News: Miscellaneous News Archives

March 19, 2009

The Edge of Destruction

U2 guitarist's plan for his 1,000 acres in Malibu is infuriating some of his neighbors

Craig Stephens, LA Weekly

Irish supergroup U2 has long been acknowledged for its altruism, for using its fame to spotlight global issues like poverty, the AIDS crisis and the environment. But while music critics and fans are focused on the band's spirit and energy, which is readily apparent on U2's new album, No Line on the Horizon, the band's guitarist, David Evans, a.k.a. the Edge, has been drawing a less-welcome sort of attention from his Malibu neighbors, who accuse him of hypocrisy in how he's developing two huge properties there.

Residents in the Coral and Latigo canyon areas of the Malibu hills are in an uproar over the Edge's plan to build five homes across a proposed area of nearly 1,000 acres on two key sites, one bordered by the spectacular Latigo Canyon and the other at Serra Retreat.

In the three years he's owned the properties, the litany of complaints hurled at the Edge include, among other things: his eviction of a long-standing archery club; his plans to level a mountain on the property, which would cause destructive water runoff and land erosion; wildlife endangerment; and potential obstruction of existing views. If his plans become real, decry neighbors, there may be one less lovely line on Malibu's horizon.

Among those most frustrated by the Edge's plans is Candace Brown, a resident and longtime partner of Malibu mayoral candidate Councilman Jefferson Wagner. She accuses the U2 guitarist of spearheading an overly ostentatious and self-serving development that will upset the ecosystem and create an eyesore of, in her words, oversized "McMansions."

"They evicted the archery club, which was an institution in Malibu," says an exasperated Brown of the Edge and his project partners. She says that they also dug a 15-foot trench "the size of three football fields," and that eyewitnesses have reported seeing wildlife, including deer and fox, trapped in the trench.

But critics say that the digging is a minor issue compared to the overall consequences of the project. One disgruntled neighbor, Jim Smith, a building contractor who has looked at the Edge's plans, estimates that the proposed construction would affect the community for years to come. Smith says that an existing mountain on the property will, in effect, disappear, and that approximately 5,000 truckloads of earth removed from the site would be transported along a road not nearly large enough to handle the load.

Resident Scott Wilder has watched the ongoing development unfold over the past two years, and has seen the Edge walking around the property and discussing plans with engineers. According to Wilder, "the sheer size of this project will have a detrimental effect."

Like many archetypical rock stars, the Edge has had an ongoing romance with L.A., with repeated visits and tours since the band's rise in the '80s. He was based in Malibu for a couple of years in the early '00s, after marrying a backup dancer from U2's Zoo tour, Morleigh Steinberg, in 2002, and sending his three kids to an area school. Bandmate Bono explained the Edge's affection for L.A. at a press conference last week at Capitol Studios in Hollywood: "Edge has a soft spot for L.A., seeing as though he fell in love with a California girl." The singer was no doubt referring to Steinberg, who was born and raised in Santa Monica.

In addition to the Malibu development, the Edge's real estate portfolio includes a $5 million loft in NYC's Tribeca neighborhood, a villa on the French Riviera and a house in South Dublin County, Ireland. The Edge and U2 also poured millions of dollars into the development of the industrial wasteland of Dublin's docklands area, including a proposed tower that stands to be Ireland's tallest building, housing a recording studio and luxury apartments. The credit crunch has stalled the project at the excavation stage.

The Edge bought the two Malibu sites in November 2006. Though neighbors all say he's been sociable in his encounters with them, and all of his projects have been granted full legal permits, residents feel they've been misled by his stated intention to build so many homes on the land. As well, he seems to be contradicting his band's purported commitment to environmentalism.

Take, for example, the trench, which neighbor Wilder believes was created with a very specific intention. "The land formed a ridge line that prior to the trench being dug would have made it an unfit building surface," he says. "The developers have subsequently filled in the trench, and there is no more ridge line. By filling it in, they’ve flattened the ridge and created a building pad."

Malibu developer Don Schmitz has been hired by the Edge to oversee the development. A longtime resident, Schmitz has acted as a middleman for various building projects in Malibu for the past two decades with his company, Don Schmitz and Associates. When asked about the project, Schmitz declined to comment, or to even acknowledge his client. (The Edge declined to comment on this story.)

An authorization document signed by the Edge and submitted to the California Coastal Commission, the body that processes development applications, confirms that he has authorized Schmitz to oversee the massive project. When asked about the trench on the Latigo Canyon site, Schmitz denied it was leveled for purposes of creating a building pad. He says that the excavation to date is "purely for geological purposes."

In addition to the carving up of portions of the mountain, neighbors say that the Edge's proposed new homes will destroy their views. "I can presently see a view from my home, called the 'Queen's Necklace,'" explains Wilder, "which shows areas of L.A. from Santa Monica to LAX. The development will directly impede residents' existing views and impact the scenic drive through Latigo Canyon for the general public."

For Wilder, the U2 glam factor isn't an issue, but he does fear that the Edge's stature could fast-track the development. Wilder's a professional stuntman, so the prospect of celeb-spotting or party invites doesn’t really faze him. He says that a specific interaction was notable, however. "There was one occasion when his enormous tour bus stopped dead on the road to my house, blocking it. Myself and several other cars had to wait behind it for some time until I became annoyed and approached the window of the bus. I asked the driver to move, though he said I'd have to wait, as he didn't want to interrupt the Edge and Axl Rose [a fellow Malibu resident], who were in an intense discussion at the back of the bus."

Another gripe of the residents' is the eviction by the Edge and his developers of the Malibu Mountain Archery Club, an institution located on the Latigo Canyon site since 1938. Club treasurer Sharon Prey, also a resident, laments its loss, and says that it raised money to benefit local charities. The club was steeped in history, as well. "After Errol Flynn made archery popular in his films," Prey explains, "it was very fashionable. I've got photographs of everyone from Shirley Temple and Bob Hope to James Garner at the old range." It has also served as an Olympic venue and a set for countless movies. When the Edge bought that land, the club was forced to shutter.

A resident of the Serra Retreat area, Jim Smith has been vocal in his disapproval of the Edge's development. His key issue is what he sees as the destruction of an entire mountain.

"Two years ago he pulled up outside my house and mentioned he was going to be my new neighbor," recalls Smith. "He was friendly and charismatic. I was happy knowing he was buying the land, as I assumed he would be sensitive to the environment -- though that's not the case."

Smith says that in addition to a site for the Edge's own house, plans call for five more parcels of land to host additional spec homes. Smith claims that, as the mountain is excavated, a man-made slope will span the height of a 20-story building and carve the mountain until it is unrecognizable.

Explains a frustrated Smith: "When I expressed my concerns about the development, he told me he was sympathetic to my concerns, though he's done nothing. He's not walking the walk of an environmentalist."

Posted by Jonathan at 04:22 PM | Comments (0)

March 07, 2009

High quality version of U2's Letterman performance of "Get On Your Boots"

Posted by Jonathan at 08:05 PM | Comments (0)

March 06, 2009

U2 Rock Fordham University: On the Ground at the 'Secret' Set

Jenn Pelly, Rolling Stone

"I joined a rock & roll band so I could get out of going to college," Bono told students at New York's Fordham University at 8 a.m. this morning, during a somewhat-secret six-song U2 set at the school's picturesque Bronx campus that was aired on Good Morning America. "Maybe if it looked like this, and felt like this, things could have been different," he added.

The show — which capped the band's first-week publicity blitz for its new No Line on the Horizon — took place on the steps of the university's gothic Keating Hall, in front of a snowy, packed quad of Fordham students and staff. A Fordham ID was required to enter the School of Rock-esque spectacle. "Edge, what would have been your major?" Bono asked. The guitarist's response: a "Major key."

Bono and Co. tore through three tracks off of No Line on the Horizon ("Get On Your Boots," "Magnificent," and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"), receiving an overwhelmingly positive response from the crowd of ecstatic students who may have still been in shock that classes were canceled for a surprise U2 concert at "Edward's Parade," a popular quad where students usually play Frisbee or catch rays. "I hope you like our new direction," Bono told students before jumping into their second song. (Check out photos from U2's Fordham gig — and the rest of their big week in the Big Apple.)

Students lined up as early as 1:30 a.m. to land a spot close to the band, and started chanting for "Bono!" as the sun came up. Despite their sleeplessness, students went wild, jumping around with Bono and maintaining their high energy throughout the show. Most of the college crowd seemed unfamiliar with the new songs, but ecstatic about the performance nonetheless. "Everyone probably downloaded U2's new album last night," said Andrew Inks, a Fordham junior.

"This song was written about Fordham University's campus," Bono said before introducing one of the new tunes. "Particularly Friday nights at the Fordham University campus. It's called 'I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight.' " Students caught onto the words ("Every generation gets a chance to change the world") and appropriately screamed along.

"We started our band in high school. This is exactly where we come from," Bono said during a brief interview with Good Morning America, which took place halfway through the set. Edge added, "We ended up recording in Morocco, New York City, London. We follow the inspiration, so here we are." Larry Mullen Jr. also explained that his father would be pleased that he finally made it to college. Following the interview came "Beautiful Day," "Breathe," and "Vertigo," all of which kept the student body singing along madly.

Good Morning America chose Fordham for the segment for its location and "warmth." But as a Catholic and Jesuit university dedicated to graduating "men and women for others," it is particularly fitting that U2 would perform at Fordham. "U2 transcends rockstardom," said Fordham-president Father McShane, S.J. "They are deeply committed to social justice and advocacy." McShane added that the band represents a group who display "great joy in life by giving back to others." U2's performance brought Fordham into 4.5 million homes this morning, "rightly putting Fordham on the map," McShane said — and helping the campus justify its 2007 Newsweek title of "Hottest Catholic School in America."

Posted by Jonathan at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)

High quality version of U2's Letterman performance of "Beautiful Day"

Posted by Jonathan at 05:41 AM | Comments (0)

March 05, 2009

High quality version of U2's Letterman performance of "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight"

Posted by Jonathan at 05:33 PM | Comments (0)

March 04, 2009

High quality version of U2's Letterman performance of "Magnificent"

Posted by Jonathan at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)

March 03, 2009

High quality version of U2's Letterman performance of "Breathe"

Posted by Jonathan at 01:45 AM | Comments (0)

February 12, 2009

U2 gets week long gig on David Letterman show

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Irish supergroup U2 have found what they are looking for to promote their new album in the United States -- a five-night gig on the "Late Show with David Letterman."

For the first week of March, U2 will perform every night on the late night chat show, CBS said on Thursday. It's the first time a musical act has been booked for an entire week on the show.

U2 starts the weeklong gig Monday, March 2, and ends it the following Friday. During the week -- on March 3 -- the band and its label, Interscope Records, will release the album "No Line on the Horizon."

The band kicked off the Grammy Awards on Sunday in Los Angeles with a performance of their single "Get on Your Boots" and sang for hundreds of thousands of people at pre-inauguration concert for President Barack Obama in Washington DC in January.

Lead by the sunglass-wearing singer Bono, U2 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.

The band recorded its latest album in Morocco, Dublin, New York and London. Their last album, the 2004 "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb," sold more than 9 million copies worldwide.

Posted by Jonathan at 08:49 PM | Comments (0)

January 25, 2009

The sad ballad of Bruce and Bono

Shane Hegarty, Irish Times

PRESENT TENSE: You must have heard Bono's words at this week's pre-inauguration concert. "What a thrill for four Irish boys from the northside of Dublin to honour you sir, Barack Obama, to be the next president of the United States."

And what a thrill it must have been. Even if only one of U2 actually lives on the northside now. Or that Bono must have lived as much of his life on the southside. Or that two of the band were born in England, before moving to the north Co. Dublin town of Malahide. Roddy Doyle, you'll have noticed, never sets his novels in Malahide.

Why be so picky? Because even in a moment when he was trying to express the personal pride he and the band were feeling, Bono sounded a false note. In throwing in the reference to the northside, he was grabbing some of the "impossible journey" narrative for himself and the band.

In many ways, U2's journey from school band to global megastardom has been improbable, but it's not because they came from Dublin's northside. It's not as if most of Bono's friends are either dead or in jail. Last time I looked, they were making soundtracks and bowls. When not being a citizen of Dublin, Bono is a citizen of the world.

During the band's performance of "In the Name of Love," he described Martin Luther King's dream as "Not just an American dream -- also an Irish dream, a European dream, an African dream, an Israeli dream..." And then, following a long pause reminiscent of a man who'd just realised he'd left the gas on, he added, "...and also a Palestinian dream." This was his big shout out to the Palestinians. You know, it's easy -- and not original -- to have a pop at Bono's bombast, but sometimes it's necessary to point it out and impossible to resist.

