Test your knowledge of U2's biggest hits, deep cuts and iconic moments.
Scores are valid for 15 days.
Most U2 songs give themselves away through the guitar, not the voice: the delayed arpeggio of 'Where the Streets Have No Name', the sustain of 'With or Without You', the ring of 'Pride'. Name them from the intro.
Behind U2's sound sit the questions that break a tie: a 22-Grammy record, a Spanish count-in that lands on 'fourteen', and an album the band pushed free into half a billion iTunes accounts overnight.
U2's catalog splits by the tell: the guitar-led intros, the songs the voice carries, the ironic Achtung Baby reinvention and the deep cuts. See which era slips past you.
This is where casual fans clean up: U2 songs that announce themselves through The Edge's guitar. The delayed arpeggio of 'Where the Streets Have No Name', the ringing chords of 'Pride (In the Name of Love)', the surging riff of 'Beautiful Day' and the stop-start attack of 'Vertigo' are on you before Bono opens his mouth. Name them from the guitar alone and you bank the easy points.
Some U2 songs hide the guitar and lean on Bono and atmosphere instead, and that shift is its own test. 'One', 'With or Without You' and 'I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For' build on mood and vocal more than a hook you can hum from the intro, so the tell moves from the fretboard to the melody. Players who rely only on the riff stall here.
In 1991 U2 tore up their own template. Achtung Baby and its Zoo TV tour pushed the band into electronics, irony and distortion, with Bono performing as characters like The Fly and MacPhisto. 'The Fly', 'Even Better Than the Real Thing' and 'Mysterious Ways' can sound like a different group, which is exactly why a good U2 quiz drops one in to catch you out.
The catalog's edges decide the top scores. The early urgency of 'Gloria' and 'New Year's Day', the Rattle and Hum blues of 'Desire' and 'Angel of Harlem', and later cuts like 'Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of' and 'City of Blinding Lights' are where lifelong fans separate. Place these and there is little U2 left to trip you.
Play the free U2 quiz on Songtrivia to find out. Guess songs from a short clip, mostly by The Edge's guitar, and answer trivia across the 80s anthems and the 90s reinvention. Score 8 out of 10 and you know the band; a perfect 10 across the deep cuts is rare.
Expect the anthems everyone knows, 'With or Without You', 'Where the Streets Have No Name', 'One', 'Beautiful Day' and 'Sunday Bloody Sunday', plus deep cuts like 'New Year's Day' and 'Desire' that separate the superfans.
You usually name a U2 song from The Edge's chiming, delay-heavy guitar rather than the vocal, so the hard round is the 1990s, when Achtung Baby turned that guitar electronic and ironic and a track can sound nothing like U2.
U2 have kept the same four members since 1976: Bono (born Paul Hewson) on vocals, The Edge (born David Evans) on guitar, Adam Clayton on bass and Larry Mullen Jr. on drums. The band formed in Dublin, Ireland.
Yes. Every U2 quiz on Songtrivia is free to play, with no signup and no Spotify account needed. Pick one and start guessing. You can also guess the song with friends in a multiplayer round.
Wikipedia · AllMusic · Pitchfork · Billboard · Songtrivia editorial team.
Each topic is curated by a Quiz Master with category expertise. Selection crosses cultural impact, chart performance, recognition potential and era variety.