Songs Of Praise: Fire and Fervour from Ireland’s U2

U2, ONE OF IRELAND'S MOST SUCCESSFUL rock bands ever, seemed something of an anachronism when they arrived on the scene in 1980. The group had a guitar-based sound at a time of keyboard techno-pop and Christian commitment within the renowned hedonism of rock’n’roll. In The Edge (real name David Evans), they had perhaps the most distinctive guitarist of their generation, while in singer Bono Vox (real name Paul Hewson) they had one of rock’s most passionate performers. And although some linked U2 with the ‘new psychedelia’ of The Psychedelic Furs and Echo and the Bunnymen, and others saw them as just an orthodox rock group, the band had a power, passion and subtlety that singled them out from the pack.