He serves it up on a platter, writing newspaper columns and giving TV interviews. And for all his undoubted sincerity and effort on the issue of world poverty, you can't help but marvel at this latest expression of Bono's Sesame Street view of the world. Hey Middle East, we just have to have a dream to get along.

Just ignore the sound of those loud explosions and concentrate on Bono's voice.

U2 debuted a new single this week. "Get On Your Boots" is actually pretty good, a reminder that the band still writes decent tunes, which is no mean feat given how many legendary acts continue to rely on ancient material. (The Rolling Stones have written almost nothing memorable during the entire time that U2 have been around). But not for the first time in U2's career, "Get On Your Boots" sounds like the work of a band trying to find their voice in other people's sounds. And, also not for the first time, it's lyrically vacuous. That shouldn't be a big deal -- it's only rock 'n' roll after all -- but it reminds us that it's been some time since Bono and U2 have been musically relevant.

Also on the stage at the Lincoln Memorial on Sunday was Bruce Springsteen. Like U2, he released new music this week. In early listens, the album Working on a Dream is very strong in parts, if unlikely to be remembered as one of his more substantial albums. It lacks the grief and resilience that fuelled his post-9/11 album The Rising; the honesty of Devils and Dust; and the anger that infused his Bush-era America album Magic. Working on a Dream is a romantic album, a contented album, an album that sounds as if it marks the end of a cycle in his songwriting.

It is, though, part of the continuing evolution of his music. He has been singing about the same characters and themes through his entire career, making his an epic, decades-long exercise in storytelling that shows no sign of coming to an end. Springsteen has also been arguably the most effective and popular protest songwriter of recent years. It means that he remains essential in a way that few artists do. In a way that U2, and Bono, are not.

Compared to Bono, Springsteen has always been on another plane as a lyricist, but 40 years into his career he's writing songs that are not just catchy, but actually say something intelligent about the world, his country, his people. Like Bono, he's made enough money to remove himself from the multitudes who pack his stadium shows, and yet he still seems genuinely one of them.

Most importantly, he's politically brave in a way that Bono will not be. He takes sides. He's not afraid to make enemies. Unlike Bono, pal of all presidents, he will not sup with the devil, partly because he knows what it's like when his political enemies misread and misappropriate his music. And unlike Bono, who has a fascination with America that displays itself as a cloying neediness, Springsteen understands that country intimately. It means that Springsteen is authentic and authoritative in a way that Bono can never hope to be, no matter how much he mentions that he's from the northside.

Posted by Jonathan at 12:48 PM | Comments (0)

September 26, 2008

U2 guitarist splashes out on £12m yacht

Belfast Telegraph,

U2 guitarist The Edge has revealed how he has fulfilled a dream by buying a £12m luxury yacht.

It was recently claimed that Bono had splashed out a small fortune on the Cyan, a 140-foot yacht with six cabins and accommodation for 12 guests.

But Edge spoke out last night to the Irish Independent to put the record straight.

"It's not Bono's yacht at all, it's mine. Bono doesn't know a thing about boats," he said.

"For years it was a dream of mine to own a yacht, but to be honest, it was a bit out of my league. So myself and a few friends got together, chipped in, and bought the Cyan. I don't know where the story that Bono owns it came from."

And Edge's wife Morleigh Steinberg has spent the past few months in the south of France overseeing a total redesign of the yacht, which included a new paint job.

Edge added: "She's now been totally refurbished and we're really happy with her. Morleigh has totally overseen all the work onboard and it's great. So it's now a really hip ship!"

The Cyan has a long list of luxuries, including an on-deck jacuzzi, a state-of-the-art music system, a swimming platform, large dining area and a luxury bar. It was built in 1997 by Codesca Yachts and commanded a charter price of between €140,000 and €175,000, depending on how long it was being hired for.

Edge and Bono own a luxury villa beside the beach in Eze-sur-mer on the French Riviera, where neighbours include superstars Elton John, Tina Turner and Michael Flatley.

While Bono has often been snapped on the beach or entertaining friends during his annual break, Edge and his family are very rarely pictured on their holidays there.

Edge also owns a home in Killiney in south county Dublin, as well as a property near Malibu in America.

And the guitar ace, who recently starred in a documentary film with guitar greats Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin and Jack White of The White Stripes, is now dividing his time between enjoying the yacht and finishing the next album.

A spokeswoman for the band revealed: "There won't be much public activity from the band until next year. They're still perfecting the album, which won't be released until next year."

And she said that their office was receiving constant queries from fans and reporters alike over whether the band would play Croke Park, the Phoenix Park or the O2 venue as part of next year's world tour.

"The tour plans haven't been confirmed at all, but they certainly will be playing Dublin. It is their hometown after all," she added.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:23 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2008

Bono Statue Needs Money

Irish Voice,

A DUBLIN artist who's obviously quite talented - he created the statue of Irish musician Phil Lynott on Harry Street in the city - is well into his next project, but it's proving so costly that he's run out of funds and may not complete it.

The subject in question is Bono, and artist Paul Daley has been working on the statue of the U2 superstar for three months. But Bono remains unfinished in Daley's workspace because he can't afford the materials to go on.

"It's a labor of love really but I've gone with it as far as I can go without funding. Artists normally get commissioned to make pieces like this but I got so wrapped up in what I was doing, I didn't think about the cost," Daley told the Sunday Tribune.

The likeness of Bono comes from a photo that Daley saw during the band's Joshua Tree tour. "There's something incredibly powerful about Bono in this period. Evangelical almost. The way he stood on stage at Live Aid, the goodness of the man, and that's what appealed to me and started me making the piece," he added.

But will the piece ever get finished? A logical starting point for financing would be Bono himself, but Daley hasn't gone that route . . . yet.

"No I haven't approached U2. Things look pretty hopeless now but in my heart of heart I know I'll finish it," he says. Perhaps if Bono read the piece over his Sunday breakfast he'll take pity and come up with the dough.

Posted by Brenda at 07:54 PM | Comments (0)

May 20, 2008

Becks to join Bono on expedition up mount Kilimanjaro

ANI,

Soccer star David Beckham is ready to scale new heights by trekking up the highest peak in Africa, to help raise funds for childrens charity Unicef.

The 33-year-old has been asked by U2 front man Bono to join him on an expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro, and despite his busy schedule Becks is absolutely set on making the climb.

According to a source, the climb would be something outside of Becks normal comfort zone, but the footballer is determined to make the climb up the 19,340 ft. snow-capped peak.

He was a bit uncertain at first but he found out, like many celebrities before him, that Bono can be very persuasive, The Sun quoted the source as saying.

No date has been set as yet because David is very busy with his LA Galaxy commitments.

There is also the insurance situation to iron out but he is absolutely set on doing it, the source added.

Kilimanjaro is a volcanic peak in northeast Tanzania, and it will take 48-year-old Bono, ex-Man Utd hero Becks and West Ham keeper Robert Green, six days to scale it.

Beckham is meanwhile developing a role as a charity figurehead after going to Sierra Leone as a Unicef ambassador in January.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:21 AM | Comments (0)

May 11, 2008

Brad Pitt Helps Bono Celebrate 48th Birthday in Monaco

By Peter Mikelbank, People Magazine,

Even by Monaco standards, it wasn't your ordinary dinner party for 12 on Friday night - though there was cake and champagne.

To celebrate his 48th birthday, U2 frontman Bono held a small dinner party at Sass' Café in Monaco. On the guest list: Brad Pitt, Monaco's Prince Albert II and The Edge.

"It was really quite a surprise," the café's maitre de tells PEOPLE. "It wasn't organized in advance. We only got called on it that afternoon."

Despite Pitt's presence, Angelina Jolie, who had visited Bono in Eze with her children last Sunday, remained at home.

The sit-down dinner, arranged by Bono's wife Ali Hewson, began with red wine at 10 p.m., according to staff, even before The Edge arrived for the evening. The meal was followed by a champagne toast and strawberry cake lit with candles; a staffer described the party as "tres speciale."

No word on what gifts Bono received - but what do you give a man who has his own rock band and has already been nominated for the Nobel Prize?

Posted by Jonathan at 12:24 AM | Comments (0)

March 29, 2008

Edge of Reason

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

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

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

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

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

FOUNDATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

CHARITY

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

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

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

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

March 07, 2008

Bono no longer has the voice for Clannad

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

by Sally Williams, Western Mail

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

January 29, 2008

U2 manager wants illegal downloaders blacklisted

Adam Sherwin, Times Online Media Correspondent

Music fans who indulge in widespread illegal file-sharing should have their web connections cut off by internet service providers, the manager of U2 said.

Paul McGuinness, who has guided the Irish group to 150 million album sales during their 30-year career, said companies such as Yahoo! and AOL should be prosecuted if they fail to prevent illegal file-sharing.

Speaking at the Midem music industry convention in Cannes, Mr McGuinness said: "A simple three strikes and you are out enforcement process will see all serial illegal uploaders who resist the law face a stark choice: change or lose your ISP subscription.

"In the UK, the Gowers report made it clear that legislation should be considered if voluntary talks with ISPs failed to produce a commitment to disconnect file-sharers. I'd like to see the UK Government act promptly on this recommendation."

The UK Music trade body the BPI backed the call. Geoff Taylor, its chief executive, said: "We have tried to persuade ISPs to implement solutions that could avoid the need to take action against broadband customers who use illegal peer-to-peer filesharing.

"For more than a year, we have been negotiating with them to enforce their own terms and conditions about abuse of the account, but UK ISPs refuse to do even that on any meaningful scale. The time has come for ISPs to stop dragging their feet and start showing some responsibility, by taking reasonable steps to counter illegal music freeloading."

In France, President Sarkozy has backed the Olivennes initiative, by which ISPs will start disconnecting repeat infringers this year. This was a "brilliant precedent which other governments should follow", Mr McGuiness said.

He argued that the recent Radiohead release of a download priced on the honesty box principle had backfired. He said: "It seems that the majority of downloads were through illegal P2P download services like BitTorrent and LimeWire even though the album was available for nothing through the official band site. Notwithstanding the promotional noise, even Radiohead's honesty box principle showed that if not constrained, the customer will steal music."

In 2004, U2 signed a deal with Apple to release a branded iPod in exchange for a percentage of each device sold, but even Steve Jobs, the Apple boss, had not grasped the scale of the challenge to his own businesses, including the Walt Disney studio, presented by illegal downloading.

Mr McGuinness said: "I wish he would bring his remarkable set of skills to bear on the problems of recorded music. He's a technologist, a financial genius, a marketer and a music lover. He probably doesn't realise it, but the collapse of the old financial model for recorded music will also mean the end of the songwriter.

"We've been used to bands who wrote their own material since the Beatles, but the mechanical royalties that sustain songwriters are drying up. Labels and artists, songwriters and publishers, producers and musicians, everyone's a victim."

The manager predicted that Apple would reveal a wireless iPod that connects to an iTunes "all of the music, wherever you are" subscription service. "I would like it to succeed, if the content is fairly paid for," he said.

U2 will release a new album in October, Mr McGuinness said, which would be a collaboration with the producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. Unlike Radiohead, they are not seeking to leave their record company. Mr McGuinness said that the band had a positive relationship with Universal which would continue indefinitely.

Described as the "fifth member" of U2, Mr McGuinness negotiated a valuable deal in the late Eighties that guaranteed the group ownership of the master recordings of their albums.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:39 AM | Comments (0)

December 18, 2007

Bono's art is in right place now

Richard Kay, Daily Mail

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

November 24, 2007

Surprise U2 charity gig wows fans

Bono and The Edge of rock superstars U2 delighted fans when they made a surprise appearance at a charity gig.

The Irish pair played an unannounced four-song set, before just 250 people, for Mencap's Little Noise Sessions at the Union Chapel, in north London.

Referring to their bandmates, Bono joked: "Don't tell Larry (Mullen) and Adam (Clayton) we've done this."

BBC Radio 1 DJ Jo Whiley, the event's curator, said the multi-million-selling duo "were actually nervous beforehand".

Whiley, who has helped curate a number of shows to raise funds for Mencap added: "Seeing them in a situation like this, in a tiny chapel, makes people realise just how great they are - worthy of all the praise they get."

Joshua Tree

The crowd were told about some "very special guests" by organisers, but had no idea who it would be until they walked out on stage.

"The singer, Paul, is a shy guy, so please be gentle with him," Whiley told the crowd, before Bono and The Edge - real names Paul Hewson and Dave Evans - appeared.

