U2

Tempo: A Rowman & Littlefield Music
Series on Rock, Pop, and Culture

Series Editor: Scott Calhoun

Tempo: A Rowman & Littlefield Music Series on Rock, Pop, and Culture offers titles that explore rock and popular music through the lens of social and cultural history, revealing the dynamic relationship between musicians, music, and their milieu. Like other major art forms, rock and pop music comment on their cultural, political, and even economic situation, reflecting the technological advances, psychological concerns, religious feelings, and artistic trends of their times. Contributions to the Tempo series are the ideal introduction to major pop and rock artists and genres.


The American Songbook: Popular Music for the Masses, by Ann van der Merwe

Bob Dylan: American Troubadour, by Donald Brown

Bon Jovi: America’s Ultimate Band, by Margaret Olson

British Invasion: The Crosscurrents of Musical Influence, by Simon Philo

Bruce Springsteen: American Poet and Prophet, by Donald L. Deardorff II

The Clash: The Only Band That Mattered, by Sean Egan

The Kinks: A Thoroughly English Phenomenon, by Carey Fleiner

Kris Kristofferson: Country Highwayman, by Mary G. Hurd

Patti Smith: America’s Punk Rock Rhapsodist, by Eric Wendell

Paul Simon: An American Tune, by Cornel Bonca

Ska: The Rhythm of Liberation, by Heather Augustyn

Sting and The Police: Walking in Their Footsteps, by Aaron J. West

U2: Rock ’n’ Roll to Change the World, by Timothy D. Neufeld

Warren Zevon: Desperado of Los Angeles, by George Plasketes

U2

Rock ’n’ Roll to Change the World

Timothy D. Neufeld






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Copyright © 2017 by Timothy D. Neufeld


All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.


British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available


Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data


Names: Neufeld, Timothy D., 1963- author.

Title: U2 : rock 'n' roll to change the world / Timothy D. Neufeld.

Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield, [2017] | Series: Tempo, a Rowman & Littlefield music series on rock, pop, and culture | Includes bibliographical references and index.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016036298 (print) | LCCN 2016037520 (ebook) | ISBN 9781442249394 (cloth : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781442249400 (electronic)

Subjects: LCSH: U2 (Musical group) | Rock musicians—Ireland—Biography. | Rock musicians—Political activity.

Classification: LCC ML421.U2 N48 2017 (print) | LCC ML421.U2 (ebook) | DDC 782.42166092/2 [B] —dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016036298


TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.


Printed in the United States of America

To my sons:


Michael, “Every generation gets a chance to
change the world”

and Daniel, “Young, not dumb”