How did you discover U2?

[RavenBlue]

My parents had the Rattle and Hum VHS for many years.. and we'd watch it all together every once in awhile. It wasn't until I was in high school that I really started falling for the band. They were pretty well my soundtrack for those three years.

Been a fan ever since!

 

[YellowKite]

Summer/Fall 1984 - I was just 16 and living in Seattle in a small apartment with my mom, brother, aunt, uncle and granny a few blocks from the hospital where they were treating my dad for luekemia. Almost everyone in that apartment building was family of patients and I bonded with the only other 16 year old girl. She was from Chicago and had a copy of War and once I listened - that was it. The lyrics were so relevant to me. I was doing school through the mail and all my friends were back in Michigan and I was living in this 2 bedroom apartment and sleeping on the pull out couch with my 12 year old brother. I could not have felt more out of control and I taped her cassette of War and went and got Live Under A Blood Red Sky and Boy and October and just immersed myself. My mom says I went into U2 and never came out. When my dad died at Christmas that year I really relied on U2's music. It sounds so small but they were such a great source of empathy through the music. They turned me on to Amnesty, GreenPeace and humanity at a time when I was really very pissed off at the world. Since then each and every album has hooked me even stronger.

Needless to say it would take A LOT for me to lose my U2 faith since they have given me so much.

 

[Nube Gris]

joerags you've made me remember, yes! in some strange way before i ihad ever heard any U2 tunes i had heard people talk about you know 'U2' and rapidly woke up my curiosity......
i thought 'wow that name "U2' is so cool' and kept thinking of it, over and over........and then the pride story came along and seemed to fit in; i was indeed the most incredible and coolest music in the world, in a time infested by jakson, prince and madonna
and what an incredible name they came up with: U2
Averill

 

[kosull]

I got into U2 when Discotheque was on the tv. I remember thinking it was a great track and the deal was sealed when Staring At the Sun was released as a single. Obviously I bought Pop and really enjoyed it but it wasn't until later in the summer of 1997 that I really got into U2, after buying Achtung Baby.
It's funny because I can distinctly remember having almost the exact same reaction as this:

I still clearly remember hearing Achtung Baby for the first time on a friends fathers mammoth stereo, the opening to Zoo Station coming for the first time at a huge volume. Track after track it kept punching me.

Acthung Baby remains my favourite U2 album, but Pop's not too far behind. Much maligned. Ah, 1997......

 

[SunBloc]

1982-In college, heard their music playing all over the dorms. Weird thing was that it just did not sink in then. Really liked it, but was just way too busy to notice (for some strange reason). Got busy with life. Then noticed them again in 2002 - AMAZING 20 years later. The strange thing this time, is that I REALLY, REALLY LOVE THEM now. There is just no comparison. I guess it's better late than never!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BlackElectric]

Heard "Elevation" on the radio when it first came out. Fell in love with the song. Looked up who sang it. I was U2! Looked up what other songs they sang. Found out that I already knew a lot of songs from them. Pride. WOWY. SBS. All the really popular ones. Sooner or later my slight interest grew into an obsession.

 

[WinnieThePoo]

saw music video tape in 1995
Hold Me Thrill ME Kiss Me Kill Me
i thought lead singer was a female

then bought joshua tree

complete shock

then bought myself zoo tv sydney
pop album followed
popmart video

 

[Dismantled]

My mom ...my first memories of U2 were riding in the back of the car while my mom was playing her JT tape...I was 8-9 at the time....hooked ever since

 

[marik]

Sweetest Thing video

 

[SomethingMissin]

I was 13 years old and I stayed home from school for three days because I had the stomach flu, and at the time I was just starting to get into music so I decided to watch a countdown show on MuchMoreMusic (Canada) and Walk On was number one. First time I heard it I was hooked, lucky for me the show repeated each day, and I just liked the song more and more. So eventually in the end I just followed up on this with the best of 1980-1990 and never looked back.

 

[Nate Dogg]

2 words. Achtung Baby!

 

[LikeNoOneBefore]

I was watching some award show when I was about...9 or 10. They were singing "Beautiful Day", and I thought that Bono looked like Liam Neeson. (Liam was my favorite actor at the time, and he still is one of them. I was so obsessed with Star Wars when I was a kid and I saw Liam in Episode 1.) Anyways, so I then listened to their music and really liked it. Yeeeppp...

XD I still think Bono slightly resembles Liam Neeson.

