U2 at 50: 50 things you might not know

From a kitchen in Artane to some of the biggest stages in the world, U2 have spent five decades making music together. As the Dublin band mark their 50th anniversary, here are 50 facts from their remarkable story.

On 25 September 1976, a group of teenagers gathered in drummer Larry Mullen Jr's kitchen on Dublin's northside after he put a notice on a school board looking for musicians.

Fifty years later, Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Mullen remain U2, with a catalogue stretching from Boy and War to The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and beyond. Along the way, they have also racked up 21 Irish number one singles, more than any other act.

The anniversary is also being marked by the launch of an official €2 commemorative coin in Ireland.

Here are 50 things from five decades of U2.

1. It really did begin in Larry Mullen Jr's kitchen