无可争议，80年代英国和爱尔兰最受瞩目的伟大乐队是U2，在80年代被滚石杂志称为U2的十年，由此可见U2的巨大影响。The Edge的招牌吉他音响与Bono情感炽热的演唱已使U2成为最流行的摇滚乐队之一。这支真正出自地下的乐队创造了地下音乐的商业神话。
　　U2已经创作并录制了一些真正伟大而动人的歌曲。从80年代起U2就致力于反战，自由等事业，也许这种精神才是U2的伟大之处。专辑《War》是U2对在祖国爱尔兰发生的宗教与政治风暴的真挚而富于情感的回应。包括了像"Sunday Bloody Sunday"和"New Year\'s Day"这样的发自内心的赞歌。《War》树立了U2在表现政治良知的音乐领域中的先锋领袖地位，也为被世人误为暴躁，发泄，肮脏的摇滚乐正了名。 U2为尼古拉斯.凯奇和梅格.瑞恩主演的电影〔天使之城〕制作了一首主题歌《If god will send his angels》，没有炫耀的吉他，没有急促的鼓鸣，一切归于沉静，主唱BONO用用最低沉的嗓音吟唱，一种痛至极度的哀伤淡淡流淌出来，却轻易就敲碎了听者的心。此曲可以说是U2演绎的最动情的情歌，也是20世纪最百听不厌的经典情歌之一。

Nobody else here baby
No one here to blame
No one to point the finger
It\'s just you and me and the rain
Nobody made you do it
No one put words in your mouth
Nobody here taking orders
When love took a train heading south

It\'s the blind leading the blond
It\'s the stuff, it\'s the stuff of country songs

Hey if God will send his angels
And if God will send a sign
And if God will send his angels
Would everything be alright

God has got his phone off the hook, babe
Would he even pick up if he could
It\'s been a while since we saw that child
Hanging \'round this neighbourhood
You see his mother dealing in a doorway
See Father Christmas with a begging bowl
Jesus sister\'s eyes are a blister
The High Street never looked so low

It\'s the blind leading the blond
It\'s the cops collecting for the cons
So where is the hope and where is the faith
And the love...what\'s that you say to me
Does love...light up your Christmas Tree
The next minute you\'re blowing a fuse
And the cartoon network turns into the news

If God will send his angels
And if God will send a sign
And if God will send his angels
Where do we go
Where do we go

Jesus never let me down
You know Jesus used to show me the score
Then they put Jesus in show business
Now it\'s hard to get in the door

It\'s the stuff, it\'s the stuff of country songs
But I guess it was something to go on

If God will send his angels
I sure could use them here right now
Well if God would send his angels

I don\'t want to lie
(Where do we go)
I don\'t want to have a feel for the song
And I want to love, and I...
(Where do we go)
And I want to feel alone