U2

U2 is a rock band from Dublin, Ireland that consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). They are one of the top rock acts in the world.

U2's early sound was post-punk but evolved and now includes influences from a variety of genres. A key part of their sound comes from The Edge's guitar playing and Bono's distinctive vocals.

Their songs' lyrics are frequently spiritual imagery, personal themes and also socio-political concerns. Bono is well known for his support of many causes.

The band formed in Dublin in 1976 when 14 year old Larry Mullen, Jr. put a sign on his school bulletin board looking for musicians for a new band.

The resulting group was called The Larry Mullen Band "for about ten minutes" but the addition of Bono meant a new center.

This band was Mullen on drums, Paul Hewson (Bono) on vocals, David Evans (The Edge) and also his older brother Dik Evans on guitar, Adam Clayton, on bass guitar. They used the name "Feedback" for it's guitar amplification reference. They were basically, like most young bands, a cover band and showed the influence of punk bands such as The Jam, The Clash, and The Sex Pistols.

In March 1977, the band changed their name to "The Hype". The older Dik Evans walked away from the band (literally, during a gig) the following year. The remaining four band members started using more original material and were billed as "U2".

Supposedly, Steve Averill, a punk rock musician and family friend of Clayton's, had suggested six potential names from which the band chose "U2."

There is no solidly validated reason for the name choice other than perhaps its brevity, intentional ambiguity and opportunities for interpretations.

I couldn't find any further explanation on U2's official website or in the book, U2 by U2.

But there are many references that might have influenced the choice. Best known to Americans is that a U2 is a type of spy plane used by the United States in the 1960's which was made famous when a 1960 international incident. A U.S. Lockheed U-2 plane over the Soviet Union was shot down over Russia and resulted in the pilot being taken as a prisoner during the Cold War.

A U2 is also a dry-cell battery type now known in the U.S. as a D battery.

A number of European railway systems have a U2 as part of their designations.

U2 can also be seen as being a version of "you too" referring to the audience and its role in the band's musical experience

I have also seen a reference to a U2 being a government form used in Ireland - but that seems to more likely be the origin, as we have explicated, for UB40.

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• You're The Best Thing About Me (2017)
• The Unforgettable Fire (Super Deluxe Edition 2CD+DVD)
• All That You Can't Leave Behind
• Achtung Baby
• Best of 1980-1990
• Rattle & Hum
• Under a Blood Red Sky - Deluxe Edition CD/DVD
• 
• Zooropa
• The Unforgettable Fire
• Boy
• Pop
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Urge Overkill

   

Urge Overkill is an alternative rock band, formed in Chicago, United States, consisting of Nash Kato (vocals/guitar), and Eddie "King" Roeser (vocals/guitar/bass guitar). Their cover of Neil Diamond's song "Girl, You'll Be a Woman Soon" from the Pulp Fiction soundtrack became a hit in 1994.

Their first album since 1995, Rock & Roll Submarine, was released in 2011.

The name Urge Overkill comes from a line in the Parliament song "Funkentelechy" that says “from the makers of Mr. Prolong, better known as Urge Overkill.”

Uriah Heep

Uriah Heep is an English rock band formed in London in 1969 that became one of the seminal hard rock acts of the early 1970s.

Their progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion featured a lot of keyboards and strong vocal harmonies including the early years' vocals of David Byron.


Of their fifteen albums, it was Demons & Wizards that was the most successful.  One of their radio hits was "Easy Livin'."

They were often grouped with Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin as "The Big 4" of hard rock, and although they became more of a 1980s cult band in the United Kingdom and United States, they still have a significant following and perform at arena-sized venues in the Balkans, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Russia and Scandinavia.

They have sold over 30 million albums worldwide with over 4 million sales in the U.S.A.

an illustration of Dickens' Uriah Heep

As a four-piece band, they went into the Lansdowne Studios in London under the name "Spice." They changed the name to Uriah Heep, a character from Charles Dickens' classic novel David Copperfield and the change occurred along with the new keyboard-based larger sound. According to biographer Kirk Blows, Dickens was in the news then (December 1969) due to it being the hundredth anniversary of his death.

The character of Uriah Heep is not a pleasant one being the antagonist for the second half of the novel and notable for his "cloying humility, obsequiousness, and insincerity, making frequent references to his own 'humbleness' " and his name has become synonymous with being a "yes man."


20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best of Uriah Heep


Info:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uriah_Heep_(band)

Band site: http://www.uriah-heep.com

UB40

  

UB40 are a British reggae band formed in 1978 which has had more than 50 singles in the UK singles chart. They are an international success having sold over 70 million records.

Their No.1 hit singles include two U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number ones with "Red Red Wine" and "Can't Help Falling in Love", while "I Got You Babe" also topped the UK singles chart.

The name "UB40" was selected in reference to the document issued to people claiming unemployment benefit from the UK government's Department of Health and Social Security during the 1970s.

"UB40" stood for Unemployment Benefit, Form 40. People had to fill out the form to receive public assistance or welfare.

When you complete this form it is known as "signing on" (signing on to welfare). "Signing off" then refers to returning to employment, and the the title of their first album is Signing Off.



Very Best of UB40
Signing Off
TwentyFourSeven
Labour of Love 1 2 & 3
Who You Fighting For
Rat in the Kitchen
UB40: Live at Montreux 2002