They opened their set with Stay, moving on to Desire and Angel Of Harlem.

Their closing track was a first-time performance for the song Wave Of Sorrow - a track originally written for their 1987 album Joshua Tree.

Both men left the stage to a standing ovation.

"After they came off stage, Bono was asking me if they'd been OK and they were also wondering whether the 'new' song had gone down well," Whiley said.

The pair acted as the first warm-up act for Biffy Clyro.

Rumours

Fan Simon Dowling, 20, from Newcastle, said: "I was here for Biffy Clyro. We turned up at 5 o'clock outside and got rumours it was Bono and the Edge and we were like, 'that can't be true'.

"I've used all the battery on my phone taking pictures of them."

Biffy Clyro singer Simon Neil said he had found out only on Friday morning that Bono and The Edge were to perform.

"We got to meet them earlier and they were very kind. They actually apologised to us for jumping on our show which obviously, you know, is incredibly polite," he said.

Posted by Jonathan at 11:05 PM | Comments (0)

November 13, 2007

Watch the video of Bono singing "Wave of Sorrow"

Ilike.com in conjunction with Facebook have released a sneak preview of the forthcoming Joshua Tree 20th anniversary re-release collection. "Wave Of Sorrow" is just one of the new tracks featured on the re-release and Bono himself sings and explains the song on a special video only featured to users of Facebook! Watch the 7 minute video below.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)

September 06, 2007

Tenor Luciano Pavarotti dead at 71

(CNN) Famed opera tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who appeared on stage with singers as varied as opera star Dame Joan Sutherland, U2's Bono and Liza Minnelli, died Thursday in Italy after suffering from pancreatic cancer, manager Terri Robson said in a statement. He was 71.

"The great tenor, Luciano Pavarotti, died today at 5:00 a.m. at his home in Modena, the city of his birth,"according to Robson.

"The Maestro fought a long, tough battle against the panceatic cancer which eventually took his life. In fitting with the approach that characterized his life and work, he remained positive untill finally succumbing to the last stages of his illness.

The porty singer retired from staged opera in 2004, but was on a "farewell tour" of concerts when he was diagnsed with pancreatic cancer in 2006 and underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor.

Although the remaining concerts of his tour were canceled, his management said that he hoped to reume the tour in 2007.

But in early August, Pavarotti was hospitalized in Modena with a fever and released 17 days later after undergoing diagnostic tests.

Pavorotti is survived by his wife, Nicoletta Mantovani, and a daughter, Alice, along with three grown daughters by his first wife, Adua Veroni, whom he divorced in 2000, and a granddaughter.

According to Robson, his wife, daughters and sister, along with other relativces and friends were at his side when he died.

Posted by Brenda at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)

June 25, 2007

A Powerful Sound for Social Justice: Music From U2 Gives Contemporary Edge to Episcopal Service

By Lisa Crutchfield, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.

U2's "Gloria" poured from the speakers. The pews were packed.

And the newly consecrated bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia was pumped.

"This is the way church ought to feel every time it starts," said the Rt. Rev. Shannon S. Johnston.

"You couldn't have kept me away from this."

"Unforgettable Fire: A Eucharist for Social Justice" was held Thursday evening at the Church of the Holy Comforter (Episcopal), on Monument Avenue in Richmond. The service was held in conjunction with St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.

The U2charist blended traditional liturgy with music not usually associated with church.

The customary elements -- Gospel reading, sermon, prayer and Communion -- were there.

But the Rev. Abbott Bailey wore flip-flops and a ONE T-shirt.

In place of hymns and organ music, U2 songs played loud but not begging for earplugs. The message was to wage war against poverty, disease, injustice and preventable suffering, all part of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.

A large screen behind the altar displayed lyrics and corresponding visuals, a la MTV. Images ranged from celebrities and politicians to photos from church mission trips to Africa.

Several hundred worshippers snapped fingers, clapped hands and tapped feet along with the songs.

"This is really, really fun," said 12-year-old Celeste Glave. "We can relate to this music."

U2 singer Bono has used his fame to create awareness of his political activism, especially in the struggle to end global poverty. He co-founded the advocacy organization DATA (debt, AIDS, trade, Africa) and is a creator of the ONE campaign to increase U.S. spending on programs to aid Third World countries.

Some of U2's songs are overtly religious; the lyrics to "40," for example, are adapted from Psalm 40:1-3. Others, such as "Pride (In the Name of Love)" and "One" are metaphors for faith and justice.

"Bono is a disciple," said Johnston, who was attending his first U2charist.

U2's music often is used in worship, but in the past two years U2charist has become a familiar service, mainly in Episcopal churches.

The Rev. Paige Blair, rector of St. George's Episcopal Church in York Harbor, Maine, is credited with fueling the movement. She is a clearinghouse for information for interested churches.

"We have worked to popularize the U2charist and have consulted with hundreds of churches around the world," said Blair in an e-mail.

According to her calculations, in the past two years U2charist services have raised about $100,000 for projects ranging from food pantries to the Heifer Project. The majority of U2charists have been held in Episcopal churches, but other faiths are represented in her tallies.

The rights to use the songs are waived if offerings are donated to Millennium Development Goal projects. Thursday's offering was earmarked for Episcopal Relief and Development.

The Episcopal Church has endorsed the millennium goals and its General Convention has called on congregations to set aside .7 percent of budgets to support such programs.

The messages of the U2charist, said Bailey, associate rector of St. Stephen's on Grove Avenue in Richmond, are universal among Christians.

"One thing that can't be disputed in the Gospels is that Jesus was always reaching out to those in need.

"I am confident that if we let ourselves get swept up into the divine enactment of God's creative possibility expressed in this service, then we can answer yes to the divine 'what if' -- that we can answer yes to God's radical 'do it anyway,' she said in her sermon.

"If so, then we might just be able to stare down the world's most intractable problems and run headlong into the whirlwind of God's life-giving activity -- we might just truly help make poverty history," she said.

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Midlothian held a U2charist in April. Adrien Jacob was one of the organizers.

"It was great to see the Holy Spirit move people," he said, noting that many of the 250 attendees were dancing in the aisles of the church.

"We wanted to use it for a teaching tool for the Rite 13 [youth] group. We started teaching about world issues, showing them the Millennium Development Goals. We talked about world poverty.

"I said, 'We're going to save the world, one thing at a time.'"

That U2charist raised more than $2,000 for building an elementary school in Kenya, Jacob said.

The Rev. Bruce Birdsey, interim rector at Holy Comforter, said before the service, "Serving this noble cause is a grand opportunity to reach people who may not have much use for the institutional church."

A full house at Thursday's U2charist proved his point.

Bishop Johnston said, "I think it shows the world is hungry. Not just for food, clothing and health, but for spirituality."

Contact Lisa Crutchfield at (804) 649-6362 or LCrutchfield@timesdispatch.com.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:28 PM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2007

Taymor to Direct Spider-Man Musical, Scored by Bono & Edge

According to Superhero Hype!, a new musical based on Spider-Man may soon be weaving a web over Broadway audiences.

A casting notice reveals that the musical, soon to be presented in an Equity 29-hour rehearsed reading, will be directed by Tony Award-winner Julie Taymor, with music and lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge and a book by Taymor and Glen Berger.

The reading will also feature musical supervision by Teese Gohl. Hello Entertainment/David Garfinkle, Martin McCallum, and Marvel Entertainment are the producers. Rehearsals will begin on July 2nd in New York City, while the readings will take place on July 12th and 13th.

Producers are casting for the title role of teen superhero Peter Parker, as well as his sweetheart Mary Jane, the powerful spider-woman Arachne, scientist Norman Osborn (whose villainous alter ego is the Green Goblin), Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson and a Geek Chorus, comprised of three teenage boys and one girl "who meet to ritualistically retell the greatest Spider-Man stories."

Created in 1962 and clad in his signature bewebbed blue and red, Spider-Man first appeared as a Marvel Comics superhero. The franchise has since spawned a TV series, syndicated newspaper comics and a blockbuster series of films directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst. The third Spider-Man movie will be released on May 4th.

Taymor, who won a Tony Award for directing the Broadway musical The Lion King and who is also known for equally visually imaginative films such as Titus and Frida, helmed the recent Metropolitan Opera production of The Magic Flute, as well as productions such as Juan Darien, The Tempest, and Oedipus Rex.

Posted by Brenda at 12:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 23, 2007

Arcade Fire criticise U2 and Oasis

Win Butler talks exclusively to NME

Arcade Fire have criticised the marketing strategies of band's like U2, Oasis and the Rolling Stones.

Speaking in the new issue of NME, frontman Win Butler had a go at bands who aggressively force feed their music to fans.

Butler said: "It's not like we shun success, but at the same time we don't want to shove it down people's throats. In the U.K. there's this kind of rock star competition.

"I don't know if U2 started it, or the Stones or Oasis but a lot of bands think in terms of: 'I'm going to be the biggest band in the world. F**k all those bands who've got no ambition.' I think that's a total crock of s**t.

"There's nothing less interesting to me than the idea of marketing the f**k out of something so people are forced to like it. Some bands are just manipulating people to buy music. That's how 90 percent of the record industry works! It's basically the same as selling a f**king toaster or a cruise package."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:27 AM | Comments (2)

January 30, 2007

"U2-charist": Bono moves in mysterious ways

LONDON (Reuters) - For Anglicans who still haven't found what they're looking for, the Church of England is staging its first "U2-charist" communion service -- replacing hymns with hit songs by the Irish supergroup.

"Rock music can be a vehicle of immense spirituality," said Bishop of Grantham Timothy Ellis, announcing plans for the unique service in the central English town of Lincoln in May.

A live band is to play U2 classics like "Beautiful Day" and "Mysterious Ways" with special singalong lyrics displayed on a giant screen. Seating for the 500-strong congregation is to be re-arranged so everyone can dance and wave their hands.

The service is to focus on the Millennium development goals -- U2's lead singer Bono is a leading promoter of the targets to alleviate world poverty.

Posted by Brenda at 11:24 AM | Comments (0)

January 29, 2007

Bono makes the scene at Sundance

The U2 frontman expresses his support for a new Joe Strummer documentary.

By Chris Lee, Times Staff Writer

Park City, Utah - WEARING his signature blue-tinted wraparounds and dressed in black leather against northern Utah's paralyzing chill, Bono made a surprise appearance at the Sundance Film Festival last week, expressly to support British director Julien Temple's new rock 'n' roll documentary, "Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten."

In conversation directly after a screening, the U2 frontman lavished praise on Strummer, the charismatic, deeply humanistic yet personally conflicted singer-songwriter for the Clash. The Irish rock humanitarian credited Strummer, who died in 2002, with awakening his rock 'n' roll ambitions when he saw the Clash play in Dublin at age 17.

"They can't play, but they play better than anybody you ever heard," Bono said. "At the same time, there's this shambolic genius going on. There's just ideas being whispered into your head, mad ideas: that music can mean something, that it can be a reason to get out of bed in the morning.

"So can rock 'n' roll change the world? It certainly changed my world."

Moreover, Bono took the opportunity to point out the commonality of the do-it-yourself ethos in punk and indie moviemaking that was on display in Sundance.

"Here we are at Sundance," Bono said, "people are complaining, 'This is an independent festival. It's been taken over by market forces, etc. etc.' It's the same with punk rock! I personally find that interesting."

He added: "I will say, right smack in the middle of a contradiction isn't always a bad place to be."

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

January 08, 2007

Sir Bono, Cool or Not Cool?

As we shake off the final hangover of 2006 and kick off 2007 anew we are left with the resounding debate which was the center of most New Year's Eve conversations in Dublin bars... Should Bono accept a Knighthood from the Queen of England?

On Tony Blair's recent recommendation, Bono is set to follow in Bob Geldof's footsteps and become an honorary knight of the British empire. But as a citizen of Ireland and not Britain he will be deprived of the title "Sir Bono" (more accurately, Sir Paul Hewson), although that won't stop the media to referring to him thusly...

But as the U2 frontman gets on in years and his wealth, fame and political influence grow so far beyond what any of us could ever imagine - perhaps he's losing touch with the common man, U2 fans and even the Irish people?

Maybe years of hobnobbing with Tony Blair, George Bush, The Pope, Bill Gates and their like have given the Northside Dubliner a taste for titles, honours and awards? He has stated that such things are in recognition of his charity work and help breakdown barriers but we can't help feeling that vanity and an overactive ego are at work here... Surely charity is a selfless act?

