News: April 2008 Archives

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April 26, 2008

U2 Scrap Work And Start Again

Rockers U2 are scrapping all the tracks they have written for their next album to start all over again - ditching a year's worth of work.

The band has been working on the follow up to 2004 LP How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb for the past 12 months, but they're far from happy with the results.

Guitarist The Edge reveals bandmembers have mostly messed around in the studio - and they have now decided to get stuck in and finish the record.

He tells CMUMusic.com, "We went into this project allowing ourselves the indulgence of making music without thinking about where it was going to end up. We're starting to get serious now".

Posted by Jonathan at 11:28 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2008

Temple Bar chief backs U2 plan for Clarence

By Colin Bartley, Independent.ie,

THE architect at the centre of the 1990s regeneration of Temple Bar yesterday said if ambitious plans like those for U2's Clarence Hotel were on the table back then he would have backed them.

James Howley, who oversaw much of the regeneration of the cultural centre of Dublin, told a hearing of An Bord Pleanala into plans to transform the Clarence site: "It is important to understand the meaning and essence of the term conservation, which is often mistakenly confused with those of preservation."

Mr Howley came out strongly in favour of the project and said: "None of the six buildings on the site is of high architectural merit, neither in external appearance nor interior design."

The conservation of the hotel was the main focus of discussions at the third day of the hearing, when final oral submissions were heard. Meanwhile opponents argued that the plans amount to the demolition of the listed hotel.

Proponents of the plan said four of the six buildings were not listed in the original Temple Bar regeneration plans of 1985 and were only added as protected structures in the plan of 1999-2000.

The proposed development by the Clarence Partnership, whose members include U2's Bono and The Edge and renowned hoteliers David Quinlan and Paddy McKinley, would see the hotel expand from 44 rooms to a 141-room, eight-storey hotel at a cost of €150m.

Rooftop

The ambitious plan includes a rooftop garden and innovative sky-catcher light well, housed in an ellipse, which will see the height of the hotel rise over two metres above its current height.

Mr Andrew Bowe, representing the designer, world renowned architect Norman Foster, said the increase in height would soften the views of the Liffey skyline, where at present only certain buildings are visible, such as the Central Bank and the Four Courts.

Mr Bowe's presentation stated that cities constantly change and there is heritage value in the Clarence Hotel proposal. He said it would be the most sustainable hotel in Europe due to its design, which means it will be naturally ventilated, lit and heated.

He added that because of its owners and its location, it would create its own heritage in the future. Opponents of the plans were adamant that the structure of the building should remain, and argued what they see as the demolition of the buildings should only happen in exceptional circumstances.

- Colin Bartley

Posted by Jonathan at 06:12 AM | Comments (0)

April 15, 2008

Bono's huge hotel plans

Rocker Bono wants to spend a staggering $237.2 million turning the hotel he owns in his native Dublin, Ireland into a spectacular city resort.

The U2 frontman and bandmate The Edge bought the 156 year old Clarence Hotel in 1992.

Now the pair have hired award-winning architect Sir Norman Foster to draw up plans for a spectacular overhaul of the 49-room hotel - with designs which include a glass atrium in the shape of a Viking long boat.

The plans have been passed by the city council, but have been met with opposition from locals, who object to the partial demolition of several historic local buildings.

Bono and The Edge will have to appear before a planning board in the next week.

A source tells the New York Post, "This meeting, like the hotel project, is very important to him and he is in Dublin to make sure everything goes well."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:10 AM | Comments (0)

April 09, 2008

U2 rocker Bono hopes for 'peaceful' torch relay

SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) - Irish rock star Bono said here Tuesday he hoped the San Francisco leg of the Olympic torch relay would be trouble-free as he attended a pro-Tibet rally.

The U2 frontman told AFP on the sidelines of the event at United Nations Plaza that he hoped the furore surrounding the torch on its global relay would force China to address global concern over its actions in Tibet.

"I would like a peaceful outcome, for the torch tomorrow and in Tibet," Bono told an AFP reporter, comparing the debate over China's actions in Tibet to the issue of torture in the US government's "war on terror."

"I hope China takes this opportunity to address the issues," Bono said. "It's like waterboarding in the US; it's important to address the issues."

Around 800 people attended the peaceful rally in downtown San Francisco where a "Freedom Torch" was lit before activists flanked by around 20 police on each side began a march to the Chinese consulate.

San Francisco is preparing a heavy security presence in the city for the US leg of the troubled torch relay, which was severely disrupted by protesters in Paris on Monday.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:22 AM | Comments (0)

April 05, 2008

The View Presents... The Edge

U2's The Edge was John Kelly's guest on a special episode of 'The View' on RTE One last week.

In 'The View Presents... The Edge' the guitarist talked about the responsibilities of fame, creativity and the band's longevity.

Commenting on how U2 have remained so cohesive a unit over 30 years, he said: "Maybe it's because we were friends before we were a band. 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."

Watch the full clip below.

Posted by Jonathan at 12:08 AM | Comments (0)

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