War (U2 album)

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War is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on 28 February 1983. It was produced by Steve Lillywhite and recorded between September and November 1982 at Windmill Lane Studio in Dublin. The album is often seen as U2’s first clearly political work, with songs like Sunday Bloody Sunday and New Year’s Day reflecting the world’s conflicts in the early 1980s. Bono has said war seemed to be the motif of 1982. Musically, War is harsher than previous albums, with less delay on the Edge’s guitar. The opening track, Sunday Bloody Sunday, is a powerful protest song inspired by The Troubles in Northern Ireland, featuring a distinctive drum pattern and a noted violin contribution from Steve Wickham. The sessions also saw Larry Mullen Jr. adopt a click track to help stay in time, and the Coconuts provided backing vocals on Surrender. The closing track, 40, was recorded in the final hours of the sessions and is based on Psalm 40; in live performances, the Edge and Adam Clayton swap instruments for the final chorus.

The album cover features a young boy, Peter Rowen, chosen to convey war’s personal and psychological dimensions rather than a battlefield image. The song New Year’s Day draws inspiration from the Polish Solidarity movement and, like the rest of the album, aims to address both the physical and emotional impact of conflict.

War spawned several singles. New Year’s Day (the lead single) reached the UK top ten and became U2’s first chart entry on the US Billboard Hot 100. Two Hearts Beat as One and Sunday Bloody Sunday were released in March 1983 in different regions, while 40 was issued as a German promotional single. Critics were mixed in the UK, with some outlets praising the album’s energy and message and others finding it less compelling than earlier work. In the US, War reached number 12 on the charts, and the album ultimately sold about 11 million copies worldwide. It was U2’s first number-one album in the UK.

To support War, U2 launched the War Tour, running from late 1982 through 1983 and playing about 110 shows across Europe, the US, and Japan. The tour helped grow their audience, with memorable moments such as Bono waving a white flag during performances of Sunday Bloody Sunday and the Red Rocks show, later featured on the live album Under a Blood Red Sky and the concert video Live at Red Rocks. The War Tour was U2’s first highly profitable run.

War has remained an influential release. It was remastered in 2008 and reissued in multiple formats. The album is frequently cited in critics’ lists of the era’s best and has appeared on Rolling Stone’s lists of the greatest albums of all time. All tracks on the album were written by U2.