News: Album News Archives

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)

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)

February 20, 2008

U2 Hits The Studio In Dublin

Jonathan Cohen, Billboard

U2 has hit the studio in Dublin to continue work on its next studio album with longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. "We're going to try and break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece," Lanois tells Billboard.com. "The sleeves are rolled up. Bono is all charged up with a lyrical angle."

As previously reported, U2, Eno and Lanois have spent time working on new material on three prior occasions in France and Morocco, and Lanois confirms the results are prolific.

"There's so much material," he says, referring to speculation that the sessions could yield two new albums. "When you get Eno and I and those guys in the room, before lunch there's like eight things."

"We've had some exciting beginnings via jam sessions," he continues. "Now we will pick our favorite beginnings and say, 'OK, that's a lovely springboard. Now what are we trying to say?' The springboards are sometimes melodic, sometimes riff-based, but I can assure you they are exciting."

There's no date yet for the project, which will be the follow-up to 2004's How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.

In other U2 news, the group has contributed to a new charity single, "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew," proceeds from which will benefit the cancer-stricken Irish artist of the same name. The track will be available in Ireland only as a download beginning Friday (Feb. 22) and week later on CD.

In addition to U2, "The Ballad of Ronnie Drew" features appearances by the Pogues' Shane MacGowan, the Frames' Glen Hansard, Sinead O'Connor, Andrea Corr, Damien Dempsey, Ronan Keating, Chris de Burgh, Gavin Friday and members of the Dubliners.

Posted by Jonathan at 01:44 AM | Comments (1)

January 02, 2008

Lanois Promises 'Innovative' Songs on New U2 Album

by Steve Baltin, Spinner

Twenty years ago, producer Daniel Lanois teamed with U2 on the band's landmark album, 'The Joshua Tree.' Two decades later, Lanois is back in the studio with the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers, working on their forthcoming album, due this year.

"I'm doing some writing with [Brian] Eno and U2," Lanois tells Spinner of the effort. "We're gonna knock out another record that's promising to be a fantastically innovative collection of songs. I'm excited about that."

As for what the new songs will offer, Lanois says that some hints may be gleaned from the music they've been listening to of late. "We've been referencing Jimi Hendrix records recently," Lanois says. "I was interested in the drum feels and that track 'Crosstown Traffic' has an incredible drum performance. When [we were] working a couple of weeks back, we wanted to hear some of that Mitch Mitchell drumming."

Lanois also revels in his collaboration with Eno, also a former U2 collaborator and who appears in Lanois' film, 'Here Is What Is.' "I play really well with Eno," Lanois says. "In a manner of minutes we've got something happening in the room that's special -- even without talking about it. We just pick up our instruments and we're there. I might have an idea, Eno might have an idea, somebody else has an idea, and as we jockey them around, momentum builds up and there's some kind of a whirlwind. We just thank our lucky stars that we have that chemistry within us."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:46 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)

October 20, 2007

U2's Joshua Tree Blooms Again

Jonathan Cohen, N.Y., Billboard.com

To celebrate the 20th birthday of its landmark album, "The Joshua Tree," U2 is reissuing the set in four different incarnations on Nov. 20 via UMe. The album will be available as a remastered single CD, a 2-CD set, a 2-CD/1-DVD collectible box and a double vinyl package.

The single-disc will be housed in a jewel case, but the 2-CD set comes in a hard back case. The 2-CD/1-DVD version has a base and lid to accomodate the discs as well as five portfolio prints. Band members have contributed new linear notes for the package.

The second CD in the 2-disc package sports rare material from the period, including a single edit of "Where the Streets Have No Name" and B-sides such as "Spanish Eyes" and "Sweetest Thing" The DVD comprises a July 4, 1987, show at the Paris Hippodrome, as well as the documentary "Outside It's America," a long-whispered-about but never released video for "Red Hill Mining Town" and an alternate version of the "With or Without You" clip.

Produced by Brian Eno, "The Joshua Tree" shot U2's commercial fortunes into the stratosphere. The album's first three tracks were huge singles, with both "With or Without You" and " I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" hitting No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Here is the bonus disk track list:

"Luminous Times (Hold On to Love)"
"Walk to the Water"
"Spanish Eyes"
"Silver and Gold"
"Sweetest Thing"
"Deep in the Heart"
"Race Against Time"
"Where The Streets Have No Name" (single edit)
"Silver and Gold (Sun City)"
"Beautiful Ghost"
"Introduction to Songs of Experience"
"Wave of Sorrow (Birdland)"
"Deser of Our Love"
"Rise Up"
"Drunk Chicken"
"America"

Posted by Brenda at 01:09 PM | Comments (0)

January 06, 2007

U2 May Change Musical Direction on Next Album

NEW YORK (Billboard) - With its monster-selling Vertigo world tour complete, U2 may be ready to rock less, according to frontman Bono

"Our band has certainly reached the end of where we've been at for the last couple of albums," the newly dubbed honorary knight said during a BBC Radio interview earlier this week. "I want to see what else we can do with it, take it to the next level; I think that's what we've got to do."

Asked if that might mean a move away from rock 'n' roll, Bono replied, "We're gonna continue to be a band, but maybe the rock will have to go; maybe the rock has to get a lot harder. But whatever it is, it's not gonna stay where it is."

He said he's like U2 to explore compositions featuring just voice and acoustic guitar. "I would like to do a couple of tunes in that direction, with just a lot of space around the voice," he said. "I'd like to strip things down; that's something I'd be very interested in at the moment."

U2 is expected to get busy in the studio after the New Year, with an eye on releasing a new album before the end of 2007. Bono said casual fans were the target for the recently released compilation "U218 Singles," which includes two new songs.

"We've never been much of a singles band," he said. "But we did it because we have a very young audience coming through, and we wanted to, you know, just be very available for people who want to check us out, you know? We wanted to have something they could check us out very easy on."

Posted by Brenda at 10:25 PM | Comments (0)

November 02, 2006

U218 Singles Will Be Released on November 21, 2006

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- U218 Singles is the first single disc collection to span the band's career from Boy (1980) to How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb (2004). Also included are two tracks recorded last month with producer Rick Rubin at Abbey Road Studios in London: The Saints Are Coming (with Green Day) and a new, previously unreleased track Window In The Skies.
U218 Singles will be released on CD and 12" vinyl and as a full length DVD featuring the single promo videos. The collection will also be available as a limited edition CD with a bonus DVD of 10 tracks recorded live in Milan, Italy on the Vertigo//05 tour.

The full tracklisting is as follows:
1. Beautiful Day
2. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
3. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
4. With Or Without You
5. Vertigo
6. New Year's Day
7. Mysterious Ways
8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9. Where The Streets Have No Name
10. Sweetest Thing
11. Sunday Bloody Sunday
12. One
13. Desire
14. Walk On
15. Elevation
16. Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
17. The Saints Are Coming
18. Window In The Skies

U2 will be back on tour in November and December, with shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Hawaii.
Source: Interscope Records

Posted by Brenda at 08:55 PM | Comments (0)

September 12, 2006

U2 In Studio With Green Day and More

by Brenda Clemons, U2 Station staff writer

After a long dry period, U2 are active again. Here's the latest:

Of great interest is the confirmation that U2 are in Abbey Road Studios working on a new album with producer Rick Rubin that they say will be released in 2007. (Although we all know how long it really takes U2 to record an entire album). At the Sarajevo Film Festival Bono told reporters, "Edge, right now, is on fire. He is really rockin. He is playing guitar like I've never seen him playing guitar. So, I like to think the best is yet to come."

It is confirmed that U2 are currently in the studio with Green Day. The two groups are collaborating on a cover version of The Skids song, The Saints Are Coming. Proceeds are going to Music Rising. Music Rising donates musical instruments to New Orleans musicians whom lost their possessions during Hurricane Katrina.

It is rumoured that U2 and Green Day will perform together during The September 25 New Orleans Saints home game. This rumour is unconfirmed.

The much anticipated book U2 By U2 is scheduled for release on Sept. 26. The list price is $26.37. The release date of the deluxe edition is scheduled for Dec. 1. The difference between the two is that the deluxe edition will be a limited number edition with a poster.

Also on the horizon is the book, U2 and Philosophy, by Mark Wrothall. The author has previously written several books on philosophy. There is no release date yet but the list price is $25.00.

Both books are available at Amazon.com.

Posted by Brenda at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

October 15, 2004

U2 Video Goes Down A Storm; Filming Is Hit By Lightning

10.15.04 - The Mirror

by: Paul Martin

U2's 1 million pounds comeback video was almost destroyed by freak weather conditions, I can reveal.

The stars nearly cancelled their Vertigo video shoot when a sandstorm hit the set and wrecked EUR200,000 worth of camera equipment.

And just as they got back on to the set a bolt of lightening struck just 100 yards from where Bono was standing.

The band staged the shoot on a remote part of the Delta de L'Ebre, on the Spanish coast.

They had originally planned to film the shoot in Nevada where the atomic bomb was tested but opted for the change of location at the last minute.

As the band were preparing for the second day of filming, a relentless windstorm struck, throwing sand into every eye and camera.

Bono revealed: "We had every kind of freak weather condition you can imagine- the rain, the snow and the sandstorm." Video director Martin Fougerol was on the verge of calling the shoot off and saving the rest of the equipment when the storm suddenly diverted. The Edge added: "It was pretty crazy stuff. We thought we were going to have to return to Dublin without a video. It got pretty tough out there. Bono and I were sharing a tent and we couldn't come out for at least six hours."

In the spectacular new video, frontman Bono and the band perform as a helicopter flies around above the band, diving in and pulling up while they perform on a huge beach surface of the remote river basin. Crew members had to dig a huge moat around the outer perimeter of the shoot, offering protection from the sandstorm so filming could be completed.

Bono said the hassle was well worth it. He explained: 'We've made all kinds of videos over the years with uneven results.

"High-concept, story, abstract... but we've never done a video that has a graphic arts background and this is what it is.

"There seems to be so much clutter everywhere. Turn on music television and there's big cluttered sets, people walking round with clutter around their necks, great cluttered award shows, so this is our attempt to empty the frame."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:55 AM | Comments (0)

September 29, 2004

U2 Sets Album Track List as Single Takes Off

9.29.04 - Billboard

By Jonathan Cohen

NEW YORK (Billboard) - U2 has confirmed the full track list for its upcoming album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," due Nov. 23 via Interscope.

