Reuniting in the Studio After Eight Years, the Irish Rock Icons Reflect on Their Legacy and the Music Yet to Come

U2, one of the most iconic rock bands in history, has reunited in the studio after an eight-year hiatus. The four-piece band, consisting of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr., has been working on new music, and their enthusiasm is palpable. In an exclusive interview with the Ivor Novello Awards, the band members shared their thoughts on their legacy, past mistakes, and their vision for the future of music.

The band’s reunion comes after a period of reflection, during which they revisited and re-recorded some of their biggest hits on the mostly acoustic album “Songs Of Surrender.” They also recreated their 1990s Berlin reinvention on “Achtung Baby” and released an archival album of unreleased material from “How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.” According to Bono, the band’s decision to focus on their past was a deliberate choice to understand where their desire to be heard came from, and to get to the present and future.

“We spent a moment thinking about the past – but you do that because you need to understand where that desire to be heard came from,” Bono explained. “And then you can get to the present and to the future – because the sound of the future is what we’re most interested in. It doesn’t exist yet. It’s ours to make, and that’s what we have the chance to do.”

The band’s past is marked by both success and controversy. In 2014, they released their album “Songs of Innocence” on to people’s iPhones without their consent, a move that was widely criticized. Bono took full responsibility for the stunt in his autobiography, saying “I’d thought if we could just put our music within reach of people, they might choose to reach out toward it. Not quite.”

Despite the setbacks, U2 remains one of the best-selling bands of all time, with over 175 million albums sold worldwide. As they enter their fifth decade together, the band is ready to “re-apply for the job of best band in the world,” as they memorably put it in 2001.

A year ago, Bono expressed his desire to release “a noisy, uncompromising, unreasonable guitar album,” citing AC/DC as an influence. The band’s guitarist, The Edge, has been working on this album, but the other band members are teasing him about his lack of progress. “We have a guitar genius in our band, and the only person who doesn’t know it is him,” Bono said with a smile.

As U2 looks to the future, they are determined to push the boundaries of music and create something new and original. With their reunion, they are re-applying for the job of best band in the world, and it remains to be seen what they will come up with next.