By winning a further five Grammy awards on Wednesday night at the most important music awards ceremony going, U2 have defied the convention that rock bands go into commercial and critical decline the older they get.
The band won all the categories they were nominated in at the awards show in Los Angeles. They won the album of the year award for How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb; the best rock album award for the same album; the best rock song award for City of Blinding Lights; the song of the year award plus the best vocal rock performance by a duo or group award for Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own. They effortlessly beat off competition from fellow nominees Coldplay, Franz Ferdinand and Paul McCartney.
The Grammys, which are handed out by the US National Academy of Recording Arts, are regarded as the most important and influential music awards primarily because they represent success in the biggest musical market in the world. A single Grammy award can add hundreds of thousands of sales to a band's album.
U2 have now won a total of 21 Grammy awards over their 26-year recording career, putting them sixth on the list of all-time winners. The conductor Sir Georg Solti holds the record for the most Grammys won, with a total of 38 awards. The most Grammys ever won in one night is eight - a record shared by Michael Jackson and Carlos Santana.
U2's Album of the Year Grammy is only their second - they previously won for The Joshua Tree in 1987.
"The Album of the Year is the big one for us," said Bono after the ceremony.
"We've been here before and lost on some of our most important albums - we lost out on Achtung Baby and All That You Can't Leave Behind, so this makes it all the more special.
"What's really great about this is that in truck stops around the world, especially in the United States, people will pick this album out and discover songs they didn't know.
"As songwriters it really means something - you want to get these songs off, get them into the pop consciousness."
Drummer Larry Mullen jnr said the band probably didn't deserve to win all five Grammys, but he was especially thrilled by the Album of the Year award.
Speaking after the ceremony, Mullen also reminded Bono that when "he's finished dealing with all the world's problems, maybe he should do something about the state of the music industry, because it needs a little help".
Mullen was referring to the music industry's ongoing problems with music fans illegally downloading music for free from the internet.
Other big winners on the night were pop diva Mariah Carey, rap star Kanye West and R 'n' B act John Legend. It was U2's night though, and they took to the stage to perform the songs Vertigo and One.
U2 are soon to begin the fourth leg of their Vertigo world tour, which sees them take in dates in Japan, Australia and South America during March and April. They are also rumoured to be the first rock band to play at the new Wembley Stadium in London later this year.
The band, who formed while pupils at Dublin's Mount Temple school in 1976, released their first album in 1980.
They are the only group in the history of recorded music who can chart their new albums at number one 26 years into their career. While other massive acts such as The Rolling Stones can still match U2 in live concert sales, they simply can't replicate their chart success.
Over the years U2 have managed to stay on top of the pop pile by constantly reinvigorating their sound - whether by adding dance rhythms in the 1990s or, more recently, returning to a more contemporary guitar rock song.
While Bono's extra-curricular activities as a lobbyist for Aids prevention and the curtailment of Third World debt have undoubtedly raised the band's profile, the other three members of the group - while supporting his efforts - have always said they would prefer to have him as a full-time rock singer.
Now all in their mid-40s, the band are already sketching out details for their 15th album, but the earliest release date for the new work will be sometime late next year. After that, they'll have Sir Georg Solti's Grammys record in their sights.
21 and counting . . . U2's Grammy haul
1987 - Album of the year: The Joshua Tree
Best rock performance by a duo or group: The Joshua Tree
1988 - Best rock performance by a duo or group: Desire
Best performance music video (short form): Where the Streets Have No Name
1992 - Best rock vocal by a duo or group: Achtung Baby
1993 - Best alternative music album: Zooropa
1994 - Best music video (long form): Zoo TV Live From Sydney
2000 - Song of the year: Beautiful Day
Record of the year: Beautiful Day
Best rock performance by a duo or a group with vocal: Beautiful Day
2001 - Record of the year: Walk On
Pop performance by a group with vocal: Stuck in a Moment
Rock performance by a duo or group with vocal: Elevation
Rock album: All That You Can't Leave Behind
2004 - Best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal: Vertigo
Best short form music video: Vertigo
2006 - Album of the year: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Song of the year: Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own
Rock album: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb
Rock performance by a duo or group with vocal: Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own
Rock song: City of Blinding Lights
Other Selected Award Winners:
Record of the year: Boulevard of Broken Dreams: Green Day
Country album: Lonely Runs Both Ways: Alison Krauss and Union Station
Rap album: Late Registration: Kanye West
Alternative music album: Get Behind Me Satan: The White Stripes
Male pop vocal performance: From the Bottom of My Heart: Stevie Wonder
Pop collaboration with vocals: Feel Good Inc: Gorillaz Featuring De La Soul
Traditional blues album: 80: BB King and Friends
Traditional folk album: Fiddler's Green: Contemporary folk album:
Fair & Square: John Prine Reggae album: Welcome to Jamrock:
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