The set does not include the tracks "Tough" or "Full Metal Jacket," which band members previously had mentioned as possible selections. Among the newly announced titles are "Miracle Drug," "One Step Closer" and "Love and Peace or Else."

The album's first single, "Vertigo," is already making a bomb-size impact on U.S. radio outlets. After just three days of airplay, the cut is expected to debut this week in the top 20 of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and the top 30 of the Mainstream Rock Tracks tally.

At present, "Vertigo" is available for download exclusively via Apple's iTunes Music Store. According to a spokesperson, the track ascended into the service's top 10 within 24 hours and is now No. 1 on the list of most downloaded selections.

U2's official Web site (http://www.u2.com) is hosting clips of the band performing "Vertigo" in its Dublin recording studio plus other exclusive footage of a recent photo shoot.

And while the band is not expected to begin touring until next spring, tidbits have begun leaking out about specific stops. According to Ireland's Sunday Business Report, U2 will play Dublin's Croke Park on June 26-27, with the possibility of a third show, depending on demand.

Here is the track list for "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb":

"Vertigo"
"Miracle Drug"
"Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own"
"Love and Peace or Else"
"City of Blinding Lights"
"All Because of You"
"A Man and a Woman"
"Crumbs From Your Table"
"One Step Closer"
"Original of the Species"
"Yahweh"

Posted by Jonathan at 03:49 AM | Comments (0)

September 14, 2004

U2 to Release New 'Atomic Bomb' Album in November

9.14.04 - Reuters

By Jeffrey Goldfarb

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish rock band U2 unveiled on Tuesday the title of their next album, "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," evoking the violence and rebellion of their early records.

The album, recorded in Dublin and the south of France, made headlines in July after recordings from it went missing.

The disappearance of rough versions of some tracks from a recording studio in Nice, France, had prompted fears they would appear on the Internet before the official release.

But a band spokeswoman said: "They didn't show up anywhere as far as we're aware."

Invoking the atomic bomb recalls the band's earlier albums "War," "Under a Blood Red Sky" and "The Unforgettable Fire."

The new album will arrive in North American record stores on Nov. 23, one day after its release in Europe.

The group, and especially frontman Bono, have long been associated with global political causes and fans have been waiting to hear if there will be fresh messages from U2 on their first album since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

"Vertigo" will be the first single from the album, which is U2's first studio recording since the 2000 success "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

The song will air on radio on Sept. 24, according to U2's label Interscope, a unit of Vivendi's Universal Music.

The new album will include a cover of Kraftwerk's "Neon Lights," along with songs entitled "Crumbs From Your Table," "Yahweh," "City of Blinding Lights," "A Man and a Woman" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own."

U2, who have sold 120 million records since the release of their first album 24 years ago, were also nominated for membership to the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this week, along with Grandmaster Flash, Randy Newman (news) and others.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:48 AM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2004

New U2 Album Tracklisting Leaked?

9.7.04 - XFM News

After U2 revealed the names of six songs to be featured on their upcoming new album last week, come reports of a full running order for the 11 track release, expected to hit shops in November.

According to unofficial reports the record will be called 'Vertigo' and, as rumoured, it has been given a November 22 release date, with the first single, also entitled 'Vertigo', expected in shops late September.

U2 themselves issued a statement last week confirming that the songs 'Vertigo', 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own', 'City of Blinding Lights', 'A Man and A Woman', 'Yahweh' and 'Crumbs From Your Table' would all appear on the Steve Lillywhite-produced record.

"It feels like a special record", Bono explained in the October edition of Q Magazine, "From the start we wanted to make our own 'Who's Next' [classic 1971 Who album] where every track mattered and I think we have done that."

The album's release is also expected to be followed by a massive world tour, which will take in more than 50 cities and is rumoured to include a headlining slot at the 2005 Glastonbury festival.

A full tracklisting for the new record also surfaced online today (September 4), which - while still unofficial - includes all the songs mentioned by the band and has been replicated on a number of major record shop pre-order websites.

1. 'Vertigo'
2. 'Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own'
3. 'City of Blinding Lights'
4. 'A Man And A Woman'
5. 'Yahweh'
6. 'Crumbs From Your Table'
7. 'All Because Of You'
8. 'Tough'
9. 'Miracle Drug'
10. 'Full Metal Jacket/Native Son'
11. 'Love Peace Or Else'

Posted by Jonathan at 03:47 AM | Comments (0)

August 12, 2004

Beautiful Pay: U2 Spend EUR10 Million On Album

8.12.04 - The Mirror

Byline: Paul Martin

U2 will splash out an incredible £10million promoting their new album as they bid to make it their biggest ever. The stars have been locked in meetings with their record label Island to plan their spectacular comeback.

The Dubliners are to spend a fortune on a massive TV advertising, poster and publicity campaign around the world. And they have secretly called in a top Hollywood movie director to make the video for their first single.

The album, rumoured to be called Vertigo, will be followed by a massive world tour, taking in more than 50 cities.

A source close to the group told me: "This is the biggest money they have ever spent on promoting an album.

"They believe it is their best work ever and they want the whole world to know it's out there.

"The money will be ploughed into a huge publicity blitz, the likes of which no band have ever done before. Their last album was big but this is going to be even bigger. Fans won't believe what the band are planning."

The album is set for release in November and is expected to top the charts around the world. Their new work was plunged into crisis in July when a pre-copy of their album went missing from their French recording studio.

Bono threatened to release the new album online at Apple's Itunes Music Store if tracks from the missing CD were leaked illegally on the web. But his worst fears haven't been realised and now he's determined to make U2's new album their biggest seller ever.

"He's so hyped up about this and really wants to give it his best shot," added the source. "All the band have been discussing ideas for the first video.

"They have been talking to a great film director but I can't reveal his name yet.

"The budget for the promotion has been signed-off by their record company and it's all systems go for the return of U2."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:45 AM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2004

They Still Haven't Found What They're Looking For!

7.16.04 - NME

U2 have lost a CD containing songs from their forthcoming album, NME.COM can reveal.

The band have been working on the follow-up to 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' for much of the year. The album, which is said to have a working title of 'Vertigo', isn't due until the autumn at the earliest.

During a photo session in Nice a CD containing some new songs from the forthcoming album went missing.

Guitarist The Edge said: "A large slice of two years work lifted via a piece of round plastic. It doesn't seem credible but that's what's just happened to us...and it was my CD."

Band manager Paul McGuiness said: "The recording of this album has been going so well. The band is so excited about its release. It would be a shame if unfinished work fell into the wrong hands."

Lucian Grainge, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group UK, added: "This matter is of great concern to us. As the missing CD is our property we are very keen to find it as soon as possible. The French police are being extremely helpful in this regard."

It is currently unknown if any of the new songs have leaked onto the Internet.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:44 AM | Comments (0)

February 10, 2004

Steve Lillywhite To Produce Next U2 Album

2.10.04 - Billboard

Mercury U.K. joint managing director Steve Lillywhite has left his role with the label to return to his roots in record production. Lillywhite tells Billboard.biz he will take no time off and will begin producing an album by U2 next week. The as-yet-untitled set is due from Interscope/Island later this year.

"It's the first time I'll have gone in to actually start a record with them in 20 years," says Lillywhite. "I worked on 'The Joshua Tree,' 'Achtung Baby' and 'All That You Can't Leave Behind,' but this will be the first time I've really set up the mikes and done everything for a long time."

Lillywhite also oversaw the band's first two albums, 1980's "Boy" and 1981's "October." He adds, "I've heard some great songs. The Edge is playing some really great guitar."

The new U2 album will be the follow-up to 2000's "All That You Can't Leave Behind," which debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 4.1 million copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan. The set was named best rock album at the 2001 Grammys and placed three tracks in the top-10 of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks airplay chart: "Beautiful Day" (No. 5), "Elevation" (No. 8) and "Walk On" (No. 10).

Lillywhite, one of Britain's top rock producers, has a list of credits that includes the Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Peter Gabriel, Morrissey and the Dave Matthews Band. In 2002, he was brought to Universal U.K. by chairman/CEO Lucian Grainge.

"I've had two great years, and I've loved a lot of it," says Lillywhite, "but really I wasn't that made out for getting up early in the morning. That's 25 years of producing records. I got more and more of an urge to be in the studio, so Lucian and I had a chat and decided it was best that I return to that."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:30 AM | Comments (0)

December 13, 2003

Bono Talks New Album

12.13.03 - Uncut

"Bullet The Blue Sky" Bono tells Uncut how U2 have gone "punk rock" on the French Riveira.

U2 have completed the main recording sessions for their next album, scheduled for release early in 2004, at a secret studio on the French Riveira. Guitarist The Edge summed up the new record, as yet untitled, as "raw rock'n'roll....a band in its primary colours of guitar, bass, drums, voice and a lot of vitality and energy"

Speaking exclusively to Uncut, Bono goes a step further, describing the album as "punk rock made on Venus", dominated by guitars that go up to "Number 11". He confirms the album will continue in the classic-rock vein of 2000's Grammy winning All That You Can't Leave Behind, and that U2's usual production team of Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno have been replaced by studio veteran Chris Thomas.

"He worked on The White Album", says Bono. "He made Never Mind the Bollocks and Dark Side of the Moon. And the first four Roxy Music records that are really hard to get your head round, I think he's on three of them. But we particularly wanted him to work on the guitar sound. It's a guitar-driven record. It's got a lot of big, big tunes. You know? Remember tunes?"

Bono insists the break with Lanois and Eno is purely for musical reasons. "They.....um, they don't really like the loud music. Heh heh! Eno's not on it, but Daniel's coming in to play - his tour's ending in Dublin and I think he's going to sit in, as we musos say. I'd love Brian to be on it because Brian was on those Roxy Music records too, we shouldn't forget. And it is otherworldly - its kind of punk rock made on Venus rather than Mars."

Holding album sessions on the Meditteranean, Bono claims, was designed to stimulate creative inspiration. "We've tried pretty much everything to make it feel like it's not a studio that we're working in," he says.

According to Bono, the new album will be dominated by The Edge's guitar. "it's made by a man who is really sick of the sight of his singer shaking hands with dodgy politicians," he quips. "When you've got as much spleen and suffused rage as The Edge has, I think Number 11 was the only way to go.

