Life changes and War

On August 21, 1982, Bono married his long time girlfriend Alison Stewart. To heal the rift that formed between them during the Shalom Fellowship period, Bono asked Adam to act as his best man.

Soon after the wedding, U2 went back into the studio to record their third album. War was released February 28, 1983. While October was heavily influenced by faith and God, War was very politically driven.

The album's first single, "New Years Day" was originally written by Bono as a love song to his wife Ali. However, it was eventually re-written and reshaped, inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement.


"Sunday Bloody Sunday" was released as a single on March 11, 1983 in Germany and The Netherlands. The song was written about the troubles in Northern Ireland, specifically the Bloody Sunday massacre in Derry in 1972.

The single gained popularity worldwide when the video, a live performance at their now legendary concert at Red Rocks in Colorado, was played in heavy rotation on MTV.


On July 12th, The Edge married his secondary school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan. Edge was also the first member of U2 to become a father, with the birth of daughter Hollie the following year.