Recommendations of the Editorial team
The best songwriters of all time – 35th place: Bono and The Edge, U2
When they formed their band in the mid-1970s, U2 members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. made an unusual decision: the proceeds from all royalties were to be distributed in four equal parts.
But as important as Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. may be to the U2 sound, from day one Bono and The Edge were the songwriters who gave the band its face. Bono is responsible for the big vision and the anthemic hooks, while The Edge represents the joy of experimentation and the acoustic architecture.
U2: “Sunday Bloody Sunday”
In tandem, the two developed a spectrum of content that ranges from youthful outcry (“Out Of Control”) to political appeal (“Sunday Bloody Sunday”). From the stadium-ready sing-along (“Where The Streets Have No Name”) to funky dance floor sweepers like “Mysterious Ways” and “Discotheque”. Or to highly personal songs like “The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone)” from “Songs Of Innocence”.
As a charismatic frontman, Bono may be primarily in the spotlight, but he is the first to acknowledge the importance of his songwriting partner. “Intelligent people know what he means to the band,” Bono told Rolling Stone in 2005, “and the rest of the world doesn’t care. I just tear my hair out and say, ‘How can it be that the whole world doesn’t already know that?'”
Chris Martin on Coldplay:
“My first U2 album ever was ‘Aehrung Baby’. That was 1991 and I was 14 years old. Before that I didn’t even know what albums were. From then on I worked my way back – every six months I bought a new U2 album.
Their sound – the driving bass, the drums underneath, and those ethereal, effects-laden guitars that seemed to float in the sky – was something that had never been heard before. They are perhaps the only band in history to make really good rock anthems. But definitely the best.
I like that they are good friends and each plays an important role in each other’s lives. I like that they have such different interests – when Larry Mullen Jr. wants to go diving for a week, the others can just twiddle their thumbs.”