Surrender summary

In September 1973, Bono enters his second year at Mount Temple Comprehensive. Seeing two pretty first-year girls walk by, he asks them for directions to the science lab. Though they laugh at him, his eye is caught by the one with the dark curls and orange sweater. It’s Alison Stewart, and he’s entranced by her “bookish looks.” She’s 12 years old.

When they are older, the pair exchange a couple of kisses, but nothing serious develops yet, maybe because Bono already has an inkling that this is something special that he does not want to rush. He wants to do this right.

Not only did Reggie play a role in getting Ali and Bono together, it was also Reggie who talked Bono into responding to a notice that another schoolmate, Larry Mullens, had posted in school.

Walking into Larry’s kitchen, the boys found it noisy with kids, drums, and amps. A cluster of teen musicians filled the room. Larry and his brother were looking for bandmates and as well as Bono and Reggie, the room included Adam Clayton and David Evans.

And now they were really doing it: touring. Crammed into a bus with their tour manager Dennis Sheehan, they drove through Europe in the early ‘80s, playing soccer stadiums and plazas. They crossed borders and prayed after gigs. Sharing the playbill with names such as R.E.M’s MIchael Stipe, inspired Bono to see the world differently.

They began heading farther afield. American music and influences became a huge part of their musicality. In December, 1980, U2 toured the United States. They painted while they wrote the songs to “Joshua Tree.” They rode motorcycles. When a beloved friend died in a motorcycle accident, the whole group traveled with his body to New Zealand to deliver it to his parents. They wrote “One Tree Hill” for him.

…

In the late 1980s, U2 moved to Los Angeles. They partied. Bought houses in the hills. Rode motorbikes, drank tequila. At first, they thought parenthood wouldn’t fit in with this carefree rock star lifestyle and with their creative agenda. Funnily enough, it was a night with Quincy Jones while watching all his kids climbing all over him that made them think otherwise.

…

If there was a time when the rock behemoth could have come unglued, it should have been 1997’s worldwide PopMart tour. U2 had become fascinated with dance and electronic music. This album was a big departure not just in terms of music, but stylistically on stage. They kicked off PopMart in Las Vegas to a terrible start. They didn’t have enough time to practice, Jordan was bitten by a dog, and Bono lost his voice due to an allergy. They toured to half-empty stadiums and received bad reviews.