News: March 2008 Archives

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March 29, 2008

Edge of Reason

The Edge has spoken of how his great friendship with fellow bandmates has contributed to the longevity of U2.

The U2 guitarist credits their three decades of music success to the comradeship that has bonded them together.

In an intimate interview with RTE presenter John Kelly, to be broadcast next week, the Edge reveals how it's the music that keeps him sane.

"There's something about performing our songs in front of a large crowd which works and it's to do with the fact, I think, that a lot of those people at those shows are there to celebrate not just their favourite band, or a favourite band of theirs, but part of their history," he said.

The guitarist, known for giving U2 its distinctive sound, has stepped out from the shadow of front man Bono to speak about the legendary band.

FOUNDATIONS

He thinks their foundations of friendship are what have made them so stable compared to other rock groups.

"Maybe it's because we were friends before we were a band," he said.

"So in a sense the friendships were solid, so when it came to those moments of conflicts or difficulty, we kind of were able to skirt around the big conflicts and diffuse the situation and so we're operating in pretty much the same way now as we always did," he added.

As friendships go, it's been very successful for all the four members of the group: Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen and the Edge, who have sold a total of 170 million albums worldwide.

Little did they expect when they formed in 1976 that they would make their fortune through their solid punk sound, catchy lyrics and Bono's belting voice.

The Edge is very aware that fame and success come with a lot of responsibility. He takes this burden very seriously.

"I think it's something that you always are aware of and it's something that I would remind myself of often," he said.

The man, who grew up in Malahide and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with U2 in 2005, knows that he has been fortunate with the way his life has panned out.

"Here we are and with our friends. We are some of the luckiest people that have ever lived and once you bear that in mind, then first of all, I think you've a responsibility to enjoy your life.

CHARITY

"I also think you've a responsibility to take advantage of your situation, to make things better and to spread it out a bit."

The Edge has taken a quieter role in charity work compared to bandmate Bono but he has been actively involved with Greenpeace, Live 8 and Make Poverty History.

The full interview with the Edge will be broadcast on Monday night at 11.30pm on RTE1 television.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:16 AM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2008

"You Only Care About Africa"

HOME TRUTHS: Stuart Townsend blasts Bono over star's failure to back Save Tara campaign

Relations between two of Ireland's most famous men are set to turn frosty after actor Stuart Townsend lashed out at U2 frontman Bono.

The Irish actor slammed the world-famous singer for failing to step up and help in the fight to save the Hill of Tara.

And to add insult to injury he went on to claim that the humanitarian was more interested in helping those overseas that in getting involved in campaigns in his native Ireland.

"I don't know why Bono hasn't gotten involved so far. Maybe it's because his focus is on Africa and heritage isn't his thing," the actor claimed.

Townsend made the remarks while enjoying a romantic weekend in Paris with his partner Charlize Theron.

The actor himself has long been involved in the campaign to save the ancient spot and halt construction of the controversial motorway.

Fight

And he went on to call on Bono to end his silence on the issue and join the fight.

"Things are really getting desperate now so we really need Bono to say something.

"He's Bono for God's sake, he's Irish and he lives in Ireland.

We really need someone of that magnitude to help," he added. Townsend said that the campaign was getting the backing of poet Seamus Heaney. The poet and Nobel laureate criticised the Taoiseach and the M3 project saying: "Bertie thinks his legacy is the Celtic Tiger and economic -- but his real legacy will be letting them put a motorway through Tara."

Last year Townsend and Theron visited the site and organised photo opportunities and interviews.

The actor revealed that it was causes like Tara that kept the couple so much in love.

"I suppose part of what attracts Charlize to me is that I'm a space cadet who likes going to places like Tara. She digs it," he said.

Townsend went on to praise student radical Lisa "Squeak" Feeney, describing the campaigner as a "hero" after she encased herself into a seven-metre underground pit for three days in a bid to halt further work near the ancient site.

"It's a sad reflection on the Irish Government that a young woman has to put her life on the line to protect what our Government should be protecting.

"I think people should join her and the other protestors and get involved...none of us have done enough to save Tara," he added.

Posted by Jonathan at 01:31 AM | Comments (1)

March 21, 2008

African Well Fund Launches Sixth Annual Bono's Birthday Well Fundraiser

The African Well Fund launched its sixth annual Bono's Birthday Well fundraiser on March 17th. Called "Walk to the Water... Walk with Me," the fundraiser aims to raise money in honor of Bono's May 10th birthday. Details of the project funded by this year's donations will be announced shortly.

