The Irish rock band U2 has released 15 studio albums, one live album, three compilation albums, 84 singles, and nine extended plays (EPs).[1][2] The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 as teenagers. In 1979, the group issued their first release, the EP U2-3, which sold well in Ireland. The following year, the group signed to Island Records and released their debut album, Boy. It reached number 52 in the UK and number 63 in the US. They followed it up with the release of October (1981) and War (1983). War was a commercial success, becoming the band's first number-one album in the UK while reaching number 12 in the US. The album included the singles "Two Hearts Beat As One", "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day". On the subsequent War Tour, the group recorded the live album Under a Blood Red Sky and concert film U2 Live at Red Rocks, both of which sold well and helped establish them globally as a live act.
The band shifted towards a more ambient, abstract musical direction for The Unforgettable Fire (1984), their first collaboration with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. The album went to number one in the UK and produced the group's biggest hit to that point, the UK top-10 single "Pride (In the Name of Love)". The group's fifth album, The Joshua Tree (1987), made them international superstars and was a critical and commercial success, reaching number one in over 20 countries; it is one of the best-selling albums in the US (10 million copies shipped) and worldwide (25 million copies sold).[3][4] It produced their only number-one singles in the US, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". U2 followed this up with the 1988 release of Rattle and Hum, a double album and companion documentary film which documented their experiences with American roots music from the Joshua Tree Tour with a collection of new studio tracks, cover songs, and live recordings. The lead single "Desire" was the band's first number-one single in the UK. The album sold over 14 million copies,[5] while the film grossed $8.6 million.[6]
Facing a backlash from Rattle and Hum and creative stagnation, U2 reinvented themselves musically in the 1990s. The band's following album, Achtung Baby (1991), marked a dramatic shift towards alternative rock, industrial music, and electronic dance music. It debuted at number one in the US, eventually sold 18 million copies worldwide, and spawned five singles, including "One", "Mysterious Ways", and the UK number-one "The Fly". U2's follow up albums Zooropa and Pop continued the band's experimentation with alternative rock and electronic dance music, reaching number one worldwide but with reduced sales. U2 regained commercial favour with the release of All That You Can't Leave Behind in 2000, returning to a more mainstream sound. The album sold over 12 million copies and won seven Grammy Awards. It spawned several successful singles, including "Beautiful Day", "Walk On", "Elevation", and "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of". The following album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), was promoted with the popular lead single "Vertigo". The album was another commercial success and ultimately won all nine of its Grammy Award nominations. The group's twelfth album, No Line on the Horizon (2009), reached number one in 30 countries but its sales of 5 million were seen as a disappointment by the band, and it did not contain a hit single. Their 2014 album Songs of Innocence was released at no cost to over 500 million iTunes Store users but the pervasiveness of the promotion brought controversy; the album's sales and charting duration were among the weakest in the band's discography. In 2017, U2 released Songs of Experience and began the 2017 and 2019 Joshua Tree Tours to commemorate the 30th anniversary of The Joshua Tree.
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. "*" information comes from a source which started recording data in 2005.
Live albums
List of live albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
^"You're the Best Thing About Me" did not enter the Netherlands' Single Top 100, but peaked at number five on the Netherlands' Single Tip Chart.[114]
^"You're the Best Thing About Me" did not enter the NZ Top 40 Singles Chart, but peaked at number five on the NZ Heatseekers Singles Chart.[115]
^"You're the Best Thing About Me" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 41 on the Digital Song Sales chart.[116]
^"Get Out of Your Own Way" did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 99 on the UK Singles Sales Chart.[117]
^"Your Song Saved My Life" did not enter the Irish Singles Chart, but peaked at number four on the Irish Homegrown Top 20 chart.[125]
^"Bad" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart.[136]
^"Until the End of the World" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart and at number 4 on the US Alternative Songs Chart.[136]
^"Where the Streets Have No Name" (Songs of Surrender version) did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but peaked at number 96 on the UK Singles Downloads Chart.[137]
^"Walk On (Ukraine)" did not enter the Irish Singles Chart, but peaked at number seven on the Irish Homegrown Top 20 chart.[138]
References
General
U2: The Ultimate Compendium of Interviews, Articles, Facts and Opinions from the Files of Rolling Stone. Transatlantic Publications. 1994. ISBN978-0-283-06239-1.
^U2: The Ultimate Compendium of Interviews, Articles, Facts and Opinions from the Files of Rolling Stone. Transatlantic Publications. 1994. ISBN978-0-283-06239-1.
Top 100 (Australian Music Report) peaks to 12 June 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 317. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
Top 50 (ARIA) peaks from 13 June 1988: "Discography U2". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (pdf ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. pp. 291–292.
"You're the Best Thing About Me" (ARIA) peak: "ARIA Chart Watch #438". auspOp. 16 September 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 16 September 2017.
^ abcdefFor peak chart positions of U2's Canadian singles from 1980–2000 see RPM chart books. For singles from 2000–2006, see Canadian Singles Chart archives at AllMusic. For singles from 2007–present, see Billboard's Canadian Hot 100 archives.
