Greatest Band

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards, and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group's musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.

The band formed at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency. Within four years, they signed with Island Records and released their debut album Boy. By the mid-1980s, U2 had become a top international act. They were more successful as a touring act than they were at selling records until their 1987 album The Joshua Tree which, according to Rolling Stone, elevated the band's stature "from heroes to superstars". Reacting to musical stagnation and criticism of their earnest image and musical direction in the late-1980s, U2 reinvented themselves with their 1991 album, Achtung Baby, and the accompanying Zoo TV Tour; they integrateddance, industrial, and alternative rock influences into their sound, and embraced a more ironic and self-deprecating image. They embraced similar experimentation for the remainder of the 1990s with varying levels of success. U2 regained critical and commercial favour in the 2000s with the records All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000) and How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004), which established a more conventional, mainstream sound for the group. Their U2 360° Tour from 2009–2011 was the highest-attended and highest-grossing concert tour in history.

U2 have released 13 studio albums and are one of the world's best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 170 million records worldwide. They have won 22 Grammy Awards, more than any other band; and, in 2005, were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked U2 at number 22 in its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time", and labelled them the "Biggest Band in the World". Throughout their career, as a band and as individuals, they have campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes, including Amnesty International, the ONE/DATA campaigns, Product Red, War Child and the Edge's Music Rising.

In March 1977, the band changed their name to The Hype. Dik Evans, who was older and by this time at college, was becoming the odd man out. The rest of the band was leaning towards the idea of a four-piece ensemble and he was "phased out" in March 1978. During a farewell concert in the Presbyterian Church Hall in Howth, which featured The Hype playing covers, Dik ceremonially walked offstage. The remaining four band members completed the concert playing original material as "U2". Steve Averill, a punk rock musician (with The Radiators) and family friend of Clayton's, had suggested six potential names from which the band chose "U2" for its ambiguity and open-ended interpretations, and because it was the name that they disliked the least.

On Saint Patrick's Day in 1978, U2 won a talent show in Limerick. The prize consisted of £500 and studio time to record a demo which would be heard by CBS Ireland, a record label. This win was an important milestone and affirmation for the fledgling band. U2 recorded their first demo tape at Keystone Studios in Dublin in May 1978. Hot Press magazine was influential in shaping the band's future; in May, Paul McGuinness, who had earlier been introduced to the band by the publication's journalist Bill Graham, agreed to be U2's manager. The group's first release, an Ireland-only EP entitled Three, was released in September 1979 and was their first Irish chart success. In December 1979, U2 performed in London for their first shows outside Ireland, although they were unable to gain much attention from audiences or critics. In February 1980, their second single "Another Day" was released on the CBS label, but again only for the Irish market.

Since their inception, U2 have developed and maintained a distinctly recognisable sound, with emphasis on melodic instrumentals and expressive, larger-than-life vocals. This approach is rooted partly in the early influence of record producer Steve Lillywhite at a time when the band was not known for musical proficiency. The Edge has consistently used a rhythmic echo and a signature delay to craft his distinctive guitar work, coupled with an Irish-influenced drone played against his syncopated melodies that ultimately yields a well-defined ambient, chiming sound. Bono has nurtured his falsetto operatic voice and has exhibited a notable lyrical bent towards social, political, and personal subject matter while maintaining a grandiose scale in his songwriting. In addition, the Edge has described U2 as a fundamentally live band.

Despite these broad consistencies, U2 have introduced brand new elements into their musical repertoire with each new album. U2's early sound was influenced by bands such as Television and Joy Division, and has been described as containing a "sense of exhilaration" that resulted from the Edge's "radiant chords" and Bono's "ardent vocals". U2's sound began with post-punk roots and minimalistic and uncomplicated instrumentals heard on Boy and October, but evolved through War to include aspects of rock anthem, funk, and dance rhythms to become more versatile and aggressive. Boy and Warwere labelled "muscular and assertive" by Rolling Stone, influenced in large part by Lillywhite's producing. The Unforgettable Fire, which began with the Edge playing more keyboards than guitars, as well as follow-up The Joshua Tree, had Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois at the production helm. With their influence, both albums achieved a "diverse texture". The songs from The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum placed more emphasis on Lanois-inspired rhythm as they mixed distinct and varied styles of gospel and blues music, which stemmed from the band's burgeoning fascination with America's culture, people and places. In the 1990s, U2 reinvented themselves as they began using synthesisers, distortion, and electronic beats derived fromalternative rock, industrial music, dance, and hip-hop on Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop. In the 2000s, U2 returned to a more stripped-down sound, with more conventional rhythms and reduced usage of synthesisers and effects.

