band has ever been this big for this long and maintained the original lineup. Adam has only missed one gig, and other than that they have a perfect attendance record. (I know Larry missed a few early gigs b/c of his job and they had another drummer sit in for him, but that doesn't count). At this point, only death or not being physically able to perform (Heaven forbid) would prevent any of these 4 from being in U2.
The fact that they've stayed together is a MAJOR sign of their commitment to the band, to the music and to each other (and to the money as well ). I was in a band from 2001 - 2009. In the beginning we had goals, wrote our own songs, tried making things happen. However, we eventually got old, got jobs, and became a bar/cover band cause it paid. We got to the point where everybody in the band had somebody else in the band who wanted to kick them out. We were great friends since high school too. We just didn't want it as bad as U2 did/does.
The fact that they've stayed together is a MAJOR sign of their commitment to the band, to the music and to each other (and to the money as well
). I was in a band from 2001 - 2009. In the beginning we had goals, wrote our own songs, tried making things happen. However, we eventually got old, got jobs, and became a bar/cover band cause it paid. We got to the point where everybody in the band had somebody else in the band who wanted to kick them out. We were great friends since high school too. We just didn't want it as bad as U2 did/does.
cobl04
45:33
let's check the scores: this thread currently has 72 posts. three of those are the OP's, who will surely never post again after some of the replies. EYKIW, in all its undeniable glory, has taken an innocent question and turned it into a very serious debate, one that will no doubt continue and see this thread reach at least 10 pages. amazing.
as for my
, i don't know why everyone reckons this band hasn't had a lineup change. Dick Evans was kicked out, remember.
as for my
, i don't know why everyone reckons this band hasn't had a lineup change. Dick Evans was kicked out, remember.Just quickly read through all the posts in this thread. I’m a big fan which is why I joined the forum. But honestly, I think some of these posts sound a bit stuck up and self righteous when people say things like “U2 is only U2 with all 4 members and that’s that” as if it were common sense or a cold hard fact. I know that emotionally many people would find it hard to have it any other way. But let’s look at this logically – Bono and Edge are the defining sounds of U2. Without either of them, there is no U2 and I don’t think that that is very debatable. But Larry and Adam, while both being great musicians and great people who have contributed enormously to the band, play instruments that by their nature are harder to have a defining sound with. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying they don’t have their unique styles and sounds that we are able to detect as big fans. But are they really not replaceable? Really? Logically it could be done. Sure, there would be some differences but if you found the right person who was really good I really don’t think that most people would notice that much. They’d hear the music and simply say, “oh, sounds familiar. It’s a new U2 song” Even some diehards probably would not notice that much of a difference. Don’t’ get me wrong, it isn’t personal. It is just that nature of those instruments. So if either Adam or Larry were to leave I think that yes, they could go on. And why shouldn’t they if that is what they wanted and that would make them happy? If it pleased them and they were making good music, a modified version of U2 would to me be still better to me than no U2.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
let's check the scores: this thread currently has 72 posts. three of those are the OP's, who will surely never post again after some of the replies. EYKIW, in all its undeniable glory, has taken an innocent question and turned it into a very serious debate, one that will no doubt continue and see this thread reach at least 10 pages. amazing.
as for my
But were they technically U2 when they kicked out Dik?
Poor Dik, doesn't even show on the wikipedia page as a former member
cobl04
45:33
i thought Don't You (Forget About Me) was a U2 song for years.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Without Larry, we wouldn't have HTDAAB. Simple as that.
powerhour24
ONE love, blood, life
Adam, maybe while listening to recordings, but he is quite a presence in their promotional appearances, and of course on stage, as a bass player myself I would say no way. But Larry? Certainly not, his drum style is as iconically 'U2'-defining as The Edge's ringing delay or Bono's syllabic chorus melodies.
fuck it, i'm kicking larry out of the band
Metallica was added already to the list. Numerous line up changes in Stones and Deep Purple. Townshend and Daltrey continue under the name The Who.
Red hot chili peppers is another one out of U2's generation, also INXS, Doors (not sure how permanent Ian Astbury's stay was) and Queen replaced singers and survived...
dstalksalot
Acrobat
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2001
- Messages
- 320
Three singers.......Let's not forget about the wonderful Gary Cherone. Not the best fit for VH, but amazing in Extreme and one of the most entertaining front man out there. Extreme although not the most popular of groups has maintained amazingness while changing drummers a few times through out the years. However Extreme without Nuno and Gary would not be Extreme....I think people are on to something when you mix vocals with lyrics and lead guitar.....those are key.
Fixed.
dstalksalot
Acrobat
- Joined
- Apr 26, 2001
- Messages
- 320
Also, if the line up for U2 changed, it would be different, but that may not necessarily be a bad thing, it would just be a different thing...
mad1
ONE love, blood, life
actually I say Edge and Bono are the bigger percentage of U2. Cause to me they speak more and are quite animated on stage, etc. Larry and Adam are more background if one was replaced I do reckon U2 would still go on, because Edge and Bono are more recognisable, stable frontmen.
what I think anyhow!
what I think anyhow!
Galeongirl
Galeonbroad
let's check the scores: this thread currently has 72 posts. three of those are the OP's, who will surely never post again after some of the replies. EYKIW, in all its undeniable glory, has taken an innocent question and turned it into a very serious debate, one that will no doubt continue and see this thread reach at least 10 pages. amazing.
as for my
Oh really? Was Dik Evans kicked out of U2? I think not. He was kicked out of Feedback or Hype.
Triviality, but it counts.solemole
War Child
i don't know if i'd say that. but that's for another thread.
cobl04
45:33
Oh really? Was Dik Evans kicked out of U2? I think not. He was kicked out of Feedback or Hype.
i knew you wouldn't be far away. what was i thinking, how could i get away with that?