"People forget just how extraordinary a guitar player he is," Bono continues. "Everybody else is just replaying the blues again and again, it's just Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. But this is someone who, in the colour spectrum, [bold]owns[/bold] a few colours. In the same way as great musicians like Miles Davis, or great guitar players like Sterling Morrison - there are great guitar players who [bold]own[/bold] something."

But a guitar sound is not all the Edge owns, Uncut adds mischievously. He also owns a mansion, a hotel, a nightclub....

"Yes," Bono replies, "and he's slowly burning them all down."

Stephen Dalton

Posted by Jonathan at 03:26 AM | Comments (0)

August 05, 2003

U2 Making Ideas Come To Life On New Album

8.5.03 - Launch

U2 is currently working on the follow-up album to 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind. In July, Bono told Ireland's Sunday Independent newspaper that the band is closer than they've ever been to getting the sound they want.

"We are getting closer to making the music we have always wanted to make," Bono said. "There is a difference between the music that you hear in your head and what you put on a CD. Your grasp is sometimes further than your reach, and right now this band is on fire and about to do its best work."

Reports say the new album will showcase the Edge's guitar work. Bono told the New York Times, "The songs are very direct. They're big songs, big melodies and really, some full-on guitar playing by a very frustrated man. [The Edge] is so gifted. If this is a great record, and I really think it will be, it will have a lot to do with him."

The album is being produced by Chris Thomas, best known for his work with the Sex Pistols, INXS, the Beatles, Roxy Music and Pink Floyd.

Several months ago rumors were circulating that the title of the new album was Solar, but those rumors are untrue.

U2 expects to release their new album in 2004. They'll follow up the release with a world tour.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:09 AM | Comments (0)

April 24, 2003

Chris Thomas To Produce New U2

4.24.03 - Undercover

by Paul Cashmere

Chris Thomas has been named as the producer of the next U2 album.

Thomas is a veteran of the desk having knob twiddled for INXS (Listen Like Thieves), Pete Townshend (Empty Glass), The Pretenders, Sex Pistols (Never Mind The Bullocks) and Roxy Music (Stranded) as well as various works for Elton John and Paul McCartney.

Early in his career, Thomas scored a job working for George Martin and played keyboards on The Beatles classic White Album.

He mixed Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon and has his name attached to movie soundtracks such as Pretty In Pink, Trainspotting, Mission Impossible, Ghostbusters 2 and Small Soldiers.

In recent years he has been involved with Pulp, Tall Paul Vs INXS and the soundtrack to 24 Hour Party People.

A Chris Thomas / U2 production is expected to be guitar driven.

In a recent interview Bono told the New York Times "It's a very visceral album. The songs are very direct. They're big songs, big melodies and really, some full-on guitar playing by a very frustrated man....[The Edge] is so gifted. If this is a great record, and I really think it will be, it will have a lot to do with him."

There is no scheduled release date the album at this stage.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:54 AM | Comments (0)

November 07, 2002

Apocalypse Wow!

11.7.02 - Dotmusic

U2 are to feature the "mother of all rock'n'roll tunes" on their hugely anticipated new album, dotmusic can exclusively reveal.

The song, which has the working title of 'Full Metal Jacket', currently exists as a rough demo but frontman Bono has described the track as "remarkable".

"Larry and Adam haven't heard it yet," he explained. "But Edge brought round a CD of a new tune - just a provisional title, 'Full Metal Jacket' - It is the roughest, the mother of all rock'n'roll tunes.

"I don't know where it came from but it's a remarkable guitar thing. You want to hear it - it's a reason to make a record - this song is that good!"

Speaking during a global webchat on msn.com yesterday, band members Bono, Larry Mullen, the Edge (all in New York) and Adam Clayton (on holiday in Nepal) answered questions that had been submitted by fans across the world.

The band said they were unable to pinpoint the theme of the new long-player, but said they were enjoying the process of creating music again.

"We're at the great early phase where it's all about possibilities and nothing has to be ultimate," said the Edge. "You know, it doesn't have to be finished right now. We can try out all sorts of things and see where it takes us."

When asked if the band would like to work with any other artists in the future, Bono revealed his ambition to collaborate with a well-known Australian artist.

"We've been very lucky, we have worked with some of the greats," he said. "But Rolf Harris would definitely be high on my list"

"Steve Lilywhite (longtime U2 producer) said that one of the most innovative people he's ever worked with in a studio was Rolf Harris. He was famous for the song 'Two Little Boys' and in fact, on occasion, Edge and myself are known to sing it. So, big up Rolf!"

Elsewhere, the band reflected on their 20-year career, with Bono admitting that he regretted his 80s mullet. "I don't think people should ever look like their hair has been ironed," he said.

The band, who have made their name with groundbreaking and innovative live concerts, said their 1997 gig in Sarajevo was probably the highlight of their career so far.

"There have been a few moments that are really outstanding," said drummer Larry Mullen. "But the one that probably stands out more than any other one is Sarajevo.

"We played there on the 'PopMart' tour and there is no doubt that that is an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life.

"If I had to spend 20 years in the band just to play that show and to have done that, I think it would have been worthwhile. It was an amazing experience."

U2's greatest hits album, 'The Best of 1990-2000', was released in the UK this week.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:16 PM | Comments (0)

October 21, 2002

U2 Album Tracks Available Online

10.21.02 - RTE

U2 are streaming tracks from their new compilation, 'The Best Of 1990-2000' on their website every day this week.

Each day one or two new tracks will be made available on U2.com, as the 4 November album release date approaches.

The rare b-sides and remixed tracks, which feature on the strictly limited edition release 'The Best Of The B-sides', will also be streamed online.

U2's new single 'Electrical Storm' goes on sale today.

Two versions of the new single, including a remix by William Orbit, are also available on the official U2 website.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 08, 2002

Single Really Goes Down A Storm

9.8.02 - Newcastle Journal

U2 have had to re-think promotion plans for their new single after Bono handed a copy over as a wedding gift.

The singer gave a demo version of Electrical Storm to BBC Radio 1 DJ Sarah HB when she got married and the song ended up on Internet sites after she played it on her programme weeks before its official release. So record bosses brought forward their plans by a fortnight after the play started a frenzy among the band's fans.

The U2 star was in France when he bumped into his old pal and gave her a rough copy.

He even decorated the single, inspired by the aftermath of September 11, with a cartoon of the happy couple.

A friend of the DJ said: "She was unaware of the frenzy she would set off as copies of the single were bounced around the Internet."

The track will be released on October 21.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:00 PM | Comments (0)

September 01, 2002

Exclusive! U2: Best Of 1990 - 2000

9.1.02 - U2.com

The second volume of U2's Best of Collection, covering the years 1990-2000, will be released on November 4th. A limited edition Best of the B-sides will also be released, along with a new single Electrical Storm and , in December, a Best Of 1990 - 2000 DVD.

The second volume of U2's Best Of collection will be released by Universal-Island Records on November 4th. Covering the years from 1990 to 2000, its sixteen tracks are the highlights of the albums Achtung Baby, Zooropa, Passengers: Original Soundtracks 1, Pop and All That You Can't Leave Behind. Two brand new tracks have been recorded for this set, Electrical Storm, which will be released as a single, and The Hands That Built America which will feature on the soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese movie The Gangs Of New York, released by Miramax in December 2002.

In addition, four songs, Discotheque, Gone, Numb and Staring At The Sun have been substantially reworked by producer Mike Hedges.

A strictly limited edition run of U2: The Best Of 1990 - 2000 will feature a second cd collection, The Best Of The B-sides, as well as a bonus DVD with exclusive content including the History Mix of U2 in the '90s. This special value set will be available for one week only, after which the A-sides will be sold as a single cd.

The single, Electrical Storm, due for release on October 21st will be available on two CDs and a DVD format. The tracklistings are:

CD1 - Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) plus two remixes of New York, Nice Mix and Nasty Mix both by KLF's Jimmy Cauty.

CD2 - Electrical Storm and a live medley of Bad, 40 and Where The Streets Have No Name recorded in Boston on the Elevation tour.

DVD - Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) and video, exclusive sound bites from the band and a collection of photographs by Anton Corbijn.

The video for Electrical Storm is directed by Anton Corbijn and features actress Samantha Morton, who stars in Spielberg's Minority Report and received an Oscar nomination for her role in Woody Allen's Sweet And Lowdown.

The full album tracklisting is:

1. Even Better Than The Real Thing
2. Mysterious Ways
3. Beautiful Day
4. Electrical Storm (William Orbit Mix) (new song)
5. One
6. Miss Sarajevo
7. Stay (Faraway, So Close!)
8. Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
9. Gone (new mix)
10. Until The End Of The World
11. The Hands That Built America (new song)
12. Discotheque (new mix)
13. Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me
14. Staring At The Sun (new mix)
15. Numb (new mix)
16. The First Time
17. The Fly

The 1990s was a period of reinvention and experimentation for U2, embracing rapidly developing technology and incorporating it into their distinctive sound. Many of the tracks on the B-sides collection are remixes of U2 tracks by leading DJs and producers, including Paul Oakenfold and Alan Moulder.

The B-sides tracklisting is as follows:

1. Lady With The Spinning Head (Extended Dance Mix)
2. Dirty Day (Junk Day Mix)
3. Electrical Storm
4. Summer Rain
5. North & South Of The River
6. Your Blue Room
7. Happiness Is A Warm Gun (The Gun Mix)
8. Salome (Zooromancer Mix)
9. Even Better Than The Real Thing (Perfecto Mix)
10. Numb (Give Me Some More Dignity Mix)
11. Mysterious Ways (Solar Plexus Club Mix)
12. If God Will Send His Angels - (Big Yam Mix)
13. Lemon (Jeep Mix)
14. Discotheque (Hexidecimal Mix)

This collection follows the release in 1998 of The Best Of 1980 - 1990, which topped the charts and achieved platinum sales throughout the world.

Finally, a Best Of 1990 - 2000 DVD will be released on December 2nd and will feature promo videos of tracks from the A-sides cd, complete with commentary by the directors, who include Wim Wenders, Kevin Godley, Stephane Sednaoui, Anton Corbijn and Jonas Akerlund. Six bonus tracks are included on the DVD - Please, If God Will Send His Angels, Wild Horses, Lemon, Last Night On Earth and MoFo. In addition, many of the tracks feature alternative versions of the clips made for different countries, as early cuts or to accompany different mixes. Further exclusive content includes a mini documentary, The Road To Sarajevo, filmed in the Bosnian capital in the run up to U2's historic 1997 concert and complete with performance footage.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:03 PM | Comments (0)

August 28, 2002

U2 'Storms' The Beach For New Video

8.28.02 - Billboard

U2 shot a video for its new single, "Electrical Storm," last week in the French seaside town Eze. The clip stars actress Samantha Morton ("Minority Report") as a mermaid and was directed by longtime U2 collaborator Anton Corbijn, who photographed the cover of the band's 1987 album "The Joshua Tree." According to Ireland's Evening Herald, filming lasted from 6 a.m. last Wednesday to 3 a.m. the following morning.

