Album dossier / 1983
War
U2 · Rock
Recorded September-November 1982 at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin, U2's third straight LP with producer Steve Lillywhite; 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' grew from a guitar riff the Edge wrote during a bout of self-doubt, its militaristic drum hook shaped after drummer Larry Mullen Jr. was persuaded to try a click track, and a busking violinist, Steve Wickham, added the song's closing solo after approaching the Edge at a bus stop. The album knocked Michael Jackson's Thriller off the top of the UK chart on release and became U2's first US Gold record, transforming the band from post-punk cult act into a politically engaged arena act.
Record facts
- Label
- Island Records
- Producer
- Steve Lillywhite
- Chart peak
- #1 UK, #12 US
- Notable tracks
- ★ Sunday Bloody Sunday
- ★ New Year's Day
Artist & discography
Complete 1980s Studio Discography
6 studio albums released from 1980–1989 by U2. Archived records link directly to full dossiers; remaining releases are queued for harvesting. MusicBrainz source.
Complete track listing · 10 tracks
- Sunday Bloody Sunday
- Seconds
- New Year's Day
- Like A Song...
- Drowning Man
- The Refugee
- Two Hearts Beat As One
- Red Light
- Surrender
- "40"
Watch & listen
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Campaign & landing routes
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Source register
en.wikipedia.org, officialcharts.com, pistand.com, u2.com · track listing: https://www.discogs.com/release/496426 · cover art: coverartarchive.org
Last enriched: 2026-08-20