Books

U2 & I: The Photographs 1982-2004

For more than three decades Anton Corbijn has photographed the greatest artists in the music world and beyond. That made him one of the most influential portrait photographers of our days. In Corbijn’s career, however, there has been one constant: the band U2, and their collaboration of 22 years. His most recent publication—number seven in the line of Corbijn books published by Schirmer/Mosel—is dedicated to Bono, Edge, Larry, and Adam, to their longstanding friendship, mutual inspiration, and shared experience of rock history that is part of the history of photography. It was Anton Corbijn who "invented" U2’s public image and he is still shaping it. The long way from their first encounter in February 1982 in New Orleans to their April 2004 Lisbon shooting for the most recent U2 album is documented in a wealth of private and so-called official pictures with hand-written annotations by the photographer.

Hardcover: 416 pages
Publisher: Schirmer/Mosel (January 30, 2005)

U2 Show

by by Diana Scrimgeour

Authorized by the band, this is the inside story of U2's live career, from the very beginning to now-with more than 500 exclusive photos from the U2 archive, including many never-before-seen, behind-the-scenes shots. Everything about U2 is huge-from their music to their tours to their influence on popular culture and politics worldwide. They are cultural icons as well as multimillion-album-selling pop stars. Underpinning the band's popularity, from the beginning, is their passion for touring. For more than twenty years, U2 has been primarily a live band-hardly ever off the road. Performing live is what they love to do best. And it is their touring that defines their creativity and reflects the direction of the band. From the first bare-bones Tick Tock Tour of 1980 through the massive, seminal Joshua Tree and ZooTV tours of the eighties and nineties to the most recent, more intimate Elevation Tour of 2001, it is their live shows that have set U2's agenda. For the first time, the band has agreed to chronicle this vital part of its creative energy. More than 500 photos from hundreds of performances have been handpicked from a twenty-five-year archive. Many of these photos are behind-the-scenes shots that have never been published before. The book includes commentary by Diana Scrimgeour, the official photographer on recent tours, as well as first-person accounts from band members, the core creative team, friends, and associates.

Hardcover: 308 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 1.25 x 11.66 x 10.76 Publisher: Riverhead Books; Illustrate edition (October 21, 2004)

U2 Live: A Concert Documentary

by Pimm Jal de La Parra
Paperback 256 pages (13 October, 2003)
Publisher: Omnibus Press;
ISBN: 0711991987

Now updated to include their PopMart and Elevation tours, this title takes you along to every single U2 live performance. From their earliest shows in Dublin to the heartwarming spectacle of their 2001 Elevation tour. The book includes information, anecdotes and facts from virtually every U2 show, from 1976 to 2003, including spontaneous shows with local bands, impromptu seesions with fans and friends and acoustic jams during radio and TV sessions. Containing dates, venues, set lists, radio and TV broadcasts, quotes from the stage and details of unreleased material and dozens of cover versions performed by U2, this book offers a commentary which traces the band's musical development over 25 years. The book offers over 500 photographs, most previously unseen, which allow the reader to follow the band's evolution from Dublin teenagers to global megastars as well as concert tickets, ads and memorabilia collected by fans throughout the world.

U2: The Complete Encyclopedia

by Mark Chatterton
Paperback 320 pages (September 2003)
Publisher: Firefly Books Ltd;
ISBN: 0946719632

Completely revised and expanded new edition of the lavishly illustrated, bestselling U2 reference compendium.

The ultimate reference guide to the biggest band in the world goes from strength to strength. Compiler Mark Chatterton has continued to assemble the most exhaustive U2 database, as the band cemented their worldwide success into 2003, completing the massive Elevation tour and their unprecendented triumph at the Grammy awards. Includes - Songs, Remixes, Singles, Albums & CDs, Films & Videos, Venues, Tours & Festivals, Full Worldwide Discography, Complete Concert Listings, Solo Appearances, Biographies of Band Members, Collaborators & Associates, Places of interest, Radio & TV Appearances. Fully illustrated with photographs and items of memorabilia from throughout U2's career, many never seen before in print. The first edition was highly regarded by fans and collectors alike - the initial print run sold out within three weeks - and the expanded 2004 edition promises to be even more desirable.

U2's Propaganda

by Ian Gittins
Paperback: 256 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.65 x 11.22 x 8.36
Publisher: Hyperion ; (May 2003)
ISBN: 1560254874

Started in the band's very earliest days, from 1986 until the year 2000, Propaganda was the only official U2 fan-club magazine to ever exist. Each issue carried exclusive in-depth interviews, plus behind-the-scenes insights into U2 operations and unique never-seen-elsewhere photographs. An impressive selection of the best features appear here in this very first Propaganda anthology, offering a fascinating chance to see the extraordinary development of one of the biggest bands in the world through the writers and photographers who have been closest to them throughout their successful career. U2's Propaganda includes 250 color photographs--some of which have never appeared anywhere else, a tribute CD made up of various artists appearing in stores in October 2002, articles written by the band members themselves, exclusive band member interviews never printed before, and a full discography.