We read in a paper yesterday that Bono said the British knighthood was no different in principal from the Legion D'Honneur he received from the French. We beg to differ. The relationship between the Irish people and the British Monarchy can hardy be compared with our relationship with the French, a totally different ballpark

We're not going to get into a debate here about Anglo-Irish relations but the fact still remains that the Irish struggled for emancipation from British rule for over 900 years and the scourge of bloodthirsty tyrants such as Oliver Cromwell who saw the indigenous Irish as no better than the beast in the field. Is it right that perhaps the greatest living Irishman should now bow down in front of the Queen and be knighted?

We caught up with Bono and The Edge over Christmas as they celebrated the end of their World tour with a well deserved knees-up in Lillies Bordello's VVIP bar Jersey Lils. We dare not ask Bono about his soon to be bestowed sword on shoulder ceremony as the timing just didn't seem right...

But irregardless of whether it is morally, politically, personally or otherwise right or wrong for a former Punk Rocker to accept this title we at ShowBiz Ireland feel it's just not cool! After a quick straw-pole most people we asked seemed to be of the opinion that knighthoods are wrinkly rockers well past their best and certainly not our Bono... Another talented Irish / Englishman Morrissey recently said that he would never be offered a knighthood because of his song 'The Queen is Dead' and we're somehow reminded of the Groucho Marx quip: "I don't want to belong to any club that would have me as a member!"

Happy New Year 2007 to Bono, The Edge & even The Queen.

ShowBiz Ireland is an equal opportunities Web Site Begorrah!!!

Posted by Brenda at 11:46 AM | Comments (0)

November 17, 2006

U2 Win Battle Against Ex-Stylist

Rock group U2 have won a legal battle against their former stylist, forcing her to hand over a cowboy hat and clothes she took from them in 1987.

Singer Bono told Dublin's High Court last month that Lola Cashman acquired the items without permission during the band's Joshua Tree tour.

She insisted they were a gift to her from the star and appealed against a ruling that she must return them.

In a statement the band said they were "relieved" the legal battle is over.

"Proceedings were issued in Ireland very much as a last resort and with great reluctance," they said.

They added that they wished Ms Cashman "well in the future" and they would not be pursuing costs from her, despite being entitled to.

Rosary beads

The possessions were estimated to be valued at 5,000 euros (£3,400).

U2 had been fighting with Ms Cashman over the ownership of a Stetson hat, a pair of metal hooped earrings, a green sweatshirt and a pair of black trousers.

They were also trying to retrieve a number of other items which had been seen in her flat, including a video tape and monitor, rosary beads and hundreds of photographs.

During the appeal hearing, she claimed Bono was running around in his underwear backstage at the Sun Devil Stadium in Arizona on the last night of the tour when she asked him for the hat.

The court was told he "plonked" it on her head.

In 2002, Ms Cashman put some of the memorabilia up for sale at Christie's.

She claimed two letters sent to the auction house from U2 lawyers seeking their return were defamatory, and began proceedings against the band in the High Court in London.

Posted by Brenda at 11:13 AM | Comments (0)

October 22, 2006

Bono law: You go on a head

Bono and his former stylist are in court to claim ownership of the singer's legendary Stetson. Male millinery is now the ultimate fashion statement, and the days when it smacked of a life of conformity are long gone, says Stuart Husband

When is a hat not a hat? When it's an iconic-ironic sartorial manifestation of your personal and artistic philosophy. This, at any rate, is Bono's explication for the significance of his Stetson, which he's trying to wrest back from U2's erstwhile stylist Lola Cashman in an ongoing court case. According to his testimony, it was this headgear, rather than any amount of keening vocals and guitar arpeggios, that propelled the group into the enormo-dome stratosphere.

"I dressed like Nana Mouskouri before," confessed Bono. "She [Cashman] had a very good eye, and I'd already had the idea of making the Stetson a trademark. It's an American icon and it was part of my idea of how I wanted to present myself to the world in an ironic sense. Plus I thought it could be archived in the future." It seems a crushing amount of cultural weight - part-semiotic determinant, part holy relic - for a high-crowned, wide-brimmed accessory to bear.

But Stetsongate is just the latest flashpoint in the vexed history of male millinery. Since the hat lost its status as the exemplar of worker-drone conformity it's been reincarnated as its swinging opposite. "These days, any man wearing a hat is perceived to be making some kind of fashion statement," says the milliner Stephen Jones. "It's become a way of standing out from the crowd. Even the closest thing men have to a utilitarian hat - the baseball cap - is a way of advertising affiliations."

No one knows this socio-cultural-stylistic minefield better than William Hague. His decision to wear a Hague-branded baseball cap to the Notting Hill Carnival was, commentators agreed, the chief reason for his tenure as Tory leader being short-lived. His attempt to be "down" with the kids was ridiculed.

Hague made an elemental mistake, according to Jeremy Hackett, founder of the eponymous blue-chip outfitting chain. "A hat cannot simply confer cool," he counsels, "though it can certainly top off pre-existing personality traits." He cites the trilby and its adoption by iconoclasts as disparate as Kenneth Clarke and Pete Doherty.

Badly Drawn Boy's battered beanie serves, says the Cavalier Daily website, "to reinforce the apathetic/tortured singer-songwriter archetype co-opted from Elliott Smith, and to legitimise him to the espresso hipsters".

Hats can be used to subversive ends. The top hat was a looming status symbol, a sign its bearer had risen through the public school ranks to become a staid burgher in histrade. Now it's been reclaimed either as would-be social satire (the late Screaming Lord Sutch fought 40 elections in his) or dissolute fancy dress.

Slade's Noddy Holder was wont to épater le bourgeois (or, at least, the bourgeois who regularly watched Top of the Pops in the 1970s) by covering his topper with dazzling mirror shards.

Certainly, most men would rather go hatless than have to ponder all the Bono-esque sub-textual signals they could be sending out by donning a deerstalker. That is, unless they're as simple a soul as Jay Kay, who "just likes wearing hats, to cover my, like, greasy hair", and whose more outré offerings got him nicknamed "the prat in the hat".

Or unless, that is, they're wearing a hat for the most prosaic reason of all. If Bono had peered out from under his Stetson brim, he'd have seen that, right alongside him, The Edge was sporting his own headgear. And it wasn't because he was in the midst of a 10-gallon cultural studies seminar. It was because he was going ever so slightly bald.

Posted by Brenda at 11:09 PM | Comments (0)

October 18, 2006

Bono Says It Was His Idea to Wear Stetson Hat

By Times Online and PA

Bono, the frontman of U2, today gave evidence at an appeal in Dublin launched by his former stylist to keep the Stetson hat she claims the band gave her.

U2 successfully sued Lola Cashman last year and claimed back the hat, a pair of metal hooped earrings, a green sweatshirt and a pair of black trousers, which they argued she had taken without permission.

The stylist was ordered to return the items, estimated to be worth €5,000 (£3,500), to the band within seven days. Instead though, she has launched an appeal, which will leave her with a substantial legal bill if she loses.

Ms Cashman, who left the band in 1988, says that she was given the hat and other memorabilia as gifts during U2's Joshua Tree tour in 1987. She was hired by Bono personally to replace their stylist, who was on maternity leave.

Dressed in a chocolate brown suit and wearing rose-coloured tinted glasses, Bono - real name Paul Hewson - said that Ms Cashman had been found by his management company through an agency.

"It was a very big moment in the bands career," he said. "Everything had come right for us. We had a lot of songs on radio around the world and particularly in the US we had a couple of number ones singles."

Bono said Ms Cashman joined the 150-strong entourage at a tense and exciting time, when the group was moving out from playing in arenas to outdoor stadiums. He admitted styling was not the band's strength, and they were grateful to Ms Cashman for her input.

"I am trying to think of her exact moment of entry but I can't," he continued. She had a very good eye. She had a lot more experience than us.

"But it was very clear on almost immediate arrival she wasn't a good in dealing with personal relationships, and initially put a lot of people's noses out of place."

Bono told the court his trademark Stetson hat had been his idea, which he had thought of since before Ms Cashman's arrival. He said the image was used to represent American iconography. "It was always part of my idea of how I wanted to present myself to the world in an ironic sense."

The court was told that Ms Cashman was responsible for the transport of all wardrobe items. Bono stressed it was important to the band, and their manager Paul McGuinness, to keep record of their memorabilia to either archive or donate.

"We thought it would have some importance of the history of the band," he said. "We hoped we would be around long enough to be part of that."

The case continues.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:36 AM | Comments (0)

September 17, 2006

Green Day joins U2 at Abbey Road

Earlier last week, U2 and Green Day were sighted on legendary Abbey Road posing for photographs for the cover of their forthcoming single, The Saints Are Coming, a classic 1978 post-punk song by The Skids. On hand to catch the moment on video was Bob Geldof, who was filming proceedings in the studio.

One fan was able to capture several minutes of the day's events and thanks to YouTube.com, we have blogged the video below for your viewing enjoyment.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:13 AM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2006

Chili Pepper blasts 'sell-outs' U2 and Black Eyed Peas

Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith has slammed U2 and The Black Eyed Peas for allowing their music to be used on television advertisements.

The Dani California star finds it difficult to understand how bands can sacrifice their integrity by selling their songs to corporations.

And Smith brands U2 and The Black Eyed Peas "idiots" for letting their respective tracks Vertigo and Hey Mama be used to promote the sale of iPods.

Smith, 44, says, "I'm fine with getting our music out to people but I don't want to be on a TV commercial with some guy bowling and then music comes out of his phone. There's no artistic credibility. I'd feel like a jerk if we did that.

"I think Black Eyed Peas look like a bunch of idiots. It's dangerous.

"The U2 song on the iPod when it came out was weird and it was longer and it had more parts.

"It's dangerous to tie yourself in with a product and also the visuals that go along with it.

"I think young people, not old guys like myself, think it's normal now to have Led Zeppelin on jeans commercials. Oh no! That's not normal to me."

Posted by Jonathan at 04:54 PM | Comments (7)

June 27, 2006

Are Virtual U2 Concerts Even Better Than The Real Thing?

Tech-savvy superfans set up elaborate gigs starring their favorite band for online gamers.

There are some key rules for attendees of a virtual U2 concert. Among them:

"No hoochie hair" ("So that this concert may be enjoyed by the maximum number of people").

"No particle poofs or particles of any kind."

And ... "DO NOT IM the band while the concert is in progress."

Failure to obey these edicts doesn't get anyone physically kicked out because no one is really at the concert. It's all taking place through computers: a massively multiplayer musical experience created and enjoyed by people logging into the virtual world "Second Life"

Since last year, a small group of players has taken advantage of the blank slate and creative flexibility of "Second Life" to create the stage sets, the bodies and the moves of their favorite band: U2. They've helped pioneer the concept of virtual concerts — shows that are attended not at a stadium or club but in front of a monitor and keyboard.

Since 2005, four members of the U2inSL crew (U2inSL.com), living in locations as distant as California, Connecticut and Germany, have logged onto their computers and into the shared landscape of "Second Life" in order to steer digital replicas of Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. Running their characters through a series of stage moves and piping in audio recorded from an actual concert, they are able to create a virtual performance. Other "Second Life" citizens can attend as members of a character-packed audience.

The anonymous players behind the virtual band said they've tried to contact U2 management to make sure this is all OK. They're not making any money off of it, and they adorn their concert area with signs urging people to donate to the real U2's One Foundation charity. But the real band has yet to respond. U2 management also did not comment on the virtual U2 for MTV News.

A virtual — and unauthorized — U2 might be the most provocative example, but independent musicians and big-label acts are also getting involved, potentially making multiplayer video game worlds the next frontier of touring. Musicians can channel audio into game worlds and set up characters to be their puppet personas — a way to go on tour without leaving their keyboard, be they the "SL" musician Frogg Marlowe or, if Universal Music's official plans continue to take shape, Chamillionaire and the rock band Hinder (see "GameFile: Chamillionaire's Ridin' Virtual, 'Saint's Row' Has A Surprise, Anti-Game Laws Gain Steam And More").

"It's really a rush, like being in a real-world concert," the virtual Bono told MTV News. The members of U2inSL prefer not to use their real names in public "to keep the mystique and excitement," according to the unreal Bono. "This is role-play after all."

The group gathered for a concert this past weekend after two months of inactivity due to an injury suffered by one of the members. In April, MTV News attended a small invitation-only concert where the U2inSL crew provided an education on how a virtual concert works.

Physically it requires nothing more than logging onto a computer running "Second Life" and digitally walking — or flying — to the concert's location. In April, that locale was a tropical island called Dragon Moon. The concert organizers can block unwanted guests by requiring a digital ticket, without which an approaching player will see their character run into an invisible wall.