"Electrical Storm" is slated as one of two new songs on "The Best of 1990 - 2000," due in November from Interscope. According to the band's official Web site, the cut "is set for radio play in the U.S. as early as this week, as soon as production work on the track is finished."

A demo of the song was played on BBC Radio 1 over the weekend; fast-acting fans recorded the broadcast and have been distributing MP3 files across the Internet. A commercial single for "Electrical Storm" is due Oct. 21 internationally.

The other new song set for inclusion on "Greatest Hits" is "The Hands That Built America," which was penned for Martin Scorsese's upcoming Miramax film "Gangs of New York." The film is due Dec. 25 in U.S. theaters; it is not yet known if a commercial soundtrack will be released.

U2's "The Best of 1980 - 1990" debuted in December 1998 at No. 2 on The Billboard 200. That set's remix of the cut "Sweetest Thing" hit No. 9 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart and No. 12 on Billboard's Adult Top 40 tally.

As previously reported, U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. is among the panelists who will select the second annual Shortlist Prize for Artistic Achievement in Music, to be handed out Oct. 29 at Los Angeles' Knitting Factory. Mullen's five nominations for the award's "Long List" were albums from Bjork, Andrew W.K., JJ72, Doves, and the Hives.

-- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:51 PM | Comments (0)

July 30, 2002

New U2 Single Due In October

7.30.02 - Jam! Music

U2 has bolted back into the studio and recorded their brand new single, "Electric Storm".

The single will be released in October and will accompany their forthcoming 17-song "Best of" album in November, according to French U2 fansite U2achtung.com.

The report also said a second new track on the "Best of" release will be "The Hands That Built America", written for Martin Scorsese's long-delayed epic, "Gangs Of New York". The group's official website has post a snippet of the band performing the new song in the studio.

"Electric Storm" will be released to radio on Sept. 16.

Meanwhile, a New York Post report says U2 are lined up to headline a massive concert in New York's Times Square on Sept. 5 - just six days before the September 11 anniversary -- to kick off the National Football League's new season.

The report also says the other top musical acts will perform at the show, which is expected to draw thousands of fans.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2002

A Beautiful Year

7.15.02 - Dotmusic

U2 will release a whole host of new material later this year, dotmusic can confirm.

Internet sources have been speculating about the much-anticipated new releases for some time, and now a source close to the band has told dotmusic that it is "looking very likely" that a single and 'best of' CD will be released this year.

The source was unable to confirm release dates for the new material, but it is believed that a single will hit shops in mid-October with a 'best of' CD following a few weeks later.

The forthcoming releases are as yet untitled, although it is thought that the best of compilation will carry on from previous anthology, 'Best of: 1980-1990' and be simply titled 'Best of: 1990- 2000'.

A DVD featuring all the band's greatest videos is also likely to be released in time for Christmas.

Earlier this year, there was speculation that the band would play some live shows in the summer. This later proved to be false and our source was able to confirm that the band will not be playing live again until next year.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:48 PM | Comments (0)

April 08, 2002

Another U2 Greatest Hits Album Planned

4.8.02 - NME.com

Songs from U2's current studio sessions are likely to be included on a new Greatest Hits compilation, according to US reports.

As previously announced on NME.COM, the Irish group has ruled out plans for live shows this summer and has returned to the studio to work on new songs.

A spokesperson for the band's US label Interscope told MTV news that a compilation album lifting material from their 1991 'Achtung Baby' album to the present day was in the pipeline. It may also feature new material

The album could be released before the end of the year. Other songs recorded during the sessions could be held over for the follow-up to their 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' album.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:21 PM | Comments (0)

January 18, 2002

U2 Putting Limited-Edition Album On Sale At Target Stores

1.18.02 - Launch

U2 has teamed up with Target Stores for a limited-edition CD that will only be available through the nationwide retailer. Titled U2 7, the collection features seven U2 songs, ranging from an acoustic version of "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of," to remixes of "Beautiful Day" and "Elevation," to the regular versions of the B-sides "Summer Rain" and "Always." The CD has a $6.99 list price. U2 7 will be available in all Target stores, as well as at target.com, starting Tuesday (January 22).

U2 is up for eight awards at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards ceremony, which takes place February 27 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The nominations include record of the year and best rock song for "Walk On"; album of the year and best rock album for All That You Can't Leave Behind; song of the year and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocal for "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of"; and best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal and best rock song for "Elevation."

The band is set to play the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVI in New Orleans on February 3.

-- Bruce Simon, New York

Posted by Jonathan at 03:58 PM | Comments (0)

November 28, 2000

U2 Album Banned in Burma

11.28.00 - Rolling Stone

It's been a long time since Bono marched around stage waving a white flag, but the outspoken Irishman and the rest of his cohorts in U2 apparently still have a knack for buggin' certain people, particularly when they mean to. The band's new album, All That You Can't Leave Behind, has been banned in Burma by the country's ruling military dictatorship.

The reason? The song "Walk On," which is dedicated in the album's liner notes to Daw Aung San Sun Kyi, the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement who has been under virtual house arrest since 1989 along with other members of her National League for Democracy. The liner notes also list a Web and mailing address for the pro-democracy Burma Campaign. According to a BBC transcript of a Burmese opposition radio report, Burma's SPDC (State Peace and Development Council) military intelligence office has barred the import of any magazine, journal or tape that so much as mentions Aung San Sun Kyi's name. Doing so carries a fine of three to twenty years in prison.

U2 have devoted space on their newly launched Web site, www.U2.com, to the plight of democracy in Burma, crediting the nation's military dictatorship -- a "destructive tyranny" which has ruled since 1962 -- with "one of the worst human rights records in the world." Charges against the regime include the use of more child soldiers than any other country in the world, the forced labor of eight million men, women and children, an ethnic cleansing campaign against half a million Shan, Karen and Karenni people and the detainment of more than 1,500 political prisoners.

According to their Web site, U2 was scheduled to film a video for "Walk On" last week in Rio de Janeiro with Swedish director Jonas Akerlund, who shot their recent clip for "Beautiful Day." "Walk On" will be the band's next single in America. (A different single, "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," has been picked for the European market -- with a video set to be filmed this week in Los Angeles).

RICHARD SKANSE
(November 28, 2000)

Posted by Jonathan at 12:13 AM | Comments (0)

November 01, 2000

U2 'Leave Behind' Pop Foray

11.1.00 - Reuters

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The last time U2 played in Los Angeles, 65,000 fans watched the Irish rock quartet go through their paces at the site of the 1932 and 1984 Olympic Games.

Now fast forward three years to October 2000 and U2 are playing for 250 fans on a studio soundstage.

The performance was taped for USA cable TV show "Jimmy & Doug's Farmclub.com," which would not warrant their attention but for the fact that "Jimmy" is Jimmy Iovine, a former U2 producer who now runs their U.S. label, Interscope Records.

U2 are promoting a new album, "All That You Can't Leave Behind," the 10th studio release of their 22-year career. They play four new songs, one of them, "Elevation," twice, and wrap with the 1983 tune "Surrender" during the taping last Friday.

Then they answer a few questions about the album, the state of pop music and singer Bono's pet topic of third world debt. This being Los Angeles, they can barely be heard above the din of the jaded crowd. But you will not hear them complain. At one point Bono proclaims, "Death to whingeing rock stars."

As super-rich rock stars go, U2 have always seemed fairly normal, weathering occasional backlashes against their soapbox stands with good grace. Still boasting the original lineup, they continue to live in Dublin, where all attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School. It was there that drummer Larry Mullen Jr. decided to form a band and put up a notice.

Irish Export

With Bono (real name Paul Hewson) on vocals, The Edge (Dave Evans) on guitar and Adam Clayton on bass, U2 would go on to become one of Ireland's best-known exports.

"Because we were mates, I suppose from the beginning, there's a lot of real respect and trust there between the different members of the group," Edge told Reuters in an interview. "We're pretty tough with one another. It's not necessarily like we go into a U2 session and everyone's completely polite. Everyone is prepared to tell you exactly what they think when it comes to it."

From their early days, U2 gained notice for their fervent live performances and provocative songs such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (about the violence in Ireland), "Silver and Gold" (apartheid) and "The Unforgettable Fire" (nuclear holocaust). Their 1987 album "The Joshua Tree" sealed their reputation as superstars and won the album of the year Grammy.

Unlike their previous releases, U2 will not launch a simultaneous tour, opting instead to wait until next March, when they will kick off an arena tour -- probably in Miami, U2 manager Paul McGuinness told Reuters at the taping.

Of course, the album could be off the charts by then, but Edge is not worried. "We didn't feel like rushing out there because we wanna just spend a bit of time figuring out what we wanna do and give ourselves a bit of breathing space to make some videos. We've always hit the road pretty much immediately and everything else then becomes a bit of a scramble."

U2 were last on the road for the 1997-98 PopMart world tour, which kicked off in Las Vegas seven weeks after their "Pop" album's release. Its electronica foray confused fans and it sold a modest 6 million worldwide, about a third of what "Joshua Tree" did. The stadium extravaganza began shakily and a satirical take on consumerism didn't go over well in America.

"We're used to playing with some heady concepts and expecting everyone to weigh in there and follow. I think we just left people scratching their heads a little bit," Edge said. "I would have to say it's more that we didn't communicate what we were up to very well."

Should the band have to communicate? "Should we have to?" Edge repeated, choosing his words carefully. "We never would play down to our audience or try to spoon-feed them. But at the same time if you're going to call your album 'Pop' and (the tour) PopMart, those words have got so much baggage."

Everything hinged on one three-letter word: Pop. U2 meant it in a broad, pop art sense. Many people viewed it as a synonym for lightweight and decided they did not want anything to do with it. U2 have not decided on a name for their next tour but it is a safe bet they will consult some dictionaries.