The Stone Roses are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchestermovement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's most successful lineup consists of vocalist Ian Brown, guitaristJohn Squire, bassist Mani, and drummer Reni.

The band released their debut album, The Stone Roses, in 1989. The album was a breakthrough success for the band and garnered critical acclaim, with many critics regarding it as one of the greatest British albums ever recorded. At this time the group decided to capitalise on their success by signing to a major label. Their current record label, Silvertone, would not let them out of their contract, which led to a long legal battle that culminated with the band signing with Geffen Records in 1991. The Stone Roses then released their second album, Second Coming, which was met with lacklustre reviews in 1994. The group soon disbanded after several lineup changes throughout the supporting tour, which began with Reni first departing in late 1995, followed by Squire in April 1996. Brown and Mani dissolved the remains of the group in October 1996 following their appearance at the Reading Festival.

Following much intensified media speculation, The Stone Roses called a press conference on 18 October 2011 to announce that the band had reunited and would perform a reunion tour of the world in 2012, including three homecoming shows in Heaton Park, Manchester. Plans to record a third album in the future were also floated. In June 2012, Chris Coghill, the writer of the new film which is set during the Stone Roses 1990 Spike Island show, revealed that the band "have at least three or four new tracks recorded". In June 2013, a documentary about the band's reformation directed by Shane Meadows and titled The Stone Roses: Made of Stone was released.

Ian Brown (at the time the bassist) and guitarist John Squire, who knew each other from Altrincham Grammar School for Boys, formed a short-lived Clash-inspired band called The Patrol in 1980 along with singer/guitarist Andy Couzens and drummer Simon Wolstencroft. They played several gigs in 1980 and recorded a demo tape, but towards the end of that year decided on a change of direction. Brown had got a taste of being a frontman during the last Patrol show, singing The Sweet's "Blockbuster" to close the set, with the band's friend/roadie Pete Garner standing in on bass, and Couzens wanting to concentrate on guitar. The band members lost enthusiasm in 1981, Brown selling his bass guitar to buy a scooter, and Wolstencroft joined the pre-Smiths band Freak Party. Squire continued to practise guitar while working as an animator for Cosgrove Hall during the day, while Brown ran a Northern soul night in aSalford club. Squire and Couzens started a new band, The Fireside Chaps, with bassist Gary "Mani" Mounfield, later recruiting a singer named Kaiser and drummer Chris Goodwin, and changing their name to The Waterfront (after the film On the Waterfront), their sound influenced by 1960s groups and contemporary bands such as Orange Juice. Goodwin left before the band recorded their first demo and, shortly after the demo, Squire asked Brown to join as singer. A meeting with Geno Washington at a party at Brown's flat in Hulme, in which Washington told Brown that he would be a star and should be a singer, convinced Brown to take Squire up on his offer. Brown joined The Waterfront in late 1983, for a time sharing vocals with Kaiser.

Like the earlier attempts at bands, The Waterfront fizzled out, but in late 1983 Couzens decided to try again at starting a band, and approached Brown. They decided on Wolstencroft (who had turned down the job of drummer in The Smiths) as drummer and Pete Garner as bassist (despite his admission that he could not play anything but "Blockbuster"). They also decided that they needed Squire in the band, and when he agreed the band's line-up was cemented. Leaving their previous bands behind, they worked solely on new material. Brown's vocal limitations prompted him to take singing lessons for three weeks. After rehearsing for some time without a band name, Squire came up with 'The Stone Roses'. Several stories later emerged suggesting that the band had initially been called 'English Rose' or that the name was somehow linked to The Rolling Stones, but these were untrue, Brown explaining "No, I don't know where that English Rose story came from. John thought up the name 'Stone Roses' - something with a contrast, two words that went against each other". The band rehearsed for six months, during which time Wolstencroft had been auditioning for other bands, and he left to join Terry Hall's band The Colourfield. They got Goodwin to rejoin, but he lasted for only one rehearsal, so they advertised for a replacement and began auditioning, eventually recruiting Alan Wren in May 1984.