Last year, over $34,000 was raised during the Bono's Birthday Well drive. Those funds were used toward projects at several schools in Uganda implemented in partnership with Invisible Children and Africare. These projects are currently underway.

To donate to Bono's Birthday Well, visit the fundraiser page. A virtual birthday card will be available for donors to send their wishes to Bono. The card will be sent to Bono via Principle Management. Donations will be accepted March 17th through May 10th.

If you would like to get involved in spreading the word on Bono's Birthday Well, flyers are available for download. Images and avatars are also available to use on any of your Web sites or forums. You can also add African Well Fund to your MySpace or Facebook pages.

Ms. Devlin Smith, board member, African Well Fund

Posted by Jonathan at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)

March 19, 2008

Producer is U2's 'gatekeeper of the bedrock'

Jason Macneil, The Edmonton Sun

From his work on The Joshua Tree to, more recently, that on How To Build An Atomic Bomb, Daniel Lanois and U2 have a strong and unique bond. Lanois says the relationship is almost other-worldly.

"I think we work well together because there's kind of a premonitional force in the room when I work with these guys," he says. "We sense that something might be right but we're not convinced yet and it's still the unknown. It's that unknown that keeps us going. We want to do something original. Bono wants to say something that has never been said before. We know we're going to have to roll up our sleeves, put our thinking caps on and do beautiful work."

A recent quote from Bono also described the relationship the band has with both Lanois and fellow producer Brian Eno. "Daniel Lanois, in a certain sense, is about the ancient," Bono said. "And Brian Eno is about the modern, the future, the things that haven't happened."

"I'm about the ancient? I'll take that as a compliment," Lanois says with a laugh. "I'm just on a different floor than Eno. He uses his airplane time to build these rhythmic tapestries that he brings to the studio. And we'll often use them as a springboard for building a song. I've got a good barometer for what feels good so anything we do that we carry on with will have a reliable, emotional plateau in it for us to keep working on it.

"I will fight for a very soulful bedrock and I won't carry on until we have it. I'll pay special attention to the ingredients that I deem to be viable as soulful. Eno will come in with these incredible electro-beginnings but in the end the bedrock that we end up with, I'm the gatekeeper of the bedrock."

Posted by Jonathan at 06:22 AM | Comments (0)

March 14, 2008

Africa Celebrates U2

(PR) On April 1, 2008, Shout! Factory will release In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2, an album celebrating the music, culture and future of Africa, and an unprecedented musical homage to Bono and U2 for their ongoing humanitarian relief efforts aiding the beloved continent. A portion of the record's proceeds will directly benefit The Global Fund. Interviews with select artists are available upon request.

Produced by Shawn Amos and Paul Heck, In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2 features Grammy Award-winning/nominated African artists as well as top up-and-coming talents including Angelique Kidjo, Les Nubians, Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, Vieux Farka Touré, Vusi Mahlasela and the Soweto Gospel Choir.

Initially inspired by his work in South Africa while running the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, Amos re-entered the music industry with a heartfelt initiative to cultivate greater awareness of the emerging socio-economic success stories happening within many of the country's regions. Amos, a longtime fan of U2, witnessed Bono's direct philanthropic impact via the launch of the ONE campaign and (RED), and his poignant outspoken public commentary on the immediate financial needs facing Africa.

Amos felt it was essential that African musicians unite and collectively share their voices of pride, accomplishment and appreciation for both their native country and icons like Bono who've substantially embraced the fight against the global AIDS crisis, extreme poverty and the spread of malaria. On December 1, 2006 at the World AIDS Day benefit concert at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Amos approached Red Hot producer Paul Heck about co-producing In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2. Several notable African artists were performing as part of Heck's live production of Red Hot + Riot: The Music and Spirit of Fela Kuti including Les Nubians, Tony Allen, Cheikh Lô and Keziah Jones. Heck expressed support for the budding project, and quickly became an invaluable partner with his strong ties to various well-established African artists and knowledge of a handful of buzz-worthy upstarts. Together, they consulted with the artists appearing at the World AIDS Day event, bringing Amos's personal dream a step closer to becoming a reality.

