U2’s legacy looms large — stadium-filling anthems, global activism, and a catalogue that spans decades. But as towering as their success has been, so has the disdain from some corners of the music world. This is the list of five musicians who openly admitted they couldn’t stand U2, the reasons are as varied as the critics themselves.
Henry Rollins
Punk legend Henry Rollins didn’t mince words when it came to U2’s musical credentials: “They have the worst rhythm section in big rock. That is the most plodding, corny rhythm section ever to fill a stadium.” Rollins took aim at what he saw as U2’s inflated ambition tethered to conventional rock-band fundamentals.
Liam Gallagher
Former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher didn’t admire their music so much as their swagger: “They pass themselves as a rock ’n’ roll band, but what the? … I’ve never seen any of them do anything remotely rock ’n’ roll.” Gallagher’s barbs echoed a broader indignation over U2’s positioning in the rock pantheon.
Ozzy & Sharon Osbourne
Even rock royalty had issues. Ozzy Osbourne admitted: “I liked some of their earlier stuff, but to be perfectly honest … Bono pisses me off.” He criticized the band’s free-album gambit and what he saw as corporate musical manoeuvring. Sharon tweeted: “U2 are business moguls not musicians anymore.”
Ian McCulloch & Echo & the Bunnymen
Liverpool’s Ian McCulloch said of Bono: “I’ve always thought he was a cnt… U2 have never been liked in Liverpool. We know a fake when we see one.”* The accusation: that U2’s posturing and polish stood in stark contrast to a raw, working-class rock ethos.
Patrick Carney
Drummer of The Black Keys, Patrick Carney took aim at the band’s gesture-heavy releases: “It devalued their music completely … It sends a huge mixed message to bands … that are just struggling to get by.” He framed U2’s free iTunes album release as tone-deaf to emerging musicians.
Across these critiques two threads emerge: credibility and context. The critics saw U2 as too polished, too privileged, too ambitious for what rock originally stood for. Whether it was Bono’s celebrity footprint, the Edge’s atmospheric textures, or a controversial iTunes release, to some they became the opposite of rebellion, the opposite of raw.
And yet: U2’s influence remains undeniable. Their journey from post-punk hopefuls to global icons is a textbook in longevity and reinvention. But for the dissenters, the band symbolises what happens when rock trades its sharp edges for spectacle and sincerity for structure.
In the end, U2 are both loved and loathed — and these five voices make clear that sometimes hatred speaks as loudly as adoration in art.
