The teenage U2 made a local name for themselves in their native Dublin and released a three track EP on CBS called U23 in 1979. In January 1980 a readers' poll in the Irish rock magazine Hot Press gave U2 the top spot in five categories. In April, they signed to Island Records and in May released their first single, "ll O' Clock Tick Tock."
U2's first three albums were produced by Steve Lillywhite and won them devoted audiences throughout Europe and America. Those recordings were BOY (October 1980), which contained the single "I Will Follow"; OCTOBER (October 1981), which included "Gloria"; and WAR (March 1983) which contained "New Year's Day," "Two Hearts Beat As One," and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and gave the band their first Number 1 album in the U.K.
In November of 1983 U2 released UNDER A BLOOD RED SKY, a live recording of their concert at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater. Produced by Jimmy Iovine, it was a breakthrough record for U2 in the U.S. and also went to Number 1 in the U.K. The Rolling Stone Writers' Poll named U2 1983's Band Of The Year.
In May of 1984 U2 began working with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois at Slane Castle outside Dublin. The resulting album, THE UNFORGETTABLE FIRE, was released in October 1984. "Pride (In The Name of Love)" became U2's biggest hit yet. The album entered the British charts at Number 1. U2 toured into 1985, selling out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden, the U.K.'s Milton Keynes Bowl and Dublin's Croke Park. Then in July 1985 U2 performed at Live Aid.
In the summer of 1986 U2 headlined Amnesty International's Conspiracy of Hope Tour of the U.S., which also featured Peter Gabriel, Lou Reed, Bryan Adams, The Neville Brothers, Joan Baez, and Sting. The final concert at New Jersey's Giant Stadium was televised by MTV and included additional guests Joni Mitchell, Muhammad Ali, Miles Davis and the final performance of The Police.
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