“War” was the third studio album by Irish band U2 released in 1983. The album had famously topical songs like “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “Seconds,” and a Clash-inspired track called “The Refugee.” The first single from the album, “New Year’s Day” is about the persecuted leader who stood in solidarity with the Polish and communist rule—Lech Wałęsa. The lead, Bono (Paul David Hewson) was not just a singer and songwriter, but also an activist who often advocated for different things that caused, or were the result of, oppression—like “Bullet The Blue Sky” from their 1987 album “Joshua Tree.”