Before the April concert began, the virtual bandmembers hung out in the band room. "Second Life" doesn't support voice chat, so Bono was text-chatting with the Edge.

Next to their building was a large concert stage. On the far side were two porta-potties. The concert area was about 100 virtual feet from the edge of a beach, the stage facing the water. Behind the audience pit, just out of reach of a lapping tide, was a concession stand, a T-shirt booth and a bar. A mouse click on those spots would generate virtual hot dogs and beer or a U2 outfit that can be zapped onto a character's body.

"Second Life" is different than other massively multiplayer games like "World of Warcraft" and "EverQuest," not just because it doesn't actually contain any game-oriented goal but because it allows players to create everything in the world. Players can create characters that look like monsters, supermodels, Bono or whatever else they can think of while messing with the program's modeling tools.

Everything a player creates is stored on servers at "Second Life"'s parent company, Linden Labs, and has to be transmitted back out to any other players who would need to see it, say, because they're walking past the Bono character or watching him perform onstage. This presents a problem if too many people are standing around in the game trying to watch Bono at the same time. The Linden Labs server begins to feel the strain of sending the same graphics out to more and more attendees. So if too many people come to a virtual concert in "Second Life," the world is going to stutter. Popularity can cause a slowdown.

That didn't happen during the April concert, in part because people followed the rules. The ban on "hoochie hair" and "particles" was really a ban on attendees bringing graphically elaborate hairdos and special effects that would put more strain on Linden Labs' servers.

Until the audio feed is activated, the virtual concert is practically silent. But once it was on, the band "played" a 14-track set, which included streamed audio of the real U2 playing "Vertigo," "Elevation" and "Where the Streets Have No Name."

The final cued track of the evening was real-life crowd applause. The members of U2inSL don't have to sing, but they have to make sure their characters hit their marks and make the appropriate motions (hold microphone to mouth, throw arms in the air, spin around, etc.) "I rehearse steady for about a week," the fake Bono told MTV News.

The concert in April went smoothly, though not without at least one kink. "I missed hopping at the keyboard for 'Miss Sarajevo,' " the virtual Edge confessed.

A "Second Life" concert is an odd place. A mysterious object in front of the stage proves, with a curious mouse click, to be a dance machine. It immediately causes the player's character to start dancing with energetic spasms. Anyone else clicking winds up with their character also dancing, in perfect unison with everyone else. Dancing doesn't take any sustained effort. It just happens — and keeps happening long after some of the people too busy text-chatting remember they're still doing it. It's all done with computers, after all.

After the April concert, the fake Bono demonstrated how a few mouse clicks can generate a complete wardrobe change. But those Linden Labs servers aren't so fast that one shirt just swaps for another. " 'Zip' ain't a word when changing clothes," he said, as a red-and-black tunic faded in to replace a black leather jacket.

Another weird touch: People wanted to hug goodbye, but one of them hadn't set his character up properly to do it: "Sorry, dear, took hug attachment off. I'll have to dig it out of inventory later," he responded.

Virtual concerts — even better than the real thing? Well, a bit different at least.

— Stephen Totilo

Posted by Jonathan at 04:22 AM | Comments (1)

May 11, 2006

Bono heads back to Africa to see progress, needs

By Lesley Wroughton

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Irish rocker and activist Bono is taking his crusade for Africa on the road.

U2's lead singer will tour Lesotho, Rwanda, Tanzania, Nigeria, Mali and Ghana on a 10-day trip starting on Tuesday to examine how his successful campaign for debt relief can now help combat poverty and disease, his advocacy group DATA said on Thursday.

The tour comes four years after Bono focused the world's attention on Africa's plight when he and then U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill traveled around the continent to highlight the need for Western governments to increase aid and erase poor countries' debt burdens.

Bono is credited with spearheading the successful campaign to erase the debts of poor countries, with world leaders praising his effort to learn the issues and be a constructive participant in policymaking.

In June the Group of Eight industrialized countries, meeting in Gleneagles, Scotland, agreed to cancel the debts of 18 low-income countries, most of them in Africa, to free up resources to tackle poverty.

The G-8 powers also pledged to double aid to Africa by 2010 to about $47 billion.

Much has changed since Bono's trip with O'Neill in 2002. The continent is enjoying its best growth rates in more than 30 years, due not only to a boom in global commodity prices but also to improvements in government economic policies and fewer conflicts.

HEALTH CARE, EDUCATION

However, critics say years of foreign aid has done little to effectively change the lives of many Africans.

Jamie Drummond, executive director of DATA, or Debt AIDS Trade Africa, the advocacy group co-founded by Bono, said the tour will try to gauge if the increased attention on Africa is making a difference for such things as health care and education.

"We're going to look at foreign assistance working on the ground in Africa and see what is working and what is not," he told Reuters.

"Effective aid backing good African leadership can get results, so let's do more of it," said Drummond, adding, "Why would you not do more of it?"

In Washington, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, in the early stages of crafting fiscal 2007 bills, has shaved off $2.4 billion from President George W. Bush's request for foreign aid as a way to help with tax cuts.

Drummond said such moves will derail the promises made to the world's poor, and Bono's goal is to keep policymakers' attention on Africa.

"The timing of this is extremely important, not just because you can see all the results on the ground, but because at this very moment top policymakers in all of the G-8 countries are looking at whether they can afford to keep their promises -- whether in Germany, Canada, Italy, or France, and above all in the U.S. Congress," he said.

Posted by Jonathan at 11:55 PM | Comments (4)

April 03, 2006

The gospel according to U2 and Bono

US church uses U2's songs to attract young worshippers

By STEPHEN MCGINTY

BONO has declared that he is not a man of the cloth, "unless that cloth is leather". But the words of the charismatic U2 front man are nevertheless ringing out from pulpits across the United States.

The Irish rock band's songs and lyrics are being used by the Episcopal Church in so-called "U2 Eucharists" as a means of attracting young people who relate to the group's social activism.

Earlier attempts by churches to connect to youth culture have usually involved ministers in open-toed sandals strumming acoustic guitars and singing Kumbaya to the general embarrassment of all. Yet, in parishes from California to Maine, worshippers are flocking to hear U2 classics such as Beautiful Day, Pride and Peace on Earth rolled into a service of prayer.

However, ear plugs are passed out with the Bibles and hymn sheets for those who prefer organ music.

The U2 Eucharist was devised by the Rev Paige Blair, a parish priest in York Harbor, Maine, and it has since spread through word-of-mouth and on clerical websites.

At All Saints' Church in Atlanta, Georgia, organisers had planned for 300 worshippers, and instead had to contend with 500, while at the Grace Episcopal Church in Providence, Rhode Island, as many people turned up for a Friday night U2 Eucharist as normally turn up on a Sunday morning.

While U2 songs are not yet listed in the Episcopal Church's authorised hymnal, Ms Blair believes it is only a matter of time. She said: "I seriously think the day will come. There's a gift they have in speaking to the human soul."

She came up with the idea after a sermon about the One Campaign, the Bono-backed initiative designed to alleviate global poverty and fight AIDS. She quoted equally from Bono and the Bible and included the lead singer's line: "Where you live should not determine whether you live or die."

Instead of a hymn, the service began with one of U2's earliest hits, Pride (In the Name of Love). As the music played, pictures of famous believers, including Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King, flashed on a 10ft by 4ft screen behind the altar.

Other songs included in the service were Peace on Earth, which was inspired by a fatal bombing in Northern Ireland and which questions why God does not halt human suffering; during it, Bono sings: "Jesus, can you take the time to throw a drowning man a line." Also played was 40, in which Bono echoes the 40th Psalm, singing: "I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined and heard my cry."

Bono may favour black leather while on stage in front of an audience of millions, but to some believers, he can still act as a latter-day prophet, producing songs filled with Christian symbolism.

The Episcopal Church in the US has been among the first to recognise the band's power. A few years ago two of its priests edited a book of sermons based on U2 songs entitled Get Up Off Your Knees: Preaching the U2 Catalog.

Yet Bono has provoked criticism from fans and even members of his own band for his close involvement with the US president, George Bush, a born-again Christian, whom he lobbied last year as part of the Make Poverty History campaign.

In February, he joined Mr Bush at the national prayer breakfast in Washington, and told the gathered clergy: "I'm certainly not here as a man of the cloth, unless that cloth is leather ... I'm the first to admit that there's something unnatural, something unseemly, about rock stars mounting the pulpit and preaching at presidents, and then disappearing to their villas in the south of France."

The gospel according to U2

IN HER sermon, the Rev Paige Blair quoted from both Bono and the Bible and included the singer's line: "Where you live should not determine whether you live or die."

As an opening hymn, the service played one of the U2's earliest hits, Pride (In the Name of Love).

On a screen behind the altar, pictures of famous believers such as the Rev Martin Luther King jnr were flashed up as the music played.

Other songs included in the service were Peace on Earth, inspired by a fatal bombing in Northern Ireland and which questions why God does not halt human suffering.

Another song was 40, in which Bono echoes the 40th Psalm when he sings: "I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined and heard my cry."

Editor's Note: The first U2charist was my idea; it was announced in 2003 and the first public service was held in Baltimore, Maryland in April of 2004. I chose and led the music with a live band and wrote some of the prayers, the Eucharistic prayers were written by the Rev. Ken Phelps, and the PowerPoint visuals were by Kathleen Capcara. Paige Blair, a good friend of mine from Gathering the Next Generation (GTNG), the network for Episcopalian members of \'Generation X,\' saw my posts to the GTNG email list about the U2charist and, when she decided in 2005 to host her first U2charist at St. George\'s, she made use of the liturgy from that first U2charist in Baltimore. If you need documentation, I\'d be glad to send you a copy with full headers of a June 2005 email from Paige acknowledging her receipt of the earlier liturgy as she was planning her first service, or you can refer to this BBC news article, which has the correct information: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6517449.stm - Sarah Dylan Breuer/http://www.sarahlaughed.net

Posted by Jonathan at 12:52 PM | Comments (9)

March 28, 2006

Norton hails 'humble' Bono

Hollywood star Edward Norton has praised the 'humbling' efforts of crusading rocker Bono - because he can work with people he doesn't like.

The U2 frontman and anti-poverty campaigner is hailed for his ability to shed personal prejudices to progress the causes he champions.

And the Fight Club star insists Bono's courageous behaviour should be an example to all.

Norton says: "I've been pretty impressed with him. It's very enlightened to choose to seek as much positive connection as he does, even with the people who are the instruments of these terrible terrible policies.

"In essence it's 'turn the other cheek', 'hate the sin and love the sinner', which is a lot more forgiving - more Christian, more Buddhist - than a lot of these things these more radical people talk about.

"It's saying, 'You're still my brother, I still want you in on this with me, even if I disagree with you. I'm going to find some common ground.'

"It's humbling to realise the degree to which we all indulge in anger, in response to these things. It's humbling to realise that the people who have affected real change embraced their adversaries.

"You realise what courage that takes, because it's easier to be angry."

Posted by Jonathan at 12:53 AM | Comments (11)

February 25, 2006

Bono Rocks Brazil's Carnival

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Thousands of Brazilians took a break from samba to rock with U2 frontman Bono during Carnival celebrations in the northeastern city of Salvador.

Bono performed an impromptu duet of "Vertigo" with Brazilian popular singer Ivete Sangalo as Carnival got underway in Salvador on Thursday, a day earlier than in Rio de Janeiro.

While the highlight of Brazil's carnival celebrations is Rio's annual samba parade on Sunday and Monday nights, many people prefer Salvador's carnival, where giant sound trucks with bands on top jam the city's streets night and day.

The U2 singer is attending Salvador's Carnival as a guest of Culture Minister and pop star Gilberto Gil. The O Globo newspaper reported Friday that music producer Quincy Jones was also attending Carnival as a guest of Gil.

Bono sang the duet from Gil's private box that faces the avenue as Sangalo and her band performed from atop a sound truck.

U2 played two sold-out concerts in Sao Paulo's Morumbi soccer stadium Monday and Tuesday nights.

Bono is among 191 nominees, including politicians and peacemakers, for the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize. The Irish singer was proposed for his fight against world poverty.

Bob Geldof, former leader of the Irish punk group the Boomtown Rats, is also among the nominees. Geldof was nominated for organizing last year's Live 8 benefit concerts.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:06 PM | Comments (13)

December 27, 2005

Quit moaning about Bono, thank him

By Brendan O'Connor

NO DOUBT the usual cranks and begrudgers will be bitching about Bono over the Christmas. "Man of the Year?" the taxi-drivers will say, "Time fecking magazine? I'll give him Man of the Year. And Time magazine. It's far from it he was reared."

