Healthy competition: Bono and the band he says made U2 raise their standards
Musical rivalries are often ugly affairs. People write diss tracks and question an artist’s moral integrity amid a hate-filled and jealousy-fuelled haze; however, sometimes, a bit of a rivalry can be a good thing. This was the case for U2 and one band in particular. In an open letter, Bono thanked the group for raising the standards of what could be achieved through music and helping U2 subsequently reach new heights.
There have been a number of different music rivalries. Some are nasty affairs, as the likes of Biggie and 2Pac ended in the death of both rappers, while other unlikely feuds, such as that between Fred Durst and Van Halen, ended with musicians having guns pointed in their faces. All in all, conflict in the creative arts should be avoided as best as possible.
That being said, some rivalries work to an artist’s advantage. This could be because they get a hit song because they disrespect an artist. Alternatively, and much more wholesomely, any competition causes a band to raise its standards and produce top-quality music. This is what happened with The Beatles and The Beach Boys. The two biggest outfits in the world at their peak and the persistent publication of top-quality music meant neither musical outfit could settle for anything less than perfection. The same happened to U2 when Echo and the Bunnymen began gaining traction.
In 1980, Echo and the Bunnymen released their second single, ‘Rescue’. The track was the first of the bands to chart officially, as their musical ability, charm, and unique melody, which they weaved into every part of the track, seemed to connect with the public. Suddenly, there was a new group that those who had the spotlight had to concern themselves with, and Bono found their music as a call to action, one that said U2 had to raise their standards.
“I don’t think U2 would be as good as we are without Echo and the Bunnymen,” said Bono when discussing the band’s impact on him. “You really raised the standard in what could be achieved by not ‘growing up’.”
Bono went on to complement individual aspects of the band, saying, “The guitar, bass and drums so unique, the production of the songs usually so deft and unobtrusive,” he said. “The voice, the baritone, the bell canto, and the lips like sugar… and weedkiller when they had to be.”
However, mutual respect wasn’t always shared by both bands. In later years, the two have been able to reflect on the good both did for one another and pick out good points in their music. Still, before that, their attitude towards one another reflected the ugly side of rivalry rather than the constructive side. Ian McCulloch of Echo and the Bunnymen once went as far as to describe U2’s music as “Music for plumbers and bricklayers.”
Now, with the power of hindsight, both bands can look at their rivalry and the music that came from it in a much more positive light. Both need to exist for us to enjoy their best work, as without that constant drive, likely, we probably wouldn’t have gotten the fantastic music we did. This is when rivalry is a good thing, but of course, that’s not always the case, as some creative spats stem so out of control that they do damage no amount of bricklayers and plumbers could ever fix.