After rehearsing and writing songs over the summer, they recorded their first demo in late August, making 100 cassettes, with artwork by Squire, and set about trying to get gigs. They played their first gig as the Stone Roses on 23 October 1984, supporting Pete Townshend at an anti-heroin concert at the Moonlight Club in London, Brown having sent the demo with an accompanying letter stating "I'm surrounded by skagheads, I wanna smash 'em. Can you give us a show?". The show was seen by journalists including Sounds‍ '​ Gary Johnson, who arranged to interview the band a few weeks later. The band received management offers and more gigs soon followed.

Howard Jones, who had recently left his job as manager of The Haçienda, producer Martin Hannett, and Tim Chambers agreed to work with the band on an album, setting up Thin Line Records to release it, with Jones taking on management of the band, although they had already made a similar agreement with Caroline Reed in London. The band got their first positive press in late December, with Johnson tipping them for success in 1985 in Sounds, with a feature on the band following in January.

The Smiths were formed in early 1982 by Steven Patrick Morrissey, a writer who had briefly fronted punk rock band The Nosebleeds (which included guitarist Billy Duffy, who later joined The Cult); and John Maher, a guitarist and songwriter who had been in bands called The Rhythm Method and Freak Party with his schoolmate bassist friend Andy Rourke. Maher changed his name to Johnny Marr to avoid confusion with Buzzcocks drummer John Maher, and Morrissey performed under his surname alone. After recording several demo tapes with Simon Wolstencroft(later of The Fall) on drums, Morrissey and Marr recruited drummer Mike Joyce in the autumn of 1982. Joyce had formerly been a member of punk bands The Hoax and Victim. They also added bass player Dale Hibbert, who provided the group with demo recording facilities at Decibelle Studios where he worked as a recording engineer. After just one gig, Hibbert was replaced by Marr's friend Andy Rourke, because Marr felt that neither Hibbert's bass playing nor his personality fitted the group.

The band picked their name in part as a reaction against those used by synthpop bands of the early 1980s, such as Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark and Spandau Ballet, which they considered pretentious. In a 1984 interview Morrissey said that he chose The Smiths "because it was the most ordinary name" and because he thought that it was "time that the ordinary folk of the world showed their faces." Signing to indie label Rough Trade Records, they released their first single, "Hand in Glove", in May 1983 which was the result of the Decibel Studios demo. The record was championed by DJ John Peel, as were all of their later singles, but failed to chart. The follow-up singles "This Charming Man" and "What Difference Does It Make?" fared better when they reached numbers 25 and 12 respectively on the UK Singles Chart.

Morrissey and Johnny Marr dictated the musical direction of The Smiths. Marr said in 1990 that it "was a 50/50 thing between Morrissey and me. We were completely in sync about which way we should go for each record". The band's "non-rhythm-and-blues, whiter-than-white fusion of 1960s rock and postpunk was a repudiation of contemporary dance pop" – the style popular in the early 1980s. The band purposely rejected synthesisers and dance music. They sometimes used Sergei Prokofiev's Montagues and Capulets as entrance music at live shows.

Marr's jangly guitar-playing was influenced by Roger McGuinn of The Byrds, Neil Young's work with Crazy Horse, George Harrison (with The Beatles) and James Honeyman-Scott of The Pretenders. Marr often tuned his guitar up a full step to F-sharp to accommodate Morrissey's vocal range, and also used open tunings. Citing producer Phil Spector as an influence, Marr said, "I like the idea of records, even those with plenty of space, that sound 'symphonic'. I like the idea of all the players merging into one atmosphere". Marr's other favourite guitarists are James Williamson of The Stooges,Rory Gallagher, Pete Townshend of The Who, Jimi Hendrix, Marc Bolan of T. Rex, Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones and John McGeoch ofMagazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Sources : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Smiths