 

[LMBLover]

Let's see, there are 3 stages. I remember hearing Pride and Still on the radio when I was a kid and I liked them but I couldn't really appreciate them as a kid (funny thing is Pride is my fave song now). Then when I was 13 Pop-up Video on VH1 showed whole episodes about U2 (anyone remember those?) and I fell in love seeing and hearing videios for Still and Stay and Lemon. Finally when I was in 11th grade ATYCLB came out and I fell hook, line and sinker. I prided myself on listening to beautiful and relevant music while my schoolmates were gushing over N'Sync! ATYCLB is still my fave album because it's so hopeful and uplifting yet real. Sigh.. I love ATYCLB

 

[LMBLover]

Yeah he does resemble Liam Neeson...another fine-lookin Irishman! I think he also looks like (don't worry I'm not gonna say Robin Williams) the guy who played Dracula in Van Helsing. seriously Google "Van Helsing Dracula" and you'll see what I mean! I think the actor mimicked Bono like Johnny Depp mimicked Keith Richards in Pirates of the Caribbean!

 

[LMBLover]

YellowKite your story is very inspiring

 

[forty]

I saw the Discotheque video premiere on MTV. I couldn't believe these were the same guys who did that one 80's song I always heard on the radio (ISFWILF). I had to investigate.

 

[corianderstem]

My cousins from the "big city" (Rockford, IL) came to visit often, and they'd bring tapes of whatever music they were into. It was always stuff like REM, The Cure, Depeche Mode, and, of course, U2.

The older cousin gave me a tape of The Unforgettable Fire one year for Christmas, and I really liked it. Later, I picked up The JOshua Tree, and I liked that as well. Then, when Rattle & Hum came out, that was it for me. I fell into massive diehard-dom.

 

[Lemonfix]

They were living under my bed. I discovered them when my sheets caught fire one winter morning. It seemed that Adam left a lit ciggarette out. After the resulting court case was settled we all became great friends.

 

[corianderstem]

I hate it when I find rock bands living under my bed. They never clean up after themselves.

 

[BEVERLY56]

I'm looking under my bed when I get home! Usually I only find dust.

 

[hcbiggs2002]

My first encounter with U2 was when I was watching the live broadcast of the Live Aid concert back in 1985 when this Irish band I'd never heard of started to perform....

Edit:- Hey Beverly, we have the same avatar! Bono looks really hot in this pic doesn't he? That's why I chose it!

 

[Achtung Joshua!]

1987 when I had a mix tape made up of current songs from the radio which included WTSHNN and WOWY. I found myself listening to those two songs in particular over and over again. I was eager to know more about this band and shortly afterwards Much Music aired a U2 special featuring a long interview with Adam and Larry that just sealed the deal for me.

 

[gareth brown]

heard The Joshua Tree in 2001. spring/summer, one of the best times of my life. everything seemed to be going right and it was sunny and this record came and basically turned my life inside out. good stuff.

 

[MsMofoGone]

All it took was to hear "New Year's Day" playing on the radio and I
immediately went out and bought 'War' ... end of story !!

 

[tiny dancer]

Heard them on the radio in 1983, and saw them on TV for Live Aid.
Also New Year's Day did it for me too!

 

[hedgehog]

I heard Even Better Than The Real Thing and Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses in the mid 90's as a kid and loved both songs, then a few years later heard Staring At The Sun, after that I decided I had to hear more from this band and Ive been a fan ever since.

 

[J. McMahon]

I'm an older rock fan who was 33 years old in 1991 when I heard the song "Mysterious Ways" and decided it was one of the coolest rock and roll songs I had ever heard. And I've heard plenty of great songs from all of the great rock bands from the 60's and 70's, believe me. So I bought "Achtung Baby" on cassette by this group called U2. I really liked it, but at the time I was more focused on groups like Guns N' Roses, Metallica and Jane's Addiction, my three favorites (thanks in part to my metalhead nephew), so I'm afraid I didn't give U2 the attention I should have. I did buy "The Joshua Tree" CD a little while after that though, after seeing the video for "Where The Streets Have No Name" and deciding it was VERY cool. So I was at least beginning to realize how good they were, even though I didn't know a whole lot about them or their history. I was still stuck on my old favorites.

About a year ago I was in the mood to buy a concert DVD, and I noticed that U2 was still alive and kicking after all of these years, unlike most of my old favorites who either burned out or faded away. So I bought the Slane Castle DVD and...WOW! To say I was impressed would be an understatement. I was blown away by how good they were. I'm of Irish descent, so everything just clicked perfectly...

Today I own all of U2's albums and most of their DVD's and listen to them every day. I'm still filling in my collection with videos like "Zoo TV Live From Sydney" which I recently ordered. I should have that one this weekend.

So as someone who is just a couple of years older than Bono, all I have to say is...The Beatles who? Led Zeppelin who? The Rolling Stones who? Aerosmith who? All great bands that I've been into in the past, but I never listen to them anymore. It's U2 all the way these days.

I really hope they stay together for quite awhile longer. I really believe they are the best, and the more great music they make, the more I'll know it's true...