Recycling Baggage

Edge said the new album should be easier to grasp because they tried to strip sound and production to the essentials. They recorded it in Dublin with longtime collaborators Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who worked on 1984's "The Unforgettable Fire," "The Joshua Tree" and 1991's "Achtung Baby."

The album title comes from a line salvaged from an unused tune and recycled on the track "Walk On," a ballad dedicated to Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi: "The only baggage you can bring/Is all that you can't leave behind."

"It's an attempt to say that what made it to the record ... is literally just the songs that we couldn't possibly leave off," Edge said.

The first single, "Beautiful Day," topped the European pop charts. Edge said U2 is engaged in "a bit of a lively debate" about the next, which seems to be a tossup among "Walk On," "Elevation" and "Stuck in a Moment Without You," a gospel-tinged track about a friend's suicide.

Expect the debate to be settled amicably. Edge said he has not been on the wrong end of Bono's fist for 20 years and attributes the band's longevity to the lack of rivalry.

Mullen, 39, keeps the band on its rock 'n' roll course. "He's anti anything pretentious, anti anything too arty, flowery," Edge said. "Larry is generally going to tell you something's too long or it's too slow or where is the melody."

Clayton, 40, is a "naturally avant garde" bass player who, like Edge, was born in England. "He's got a great sense of the loyalty factor. He's always there backing everyone up."

Bono, 40, has the vision thing. "He's a great guy to have on your team because he's got incredible energy. He's dogged, y'know. He'll just keep on pushing."

And Edge described himself as the music guy. "I tend to start a lot of the ideas or come up with chord patterns that we can toss around, or whatever. I'm the guy who's hanging on to all those great demos -- we should try this one again."

Bono writes most of the lyrics and Edge most of the music. But the whole band gets credit for the music, which Edge sometimes feels is a little generous. "As well as feeling like I have maybe a much larger responsibility than Adam and Larry for music, I know that they make me look very good," he said.

"And I guess that's the way a band works: People are in bands, hopefully, and I know in our case, because we're better than we would be as individuals."

Posted by Jonathan at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)

October 24, 2000

U2 Drops Jagger Vocals

10.24.00 - Wall Of Sound

U2 has decided to nix a version of a song featuring backing vocals by Mick Jagger and his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, from its forthcoming album, All That You Can't Leave Behind.

The Jaggers wound up lending their pipes to the ballad "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" after they dropped by to visit the Irish rock act in a Dublin recording studio. But guitarist The Edge says the song eventually "took a different direction," and the band opted to go with an alternate, Mick-free rendition.

The band is sending a copy of the original mix to the rock star and his daughter (who sang backing vocals on select dates of the Rolling Stones' '97-'99 tour), though, and thanked them in the liner notes to the album, due in U.S. stores on Oct. 31.

The Edge stressed that the band was grateful for the duo's contributions. "They came in, we played them some stuff. It was nice to hear it through their ears," he said. "So we just wanted to say thanks to them for their generosity, really, just coming in and giving us their opinion on how it was going."

But the band expressed harsher sentiments for a younger generation of pop musicians on Monday. During the taping of a British radio set, singer Bono blasted record labels for "ignoring real talent in favor of pretty young things" - echoing similar sentiments recently expressed by George Michael, Elton John, and Blur - according to U.K. tabloid The Sun.

"People are sick to the teeth of processed and hyped pop bands," he continued. "It's crap. They want something real again, and that's where we come in. The tide is turning."

U2's new single, "Beautiful Day," recently entered the British charts at No. 1.

Posted by Jonathan at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)

August 23, 2000

New U2 Album to Rock Halloween

8.23.00 - E! Online

After Pop's surprising fizzle three years ago, U2's out to prove it's still the world's biggest rock band.

The Irish quartet announced Monday that All That You Can't Leave Behind, its much-awaited new album and the 12th in the group's two-decade history, will be released October 31 on Interscope Records.

The Halloween treat aims to recapture the magic of the band's earlier works while still charting new territory.

"I think we've made a very special record, and I know everybody that's spent a year in the studio feels like that, but there's a certain clarity to this music that I don't think we've heard for a while," frontman Bono said in a recent interview.

The always-morphing band could use some new clarity. After reinventing themselves with the masterful Actung, Baby! in 1991, the rockers have struggled to maintain commercial viability. With the exception of a greatest hits package (1998's The Best of 1980-1990), the band's recent albums--Zooropa in 1993 and especially 1997's Pop--have failed to generate much enthusiasm among rock critics and record buyers.

Recording industry analysts are looking forward to the new disc, and are predicting U2 could once again rule the charts.

"Their built-in audience will ensure a solid opening week" says Dave Adelson, executive editor of Hits magazine and E! News Daily's music guru. "However if Ricky Martin comes out with an album the same day, that in no way means a number one debut or even a top five. That's the irony in today's pop-driven youth market."

Adelson also notes the album's success will depent a lot the kind of radio airplay it receives.

"It's not how you start, it's how you finish," adds Adelson. "If top 40 embraces a U2 single, there's a possibility it could be [the band's] biggest album ever."

All That You Can't Leave Behind features 11 new tracks all produced by frequent U2 collaborators Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno, who have supervised all the band's studio work since 1980's Boy.

The first single off the album, "Beautiful Day," written by U2 with lyrics by Bono, hits airwaves October 9. The tune will be issued as two different CD singles--the first containing two new tracks not on the album, "Summer Rain" and "Always," while the second CD includes live versions of "Discotechque" and "If You Wear That Velvet Dress" from a Mexico City performance during the band's PopMart tour. Swedish director Jonas Ackerlund, known for his work with Madonna and the Prodigy, just shot the "Beautiful Day" video at Paris' Charles de Gaulle airport.

In addition to "Beautiful Day," the album includes the following cuts: "Elevation," "Walk On," "Stuck in a Moment," "Peace on Earth," "Kite," "New York," "In a Little While," "Wild Honey," "When I Look at the World" and "Grace."

Fans wanting a sneak peak of U2's new sound can go to the group's Website (www.u2.com), which explores all aspects of the new album. Fans can sample a 30-second clip of the new single, as well as watch a video of Bono and drummer Larry Mullens Jr. in the studio.

Posted by Jonathan at 11:39 PM | Comments (0)

August 20, 2000

New U2 is 'titanium soul'

8.20.00 - Jam! Music

Comparing it to a Beatles record, "in that every song feels like a single", Bono and U2 have finally unveiled the contents on their upcoming album, "All That You Can't Leave Behind".

Due out in late October, the long-gestating follow-up to "Pop" will contain 11 songs that Bono characterizes as "tunes rather than just ideas. There's no storytelling or artifice," he writes on the band's official website. "It's about the pure joy of playing in a band, with or without an audience."

"All That You Can't Leave Behind" was produced by Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno. Here is the complete track listing:

Beautiful Day
Elevation
Walk On
Stuck In A Moment
Peace On Earth
Kite
New York
In A Little While
Wild Honey
When I Look At The World
Grace

In addition, a pair of non-album tracks -- "Summer Rain" and "Always" -- will be released in Europe on Oct. 9 as the B-side of the first single, "Beautiful Day". A second CD single of the same song will feature two live tracks, "Discotheque" and "If You Wear That Velvet Dress", both recorded in Mexico City. There's no word yet on North American release plans for the singles.

A video for "Beautiful Day" was shot this month at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. It was directed by Jonas Akerlund, best known for his work with Madonna and The Prodigy.

Posted by Jonathan at 11:41 PM | Comments (0)

August 02, 2000

U2 Stirring Their Souls in the Studio

8.2.00 - Rolling Stone.com

At work on their tenth studio album, U2 vow to stay true to rock & roll and themselves

Bono sits on a sofa in the center of U2's Dublin recording studio -- a laptop on his knees, a microphone in one hand -- listening to a vocal he has just sung. The song is called, for this moment, anyhow, "Stir My Soul." As it exists at around a quarter past six on a Friday evening in May, it is delicate and beautiful, driven by a hypnotic piano motif, over which Bono murmurs a mixture of words and melody before launching into a chorus largely consisting of the phrase "stir my soul" repeated over and over. The other three members of U2 sit scattered around the studio, with producer Daniel Lanois. (Co-producer Brian Eno prefers to contribute in short, sharp bursts; lately he's been coming in one week per month.)

U2 have an idea that "Stir My Soul" will be the song the band needs to open its new album, in the works for two years and scheduled for release this fall. "Some sort of opening gambit," Bono explains. "Sometimes you dream one up, and sometimes you find one on the floor." The Edge says that they've probably touched on a hundred different songs making this album. At the back of the studio is a white marker board that details the progress of the nineteen strongest contenders. According to the board, none of them are finished. This evening I will see just a little of the random, inspired, quick-changing process by which just one of them evolves.

A year ago, Bono says, this song was called "Jubilee," and he had it all worked out. It leaped off from the Old Testament concept of a jubilee year. "The Jews had this idea that every seven days you had the Sabbath day, the day not to work," he says. "Every seven years you let the land lie fallow, and seven times seven -- forty-nine years -- you had a year of jubilee, where the people who are indebted, you had to let go of their debts. Captives, slaves, had to be set free. It was a time of grace. Beautiful idea, really."

U2 marked it as a song they should get back to, but when they replayed it a few days ago, all that jubilee thinking was cast aside. Bono wrote an entirely new lyric. He sings me the opening lines -- "Speak to me of the supernatural things/I will listen if you can tell me why the songbird sings" -- and shows me a printout of the rest from his computer, almost as if he wants to prove that the new U2 album is not being delayed simply because the singer has failed to complete his homework. But even that version is history now. "Beautiful tune, beautiful melody," he says, "but it wasn't what we wanted it to be. We were looking for more of an invocation."

So two days ago, the song now known as "Stir My Soul" mutated once more. "We changed all the chords and increased the tempo by ten b.p.m.," says the Edge. Bono explains it like this: "Quincy Jones said to me once, 'You're waiting for God to walk through the room, or else it's just craft.' The way you write music is at once humdrum -- there's a fridge in the corner with apples and a bottle of milk, and there's a fax machine -- and at the same time you're waiting for a miracle, or else it's just the sum of the parts. And yesterday we got this great gift of this melody, and that's what we have now." Of course, the new melody didn't work with the old chorus, and so Bono has come up with a new one. "This Dusty Springfield one," as he refers to it. ("I'm man enough to say I've been very influenced by her," he adds. "We've a similar register in places -- since our first album, I've felt a little bit of her.")