It's easy to have a pop at Bono. It's practically an instinctive reaction at this stage. "Oh, he might fool that crowd of Yanks at Time magazine and that George Bush fella, but he can't fool us. We knew him when he hadn't an arse in his trousers."

Frankly, that kind of thing reflects more on the people who say it than it does on Bono. Because, if you think about it, Bono hasn't actually done anything wrong. And it's not as if you could disagree with most of his causes. He's often compared to Jesus, in a negative kind of smart-arsey way. But, in fact, he is a bit of a Jesus - though in a good way.

Whatever your personal opinions about Jesus, it'd be hard to disagree with most of his messages: Don't kill people and be nice to the poor and so on. And Bono is pretty much the same. The message is inherently sound: Cure Aids, be nice to black people and eliminate poverty. You can't fault that kind of thing.

And in fairness, his heart seems to be in the right place. There are people who claim that he does it all as a big PR thing to sell even more records, but that doesn't really stack up. If anything, the preaching is probably putting people off the records.

But for the other members of the band it has a musical benefit. Larry Mullen broke ranks recently to say it was handy when Bono headed off out of the studio and let them get on with theirwork. He'd go off and meet George Bush or whatever and they'd get on with making the album, and when it was all nearly ready he would come back in and do his singing thing.

And it's not easy being some class of a living saint. In fact, if you listen to Bono properly he actually spends a lot of time trying to tell us that he's not a saint. In fact, he goes to great lengths to try and convince us that's he's only a human being - and a flawed one at that, a bit like the other Christ. He's always telling us what an eejit he is and how he lets people down and how he goes on the piss and doesn't have time for his friends and how he's insecure and hugely egomaniacal.

But still people think he goes around thinking he's a saint. But he doesn't. People are just projecting.

And the fact of the matter is that the rest of us haven't really got time to think about world peace and curing Aids and poverty and the environment and all that other stuff. Most of us have jobs and just need to try and look after our own little corner of the world.

And we could easily forget that all those big problems exist and we could sleepwalk our way into a situation where it all falls apart for future generations.

But Bono has the time and the money to be thinking about it all and doing something about it. And it kind of takes the pressure off us a bit. He's kind of like our nagging conscience. And of course he's the nagging conscience of the politicians as well. If he wasn't bugging them and embarrassing them they'd probably happily enough ignore the whole saving-the-world business as well.

The other thing to bear in mind is that he doesn't have to do all this stuff. He could happily sit around on his arse out in Florida, make one album every five years and be loaded.

But he's taken this job on himself. And what a job it is. He could have taken on something simple, like paying for an orphanage or a school or something. Instead, he decided to try and solve the insoluble, to do a job that is as wide as it is deep, a job that often seems to have no tangible results, and a job that he gets the complete piss taken out of himself for doing. It's not only impossible, it's thankless.

So, for the New Year, we should thank him. We should start ignoring the knee-jerk reaction to seeing him mugging around the world with the Nelson Mandelas and the George Bushes and all that. We should remind ourselves that he is doing a good thing.

And, not to be cliched about it, but he really is a great ambassador for this country. He'd actually make you proud to be Irish.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:48 PM | Comments (14)

October 08, 2005

Bono Hits All the Right Notes

By Amey Stone

A crowd about 50 students was waiting eagerly near the entrance of New York University's Skirball Center for the Performing Arts the evening of Oct. 5, when a shiny black SUV pulled up. Out stepped Bono, the lead singer of rock band U2 and arguably the world's most accomplished celebrity advocate for the poor, sick, and hungry.

Dubbed "the statesman" in a hagiographic New York Times Magazine cover story in September, Bono is rumored to be on the short-list to win this year's Nobel Peace Prize, which will be announced Oct. 7.

Wearing a tan cowboy hat and his customary black jeans and tinted sunglasses, the rock star was greeted with cheers. He graciously took a few minutes to joke with the crowd and sign autographs. Fans attempted to scale the building's walls to catch a glimpse of the short, smiling Irishman before security ushered him inside. College students eager to snare tickets asked every passerby if there was one to spare -- a hallmark of any U2 concert.

"WARM-UP ACT." Only this wasn't a rock concert. It was an economics lecture. And Bono wasn't even the main attraction. He was invited merely to introduce global poverty-fighter and Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs, who was night's main attraction.

"We're back to being a warm-up act, Edge," Bono called out from the stage to U2's knit cap-wearing guitarist, The Edge, who was sitting sedately in the audience.

Bono, introduced by NYU President John Sexton as "Ireland's ambassador to the globe," clearly enjoyed playing second fiddle to Sachs for the evening. "I'm a groupie," he said, relating how he engaged Sachs to teach him "Rock star remedial economics."

ROCK-STAR RECEPTION. He even ribbed Sachs, joking that these days, when he tries to reach him by phone, he is told, "Sorry, he's with Angelina Jolie."

Bono's glowing speech gave the early part of the evening an atmosphere not unlike an awards ceremony. As if he was reciting a poem, Bono said of Sachs, author of the acclaimed book The End of Poverty, "He has a voice louder than an electric guitar.... He sees statistics not as numbers on a page, but as real people's lives.... He is not afraid of a big idea -- that we can do something about hunger and extreme poverty."

Finally, he presented Sachs as, "my friend, my teacher, my rock star."

When Sachs, with boyish smile and sedate gray suit, stepped up to the podium, he also was greeted by cheers. He had a major fan base there, but some of Bono's star status had rubbed off.

"CHILDREN DIE." Sachs took time out to rib Bono about his being in contention for the Nobel Prize. "We're rooting for you," he said. He joked that Bono could also win the Nobel Prize for Physics, since he had figured out how "left and right can come together." He expressed amazement that none other than Jesse Helms had said of Bono, "Take care of that boy, he's doing God's work."

Then the tone of the evening quickly became somber as Sachs led the audience on a harrowing tour through a handful of dying, impoverished villages in Malawi, western Kenya, and Ethopia. His first slide depicted a woman from Malawi, surrounded by about a dozen children, who she was charged to care for. But her crop had failed and her only food was a watery gruel made from boiled husks she collected at the mill. "What happens when people have no food at all?" he asked the crowd. "Children die."

He pointed to a small boy of about four leaning against the woman's hip. Sachs reported that on a return trip just a few weeks ago he learned the boy had recently died. He was just one of the 200 out of every 1,000 children in that region will die before the age of five -- 100 times the rate of the Western world, says Sachs.

SMALL STEPS, BIG GAINS. More such grim images, anecdotes and statistics followed, but by the end of his 45-minute talk, Sachs had become more inspiring and hopeful than sad. His message in a nutshell: Solving world poverty can be done -- in fact it would be neither all that hard nor expensive to accomplish. Moreover, such action is a moral imperative for citizens of the developed world.

Best of all, it will make you feel good. "Poor countries have given us the best bargain in the world," he said.

All it takes is items like a $7 bed net to ward off malaria-carrying mosquitoes, a $40 treadle pump to irrigate crops, a $30 bag of fertilizer to restore nitrogen to the soil, and $45,000 to hire a doctor for 15,000 villagers -- "nothing fancy," he said. "We really can do something very special," he said. "We have to do it."

AWE AND ACTION. He urged the audience to rise above defeatist bureaucracy. He scoffed at arguments that it was futile to hand out goods and supplies to African nations due to corruption and incompetence of governments or worries the people wouldn't value what they had been given for free. "They are not looking to shake us down," said Sachs. They just need a "helping hand to get on the first rung of the ladder of economic development."

By the end of the night it was less clear whether Bono should be the Nobel Prize recipient or Sachs. But it also seemed not to matter much. The crowd left awed, and seemed, based on the buzz in the room, to have been inspired to action.

A grass roots movement is building, fueled by university lectures like the one at NYU. Sachs is the movement's architect, but Bono is its momentum. Keep an eye on it. It seems destined to grow from here.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:34 PM | Comments (0)

October 05, 2005

Conan to Turn Entire Show Over to U2

NEW YORK (AP) - In his 12 years in charge of booking musical guests on Conan O'Brien's "Late Night," Jim Pitt always listed U2 and Johnny Cash as the dream artists he'd tried but never succeeded in getting.

He lost his chance with the late Cash, but the U2 dream is coming true Thursday in a major way.

O'Brien will turn over his entire show to the band, which is in New York for seven sold-out engagements at Madison Square Garden.

"We were able to offer them something to feel enough like an event for them to do the show," Pitt said. "It's basically 'Late Night with Conan O'Brien,' the U2 edition."

The NBC show has never before devoted itself entirely to a musical guest, although it gave major time a few years back to a holiday appearance by bandleader Max Weinberg's other employer, Bruce Springsteen.

O'Brien's a big U2 fan, and made a personal connection by talking at length with Bono during breaks in rehearsals for the band's "Saturday Night Live" appearance last season, Pitt said.

It may be a nervous time for Bono, who is nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize for his work in trying to ease Third World poverty. People who watch the Nobel closely list the lead singer as one of the favorites. The winner is expected to be named Friday.

The band is expected to perform three songs and be interviewed by O'Brien.

Pitt is not pushing for any material in particular.

"When U2 decides they want to come on the show for an hour, you don't get too picky about what they play," he said.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:53 AM | Comments (2)

June 30, 2005

U2: How to dismantle a ticking time bomb

By Edna Gundersen, USA Today

U2's starring role in Live 8 marks a confluence of anniversaries. It has been 20 years since the Irish band made a splash at Live Aid, the Africa-relief benefit that inspired the similar Live 8 concerts being staged Saturday. A quarter-century ago, U2 was celebrating its first single and recording its debut album, Boy. By some barometers, 2005 is also the 50th birthday of rock itself.

This could be a nostalgic weekend for the planet's most driven band - if it had a reverse gear.

"I wince a little at the term 'veteran band,' because we're releasing records as popular and as creatively alive as anything we've ever done," says bassist Adam Clayton, 45. "We still get videos played on MTV. Rolling Stone, which tends to put half-naked ladies on its cover, had a very successful issue with U2 on the cover.

"These things are not the industry norms. These things make people scratch their heads. It's humbling to be in that position."

And unique. The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and other boomer warhorses subsist on tour receipts or catalog sales that emphasize past glories while new music gets tuned out. U2 is the only rock band to survive on top this long without converting into an oldies act. With no mentor or model to guide them, the foursome's next challenge will be sustaining that unprecedented stretch of critical and commercial success.

"Rock bands aren't supposed to last," Clayton says. "We don't want to be in that subdivision called 'heritage,' so we're trying to figure out how to age and not make dull music. You don't want to start having work done on your face just to get on MTV. There has to be a way to be acceptable with dignity."

The Vertigo Tour, loaded with latter-day hits, is on track as the year's highest-grossing trek. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb has sold 2.8 million copies so far after entering the chart last fall at No. 1 with 840,000 copies, nearly double the No. 3 debut of 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind. Since 1991, when SoundScan began tabulating data, U2 has sold 29.2 million albums in the USA. It's not enough.

"We are still hungry," says drummer Larry Mullen Jr., 43. "We want the cake, the cream on it, cherries and jam and anything else you have. This is not about playing for our original audience. We are nothing like the Grateful Dead. It's about finding a new audience without disenfranchising the old one."

And it's not just about size.

"I don't want to be in the biggest rock band in the world," says the drummer for the biggest rock band in the world. "I want to be in the best band, and we're closer to that now than we've ever been."

The foursome was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April at the peak of its powers, not on the cusp of retirement.

"We were proud to be inducted, but our focus is not on the past," says guitarist Edge, who turns 44 in August. "It's an honor, but it's slightly off-kilter at this moment. We're not ready to sit back and reminisce about the golden years. We're determined to still be making great music in this millennium."

They head into an unmapped wilderness as they attempt to maintain creative and commercial authority in a field of fickle fans, sinking sales and discarded idols.

Chris Martin of Coldplay, the biggest of many acts shaped by U2, says the band is a career model.

"I don't know how they do it," he says. "Just the solidarity of the gang of U2 is really inspiring. There are great lessons there. So many bands I've loved have tripped. They sacked the drummer or did some crazy bad commercial or turned against their audience."

Lasting success brought fame, wealth and boxcars of awards, spoils that tend to invite laziness and boredom to the party. Unless you have guilt as your bouncer.

"We're constantly unsatisfied as a band," Mullen says. "We've got all this stuff, but maybe we haven't earned it. There are contemporaries who have worked equally as hard as U2 and don't have as much success. We're uncomfortable with it; we need to prove ourselves."

He says U2 will survive by clinging to founding principles.

