What are U2's biggest selling albums?

1 October 2024, 15:02 | Updated: 1 October 2024, 15:12

Forty years after the release of The Unforgettable Fire on 1st October 1984, Radio X looks back at the Irish band's most successful albums.

• Formed: Dublin, Ireland, 1976
• Members: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr
• First Single: U2 Three EP (September 1979)
• Album Discography: Boy (October 1980); October (October 1981); War (February 1983); The Unforgettable Fire (October 1984); The Joshua Tree (March 1987); Rattle & Hum (October 1988); Achtung Baby (November 1991); Zooropa (July 1993); Pop (March 1997); All That You Can't Leave Behind (October 2000); How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (November 2004); No Line On The Horizon (February 2009); Songs Of Innocence (September 2014); Songs Of Experience (December 2017); Songs Of Surrender (March 2023).

1. U2 - The Joshua Tree: release date 9th March 1987

   U2's fifth album established the band as superstars, going Platinum in its first week of release, despite only hittint the Number 1 spot in Britain for two weeks. One of the best-selling albums in history, The Joshua Tree was certified as 10 times Platinum in the UK in June 2023 and oversall sales are estimated as 2.88 million in this country, with over 25 million sales across the world.

   Singles from the album include With Of Without You, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, Where The Streets Have No Name and In God's Country.

   

2. U2 - Achtung Baby: release date 18th November 1991

   Following the commercial success but critical indifference given to the band's Rattle & Hum project in 1988, U2 went on hiatus, shacked up in Berlin with Brian Eno and reinvented themselves beyond recognition. The result was a huge hit, selling over 2.8 million copies in the UK and earning four-times Platinum status; worldwide sales are estimated at 18 million copies.

   Incredibly, Achtung Baby never topped the UK charts - the album was kept off Number 1 by Michael Jackson's Dangerous album, but U2's record remained on the chart for 51 conescutive weeks, which was shortly followed by another 18 weeks from December 1992. Singles included The Fly, She Moves In Mysterious Ways, One and Even Better Than The Real Thing.

   

3. U2 - All That You Can't Leave Behind: release date 30th October 2000

   The tenth album from U2 included the huge single Beautiful Day, plus Walk On, Elevation and Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of. Despite only making Number 1 in the charts for one week, the album remained on the chart for fifteen months and went Platinum in its first week on sale; it's now been certified Platinum four times both in the UK and the USA. Worldwide sales are estimated at 12 million copies, with 1.17 of those being sold in the UK.

   

4. U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb: release date 22nd November 2004

   Ther band's eleventh album was the U2 album to spend longest at Number 1 - three weeks in the top position in November and December 2004. U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb features the singles Vertigo and City Of Blinding Lights and has sold over 10 million copies worldwide; it's been certified four times Platinum in the BPI and three times Platinum by the RIAA in the US.

   

5. U2 - Rattle & Hum: release date 10th October 1988

   Half studio, half live, Rattle & Hum gave U2 their first UK Number 1 single in the shape of Desire, and the parent LP spent a week at the top. Other singles included Angel Of Harlem, When Love Comes To Town (with BB King) and the epic All I Want Is You. The album has been certified four times Platinum in the UK, five times Platinum in the US and oversale sales are estimated at 14 million worldwide.

   

6. U2 - War: release date 28th February 1983

   U2's first Number 1 album spawned the hits New Year's Day, Two Hearts Beat As One and Sunday Bloody Sunday. War has sold over 11 million copies worldwide and has been certified double Platinum in the UK; the album broke U2 in the States, where the LP has been certified four times Platinum.

   

7. U2 - No Line On The Horizon: release date 27th February 2009

   An unprecedented five year gap separated U2's twelfth album and its predecessor How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, with the UK sending it to Number 1 for two weeks. A Platinum-certified album in both the UK and US, singles included Magnificent and Get On Your Boots, while the accompanying U2 360° Tour went down in history as one of the highest-grossing outings by a rock band.

   

8. U2 - The Unforgettable Fire: release date 1st October 1984

   Enlisting the production skills of Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, U2 developed a more layered sound for their fourth album - and immediately saw huge commercial success, with the record making Number 1 for two weeks in Britain. Singles featured Pride (In The Name Of Love) and the alluring title track, and the album went double Platinum in the UK and triple Platinum in the States. The end of the Unforgetable Fire tour saw U2 play a career-defining set at Live Aid in July 1985.

   

9. U2 - Zooropa: release date 5th July 1993

   Recorded between legs of the ambitious Zoo TV Tour, this outing was even more experimental than its predecessor Achtung Baby, with The Edge taking a lead voal on the single Numb. Zooropa made Number 1 in the UK for one week, before being bumped to second place in the charts for five weeks behind UB40's Promises & Lies album. Other tracks included Lemon and Stay (Faraway, So Close) and overall sales for the album are estimated at 7 million copies worldwide.

   

10. U2 - Pop: release date 3rd March 1997

    Widely seen as a commercial failure after the huge success of Achtung Baby, Pop has still sold over 5 million copies around the world, and remained on the UK charts for 37 weeks. Pop spawned U2's third Number 1 single with Discothèque, with other key tracks being Staring At The Sun, If God Will Send His Angels, Please and Last Night On Earth. The album has been certified Platinum in the UK, USA, Australia, Belgium, France and a number of other countries.