But they're still not happy. They now worry that the chorus is too commonplace. The Edge tries to add some guitar.

"I like that," encourages Bono. "It's dizzier." Bono worries about a part of the song at the end of the chorus where it stops and regathers itself. "It's a little professional when it stops," he says to Lanois. "We might have to mess it up a bit."

Bono picks up the microphone and sings some heavenly "oh-whoa-oh-whoa's" onto the track, the conversation around him barely pausing. It is remarkable watching with what speed and with what little reverence U2 race to change, amend and evolve a song.

Right now, however, they break for dinner, which a cook prepares for them upstairs and which they all eat together around a table.

This new album will be U2's tenth in the studio. "At this point," Bono says, "it's kind of about self-respect and about wanting not to cave in to the obvious contour that you see with rock & roll bands, where their best work is always in their twenties. And our best work has been in our thirties, I think -- we did some good work in our twenties, but it's getting better." He talks about their last album, Pop, which they had to complete in a frantic rush due to the imminent, already-booked PopMart stadium tour: "We had some fun with, you know, fine art and technology, and wrote some great songs, didn't quite finish them, I accept, but the sense of adventure that was behind that record and that tour, I really stand by."

Some of the new songs began to form while they were still on tour. The Edge remembers coming up with the rudiments of "Stuck in a Moment and You Can't Get Out of It" -- which, in the version I hear, is a glorious rush of Philadelphia soul -- in a gospel tune he wrote on a piano in a Japanese hotel room. "I suppose I was consciously looking for something in that tradition," he says. "Having been through that whole experimentation period during Pop -- with techno and dance ideas and dance aesthetics -- it seemed like I wanted to get back to something a bit more earthy."

They began thinking about the new record soon after the tour finished, in Dublin. "We just started with the band," the Edge says. "We thought, 'Let's begin with the essence and develop it from there; we can experiment along the way.'"

"We're still playing with technology -- it's not any kind of revivalist thing," Bono points out.

Early on, they approached Lanois and Eno, whose collaboration with the band began sixteen years ago on The Unforgettable Fire and continued with The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby and Zooropa. Eno first suggested trying to make the record in two short weeks of improvisation, and U2 were intrigued enough to give it a go, working on three or four ideas a day. They came up with material that would be used on the soundtrack to the Wim Wenders movie The Million Dollar Hotel, based on a story co-written by Bono, but little in the way of songs. "I think we could make a record in two weeks," notes the Edge. "It just wouldn't be a great record."

So the band has fallen back into its more usual rhythm of writing and recording and revising. I hear a few of the songs, as finished as they are: "Elevation," a buzzing electro-rock song somewhere between T. Rex and hip-hop, over which Bono half-yelps, half-raps; "In a Little While," a more traditional melodic rhythm & blues, which Bono describes as having "a Holiday Inn-lobby-band feel"; a song provisionally called "Home (This Bird Has Flown)," which right now sounds the closest they have come in years to their surging late-Eighties sound.

"One of the only problems we've had," says Bono, "is that when you put the band in the room with no shenanigans or trickery, they tend to sound a bit like U2." "Who would have thought that'd be a problem when we started out?" mutters Larry Mullen Jr.

After dinner, while the Edge and I remain upstairs to talk, guitar parts spill up the stairs.

"Bono, probably," he evenly replies when I ask who's playing. When we go down, this turns out to be right: Bono has overdubbed two jagged guitar parts on "Stir My Soul."

The Edge listens. "The second half, I don't buy it," he says. "It sounds very . . . clever."

Adam Clayton sits quietly at one side, picking at a bass guitar. Mullen, who has been feeling under the weather, slips home. These two seem to say by far the least at this stage of the recording process, but you get the sense that they're silently influencing events and that a very different record would be made if they didn't turn up each day. Likewise, watching the four of them, you can feel their stubborn collective determination not to settle for second best, or even for something wonderful that doesn't seem fresh, however long it takes.

The Edge listens to Bono's guitar parts again, then turns to me: "See what happens when I turn my back for a minute?" He replays some of Bono's part, without the bits he doesn't like, then he starts playing some more guitar of his own: simple, fuzzed-up notes close together on the fret board, which nonetheless start building and soaring.

Bono looks up, grinning. "That's a special part," he says. The Edge plays more, longer, getting deep into it. Bono gets more excited, kicks a leg in the air: "Oh, boy. It's just, this blue note drops in. It's not even blue, it's purple. It's moldy green. . . ." Bono leans over to me. "I remember Bob Dylan telling me once: It's OK for Edge to play solos, just about. But Edge feels he's not a man who believes in it. It's a very special occasion. . . . You have to hate doing it to be really good at it." The Edge plays on, and Bono leaps to his feet. He launches into a delighted reverie and mentions Neil Young's "Like a Hurricane," which at this moment does not seem particularly inappropriate.

They have finished for the night. "I remember what Bob said," Bono continues. "Bob said, 'What the best ones are about, it's about telling stories.' " Bono grins. "A lot of people don't have anything to say. . . . "

If U2 currently have a problem, it seems to be the opposite: too much to say. In these four hours, the song has entirely shifted again, from sweet to squalling -- and given that this is just four hours from nearly two years' work, it's entirely possibly that nothing resembling either version will appear on the new U2 album. "We're fast," Bono sighs. "The problem is, we keep doing it. We never finish." But this is their way. "What gets us to our best moments," the Edge says, "is a kind of explosive energy, where it kind of all comes together. And you can be waiting a long time for that to happen, and that's the frustration sometimes for us: That's the only way we know how." According to their current schedule, they have only a few more weeks before the album will be finished. Bono begins reminiscing about how, with three days to go, they were told they couldn't possibly finish Achtung Baby. Gleefully, he recalls just how much that record changed in those final seventy-two hours. "That's when it gets really mental," he says.

"Nothing is sacred," notes the Edge. "Nothing is finished, literally, until the CD's in the shop."

CHRIS HEATH
(August 2, 2000)

Posted by Jonathan at 11:43 PM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2000

U2 Album About To Be Wrapped Up

7.12.00 - music365

U2 are expected to finish their new album in the next few weeks - and will tour their album in 2001.

The band's management have released a statement saying the album will definitely be made available before the end of the year.

The statement reads: the band is currently in the studio and the new U2 album is due to be finished in the next few weeks. It's all on schedule for a late autumn release, but exact dates aren't yet fixed. Full details will be announced in due course once tracklisting, title and release dates have been fixed."

The album is being wrapped up in Dublin. It has been produced by Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

It has been confirmed that the band have definite plans to tour the new album next year, though it's not yet known how extensive the tour will be, or when the tour will start. The band's PopMart tour for 1997's 'Pop' was their most ambitious live undertaking.

Posted by Jonathan at 11:33 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 2000

U2 Say They'll Give Up Pop Sound For Rock

3.13.00 - Sonicnet News

Singer tells chat audience that album will have 'feeling of people in a room, playing off each other.'

Staff Writer Brian Hiatt reports:

Superstar rockers U2 are abandoning the electronics of Pop and other '90s albums for the sound of "hand-played drums" on an album to be released in September or October, according to lead singer Bono.

"I wanted make sure we heard [drummer] Larry [Mullen] on the record," Bono said in a Yahoo! chat Sunday. "The presence of hand-played drums is very important in these times of canned beats and easy access to them. What's become a rare commodity is the presence of humanity and the feeling of people in a room playing, off each other."

"I'm very, very excited," U2's guitarist, the Edge, said in the chat. "I think it's some of the best things we've done in many, many years. I'm just dying to finish the record and get it out there."

The chat, set up to discuss U2's work on the soundtrack to "The Million Dollar Hotel," was supposed to include only Bono (born Paul Hewson), but the Edge (born David Evans), producer Daniel Lanois and frequent band photographer Anton Corbijn briefly participated.

The online chat - held amid a raucous 40th birthday party in Ireland for U2 bassist Adam Clayton - quickly digressed from "The Million Dollar Hotel" soundtrack to the band's next album.

While the band's last album, Pop (1997), and its predecessors, Zooropa (1993) and Achtung Baby (1991), were largely driven by electronic dance beats, the sound of the new album will be more stripped-down and live, according to Bono.

The singer credited DJ Howie B., who accompanied U2 on the Pop tour, with giving the band the courage to return to rock.

"[He] kept reminding us how unique the band was and how we didn't need to connect with a hip-hop or a dance audience - that within both, there is a U2 audience," Bono said. "[T]his record it's about differentiation, stressing the differences between dance music and being in a band - there is stuff we can do that no DJ can touch, and vice versa."

Yet the band doesn't envision a return to the echoing, anthemic sound of classic albums such as 1987's The Joshua Tree, according to Bono.

"We have no reverse gears on our tank, so the idea of a return to basics is not in the cards," he said. "We advance towards simplicity; we advance toward a stripped-down sound. That is the essence of U2."

The new album's co-producer, Lanois, who worked on The Joshua Tree, said the band still has a lot of work to do. "We're well on our way. We have a lot of its pieces already in play, and now we need to flesh them out," he said. "It's usually a combination of fun and hard work. We've had fun; we have more hard work ahead of us."

In the next few months, the band will finish the lyrics to the album's songs, then decide which 10 or 12 will make it onto the album, according to Bono. "Our problem is that we love starting things and hate finishing them," he said. "We get bored with the technical side of things."

The movie soundtrack, to be released Tuesday (March 14), is being given minimal promotion because of the upcoming album, according to the singer. "The Million Dollar Hotel" includes two new U2 songs, "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" and "Stateless", in addition to the previously released "The First Time" and Bono solo tracks.

"It's got to be a quiet release because the next U2 album is going to very noisy," Bono said.

The Irish band released their first album, Boy, in 1980. They became superstars with the release of Joshua Tree, which spawned such stadium-ready hits as "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For."

Posted by Jonathan at 11:14 PM | Comments (0)

December 21, 1999

U2's New LP To Be Their Greatest Ever

U2's new album will be "the greatest record we've ever made", according to the band's bassist Adam Clayton. As yet there is no confirmed title, track listing or release date, though a spokesperson for the band did confirm, when contacted by Music365, that the album will be released in late summer.

Speaking in the new edition of Propoganda, the official U2 fanzine, Clayton said that sessions had begun a mere six weeks after the band's worldwide 'PopMart' tour had ended, and that the band have been in the studio frequently since last summer. The album will be distilled from around 20 pieces of music that they have been working on with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois.

