When you first the word "U2" what did you think?

[theu2fly]

I remember a few years back before I got into U2, I was paging through a Best Buy catalog and saw "The Best Of 1980-1990" and thought "What is a boy doing on that cover wearing an army helmet?"

I remember thinking U2 was some how a Beatles tribute band, I thought "With Or Without You" was the same song as "Within Without You" (by the Beatles) and I remember hearing covers such as Help, Helter Skelter...

I remember picturing U2 playing a stadium of some sort, Bono had his mullet, and I was in the top left nosebleed part, looking down at him. That was my imagery of U2, before I listened to their music...

 

[JCOSTER]

Heard the music first
then the Video New Years Day
then the Name U2

They could have been called anything....I still would have fallen for them.

 

[Hallucination]

I had always known about U2 but never cared. The first time I remember having an opinion on them was after seeing Bono in the Lemon video. I didn't like it at all. I hated the way he sang the word Lemon and I hated the way he looked. I thought it was "gay". Ironically enough I thought the Discotheque video was cool when it came out. Funny how now I think Macphisto is brilliant and I love the song Lemon.

 

[LikeNoOneBefore]

Uhh I was like ten so I was probably like "You too? Hahaha so if you said 'I love U2!' people would think you're saying 'I love you too!' "

...yeah, I was a special kid.

 

[DreamOutLoud13]

I was eight years old, and I was completely enthralled by the Numb video. I was like "This is so crazy! Look at all the nutty stuff they're doing to that guy!"
I never gave the name of the band any real thought though.

 

[AtomicBono]

for some reason I thought U2 was a heavy metal band so when my mom tried to get me to listen to Pop, I didn't want to! but as soon as I heard Discotheque, U2 became my favourite band. instantly.

I have no idea why I thought they were heavy metal

 

[Zoots]

for some reason I thought U2 was a heavy metal band

that's funny!

actually, looking at their heavy leather get up in the early 90s, I too got the first impression that they were a hard rock band or something!

 

[JMScoopy]

uh, a spyplane.

 

[Chizip]

I've never firsted the word U2.

 

[thrillme]

I thought they were an alternative/grunge band, a somewhat up and coming band along with Nirvana and Pearl Jam.

I remember driving with my uncle and he really liked the Offspring song, "Keep em Separated?" when it came on the radio. I figured they were a band who'd been around awhile, whereas U2 was this newer band from the 90's.

Well my first real conscious memory of hearing a U2 song was "hold me, thrill me, kiss me, kill me," was about 13. I later saw the music video but they were animated, well the devil thing/Macphisto kinda freaked me out but I really liked the song.

I remember not liking the "One" video, "ew naked people on the cars." I didn't really pay much attention to who the video was by. I was about 10 or so. Actually my sister was really into MTV, I wanted to watch cartoons, actually it could've been any video, I probably would've found something to complain about (usually did) so I could watch something else.

I was a casual U2 fan up until 2000, when I seriously took an interest in their music other than before, where I would like a song (any band/artist), but not go as far as to buy an album.

Now that I'm reminiscing, I recall doodling little logos for U2. Well I took the U2 and made it so that the right tip of the U, would start the tip of the 2. Doodling their band name but I couldn't tell you one member of the band from the other, or name more than 2 songs of theirs.

 

[WalkOn21]

On my elementary school, U2 was in that row of popular music. Those bands the writers of school books used if they needed the name of a band. ("Write a letter to your friend. Ask her if she's heard the new song of U2 / Backstreet Boys / Britney Spears.")

So I used to think U2 was just that: ordinary pop music.

Then I went on holiday and saw the video for Beautiful Day (we had a tv in our appartment). I was totally like: "oooh, so THAT's U2!"
Funny is that I never realized the band members were older than those of your average boy band. It was not until my friends said "U2? those old guys?" that I realized todays boybands really are made up of young, unexperienced boys.

 

[smurf_sista]

this is quite embarassing but....

When i was a teeny bobber i used to love these so fresh cds (crappy pop music) then Walk on was on one (not bagging out walk on) but anyway i thought they were a new band it was only after a conversation with my mother that she convinced me that she had U2 vinals that i believed they were older than first thought!

But hey so my image of U2 is always of a brand new band!

I guess im an example of them reaching out to a new generation!

 

[tommyvill]

Me too what?