"Paul and I wanted to develop an easy entry point for the growing global community where they could get more involved and learn something deeper about Africa," says Amos. "It's really a focus on the key successes of several regions, and the African artists who originate from these areas. It's our goal for the public to learn more about all the good that's happening in Africa. We are trying to garner excitement about the culture, in addition to drawing people toward the struggles of Darfur, etc. This is a project which celebrates Africa!"

12 original interpretations of classic U2 hit songs and some of their more obscure material are featured on In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2. The collection kicks off with Angelique Kidjo's powerful multilingual cover of the 1991 chart-topper, "Mysterious Ways." Aerosmith's Joe Perry joins Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars for an upbeat, guitar-driven take on "Seconds," a track from U2's third studio release, War (1983). Rising Malian star, Vieux Farka Touré offers a trancy, Sahara Desert blues-influenced rendition of "Bullet The Blue Sky," an absolute standout performance of one of U2's most-played live in concert tunes. Additional highlights include Les Nubians dubbed-out dancefloor ready version of "With Or Without You," the Soweto Gospel Choir's epic a cappella version of "Pride In The Name Of Love," and Tony Allen's Afrobeat translation of "Where The Streets Have No Name Paul Heck notes that, "I was amazed when we approached the artists of how quickly they chose the songs they wanted to do. Many of them grew up listening to U2, and knew the songs so well."

In The Name Of Love: Africa Celebrates U2

1. Angelique Kidjo "Mysterious Ways"
2. Vieux Farka Touré "Bullet The Blue Sky"
3. Ba Cissoko "Sunday Bloody Sunday"
4. Vusi Mahlasela "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own"
5. Tony Allen "Where The Streets Have No Name"
6. Cheikh Lô "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
7. Keziah Jones "One"
8. Les Nubians "With Or Without You"
9. Soweto Gospel Choir "Pride (In The Name Of Love)"
10. Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars "Seconds"
11. African Underground All-Stars Featuring Chosan, Optimus & Iyeoka "Desire"
12. Waldemar Bastos "Love Is Blindness"

Posted by Jonathan at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2008

Bono no longer has the voice for Clannad

As Irish group Clannad prepare to return to the spotlight, Sally Williams speaks to guitarist and vocalist Noel Duggan about their unique sound and their certain friend by the name of Bono

by Sally Williams, Western Mail

It is more than 20 years since Ireland's spiritual group Clannad teamed up with their countryman Bono for the spine-tingling hit "In a Lifetime."

But, as the band prepare to visit Wales as part of their first U.K. tour for a decade, don't hold your breath for the U2 frontman to appear on stage with them.

Guitarist and vocalist Noel Duggan admits that Bono never performed the hit live and when Clannad sang it on Top of the Pops they did it without him.

Duggan says, "He (Bono) says he doesn't have the voice for it anymore. So we will have Bryan Kennedy (who has sung with Van Morrison) singing it in Belfast and there will be other guests on tour too.

"But we see Bono a lot, we are bound to bump into him in Dublin because it is such a small place."

Duggan says that while his close friend is world famous, he can enjoy life without getting mobbed in his native city of Dublin.

"When the public see him in Dublin it really is no big deal. They don't like to treat people as heroes," he says.

"It's a case of 'Hey, Bono is up there at the bar. Ah, so what.' He is free to walk down the road without being mobbed."

In one bar in Donegal, Bono even ended up serving pints of Guinness to customers.

"There was Bono pulling pints for locals, he is really down-to-earth," says Duggan, whose mother and father were schoolteachers but had instruments all over the house.

Clannad is made up of Duggan together with his niece, lead singer Moya Brennan, his twin brother Padraig and Ciaran Brennan.

It is 25 years since their timeless piece "Theme From Harry's Game" became a chart hit across Europe and 10 years have passed since their last studio album release, the Grammy Award-winning Landmarks.

"It's been a long time but I still crave the stage," says Duggan, now in his 60th year and living near Dublin.

"I've been in a group called Norland Wind, with my brother Padraig, in Germany. A lot of old groups are coming back together now. And together again as Clannad we've already played Glasgow and Dublin so somebody out there still likes us."

Duggan's other niece, the solo performer Enya, spent two years working with Clannad.

"She was a very shy little girl. We don't see much of Enya at all now.

"She lives in a castle at Killiney, she lives like a queen. She doesn't go anywhere; she is a recluse."