Clayton said that, unlike with their last album, 'Pop', the emphasis has been on "trying to preserve the recording of the band as a unit". "I'd like to think that we are making the greatest U2 record we've ever made," Clayton concludes. "Bono already does think that!"

At the moment the record's working title is a closely guarded secret, though some working titles for tracks have emerged. Asked by Propoganda to talk about a new song he liked, the band's drummer, Larry Mullen Jr, nominated 'Bulldozer', while singer Bono offered the following enigmatic story concerning a song called 'Kite'. "There's a hill behind my house," he explained. "I took my two little girls up the hill to prove to them and myself I could be the perfect parent. I bought a large four foot by three foot kite - it lasted sixty seconds before it was taken out of my hands and crashed to the ground. The next attempt was taken off in a great gust never to be seen again... The third shot and the two little girls disappeared - I'm still there..."

Additionally, the album is expected to contain 'The Ground Beneath Her Feet', the lyrics of which were written by novelist Salman Rushdie, and the title used as the title of his most recent novel.

Also, as reported earlier on Music365, Bono has inscribed five lines of lyrics for the album on Jubilee2000's "chain of words" around St Martin In The Fields church in Trafalgar Square, London (see our earlier story).

Earlier this month the future of the new U2 album was put in jeopardy when Bono's laptop, which contained everything the singer had written for the LP, was stolen from his car in Dublin. It was later recovered and returned. See previous Music365 story.

Propoganda is available by subscription only. For further information, please contact U2 Propaganda, PO Box 5406, London, W7 1ZU.

Posted by Jonathan at 06:47 AM | Comments (0)

December 10, 1999

Bono Has Found What He Was Looking For: Missing U2 Album Returned!

BONO's missing laptop has been found.

The U2 frontman's computer, which contained material for the band's new album, was taken from his car in Dublin on Monday December 6.

But according to Irish newspaper The Star today, Friday December 10, they have reunited Bono with his missing property. The singer is quoted as saying "Everything I had written was on it - now the album is back on track. Thanks so much."

The laptop was returned by a young Dubliner named Paul who hap bought it for £300 believing it had come from a reputable source. The man, who didn't want his second name made public, had bought the laptop for his wife who is learning to use computers. He said: "When you switch it on a picture of Bono's new baby (Elijah) appears and as I'm the father of a three month old child myself it made me even more anxious to give it back."

Paul and a reporter from The Star met the singing superstar last night to return the laptop. Bono said: "Everything I've written since August was on this and I hadn't backed up any of it - so I would really have been a goner. This is like my portable brain - unfortunately I've got a smaller one so this stores all my information".

The singer offered to buy Paul a new laptop. The good-natured citizen also stand to pick up a £2000 reward that was offered by U2's management team.

Posted by Jonathan at 06:42 AM | Comments (0)

December 09, 1999

Lyrics For U2's Next Album Reported Stolen

Words and other work in progress for Irish rock band's record were in Bono's shoulder bag.

Staff Writer Brian Hiatt reports:

A shoulder bag that U2 singer Bono reported missing this week contained lyrics and other work in progress for the superstar rock band's next album, according to the band's manager.

"It's really important that we get it back," manager Paul McGuinness said in a statement Thursday (Dec. 9). "To anyone else it's just a personal computer, and a few pieces of paper. To Bono, obviously, it's much more important."

U2's management company, Principle Management Ltd., is offering a substantial reward for the bag's return, McGuinness said. Reuters reported Wednesday that Bono was offering about 2,000 Irish pounds ($2600).

The black shoulder bag, which had a red luggage tag bearing the management company's address and phone number, was discovered missing Monday night at Clarence Hotel in Dublin, Ireland, according to a statement released Wednesday through U2's UK publicity firm, RMP.

A bag matching that description was reported stolen from the hotel Tuesday, according to Irish police spokesperson Noreen Harrison.

Bono (born Paul Hewson) and U2 guitarist the Edge (born Dave Evans) are investors in the hotel.

U2's album is scheduled for release in 2000. Bono said in an online chat in June that the disc would return the band to a more organic sound than their most recent work.

"It's the sound of four people playing in a room, four people who've known each other all their lives," the 39-year-old singer said of the album, which the band is recording with producers Brian Eno and Lanois Ñ the team behind such previous hit albums as The Joshua Tree (1987).

The band's most recent studio album was Pop (1997).

Posted by Jonathan at 06:39 AM | Comments (0)

October 06, 1999

Bono Says U2 Making "Beautiful Soul Music"

10.6.99 - music365

U2's Bono has admitted the band have almost finished their forthcoming album, and that the record will be released early next year and he's hinted that band will turn their back on stadium-sized gigs in favour of indoor venues.

He has told the BBC's Radio 1 that the album, which the band are finishing off, is a collection of "beautiful soul songs".

And the star, who has been a vociferous spokesman for the Jubilee 2000 campaign for western nations to forgive debts from poorer countries, says the music has been an escape from the sometimes overwhelming diet of political and economic discussions. last week both the US and UK governments pledged to write off nearly $US9 billion in debt from poorer nations if the money is used to help the countries' infrastructures.

"It's getting a bit mad. I mean, I look in the mirror and I see a bowler hat and a briefcase. This is about the unhippest thing I've been involved in and I've been involved in a few un-hip things in my life!"

Bono says that the new album has a very band feel and will be well suited to live performances.

And he hopes the group, who have not toured since the 1997 PopMart tour, will be able to play smaller venues this time.

"These big gigs in stadiums, if they go right they're one of the most extraordinary nights of your life. If they go wrong they're a misery. With U2 I think we're great outdoors, but I think it's time to give people who wanna see us indoors a chance".

Posted by Jonathan at 06:31 AM | Comments (0)

June 19, 1999

U2 To Revisit Early Sound On Next Album, Bono Says

6.11.99 - Sonicnet News

Singer says the superstar band also plans to significantly pare down its stage props on future tours.

Contributing Editor Brian Hiatt reports:

U2, who embraced flashy electronic sounds and even flashier onstage gimmickry during the '90s, plan a return to the guitar-bass-drums roots that first made them superstars for their next album and tour, according to lead singer Bono.

"It's the sound of four people playing in a room, four people who've known each other all their lives," the 39-year-old singer said Thursday (June 10) about the album, which the band is recording with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois -- the team behind such previous records as The Joshua Tree (1987).

Bono (born Paul Hewson) said the album, which has yet to be titled, likewise will find U2 reclaiming their earlier sound, which they abandoned for more experimental, electronic-tinged sonics beginning with 1991's Achtung Baby, which featured the hit "Mysterious Ways".

Bono discussed the superstar band's future during a SonicNet/Yahoo chat, which was his first-ever such experience and was intended to publicize his support for Jubilee 2000, a charity coalition that aims to persuade the world's wealthiest countries to forgive the massive debts owed by the poorest ones.

The singer is scheduled to travel to Cologne, Germany, next week to participate in a protest aimed at attendees of the G8 summit, a meeting of the world's leading economic powers. He will be joined there by former Jane's Addiction singer Perry Farrell (born Perry Bernstein), Radiohead singer Thom Yorke and former Boomtown Rats frontman and Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof, Jubilee 2000 officials said. Bono wrote Thursday that he and his fellow Jubilee supporters have no intention of performing in Germany.

"We're going to Cologne on business -- serious business," he wrote. "[There will be] 100,000 of us if the sun shines, and we're not going to take no for an answer."

Bono said his latest songs won't necessarily be political, despite his involvement in Jubilee 2000 and in the Jubilee-affiliated anti-poverty concert, Net Aid, which will be held in New Jersey, as well as in London and Geneva, on Oct. 8.

U2 have never shied away from political lyrics. The Irish rockers, who combine an earnest, searching spirituality with soaring melodies powered by the mighty lead guitar of the Edge (born David Evans), became superstars with their 1987 album, The Joshua Tree. Their multiplatinum-selling 1983 album, War, which focused on the conflicts in Northern Ireland, established the band's politically conscious reputation, which was also evident on 1984's "Pride (In the Name of Love)"; the song is a tribute to slain civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

"You have no choice of subject matter," Bono said. "You write what's in your heart and on your mind, unless of course it's crap, which means you thought about it too much."

He said he didn't know when he and his bandmates -- the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen -- will be finished with the new album, the follow-up to the dance-oriented Pop (1997). But the band has already given some thought to its next tour, he said.

Beginning with the ZooTV tour that followed Achtung Baby, U2's tours became increasingly elaborate productions, culminating in the 1997 PopMart tour, which featured -- among other costly props -- a massive yellow arch and a giant lemon from which the band emerged for its encores.

But PopMart may have been the band's last extravaganza, according to Bono: "NASA wants the lemon for their museum, McDonalds took the yellow arch back," he wrote. "So I guess that leaves a drum kit, one Vox amp and a loud [P.A.] to throw in the back of our humble jumbo."

Posted by Jonathan at 06:00 AM | Comments (0)

April 30, 1999

Eno, Lanois Back At Work With U2

4.30.99 - Billboard Online

Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois are working with U2 on their forthcoming album. They and the band are in Dublin writing and assembling material for the set, which as yet has no release date. The act is signed to the newly created Universal/Island in the U.K.; a U.S. label has not been determined.

Eno and Lanois were responsible for the fluid, theatrical sound of U2's 1984 album "The Unforgettable Fire."

The new album will feature a song co-written by Salman Rushdie and Bono. The track -- which has the same title as Rushdie's new novel involving the music business, "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" -- is described by Rushdie as "a ballad, a sad love song, very Celtic with a high, haunting melody but with a tabla drum which gives it an Indian resonance."

Plans to release the song on the Internet to coincide with the book's publication have been dropped. "I wanted the book to have its moment, and I didn't want it to be thought of merely as a seed-bed for a song by U2," Rushdie says. "But I'm thrilled they have done it, because I like the blurring of fiction and reality."

Prior to submitting the manuscript to his publisher, Rushdie consulted other music-business personalities, including U2 manager Paul McGuinness and guitarist/writer Mark Knopfler. -- Nigel Williamson, Dominic Pride, London

Posted by Jonathan at 05:55 AM | Comments (0)

March 26, 1997

Bono Explains It All For You

Los Angeles Times, 1997

Bono Explains It All For You

By Robert Hilburn

Bono understands the confusion that "Discotheque," the first single from U2's new "Pop" album, has created with its infusion of electronic dance-club elements into the rock band's sound. Speaking by phone from Dublin on the eve of the album's release Tuesday, he outlined the band's aims in "Pop," the dance- culture connection and the album's most striking song, "Wake Up Dead Man."

