In what year did the band that became U2 form?

The band that became U2 formed in 1976.

The group began in Dublin when drummer Larry Mullen Jr. posted a notice at Mount Temple Comprehensive School seeking musicians for a band. The early lineup included Mullen, Paul Hewson, David Evans, Adam Clayton, and Peter Martin, who soon left. The group initially used names including Feedback and The Hype before settling on U2.

The year 1976 marks the band’s formation, not the release of its first album. U2’s debut studio album, Boy, arrived in 1980, after several years of rehearsing, performing in Ireland, and developing its sound. This distinction is important because some summaries date U2’s professional breakthrough to the late 1970s rather than its original formation.

U2 remained one of the few major rock bands whose classic four-member lineup stayed intact throughout its long career.