Clannad's trademark mystical trance sound has featured on a number of blockbuster movie soundtracks, including Patriot Games, starring Harrison Ford, Message in a Bottle and Last of the Mohicans.

Clannad have come a long way since winning a talent contest in Letterkenny in 1970.

They have since sold more than 10 million records and have also been honoured with an Ivor Novello and a Bafta award.

But Noel said most fans will remember the band for the song, "Theme From Harry's Game," which was featured in the television series, Robin of Sherwood, starring Michael Praed.

He adds, "'Harry's Game' took the group in a different musical direction and the record company asked us to go 'poppy.'

"But we did and still do hold on to our mystical Celtic roots.

"We like to sing in our native Gaelic and hope that our listeners who don't speak it still like the sound.

"I think it is important to explain what the songs are about though.

"We are really looking forward to playing St. David's Hall, we expect that the Welsh audience will be great. The hall has good acoustics for our pipers, fiddle players and harmonies.

"When we last played Cardiff, there was no Millennium Stadium or Wales Millennium Centre so we are expecting a lot of changes."

Duggan hopes to revisit Wales in future on holiday when he will have a chance to have a proper look around.

He adds, "I've never been on a tour around Wales, although I would really like to some day.

"I get inspiration to write the songs when the feeling takes me, which is usually when I'm walking the dog (a border collie cross spaniel dog called Woofie) in Dublin Bay first thing in the morning."

Duggan and his partner Barbara have written a history of Clannad called A Moment In Life which will be published shortly.

The 2008 11-date U.K. tour will end at the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool on March 14.

The concerts provide a rare chance for audiences to see them performing material from across their entire ground-breaking career, dating back to the '70s.

Posted by Jonathan at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2008

Fan hasn't found what he's looking for in U2 film

Richard Carter, Wichita Times Record News

It cost an audience of about 30 people exactly $1.02 to see U2 play at a club in Dallas on April 2, 1982.

The show at Dallas's Bijou was promoted by former FM radio station Q102, and the Irish band was supporting its first album, "Boy." Nearly three decades later, $1.02 wouldn't buy a single bottle of water at a U2 show or even cover a small percentage of the ticket surcharge.

With ticket prices up and shows limited, someone had the idea to record a concert film of the band with multiple 3D cameras and release it in movie theaters. Nowadays, it's a heck of lot cheaper to see any band in a movie theater than to buy tickets, drive 150 miles and fight traffic and pay for parking.

Truth be told, I would have preferred to see U2 play live in 1982. It has less to do with ticket prices and more to do with seeing a more energetic, primal band performing songs from what early fans, like myself, still think is their best album.

What the theatrical release of "U2 3D" has going for it is crystal-clear sound. Multiple camera angles are edited to the point where a viewer sees a goodly amount of views switched back and forth on the performers and the stage.

Also, the band is tight. Bono is in good voice, the drums and bass are joined at the hip and The Edge's playing and solos are pretty much CD-perfect. For those people who cannot afford to see U2 play live, this movie in a lot of ways is a good substitute.

There are also some artistic ideas present in the film that suggest future possibilities of the 3D format for DVDs and movie theaters. Near the end, the 3D film is effectively merged with multiple letters, words and sentences in a variety of colors and fonts.

But while the film's 3D images can be an interesting effect, it can also become tiresome and lead to the typical drive-in movie cliches. Especially annoying are the repeated images of clapping hands to simulate the experience of being in the live crowd.

What would be very interesting is to see a band that is a little more cutting-edge than Hannah Montana or U2 as the subject of a 3D film with the director experimenting more with layering images and visual language.

As much as "U2 3D" is really meant to be the next best thing to a live concert, there really is no substitute for seeing a band live and close up. That includes the joke of going to a stadium and watching a band "live" on a screen from 800 rows away.

Devout U2 fans will still likely enjoy seeing the four lads play to a perfectly in-sync audience that comes off as programmed. The performance is also way over-rehearsed, with The Edge switching guitars on every song.

Things have sure changed over the years, when the youthful band first came over and The Edge played fiery guitar lines on a Gibson Explorer guitar for the whole show. I even kind of miss Bono's mullet.

And, all for only $1.02. Whatever happened to live rock music?

Posted by Jonathan at 03:46 AM | Comments (0)

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