"We didn't set out to make a club culture record. We were just inspired by a lot of the music being made by hip-hop and dance artists and we wanted to explore some of those elements," Bono said. "But we still wanted to make a U2 record and I think people will recognize that as soon as they hear the rest of 'Pop.'

"Some people are going to hear the words 'dance' and 'club culture' used and put on our record and go, 'That's not a club culture record.' And they are right," he said. "Most of 'Pop' is not something that would sound right on the sound system of a big dance club, but it wasn't designed for that.

"The real club culture aspect of the music is still to come in the remixes, which will be released as singles . The plan is to put out one CD single with a couple of B-sides the way we normally do and then put out a second CD single with remixes for the clubs. We already have an astonishing single remix of 'Staring at the Sun' done by Butch Vig and Danny Saber."

As for "Wake Up Dead Man," Bono said, "To me, the song goes back to the idea of David being the first blues singer, and the first man on record to shout at God in this angry fashion. There are a lot of people who feel that if there is a God, then roll him out because they've got some questions to ask. It's a very angry song."

Posted by Jonathan at 08:22 PM | Comments (0)

Pop & more

Dotmusic, 1997

by Mike Pattenden

Few releases can cause as much speculation, anticipation and activity as a new U2 album, but the scale of interest preceding the release of Pop, the band's 11th album, is unprecedented in recent years.

There have been leaks, broken embargoes and wild rumours surrounding the project since it began 14 months ago, and these have grown ever more frantic as it has approached completion. All par for the course for a band that can still consider itself the biggest in the world after more than a decade at the top.

The release of Discotheque, the first single from the LP, has only served to sharpen the appetite with its combination of powerhouse rhythm, muscular Edge riffs and insistent groove. A 300,000 ship-out, the biggest in Island's history, makes the record destined for the number one spot here but Discotheque has done little to stifle speculation as to the direction of the LP.

With long-time associate Flood joined in the studio by Soul II Soul/Massive Attack guru Nellee Hooper, trip hop artist Howie B and Steve Osborne, one half of Perfecto, many were led to expect a dance album from the band. This theory was further confused by conflicting comments from Bono that the band were "going to make a trip-hop record"/"a rock'n'roll record. Bright red. No whingeing."

In fact initial listens suggest that Pop is a rich hybrid, unmistakably U2: powerful, big-sounding, richly melodic but inflected with a distinct club feel in its atmospherics and styling. Songs like Mofo and Last Night On Earth sound like classic U2 while others, notably The Playboy Mansion and Miami, have a dancefloor feel. "It's very much a rock'n'roll record but at the same time it's steeped in dance culture," agrees manager Paul McGuinness. "Creatively, they always follow their noses, they intended to make a modern-sounding record at the outset and they've achieved that."

"The whole thing about calling the album Pop is to emphasise its diverseness," explains Flood. "Some of the singles are more obviously rock-orientated but that's not true of the album as a whole. The basic premise was that they wanted to move on, that they couldn't repeat themselves. They wanted to bring in elements from the dance world and integrate them, not necessarily with the aim of turning it into a danceable album, but to synthesise a new sound. That's why different people came in - they wanted to experiment with different influences."

Sessions for Pop began in November 1995 at the band's new studios at Hanover Quay, dubbed HQ, in Dublin's dockland area, with everyone generally working in 12-hour shifts most days, together or separately. The recording proceeded, with small breaks, through to Christmas of last year when it was finally completed with a batch of nearly 30 tracks whittled down to the 12 which appear on the LP. Occasional hiatuses occurred, notably early on when Larry Mullen sought medical help for a chronic back problem.

Virtually all the finished songs bear contributions from the various producers, often on the same track, with few bearing the stamp of one single member of the team. Such a modus operandi could have disintegrated into a war of egos but, says Flood, while there were obviously disagreements, things never got out of control.

One name did emerge as a very significant force in the making of the record, according to McGuinness. Howie B, (nee Bernstein) remains enthusiastic about his part in Pop. The DJ, producer and artist was associated with the Mo Wax crowd a few years back and his skills have become much in demand. He assisted with Everything But The Girl's fresh dancefloor direction on Walking Wounded and first collaborated with U2 on the Passengers project. This time he took his engineering skills, ideas and record collection into the studio with him. "I began just playing tunes, old school hip-hop, that sort of thing, and we talked," he says, explaining his part in the process. "Then we were jamming together in the studio. I was putting together beats and loops, digging out samples. For example, Discotheque started out as a little wee jam me and The Edge had that turned into this mad tune."

Frequently, he confesses, the recording took wild left-turns. "It went off at magic tangents and that was the best thing about it. Half the time I didn't have a clue what was going on. As long as you were able to react to what was happening and were honest, it was really exciting."

Island managing director Marc Marot explains how one of the tracks altered radically under this working régime. "I've got an early version of a track called Mofo which was originally a much more traditional-sounding U2 record then it turned into this monstrous Bomb The Bass meets U2 meets Nine Inch Nails type thing, which is 100 degrees hotter than the original."

The finished result, he says, ranks among their best work. "It is more than the album I hoped they'd produce. It more than surpasses my expectations. It's both extremely modern and traditional U2 at the same time. It has an experimental edge but the spine harks back to traditional U2 territory. Fans are going to be delighted with it."

McGuinness is equally bullish about the finished treatment and feels confident about its potential in the US, U2's biggest territory. "The record is very well-timed, particularly in the US where dance-based music has made very little impact until recently. With The Prodigy and Chemical Brothers beginning to make inroads, it comes at a good time and I think the sound behind Pop could even open up the market in America."

Reflecting the album's diversity Island America managing director Hooman Majd prefers to concentrate on Pop's strength in the modern rock area, where things have been stagnant in the US for some time. "I think it's incredibly impressive. Given the state of the American charts and suggestions that maybe the alternative market is a bit flat here I think this will turn everything upside down. It sounds very much of the time, everyone is hoping it will spark the market. Certainly the retailers who have heard it here feel strongly that it's an adventurous and exciting record."

Pop faces strong competition in the US from Live, whose new album Secret Samadhi is released two weeks earlier, and the continued success of No Doubt. Pop should have seen the light of day in November but was delayed when both sides felt that it wasn't quite ready. But this left Island without a major Christmas release, which Marot maintains they simply had to accept. "You can't take a three-month snapshot of a company and those sort of pressures certainly can't be allowed to intrude on an act. In the history of things people will remember Pop, not whether Island had a bad last quarter of '96," he says.

More serious were the various leaks which sprung around the single and resulted in the release-date being brought forward a week. An original problem which emanated from the band's fanbase on the internet was superseded by a security breach which ended with America's KROQ playing the single over Christmas. "We turned the original problem to our advantage, and generated a lot of press from it," says Marot. "We had stories in Time, Rolling Stone, Newsweek and the national newspapers but the second leak was more damaging. It was a question of our international media and retail plan being thrown into disarray. We chose a release window which we thought was best for the artist and were forced to change. We took a decision to bring Discotheque forward and we moved mountains to do it."

With a worldwide act the size of U2 a major release like Pop becomes a juggling act, maintains Marot. "You simply can't afford to be parochial about a record like this, you'll never see us going for a Chart Show exclusive if there's something needed somewhere else. We try to be even-handed and while the UK is U2's second biggest market they're still growing in the Far East and parts of Europe. There's potential here to take them beyond the 10m mark. However, that sort of volume of sales can't be achieved without touring as Majd is keen to point out. "Touring is crucial for big sales, a band like U2 put on a real show and it puts them in the shop window. People look at REM and say that the last record wasn't successful but one of the reasons it didn't do so well is that they didn't tour, same with Pearl Jam."

With this in mind U2 are set to announce a major world tour at a press conference in New York on February 12. Opening in the US this April it moves to Europe in July, runs through to October there before the band head back to America for a second leg.

Figures in the region of $100m are being bandied about, which would make it the biggest-grossing tour ever and a very attractive vehicle for outside sponsorship. McGuinness confirms they have had approaches but maintains nothing has been sealed. "There are always people who would like to be associated with the band, particularly in the information technology world. Since that's stuff we like to use it's not something we're rejecting out of hand but no deal has been inked so far." Heavyweight computer companies like Microsoft and Apple appear to be in the running. There is a distinct possibility that one of the acts on Mother Records - the label co-owned by the band, McGuinness and Malcolm Dunbar - is in the running for a support slot. Both the Longpigs and Audioweb have shown promise - the former performing well here - but a support slot on the tour could break them worldwide.

With U2 preparing for live action once again it would mean little let-up in the punishing schedule they have maintained throughout the Nineties. With two huge world tours, three major album releases plus a host of side projects, including the Eno collaboration Passengers, plus film soundtrack work on big budget movies like Batman and Mission:Impossible, U2 are rock music's biggest workaholics. "They are an example to younger bands who may have sold a million records on what it means to stay at the top. They work incredibly hard and I have nothing but admiration for them," says Marot.

It's difficult not to agree with him as U2 prepare to put the Pop into popular.

Posted by Jonathan at 07:26 PM | Comments (0)

March 13, 1997

U2's 'Pop' Pops Off to a Good Start

Los Angeles Times, March 13, 1997

U2's 'Pop' Pops Off to a Good Start

U2's much-anticipated "Pop" album on Island Records is off to an encouraging start, entering the national sales chart at No. 1 by selling nearly 350,000 copies last week, according to SoundScan.

That's the highest single-week total this year and the biggest opening-week figure since the 479,000 copies generated by Snoop Doggy Dogg's "Tha Doggfather" last November. The results surely led to a sigh of relief in the record industry, which had seen several of its rock superstars, including Pearl Jam and R.E.M., come in with relatively disappointing opening-week figures -- a trend in recent months that has greatly troubled the $12-billion-a-year industry, whose sales have been flat for two years.

"It's a very healthy first week," said Geoff Mayfield, charts editor of Billboard magazine. "It's a very respectable start."

U2's last two albums, 1991's "Achtung Baby" and 1993's "Zoo-ropa," sold an estimated 275,000 and 377,000 copies in their first weeks. The albums went on to sell 5 million and 2 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, however, ticket sales for the Irish rock group's lavish world tour, which begins April 25 in Las Vegas, have been mixed. While shows have sold out and dates have been added in some cities, inc

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