U2 War

A young boy (Peter Rowan) in monochrome staring forward, on left edge is red banner with white text " U2 WAR"

U2 is an Irish rock band that was formed by ban members Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. in 1976. The band’s sound is composed of Bono’s smooth timbre, and the expressive melodies performed by The Edge’s guitar. War is U2’s third studio album and was released February 28, 1983.

War is considered the first politically charged album that U2 created. For example; “Sunday Bloody Sunday” is about the conflicts that  occurred in Northern Ireland in 1972, “Seconds” is a song about nuclear weapons and their abundance, and “New Years Day” is about the Polish solidarity movement. “New Year’s Day” remains one of U2’s most played and most popular songs of all time.

The boy that is pictured on the album cover is Peter Rowen, the brother of Bono’s friend Guggi. Peter Rowen also appears on the covers of Boy, Three, The Best of 1980-1990 and Early Demos. It was believed that a picture of a child would be more effective than tanks or guns because war can be emotional and psychological between loved ones, it is not just a physical thing.

U2 toured for about ten months and played 110 gigs to promote the War album.