"Early on, we decided to work as a democracy, and we use our votes very wisely," Mullen says. "It's a very transparent process, and it can be brutal, but we get the best out of everyone that way. We made a commitment to each other, to making music that we believe in. Today, it's about ego for a lot of bands: 'I wrote this part' or 'I want a bigger dressing room,' the most childish things you've heard in your life, never musical differences."

Uncharted waters don't necessarily portend rough seas, says Bono, who isn't in a panic over the industry's youth obsession.

"It would not surprise me if this album, depending on which songs catch fire, or our next album will be by far our most popular," he says, noting that many of pop's best sellers are adult-oriented. "The Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Shania Twain. They made records for people ignored by the music business, which spends 80% of its marketing budget on 15- to 25-year-olds. We have an enormous audience potentially, if we're up to the task."

Can U2 drop another Bomb?

"I think we can make more extraordinary melodies," says Bono, 45. "I'm just kicking in as a writer. I was just sketching in the '80s. I have much more focus, and the band has much more firepower."

If U2 retreats from the mainstream, as it did under the pseudonym Passengers in the mid-'90s, it hopes to do so by choice for artistic reinvention and replenishment.

"If you're interested in pop culture and what's going on, the music just naturally will be relevant," Bono says. "We still make music for virgins. That is the most powerful moment, the discovery.

"I'm always trying to bring myself back to that moment when Bob Dylan and John Lennon woke me up. I'm delighted MTV is taking a risk. They're saying, 'We think U2 can still communicate with our audience.' Even 14-year-olds don't want a diet of candy all the time."

U2's ability to connect to younger fans may in part owe to the contagiousness of its own enthusiasm.

"The challenge is to keep the songs alive and vibrant and not allow them to become relics of a previous era," Edge says. "I'm trying to find an angle on the old songs to give them a new life. In previous records, I've obscured the guitar behind layers of effect and textures. Now it's back to the simplicity of electric guitar and what it does. I'm falling back in love with it.

"If we were at a point where we lost our heart and our taste for making records, we would pack it in. We get inspired by things going on in music. That's kept us fresh over the years. We can't be pinned down. It's never static. We're absorbing what goes on in rock 'n' roll and constantly evolving."

Could U2 be content with modest sales and small venues?

"If we make the decision, the answer is yes," Edge says. "I can see consciously scaling it down, but right now I'm interested in making rock 'n' roll music as loud and proud as we ever have."

Should its clout and stature start to slide, U2 won't stick around as a comeback cliché, thank you.

Says Mullen: "We will put the bullet in our own head before anyone else does."

Posted by Jonathan at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)

June 28, 2005

U2 Sues Ex-Stylist Over Auction Items

DUBLIN, Ireland - Bono wants his hat back. And his earrings. His sweat shirt, too. Dublin-based rock band U2 went to court Tuesday to recover items from former stylist Lola Cashman, who has a range of memorabilia from her work on their 1987 Joshua Tree world tour.

In 2002, Cashman tried to sell some of the items - including a cowboy hat, sweat shirt, pants and earrings worn by Bono - at a London auction house. U2's lawyers stopped the sale by telling auctioneers the goods weren't Cashman's to sell.

On Tuesday, lawyer Paul Sreenan told Dublin Circuit Court Judge Matthew Deery that Bono and other members of U2 would testify that they hadn't given any of the items to Cashman, who was also accused of claiming inappropriate expenses during the tour.

Sreenan said the band hoped the judge would issue a judgment that Cashman should not continue to possess or try to sell any of the materials in dispute, including about 200 photos of the tour.

U2 completed a three-night concert stand Monday night in their hometown with an 80,000-seat sellout performance at the city's Croke Park stadium. They are to take part in the Live 8 concerts on Saturday, playing in the London event in Hyde Park.

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

May 16, 2005

Pride of Dublin

By Lise Hand, New York Post

A superstar in the United States, an ambassador in the Third World, a saint in Rome, Bono is something else in his native Ireland - ordinary.

My friend Craig de Wald found that out in a rather comical way when he strolled into the men's room of a Dublin bar last year and found himself standing next to his longtime hero.

De Wald had first seen U2 in action in San Francisco in 1987, and since then had criss-crossed the country six times to see them play. "I've always looked on Bono as a bit of a role model. I find him interesting because he has the ability, as Rudyard Kipling put it: "To walk with kings, nor lose the common touch."

The closest most Americans will get to U2 is in the audience at one of the band's sold-out shows this week at the Continental Airlines Arena and Madison Square Garden. But in Ireland, you pass them on the street.

De Wald and fellow New Yorker Paul Bossert were visiting me for a weekend, and I had mentioned that I knew Bono. In Ireland, the theory of six degrees of separation goes out the window when it comes to the U2 frontman. Everybody "knows Bono." Everyone went to school with him, saw the fledgling band play in the early days, scrounged a pint off him, offered him song-writing tips.

While most of these claims of kinship are, shall we say, a tad fanciful, Bono does possess an uncanny ability to move about his native city with an ease unknown to most superstars. Although he is usually instantly recognizable, wearing his uniform of peaked cap, tinted shades and hastily assembled collection of black clothes, he is rarely swarmed by fans - and if he is, it's invariably by disbelieving tourists rather than more blas‚ locals.

I don't recall the first time I met Bono. Like many over-35-year-olds, U2's music was a soundtrack to our growing up, particularly through the tedium of the early 1980s, when Ireland was an ignored and unfashionable backwater, and the only buoyant figures were the unemployment rates.

I refused to go and see the band play in the Dandelion Market in the late 1970s (this venue was to U2 what the Cavern in Liverpool was to The Beatles). I reckoned U2 was crap, and a rival Dublin band called DC Nein was destined for greatness instead.

Based on this and other incredible insights, I became a rock journalist. In the mid-1980s, Dublin's rock scene was incredibly vibrant, and everyone drank in the same bars and clubs; it was a close-knit community, save for the usual bouts of back-stabbing and "my-bass-is-bigger-than-yours" posturing. I had changed my mind about U2 by now, and was on friendly terms with all the members of the band and had written about them on various occasions.

But I definitely remember the first long conversation I had with Bono; it was in 1990, and I bumped into him in the city one evening. I was bone-weary, having spent the entire day moving my stuff into my new apartment. I moaned about having to go home and unpack everything and wished aloud I was a rock star like him, who had furniture-moving elves to do that sort of heavy lifting.

An hour later, I was tussling with packing cases when the doorbell rang. It was Bono, offering to help out. By this stage, the one item I had liberated was a bottle of vodka, so I broke it open, and we sat on two boxes and solved the problems of the world. He realized I wasn't looking for a team of workmen, but just a bit of company on my first evening in my new home.

Since then, our paths have crossed on numerous occasions, and it's always fun to meet him. He's witty company and extremely considerate; if I'm with friends, he makes a point of drawing them into the conversation. It's not hard to bump into Bono; when he's in Dublin, he's often out and about in his favorite haunts. Once a week, he and his gang of buddies, whom he has known since his school days, end up in top Dublin nightclub Lillie's Bordello, which has played host to an endless list of celebrities, from Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie to Julia Roberts and Colin Farrell.

Valerie Roe, who ran the club for 13 years, describes Bono as "completely normal and down-to-earth. He never asks for any special treatment; he never has a driver because he walks everywhere." Says Roe, "He likes to hit the dance floor, and sometimes brings new U2 tracks for our deejay to test out on the dancers. He's thoughtful, too - he gave me a Christmas present last year, a signed copy of his 'Peter and the Wolf' book."

Another close friend of Bono's is movie director and fellow Irishman Jim Sheridan, who is currently shooting a movie with rap star 50 Cent. Sheridan describes the U2 singer as "a genuine friend, there's no bull---t about him. He's one of those people who acts as a tipping point and who can genuinely bring about great change."

Sheridan believes that it's the attitude of Irish people to their famous sons and daughters that keeps the singer grounded. "Irish people often begrudge success among their own, and watch out for any sign you've gotten too big for your boots. They tend to keep you in line!" he laughed. But the director adds, "For such a public person, Bono is amazingly private. You may think you know a lot about him, but you don't really. He has that rare ability to hide in plain sight."

That day last October when Craig de Wald and Paul Bossert met the singer in Dublin, they were treated to a vintage performance. The two New Yorkers and myself were sitting at the bar, feeling a little fragile after dashing ourselves on the rocks of Irish hospitality the night before. I was on my cellphone talking to my sister when Bono suddenly appeared and snatched it from my hand. "Lise looks terrible. I think she's in costume," he informed my bemused sister.

He then joined us for a drink.

Craig de Wald has gotten mileage out of the story: "My American friends can't believe that we just ran into him in a neighborhood bar. Nor that he turned out to be a genuinely great guy, having a beer and a laugh."

Posted by Jonathan at 03:35 AM | Comments (1)

December 14, 2004

U2 Fans Catch Glimpse Of Band On Video Shoot

12.14.04 - IOL

Hundreds of music fans gathered to catch a glimpse of rock legends U2 today as they filmed the video for their next single.

Gardai were on high alert outside Dublin's legendary Gaiety Theatre as the four band-mates attempted to sneak in unnoticed.

But the hoards of screaming fans, some of whom had waited since 6.30am, soon scuppered their efforts.

A spokeswoman said the band were filming a video for their next single from their much-awaited album, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, which has topped the charts in over 30 countries.

The band's spokeswoman said the name of their next single had not yet been released.

The Edge pulled up outside their hometown theatre in a taxi with blacked-out windows at around 1pm.

He spent several minutes signing autographs and having his picture taken with dedicated fans.

The crowd then surged forward as Bono arrived some 45 minutes later.

The international humanitarian campaigner spent five minutes greeting fans before making a victory salute and entering by the stage door.

The crowd quickly dispersed after glimpsing the U2 frontman.

Several gardai watched over the crowd, erected safety barriers and ensured traffic continued to flow past the theatre.

Over 50,000 fans recently lined the streets of New York to catch a glimpse to the band as they moved across the Brooklyn bridge on a truck.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:07 AM | Comments (0)

October 16, 2004

U2 Take Over Top Of The Pops

10.16.04 - NME

U2 surprised fans in LONDON last night (October 15) when they played a short set after making a brief television appearance for TOP OF THE POPS.

The band performed their new single 'Vertigo' and the Roy Orbison classic 'She's A Mystery To Me' live in the pouring rain at BBC's Television Centre before treating the crowd to a series of new tracks and old classics, off air.

Around 400 fans queued outside the gates for several hours before they finally had a chance to see the band play on a stripped down stage in the car park.

At the start of the show Bono, who was dressed in a leather jacket and a cowboy hat, spotted Doctor Who's Tardis by the stage and shouted to the crowd: "Wow it's the Tardis. Exterminate, exterminate, pop music," before he launched into their new single.

When they finished their TV appearance, the group carried on playing and treated fans to the U2 classic 'Desire' and gave an exclusive preview of two new tracks from their forthcoming album 'How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb'.

They performed new track 'All Because of You' before Bono addressed the crowd and said: "This next song is about how we used to come to cities like London and New York when we were younger and naive and how over time our innocence has disappeared and how experience has kind of kicked in especially when you're smoking 40 cigarettes."

He added: "We played this amazing show after September 11 and we remember all these blinding lights after playing 'Where The Streets Have No Name'. People were crying and it was an amazing thing to see."

The band then ended the show with new song 'City Of Blinding Lights' and Bono said: "We'll see you next summer. It'll still be raining," before he left the stage.

U2 fan Rob Cole, 33, from Shepherd's Bush said he was surprised the band carried on playing after their TV appearance.

He said: "It was amazing. I really didn't expect that. You don't get to see the biggest band in the world play at the bottom of your street for free very often. It is good to see they are just as good as they always have been and I'm looking forward to seeing them tour next year."

U2 played:

'Vertigo'
'All Because Of You'
'Desire'
'She's A Mystery'
'City Of Blinding Lights'

Posted by Jonathan at 03:56 AM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2004

Challenge to Indecency Rules

4.19.04 - Associated Press

(CBS/AP) Several media companies, activists and performers are asking the Federal Communications Commission to back off a ruling that fined NBC for broadcasting an event during which Bono used the F-word, a magazine reports.

Broadcasting & Cable magazine says a group of companies including Viacom (which owns CBSNews.com), Fox and RadioOne is joining with activists like People for the American Way and Media Access Project, as well as entertainers like Penn & teller and comedian Margaret Cho to oppose the ruling.

NBC was expected to file a separate petition Monday, the magazine reported.

In March, the FCC overruled its staff and declared that the expletive uttered by Bono on NBC was both indecent and profane. The agency made it clear that virtually any use of the F-word was inappropriate for over-the-air radio and television.

