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- The Observer, Sunday 18 December 2005
It is not a decision that could have been easily anticipated. But in looking back on 2005, it became impossible to ignore U2's claim to the title of OMM's Band of the Year. It felt as if other acts who laid claim to their crown as the kings of rock flunked it over the past 12 months. Not to be cruel to Coldplay (because they seem to take it very badly), but wasn't Live8 a perfect platform for an act of their generation to take on the mantle of the biggest group on the planet?
That's not to say that U2 won by default. Anyone who witnessed their Vertigo tour couldn't help but be awed by the way in which they have brought the live rock experience to new heights over the course of the past 25 years. This magazine's Paul Morley is perfectly placed to make that judgment: he gave Bono and co their first live review in the NME in 1980, when they were supporting a band called the Soul Boys in north London. 'Pretty drummer, odd bassist, tense guitarist, and to deliver their jittery balance of amiability and aggression a lead singer who could well grow to be something of a nuisance when U2 are TOTP regulars,' he noted. Catching up with the band on tour in North America this month, he discovered how much has changed - for one thing, U2 now count presidents and prime ministers among their fans - and also how little. It's been a quite astonishing journey.
