Biggest Rock/Pop Stars By Decade

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Originally Posted by Jondalar

U2 was not one of the biggest acts in the 80s.

not sure where you were in the 80s, but:

Studio albums -
Boy (1980)
October (1981)
War (1983)
The Unforgettable Fire (1984)
The Joshua Tree (1987)
Rattle and Hum (1988)
Achtung Baby (1991)
Zooropa (1993)
Pop (1997)
All That You Can't Leave Behind (2000)
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb (2004)
No Line on the Horizon (2009)
Songs of Innocence (2014)

also, Live Aid (1985) catapulted them to stratosphere:
U2 participated in the Live Aid concert for Ethiopian famine relief at Wembley Stadium in July 1985.[49] U2's performance in front of 72,000 fans in the stadium in an event that had a worldwide television audience of two billion people was a pivotal point in the band's career.[50] During a 14-minute performance of the song "Bad", Bono leapt down off the stage to embrace and dance with a fan, showing a television audience the personal connection that Bono could make with audiences.[51] In 1985, Rolling Stone magazine called U2 the "Band of the '80s", saying that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters" - from wikipedia