U2 are a rock band from Dublin, Ireland consisting of Bono (vocals, guitar, and harmonica), The Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar) and Larry Mullen Jr. (drums and percussion).  They formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency, but by the mid-1980s, the band had become a top international act. 

Island Records signed U2 in March 1980, and "11 O'Clock Tick Tock" became the band's first internationally released single that May. The band's debut album followed in October, and received generally positive reviews. U2 participated in the Live Aid concert for Ethiopian famine relief at Wembley Stadium in July 1985. U2's performance was considered one of the show's most memorable and was a turning point in the band's career.

Friendships with Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, and Keith Richards motivated the band to look back to the roots of rock music, and focused Bono on his skills as a song and lyric writer. This resulted in the band's fifth studio album, "The Joshua Tree" being released in March 1987. It became the fastest-selling album in British chart history, and was number one for nine weeks in the United States.  It won U2 their first two Grammy Awards. The album's first two singles, "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For", quickly went to number one in the U.S. 

Paul McGuinness  U2's manager is quoted 31March 2008 "The band are in the studio now. We hope to release an album this fall and tour in '09," says McGuinness. "There's a constant rolling plan and sometimes it gets postponed, but we plan all the time, and that's the current plan."

U2's Last Tour Vertigo 2005/6 was one of the biggest tours ever and included:-

U2 Vertigo Tour Dates
U2 Tickets - 10-Jun Brussels Roi Boudoin 
U2 Tickets - 12-Jun Gelsenkirchen Schalke Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 14-Jun Manchester City of Manchester
U2 Tickets - 18-Jun London Twickenham
U2 Tickets - 19-Jun London Twickenham
U2 Tickets - 21-Jun Glasgow Hampden Park 
U2 Tickets - 24-Jun Dublin Croke Park 
U2 Tickets - 25-Jun Dublin Croke Park 
U2 Tickets - 29-Jun Cardiff Millenium Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 02-Jul Vienna Ernst Happel Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 05-Jul katowice Slaski Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 07-Jul Berlin Olympic Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 09-Jul Paris Stade de France 
U2 Tickets - 13-Jul Amsterdam Amsterdam Arena 
U2 Tickets - 15-Jul Amsterdam Amsterdam Arena 
U2 Tickets - 16-Jul Amsterdam Amsterdam Arena 
U2 Tickets - 18-Jul Zurich  Letzigrund Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 20-Jul Milan San Siro 
U2 Tickets - 23-Jul Rome Olympic Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 27-Jul Oslo Vallehovin
U2 Tickets - 29-Jul Gothenburg Ullevi
U2 Tickets - 31-Jul Copenhagen Parken
U2 Tickets - 03-Aug Munich Olympic Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 05-Aug Nice Parc des Sports 
U2 Tickets - 07-Aug Barcelona Estadi Camp Nou 
U2 Tickets - 09-Aug San Sabastian  Anota Stadium 
U2 Tickets - 11-Aug Madrid Caledron
U2 Tickets - 14-Aug Lisbon Alvlade