- The beginning of U2 -

How it all started
In the year 1974 placed a boy named Larry Mullen a note on the bulletin board in his school.
On the note he asked for some people to start a band with.
On that note reacted a couple of people, their names were : Dick and Dave Evans, Paul Hewson and Adam Clayton.
The Evens bros. brought their own guitar. Paul Hewson brought ideas (He had no guitar, but he said he could play one, what wasn't really the truth.). Adam Clayton (a guy who just came from England and wore a strange Afganish coat.) brought a real bass-guitar. In co-operation with Larry's drums they held a jam-session. They were impressed by the noise the made, so they decided to form the band Feedback.
When the really started practising they noticed that Paul wasn't born as a guitar player nor as a singer. The planned to kick him out of the group, but Paul became a frontman. He compensated his lake of talent with the qualities of a real frontman.

They first real performance was at talent contest at their school (Mount Temple).
Later, at their second gig they called themselves The Hype. By that time Dick Evans wasn't in the band anymore, later he played in a band called The virgin prunes.

In march 1977 Adam was expelled from Mount Temple, and decided to devote all his time and energy to the band.
Adam made it his business to ring up musicians on the Dublin rock scene and ask them for advice on how to get gigs.
In was during such a call to Steve Averill (singer of the band The radiators from space) that Adam confessed that he had his doubts about calling the band The Hype. Steve Averill advised them to rename themselves U2. Soon afterwards the band went down to Limerick to take part in a talent contest and came away with the first prize of £500 ($750), and the opportunity to do a recording session in the CBS studios.
At this time Paul Hewson had his nickname Bono Vox, and Dave Evans The Edge.
After they had dropped the Beach Boys covers, where they started with, they start to develop their own sound. Larry and Adam were learning to work together as the backbone of the band.
The Edge was developing a unique distorted and highly colourful style, and Bono was providing a series of improvised lyrics. Some of these songs where : 'Cartoon world', 'The fool', 'Shadows and tall trees', and the most important one (this one he wrote on his 18th birthday) 'Out of control'.
With their gigs they were attracting a small following, but there was one problem coming up. The schoolyear was coming to an end. If they wouldn't become a full-time concern, their parents would force them to find alternative careers. Desperate as they were, they asked Bill Graham for advice
( Dublin's hot press magazine). Bill adviced them to get a descent manager, and gave them the phone number of his friend Paul McGuinness. When Paul saw U2 for the first time (Dublin's Project Arts Theatre) in May that year, he knew that there was a long road to follow, but he was also impressed by Bono's efforts to communicate with the audience. He decided to take them on.
The arrival of Paul McGuinness was a crucial to the developement of U2.

So, this the way a long story started.

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