News: December 2007 Archives

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December 28, 2007

Bono denies ordering silence for poverty

By Beth Hilton, Digital Spy

Bono has denied reports circulating on the internet that he ordered a crowd of 30,000 people to be silent to draw attention to the issue of poverty in Africa.

The singer was alleged to have silenced the audience at a gig in Glasgow and begun clapping slowly, saying: "Every time I clap my hands, a child in Africa dies."

A member of the crowd was then rumoured to have shouted: "Well, stop doing it then!"

The reports have appeared in newspapers around the world over the last two years, but are believed by some to have originated with an advert for the 2005 Make Poverty History campaign. The commercial featured a number of stars clicking their fingers to represent dying children.

However, Bono's representative said he had no idea how the claims had started, telling the New York Daily News: "He's never even done the clapping thing."

Posted by Jonathan at 05:23 PM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2007

Bono's art is in right place now

Richard Kay, Daily Mail

HE ALREADY owns a highly successful hotel in the centre of Dublin, a state-of the art studio overlooking the capitals docklands and a number of houses scattered across the city and now U2 frontman Bono is set to add a modern-style house and art gallery to his property portfolio.

The rock star, who has become known for his own zen-like quality and laid-back disposition, has commissioned Japanese star architect Tadao Ando to design his very own museum, likely to reflect the minimalist style of the renowned architect.

Although the project is still in its early stages, the location of the gallery is expected to be in the capital.

The pint-sized pop star will be able to give some elevation to his celebrity friends by allowing them to show their collections at the gallery.

It is likely that the art collection of Gucci, former musician turned artist and close pal of Bono's, will be housed in the gallery.

The singers new project may derive from his own artistic talents, the U2 frontman having won acclaim with his own painting efforts.

Bono's own work has 18 paintings which were used for an updated version of Peter and the Wolf, a charity childrens book published in 2003.

The rocker is also trying his hand at architecture through his collaboration with Lord Foster on the redevelopment of the Clarence hotel.

Painting and architecture are just a couple of Bonos many talents.

He has also tried his hand at magazine editing, taking the reins at Vanity Fair this summer for a special Africa edition.

And while actually making music has been on the back burner for Bono in recent years U2s last album was as far back as 2004 he has enjoyed another busy year of social activism, rarely allowing world leaders to meet up without being on hand for a photo opportunity.

In September, architect Ando, who is known as the Godfather of minimal-ism, launched an environmental campaign in Dublin.

His main project involves working on a 100,000-seat waterfront stadium for the Beijing Olympics next year.

Posted by Jonathan at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)

December 06, 2007

U2 go "trance"

By WENN

The new U2 album has been influenced by "trance" and will feature "hardcore" guitars, according to Bono. The Irish rock legends have been working on the follow to 2004's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" with producer Brian Eno in recent months. Sessions in Africa are said to have progressed well and the band's singer claims the results will shock fans and critics alike. Speaking about the Moroccan recordings, Bono said: "We got this little riad, a small hotel with a courtyard in the middle and set up the band there, with a square of sky over our head. "The two great catalysts of U2's recording life, Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, joined us. We'd record during the day and then disappear into windy streets of the medina at night. It was an inspiring experience and a drummer's paradise." Bono says people can expect a "dancefloor shock" from the new album, which is not currently scheduled for a release. "Normally when you play a U2 tune, it clears the dancefloor. And that may not be true of this", he explained. "There's some trance influences. But there's some very hardcore guitar coming out of The Edge. Real molten metal. "It's not like anything we've ever done before, and we don't think it sounds like anything anyone else has done either."

Posted by Jonathan at 04:53 AM | Comments (0)

December 03, 2007

Building plans give U2 hometown blues

Critics say Foster design will ruin Dublin skyline. Band accused of ignoring impact of rising sea level

Henry McDonald in Dublin, The Guardian

Abroad, the biggest rock band on the planet are lauded as the champions of the poor and the conscience of rich nations normally indifferent to global poverty.

But at home in their native Dublin, U2 have become embroiled in a row with Irish environmentalists over two building projects, with Bono and co accused of arrogance.

U2 have also come under fire for moving their music publishing company from the Irish Republic to the continent in order to pay a lower rate of tax on their royalties.

Ireland's equivalent of the National Trust - An Taisce - has denounced U2's plans to partly demolish and redevelop a hotel they own by the river Liffey in Dublin. An Taisce has also demanded a public inquiry into the new "U2 Tower", which, at 32 storeys, would be the highest building in Ireland.

Sited at the mouth of Dublin Bay, the U2 Tower will be designed by Norman Foster. An Taisce fears it will blight the Georgian cityscape on the southern side of the Liffey.

"Our biggest concern is that the U2 Tower will stick out of the skyline from parts of Georgian Dublin like Merrion Square. It could potentially be an incongruous blot on the skyline on the south side of the city," said Ian Lumley, An Taisce's national heritage officer.

Lumley claimed there was no proper environmental impact survey carried out for the proposed project. Nor, he said, had U2 or the planners taken into consideration one of the band's global concerns: the impact of climate change.

"From the limited information we have seen about the proposed tower there is no consideration being taken into the impact of rising sea levels," he added. "This tower is at the mouth of Dublin Bay and yet no provision has been made as to the effect of rising sea levels on an entire area earmarked for more residential living as well as businesses. For all these reasons there has to be an independent public inquiry before this project is allowed to go ahead."

Further down the Liffey there is more controversy about another U2-owned property, The Clarence hotel, which the band revitalised thanks in part to a tax-exemption scheme in the 1990s aimed at reviving the entire Temple Bar district.

U2 plans a €150m (£100m) revamp of The Clarence, which Bono has promised will turn it into one of the most spectacular hotels in Europe. This project has been criticised by An Taisce and veteran environmentalist Mike Smith.

Smith accused U2 of acting arrogantly over the Clarence plan. He warned that if Ireland's planning authority, An Bord Pleanála, allowed the scheme to go through he would go to court to halt it.

"Since 2000 Ireland has had strong protection for listed buildings which are now called 'protected structures'," Smith said. "In the case of The Clarence the developers' belief that there is an exceptional need to pander to international five-star punters' alleged insistence on underground parking and swimming pools is unlikely to pass muster ... If An Bord Pleanála say yes I will go straight to the high court to block what U2 are planning."

He was also scathing of U2's decision to move part of its music operations out of Ireland to the Netherlands, and added: "The common good is not served by allowing the richest people in Ireland to build with the benefit of tax incentives, which is what happened to Temple Bar and The Clarence, only to demolish when they get bored," Smith added.

A spokesman for The Clarence hotel project said that it would encourage investment in the city. "It will help the Irish economy to retain its reputation as progressive and sustainable by providing facilities and services to business and tourism clientele as well as local residents," he added.

Posted by Jonathan at 07:14 AM | Comments (0)

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