‘U2: The Ultimate Music Guide’ – on sale now

In 1992, Bono surprised diners at Russian eatery Nikita’s in London by taking off his clothes. “Sometimes people drink vodka and do strange things,” mused owner Sylvain Borsi. The facts in this gallery are all taken from ‘U2: The Ultimate Music Guide’, which is out now, brought to you by the makers of Uncut.

The band were immortalised on an Irish postage stamp in 2002, as part of a set of Irish rock legends which also featured Van Morrison, Phil Lynott and Rory Gallagher. Keep clicking for more little-known U2 facts.

U2 Way, the stretch of West 53rd Street in Manhattan temporarily renamed after the band in March of this year, was similarly briefly renamed Tony Bennett Way in the 1990s.

The scar on Bono’s chin was sustained after he fell offstage holding a spotlight while rehearsing for ‘The Joshua Tree’ tour in Arizona. Pic: Kevin Westenberg

The long-running rumour that the herd of buffalo seen in the video for ‘One’ belonged to Neil Young remains unconfirmed. The facts in this gallery are all taken from ‘U2: The Ultimate Music Guide’, from the makers of Uncut, in newsagents now.

U2’s largest live audience to date is 150,000 in Reggio Emilia, Italy, on the PopMart tour of 1997. These facts are all taken from ‘U2: The Ultimate Music Guide’, brought to you by the makers of Uncut.

U2 were once the subject of a question on a Microsoft job application, which involved potential employees calculating how long it would take all four members to cross a bridge, two at a time, with one of the group at all times holding the only flashlight they possessed. Pic: Anton Corbijn

The castle pictured on the front cover of ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ is called Moydrum, and is just outside Athlone in County Westmeath. The back cover castle is Carrigogunnell in County Tipperary.

The “JJ RIP” liner note on the ‘Pop’ album refers to Larry Mullen’s dog who died during the recording sessions.

The Edge shelled out £15,000 for a ‘Spitting Image’ puppet of Jarvis Cocker at a 2008 charity auction. Pic: Kevin Westenberg

U2 were fourth on the bill for the Loreley Festival on August 20, 1983, a performance captured by West German TV show ‘Rockpalast 83’ and then used for six tracks on ‘Under A Blood Red Sky’. The band were billed ahead of Dave Edmunds, but behind Stray Cats, Joe Cocker and Steve Miller, the headline act. Pic: Kevin Westenberg

‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind’ was banned in Burma, after the government’s State Peace And Development Council discovered the track ‘Walk On’ was dedicated to Burmese human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi. Pic: Kevin Westenberg

Adam Clayton was replaced by guitar tech Stuart Morgan for a gig in Sydney in 1993, Bono explaining to the audience that the bassist was ill. Clayton later confessed to Ireland’s Hot Press magazine that he’d been nursing a hangover after a lengthy drinking session the night before.