 

[Utoo]

My dad used to play 93.3 WMMR (a Philly-area rock station) all the time, so IWF, SBS, NYD, Pride, Streets, WOWY, and ISHFWILF were on in the car & around the house all during my lil' tyke through elementary school years. I really got into music in middle school (early 90s), which is when AB came out. One, EBTTRT, UV, and WGRYWH--along with Jesus Jones' "Right Here, Right Now"--pretty much define the feeling of the early 90s for me. That's when I really associated the name 'U2' with the music that I'd been listening to for years. The name was just cool.....so unique and unusual, warm & yet electric....it perfectly fit the sound of Bono's voice & Edge's guitar.

 

[Thora]

I never seriously thought about their name. Bands have always had interesting names, so when I first heard the name U2, it was just "Okay, this band is good, I love their music." Never really thought about it further than that.

 

[CMIS]

My first U2 song was when my sister was listening t with or without you in her cassette player. I loved the song, but was only nine and so really did not take a decision to check the band out. As I grew up started listening to more and more, but remember thinking about lemon that the video sucked and the people in it were idiots (don't anymore).

As for the name, my sister was a fan of UB40 around that time, so I thought 'U2, pah!! UB40's so much better'.

 

[tuwie]

Heard the music first
then the Video New Years Day
then the Name U2

They could have been called anything....I still would have fallen for them.

awwww! same here! =)

I've grown to love the name so much. it's sooo clever. I can say things like "awww I love you too!!" to someone, and then say "wait...you know I was talking about U2, right?!" hahahhh =)

 

[ozeeko]

I thought U2 was a clever way of saying "you too!" I was probably six years old so give me a break. Anyway, I remember seeing the Red Rocks Sunday Bloody Sunday video at my grandmother's house when I was really young. MTV was still relatively new, around for 5 or so years. I was laughing at the concert clip, honestly. I didn't understand it. How could you at that age? I remember a couple of my relatives going "oh..great band! great song!" while the other half of the room was like "what are you kidding? This band's so lame!" I didn't have an opinion. I just found the lead singer's goofy stage antics hilarious!

 

[t8thgr8]

u2 is a great band name, especially for teens out of dublin. Correct me if im wrong but its ireland's unemployment form is it not? that's fucken cool.

 

[Zoots]

Now that I'm reminiscing, I recall doodling little logos for U2. Well I took the U2 and made it so that the right tip of the U, would start the tip of the 2. Doodling their band name but I couldn't tell you one member of the band from the other, or name more than 2 songs of theirs.

I used to doodle their name a lot.. on benches in school and college! I was one of the very few U2 fans too, in my group at the time!

 

[david_samson]

Hi! I was in high school..heard their music in the radio before knowing their name..i thought wow cool name..like that spyplane.

 

[indra]

I thought of the incident in 1960 when a U2 spyplane was shot down in Soviet airspace (where, of course it wasn't supposed to be ). The pilot, Francis Gary Powers, spent 22 months in prison in the USSR, before being released in a "let's exchange spies" deal in 1962.

Got me brownie points in a college history class.

 

[hcbiggs2002]

My first introduction to U2 (Bono) was in 1984 with the Live Aid single then the following year their Wembley performance.

 

[U2girl]

u2 is a great band name, especially for teens out of dublin. Correct me if im wrong but its ireland's unemployment form is it not? that's fucken cool.

Isn't UB40 the unemployment form?

I have heard of the spyplane later than I have heard of the band, so I never really thought anything special about it.
A rose by any other name etc...

 

[BluRmGrl]

Like JCOSTER & some others have said, after the first time I heard "New Year's Day", they could have called themselves The Variegated Cumquats & it wouldn't have made any difference to me.

I'm still pretty ambivalent about it... I think a lot of other bands worry about what their name says about them instead of letting their lyrics & music say what they're about. I've always felt U2 went with the 2nd option & that's why we love them so much.

 

[thankyou]

the name to me was just U2, it's just who they were from the getgo for me. I never thought it was weird, different, "youtoo", or even the spyplane, they were U2, one of a kind, and still are today.

 

[trevgreg]

spy planes

*runs*

 

[Carek1230]

How do you first a word?

Is U2 a "word"?

 

[annie_vox]

I don'r remember the first time I heard "U2" I just realised that