Editing U2 (section)

=== ''The Unforgettable Fire'' and Live Aid (1984–1985) ===
With their record deal with Island Records coming to an end, U2 signed a more lucrative extension in 1984. They negotiated the return of the copyrights of their songs, an increase in their royalty rate, and a general improvement in terms, at the expense of a larger initial payment.<ref name="band80s">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/u2-keeping-the-faith-55384/|title=Keeping the Faith|magazine=Rolling Stone|last=Connelly|first=Christopher|date=14 March 1985|access-date=2 July 2018|issue=443|pages=25+|archive-date=2 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702204911/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/u2-keeping-the-faith-55384/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Following the ''War'' album and tour, U2 feared that they were in danger of becoming another "shrill", "sloganeering [[Arena rock|arena-rock]] band".<ref name="RS_JT">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-joshua-tree-252429/|title=Review: The Joshua Tree|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Steve|last=Pond|date=9 April 1987|access-date=2 July 2018|issue=497|archive-date=2 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702180202/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/the-joshua-tree-252429/|url-status=live}}</ref> While they were confident that fans would embrace them as successors to groups like [[the Who]] and [[Led Zeppelin]], according to Bono: "something just didn't feel right. We felt we had more dimension than just the next big anything, we had something unique to offer."<ref name="U2byU2_147">McCormick (2006), p. 147</ref> They sought experimentation for their fourth studio album, ''[[The Unforgettable Fire]]''.<ref name="COMPLETE_21">Graham (2004), p. 21</ref> Clayton said, "We were looking for something that was a bit more serious, more arty."<ref name="U2byU2_147" /> The Edge admired the [[ambient music|ambient]] and "weird works" of [[Brian Eno]], who, along with his [[audio engineering|engineer]] [[Daniel Lanois]], eventually agreed to produce the record. The decision to hire them was against the wishes of Island Records founder [[Chris Blackwell]], who believed that just when the band were about to achieve the highest levels of success, Eno would "bury them under a layer of [[Avant-garde music|avant-garde]] nonsense".<ref name="U2byU2_151"/>

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Partly recorded in [[Slane Castle]], ''The Unforgettable Fire'' was released in October 1984 and marked a major change of style.<ref name="PARRA_52-56">de la Parra (2003), pp. 52–55</ref> It was ambient and abstract, and featured a rich, orchestrated sound. Under Lanois' direction, Mullen's drumming became looser, funkier, and more subtle, and Clayton's bass became more subtle.<ref name="STOKES_50-51">Stokes (1996), pp. 50–51</ref> Complementing the album's atmospheric sound, the lyrics were left open to interpretation, providing what the band called a "very visual feel".<ref name="PARRA_52-56"/> Due to a tight recording schedule, Bono felt songs like "[[Bad (U2 song)|Bad]]" and "[[Pride (In the Name of Love)]]" were incomplete "sketches".<ref name="U2byU2_151">McCormick (2006), p. 151</ref> The album reached number one in the UK,<ref>McGee (2008), p. 78</ref> and was successful in the US.<ref>{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p5723/charts-awards/billboard-albums|pure_url=yes}} |title=U2: Charts and Awards |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=16 November 2014}}</ref> The lead single "Pride (In the Name of Love)", written about [[civil rights movement]] leader [[Martin Luther King Jr.]], was their first song to chart in the US top 40.<ref>Graham (2004), pp. 23–24</ref>

[[File:U2 on Unforgettable Fire Tour 09-09-1984.jpg|thumb|U2 performing in Sydney in September 1984 on [[the Unforgettable Fire Tour]]]]
Much of [[the Unforgettable Fire Tour]] moved into indoor arenas as U2 built their audience.<ref>de la Parra (2003), pp. 62–63</ref> The complex textures of the new studio-recorded tracks, such as "[[The Unforgettable Fire (song)|The Unforgettable Fire]]" and "Bad", was hard to translate to live performances.<ref name="PARRA_52-56"/> One solution was programming [[music sequencer]]s, which the band had previously been reluctant to use but now incorporate into the majority of their performances.<ref name="PARRA_52-56"/> Songs on the album had been criticised as being "unfinished", "fuzzy", and "unfocused", but were better received by critics when played on stage. ''Rolling Stone'', which was critical of the album version of "Bad", described its live performance as a "show stopper".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Henke|first=James|title=Review: Wide Awake in America|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=18 July 1985|issue=452–453}}</ref>

In March 1985, a ''Rolling Stone'' cover story called U2 the "Band of the '80s", saying that "for a growing number of rock & roll fans, U2{{nbsp}}... has become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters".<ref name="band80s" /> On 13 July 1985, the group performed at the [[Live Aid]] concert at [[Wembley Stadium (1923)|Wembley Stadium]] for [[1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia|Ethiopian famine]] relief,<ref>{{cite news|title=Live Aid's Legacy of Concern|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|date=2 July 1995|first=Steve|last=Morse|edition=City|at=sec. Arts & Film, p. A1}}</ref> before a crowd of 72,000 fans and a worldwide television audience of 1.5&nbsp;billion people.<ref name="rs-liveaid-bad">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/u2s-bad-break-12-minutes-at-live-aid-that-made-the-bands-career-242777/|title=U2's 'Bad' Break: 12 Minutes at Live Aid That Made the Band's Career|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|first=Gavin|last=Edwards|date=10 July 2014|access-date=13 July 2020|archive-date=3 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803130522/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/u2s-bad-break-12-minutes-at-live-aid-that-made-the-bands-career-242777/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="mcg88">McGee (2008), pp. 88–89</ref> During a 12-minute performance of "Bad", Bono climbed down from the stage to embrace and dance with a female fan he had picked out of the crowd,<ref name="rs-liveaid-bad"/> showing a global audience the personal connection that he could make with fans.<ref>de la Parra (2003), pp. 72–73</ref> The performance was a pivotal event in the band's career;<ref>McCormick (2006), p. 164</ref> ''[[The Guardian]]'' cited Live Aid as the moment that made stars of U2, and it included their performance on a list of 50 key events in rock history.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/12/u2-stars-live-aid|title=U2 become stars after Live Aid|website=[[The Guardian]]|first=Pete|last=Paphides|date=12 June 2011|access-date=7 November 2016|archive-date=7 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161107223325/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/jun/12/u2-stars-live-aid|url-status=live}}</ref>