50 years of U2, 50 stories, 0 context 😈

Happy birthday, U2! 🎂

Fifty years ago today, September 25, 1976, a 14-year-old Larry Mullen Jr. put a notice on a school bulletin board. Paul, Dave, Adam and a couple of others squeezed into his kitchen. Fifty years later, we're still following them around the world, and they're still making new music.

To celebrate, we made something a little different.

🎙 The U2 50th Anniversary Special is out now

Part 1: 50 Stories With No Context. We've spent decades chasing this band, so we picked 50 true stories and told each in one line. No explanations. A sampling:

• Bono punched one of us.

• We've been to church with Bono twice. (We're Jewish.)

• One of us once held Bono like a baby.

• We lured him across the street with "the sounds of home." (If you know, you know.)

• We stole his straw. Then we drank from it.

It's all true. It just might not be exactly how you're picturing it.

Part 2: Our Top 50 U2 Songs. Two lists, very little agreement. One of us forgot Rattle and Hum completely. The other packed in more Rattle and Hum songs than anything else. "I'm Not Your Baby" made the cut thanks to a math error. And somehow neither of us picked "So Cruel." We are accepting hate mail.

👉 Listen on Apple Podcasts · Listen on Spotify · Watch on YouTube · or watch here:

🎶 And then U2 gave US a present

In case you missed it, "Silencio" is out, the first single from the new album Carnaval de Luz. Fifty years in and they're still going. We have OPINIONS. Watch our first-listen reaction HERE.

We finally have details on the album release. Carnaval de Luz will be released on November 13, 2026. The album includes 12 new songs, and we have two ("Street of Dreams" and "Silencio"). Bono said in the Irish Times that this is a prequel to the Days of Ash and Easter Lily EPs. The carnival before Lent. The tie is in the last song on the album, "Torn," featuring Dolly Parton. Bono speaks beautifully of their work with Dolly to Rolling Stone. It was the last thing she recorded before her death.

📬 Your turn

Hit reply and tell us two things:

1. Which of the 50 stories do you want told in full?

2. Your top 5 U2 songs, no overthinking.

We'll read our favorites on a future episode.

💚 Want the full stories? Patreon Pop Tarts vote on our monthly deep-dive topic. If enough of you want "the church door" or "the hotel window," that's what we'll cover. Join us on Patreon. Tartlets get early access for $5.

Here's to 50 more years. Cheers (with whiskey next time!),

Jenny & Hillary The Garden Tarts · thegardentarts.com

PS: Anyone else turn in to Stationhead at some ungodly hour just to hear a bunch of U2 songs and nothing from the band? This Tart is very very tired. There was going to be a section in this newsletter about whatever news occurred! But nothing. *sigh*