The U2 Reader: A Quarter Century of Commentary, Criticism, and Reviews

by Hank Bordowitz

The first in Hal Leonard's new series of artist readers, The U2 Reader presents the world's most popular rock band from battle of the bands beginnings through today, in all of its many facets. Editor and compiler Hank Bordowitz, who Publishers Weekly says "provides evenhanded treatment of highly charged issues" and Library Journal adds "never takes sides or passes judgment, yet brilliantly illuminates ... ," has gathered articles ranging from U2's first mention in a suburban Dublin newspaper to coverage of the group's appearance at the Super Bowl.The U2 Reader deals with every aspect of the band from the way they do business to the way their music and lives convey their inherent spirituality. It includes reviews of albums and the live U2 experience, as well as behind-the-scenes looks at the band, including their forays into pop and politics.The book features a who's who of music journalism, including Dave Marsh (Born to Run, The Heart of Rock and Roll), Bill Flanagan (A and R; Executive Producer of VH-1's Behind the Music), Jim DeRogatis (Turn On Your Mind, Let It Blurt) and more than a dozen others. Authors not normally associated with music, such as Salman Rushdie, are featured, as are U2 peers such as Moby, Bruce Hornsby and Billy Corgan. A must read for even casual U2 fans! Hank Bordowitz is the author of Bad Moon Rising: The Unofficial History of Creedence Clearwater Revival. He lives in Suffern, New York.John Swenson is the co-editor of The New Rolling Stone Record Guide and the author of The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide and the former editor of Crawdaddy! magazine.

Paperback: 303 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.82 x 9.04 x 5.91
Publisher: Hal Leonard Corporation; 1st edition (May 1, 2003)

U2: the Complete Encyclopedia

by Mark Chatterton
Paperback - 224 pages (November 2001) S A F Pub Ltd; ISBN: 0946719411

The complete A to Z from the early days in Dublin to the current world tour. Mark Chatterton has collected an impressive array of knowledge spanning the band's entire career, including full discography, gigography, collectors guide and much more. The book is illustrated with many rare photos and memorabilia.

Walk on: The Spiritual Journey of U2

by Steve Stockman

One of the world's leading voices of faith and social activism also happens to be one of its biggest rock groups. The band members drink, smoke and swear — yet a radical biblical agenda and faith fuel their life and work. Welcome to the dichotomy of U2, arguably the greatest rock group on the planet.
Walk On: The Spiritual Journey of U2 explores the questions and controversy surrounding the deep-rooted religious themes of the group's music. It is a spiritual companion to their albums. It exposes the real meaning behind many of their songs and performances.

From the group's beginnings at the Shalom Christian fellowship in Dublin all the way through their seeming rebirth on their most recent album, the book brings to light the struggles and triumphs of the band members' Christian faith. How have they kept it so vibrant in the harsh light of the world stage? Have they found what they're looking for? Why has the Church shunned them? Join author Steve Stockman in pouring over more than twenty years of interviews, analysis and insight in an unparalleled quest to answer the burning questions everyone wants to know.

About the Author Steve Stockman is a Presbyterian minister in Ireland where he works in the chaplaincy at Queen's University in Belfast. He is a regular speaker at conferences and festivals, and has his own radio show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has been using the work of U2 in his sermons and writings for 20 years.

Paperback - 206 pages - Relevant Books (1. November 2001)
ISBN: 088419793X

Bono

by Laura Jackson

U2's lead singer, Bono, has been one of rock music's biggest stars since the 1980s. This biography gives an insight into his life and music, as well as his strong social conscience and dedication to humanitarian causes and world issues.

Hardcover - 238 pages First World Ed (27 September, 2001)
Piatkus Books
ISBN: 0749922451

Into the Heart: The Stories Behind Every U2 Song [Book]

by Niall Stokes

Into the Heart examines the behind-the-scenes influences that shaped U2’s internationally popular and critically acclaimed music. Included are original and revealing interviews with band members and the key people close to U2. The band’s rich cultural and social context is fully explored, providing a colorful backdrop to the songs. Into the Heart traces U2’s meteoric rise from the early days of their career with Boy, their first album, to the spanning success of The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum, Achtung Baby, and Pop. U2 is a group that has become a world-class rock ’n’ roll band; a band that continues to invent themselves and is not afraid to take chances with their craft—as well as make a unique impact in the world of music with their raw, emotional energy. This edition includes over 100 black and white and color photos, provides a complete chronology and discography, and covers the band's newest CD, All That You Can’t Leave Behind.

Paperback - 192 pages (July 2001)
Thunder's Mouth Press
ISBN: 1560253142

U2 - Faraway So Close

by B.P. Fallon

U2--the constantly-evolving rock band who recently signed the largest record deal in history--is now captured by a musical guru. Revealing the band's wilder, freer incarnation as seen in the Zoo TV tour, this biography offers stunning photos and never-before-published interviews, anecdotes, and stories.

U2 at the End of the World

by Bill Flanagan

For being about a rock 'n' roll group, this is amazingly good. But then, U2 is an amazing band: four Dublin kids who didn't know how to write songs, let alone play their instruments, but who had a dream. Flanagan treats the band as if they set out on a quest as trying as any traditional hero's journey. He paces their story as fast as their globe-trotting lives and makes it as inspiring as their fans find their music. He provides a remarkable glimpse into the hearts and minds of a group that has dazzled ears and eyes throughout the world, and in so doing, renders great service to U2.

A Grand Madness : Ten Years on the Road With U2

by Diane Ebertt Beeaff

A wise drummer (Clem Burke of Blondie) once said, "The ultimate fan transcends fandom and does it himself." Although Beeaff, a freelance writer living in Tucson, AZ, has not founded a band in her heroes' names, she has provided an earnest, perceptive account of the Irish supergroup's last four tours, in diary form. Unlike Bill Flanagan's U2 At the End of the World and Carter Alan's U2: the Road to Pop, in which the authors enjoyed backstage/VIP status, Beeaff relates getting crushed in crowds, listening to soundchecks, dining at Denny's, waiting like a monk in the rain for autographs, admiring lead singer Bono's bonhomie (she meets him more than once), feeling Edge's "Bullet the Blue Sky" guitar solo snap her heartstrings again and again, and anticipating U2's next gestalt. Other fans will get vicarious kicks out of Beeaff's multiple pilgrimages to Dublin, the band's hometown. Recommended.

Paperback 1 (27 September, 2000)
Hawkmoon Publications; ISBN: 0965618811