U2
Fabio Fazio: "gli U2 a Che tempo che fa"

U2 exclusively on 'Che tempo che fa'. A masterstroke for Fazio, no doubt about it. The entourage of the Irish band has announced, unfortunately for those who won’t be able to get seats in the Rai studio of Che tempo che fa, that the four musicians will be in Italy only for the appearance, then other commitments will take them to other destinations. Obviously, U2's presence on Italian soil is related to the promotion of Songs of Innocence, their latest album, already circulating through the completely unexpected system of free download from iTunes. If the 12th is the day of their guest appearance with Fazio, exactly the day after, it will be the first day to purchase the CD in the canonical way, namely from music retailers. While waiting for the four to present their compositions on Che tempo che fa, it is worth taking stock of the U2 phenomenon. So, how does one become U2? The first answer that comes to mind is borrowed from the astute Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche who published his writing titled, How One Becomes What One Is. Certainly, it's undeniable that such an attitude, which is futile to seek what's right before one's eyes, leads to calming minds. However, considering the topic in the sense of, paraphrasing, How One Becomes the U2 That One Is, leaves the matter a bit unresolved. Here's the story. In 1976 Larry Mullen Jr. put out a notice, indicating he was looking for guys to form a band. Responding to the call were Dave Evans, guitarist, known as "The Edge", Adam Clayton, bassist, and Paul Hewson. If anyone is wondering who the final Paul is, the answer can only be categorical: he's the inventor of U2; also known as Bono Vox (taken from a hearing aid store on a central Dublin street). At this point, Nietzsche's thesis might start to fall apart, in fact How One Becomes the U2 That One Is, begins to not hold up because the four would arrive at that denomination late: first Feedback, then they became Hype, and, finally U2 (a type of American spy planes from the Second World War). Bono at the time was a sixteen-year-old with few prospects. He was a gas station attendant and a suburban boy who loved music. The situation that led him to create a 'musical family', or the band, was the death of his mother. Mullen was 14 years old, The Edge 15, Clayton and Bono 16: these were the budding U2 grappling with the greyness of the Ballymun suburb. They began in 1976, but by 1979 U2 was already on the rise. Inside, they had the right drive and the desire to take on the whole world. The latter did not want their war, but their songs. With manager Paul McGuinness, the official start of a dream career began. U2, within the rock-related business, are a true unicum, one of the very few successful cases of merging political commitment and commercial success. The challenge won by these extraordinary musicians has been reaching millions of people without accepting compromises, without retreating into their ideological hermitage selling only a few records to the few pure like them. Now, at the end of this brief dissertation, one knows more than a few lines before, yet still less of the true reason that allowed U2 to be U2; the mystery has not been unveiled and perhaps Nietzsche was right.