The decision marked the first time that the FCC cited a four-letter word as profane; the commission previously equated profanity with language challenging God's divinity.

The FCC has been under pressure to punish indecency on the airwaves after Janet Jackson bared her breast during a halftime performance at the Super Bowl, which was televised by CBS. As it announced its decision on the F-word last month, the FCC also revealed three indecency fines for radio broadcasts -- two against Infinity Broadcasting, including one for a Howard Stern show, and one against a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications.

But the commissioners did not propose a fine for Bono's expletive during the 2003 Golden Globe Awards because, they said, they had never before said that virtually any use of the F-word violated its rules.

Indeed, the commission specifically rejected earlier findings that occasional use of the F-word was acceptable, including a ruling by its enforcement bureau last October that Bono's comment was not indecent or obscene because he did not use the word to describe a sexual act.

"The 'F-word' is one of the most vulgar, graphic and explicit descriptions of sexual activity in the English language," the commission said Thursday. "The fact that the use of this word may have been unintentional is irrelevant; it still has the same effect of exposing children to indecent language."

According to the commission's order, "The Commission defines indecent speech as language that, in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium."

The FCC received hundreds of complaints after Bono, the lead singer of the Irish rock group U2, said, "This is really, really, f------ brilliant," and FCC Chairman Michael Powell asked his fellow commissioners to overturn the staff decision.

The lawyer who wrote the petition for Viacom and the other opponents of the new rule, Bob Corn-Revere, tells Broadcasting & Cable that the F-word ruling "has sent shock waves through the broadcast industry and is forcing licensees to censor speech that unquestionably is protected by the First Amendment."

NBC aired this year's Golden Globes broadcast on a 10-second delay. ABC did the same with its telecast of the Academy Awards show.

NBC also removed a glimpse of an elderly patient's breast in an episode of the hospital drama ER. Victoria's Secret dropped its nationally televised fashion show this year, at least partly because of criticism following Jackson's breast-baring faux pas.

Clear Channel dropped Howard Stern from its six stations that broadcast his show, and fired Larry Wachs and Eric Von Haessler, also known as 96 Rock's "The Regular Guys," after the company finished its investigation of a March 19 radio skit in which explicit sexual talk was broadcast during a car commercial.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:34 AM | Comments (0)

April 01, 2004

Large Irish Festival With U2 Scrapped?

4.1.04 - Financial Times

U2, various other artists were set to headline "Ireland's Day of Welcomes"

Far from welcome

Ireland's Day of Welcomes - an EU extravaganza to celebrate the formal accession of 10 member states on May 1 - has been scaled back after receiving a far from rapturous welcome.

The centrepiece - a big open-air concert in the middle of Dublin - was scrapped yesterday. Joint promoters Irish broadcaster RTE and the BBC said it would cause too much disruption for local businesses, with the area closed to traffic for five days.

The stars already lined up included Van Morrison, U2, Dolores O'Riordan of the Cranberries and Bob Geldof. Tickets will be refunded. There remains a suspicion, though, that the real reason for the cancellation is security.

The simultaneous concert in Belfast will still go ahead. While Belfast is (for now) part of the UK, not the Irish Republic, it is well used to dealing with terrorist threats.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:32 AM | Comments (0)

March 02, 2004

U2 Retrospective Book Planned for 2005 Release

3.2.04 - MTV

Publishers got a sneak peek the past few weeks at what is poised to be one of rock's big publishing events of 2005, an anthology by and about U2. Planned as a full-color photo retrospective, "In the Name of Love: U2 by U2" is proposed to coincide with the release of the band's next and 10th studio album, and timed for the 25th anniversary of the group's first LP, Boy.

The proposal, which was shown to prospective publishers in the past few weeks in the form of a blad -- a selection of pages of text, photos and illustrations -- includes previously unseen photos of the band throughout its career, such as from album-cover photo shoots with Peter Rowen, the boy who posed for the cover of War and other releases. "It's meant to show the band not just in the context of a rock band, but as figures in world culture," said one publisher who took a look.

The bandmembers themselves did not take meetings to shop the book, but sent out their longtime manager, Paul McGuinness, in their place. (McGuinness' office did not return calls for comment.)

Jim Henke is the proposed writer for the book, since he has had a long history with U2, first having lobbied his bosses at Rolling Stone to feature the group on its cover in 1985 (with the headline, "Our Choice -- Band of the '80s"), and then creating an exhibit in 2003 on the band at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he is now chief curator. Much of what was included in the exhibit, titled "In the Name of Love: Two Decades of U2," is expected to make the finished book. One of the most extensive exhibitions on one act ever to be displayed in the museum, it included the band's first drum kit, costumes from years of stage productions, the Zoo TV Tour sign, photos by longtime band lensman Anton Corbijn, the first U2 T-shirt, early rejection letters from record labels, meticulous notes by producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois from a couple of recording sessions, and handwritten lyrics.

"Most bands don't have their material tied in as cogently as that," said the publishing source, who asked not to be identified so that negotiations to procure the anthology wouldn't be jeopardized. "If a publisher can make the book work as an event or tie it into a loyal fanbase, there's some gold in them thar hills."

He predicted that the U2 project would command a multimillion-dollar deal once the bids are collected on Monday (March 1).

-Jennifer Vineyard MTV.com

Posted by Jonathan at 03:31 AM | Comments (0)

January 15, 2004

Bono a No-Go For Super Bowl

1.15.04 - E! Online

By Sarah Hall

The NFL still hasn't found what it's looking for--it just doesn't want Bono.

Jennifer Lopez during the Super Bowl halftime show was rejected by the organization.

Bono had hoped to perform his new song, "An American Prayer," which he had planned to use as pitch to attract attention to the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

MTV, which is producing the program, signed off on the performance, but the NFL flinched at the subject matter.

A spokesman for the NFL indicated that the organization didn't find Bono's message in keeping with the atmosphere it sought for the Super Bowl.

"We simply decided that we were going to deliver, as we do annually, an extremely entertaining halftime show," the spokesman told the New York Daily News. "We don't believe it's appropriate to focus on a single issue."

So far, Janet Jackson is the only performer confirmed for the halftime show. Beyonc will perform the national anthem before the game, which will be played February 1 in her hometown of Houston.

No word on how the musician responded to the NFL's snub; however if his reaction was colorful and involved four-letter words, he better hope there weren't any cameras around.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell has asked his fellow commissioners to overturn a much-criticized decision that a certain f-word used by Bono at last year's Golden Globes was not obscene.

"This is really, really, f---ing brilliant," the musician remarked onstage during the broadcast of the award show. Oops.

However, the FCC 's enforcement bureau ruled in October that Bono's dropping of the f-bomb was not indecent or obscene, because he used it as an adjective as opposed to using to describe a sexual act.

"The performer used the word...as an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation," the bureau said.

Powell apparently disagrees with his minions. The chairman is also seeking a tenfold increase in the amount of fines the FCC can seek from broadcasters that violate the profanity code.

Powell believes the current maximum fine of $27,500 is not enough to intimidate broadcasters into keeping their shticks free from the dreaded pottymouth.

"Some of these fines are peanuts," Powell told a National Press Club luncheon. "They're just a cost of doing business. That has to change."

The largest fine in FCC history was a $1.7 million slap at Infinity Broadcasting in 1995 to settle several cases against shock jock Howard Stern.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:28 AM | Comments (0)

November 24, 2003

Bono: Hes a Sell-out at Christies

11.24.03 - Fashion Wire Daily

Godfrey Deeny

You too can be painter Bono, and judging from the proceeds at Fridays auction of your art a pretty successful one at that.

A series of 16 paintings by U2's singer, aided by his two young daughters, Jordan and Eve, raised $368,000 in Christies New York Friday at a benefit for the Irish Hospice Foundation.

Hello my name is Bono and I am a Rock Star, said Bono with a mock smirk as he addressed the packed auction room, before going on to praise the angels at the Irish Hospice for the care they showed his late father. Bonos father Bob Hewson died in August 2001 after a long fight with cancer.

The Bono family artwork are illustrations for a modern interpretation of the Prokofiev orchestral classic "Peter and the Wolf," whose score has been updated by film soundtrack producer -- and Bono's childhood friend -- Gavin Friday ("Moulin Rouge," "Romeo & Juliet").

Two portraits of his father carrying his Cleveland golf clubs each went for $15,000, while a study of the wolfs head was acquired by for $20,000 by U2 manager Paul McGuinness. The top price at the auction, however, was $60,000 paid for a self-portrait of Bono as a kid entitled Baked Bean Boy, acquired after some heated bidding by Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music Group.

I asked my girls Jordan and Eve to help me with detail and a filigree of flowers. I painted myself in a corner as Peter. My Da we made the grandfather, as he was to Jordan and Eve, my two daughters who loved and were loved by him. The Wolf was ambition for things just out of reach, Bono said in his speech.

At times, the auction became a zany after. When auctioneer Bernard Willams called Bono the Basquiat of the future, Friday joined him at the rostrum and promised to put his tongue in the ear of whoever paid $30,000 for one of the paintings, mixed media on paper, as large as 5 foot by 10 foot.

Hospice director Marie Donnelly revealed to FWD that the Hospice expects to raise a further million dollars from the sale of a limited edition of 200 box sets costing $5,000 each containing fine reproductions of the paintings. A book and CD are also available on peterwolf.org, with all proceeds benefiting the Irish Hospice.

Bono mingled with Moby, Elvis Costello, Michael Stipe and Matthew Barney super-beauty Aimee Mullins at the post-show cocktail, before heading to dinner in Mario Battalis Otto and making the late night scene at PM.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:21 AM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2003

No FCC Action vs. Bono Over Naughty Word

10.8.03 - Reuters

By Brooks Boliek

WASHINGTON (Hollywood Reporter) - The Federal Communications Commission decided that U2 singer Bono's utterance of an obscenity during this year's broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards did not constitute a violation of the nation's broadcast indecency rules.

On Monday, the government agency's Enforcement Bureau rejected complaints by the Parents Television Council and others that Bono's use of the phrase "this is really, really f---ing brilliant" failed to meet the test for indecency. The bureau ruled that Bono's indiscretion was so "fleeting and isolated" that it did not run afoul of the rules.

The commission defines indecent speech as language that, in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs in terms patently offensive as measured by contemporary community standards. As a threshold matter, the material aired during NBC's Golden Globes telecast doesn't fall into that category, the bureau ruled.

"The word 'f---ing' my be crude and offensive, but, in the context presented here, did not describe sexual or excretory organs or activities," the bureau wrote. "Rather, the performer used the word 'f---ing' as an adjective or expletive to emphasize an exclamation. Indeed, in similar circumstances, we have found that offensive language used as an insult rather than as a description of sexual or excretory activities or organs is not within the scope of the commission's prohibition of indecent program content."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter

Posted by Jonathan at 03:15 AM | Comments (0)

May 17, 2003

Lost' Music Archive Released

5.17.03 - BBC

An archive of recordings by major stars including U2, Rod Stewart and Elvis Costello is to be released for the first time. The recordings, a mixture of live sets and studio sessions, were taped for Radio Clyde in Glasgow in the 1970s and 80s. More than 600 recordings found by Scottish Radio Holdings (SRH) will now be released in a multi-million record deal with the Universal music group.

The archive, which features sets by acts including U2, Rod Stewart, Elvis Costello and Simple Minds, is thought to be the biggest outside of the BBC. The recordings were found when SRH was trying to locate some of its lost tapes.

"These totally unique recordings were usually only broadcast once or twice within a radio marketplace and then left to gather dust," said a company spokesman.

The recordings will be released with the blessing of the artists and their management. SRH chief executive Richard Findlay said: "The artists we have been in touch with so far share our enthusiasm.

'Unknown to fans'

"With the support of Universal, whose labels represent a large part of the archive, we believe something of considerable importance can be created," he said.

The company has set up its own record label, River Records, which will release some of the music.

"In many cases, these recordings have been unknown to fans, music retailers and music lovers," said Nigel Haywood, Universal's UK commercial director. "Consequently, their resurrection from the vaults of time will be eagerly anticipated."

The BBC has already released live recordings of some of the bands appearing on shows such as Radio 1's John Peel Show. Groups such as The Pixies, Elastica, Teenage Fanclub, The Wedding Present and The Fall. Many of these records have been released on the Strange Fruit label.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:59 AM | Comments (0)

January 12, 2003

U2 Exhibit To Open At Rock Hall In February

1.12.03 - Launch

A U2 retrospective is set to open February 8 at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland. "In The Name Of Love: Two Decades Of U2" features more than two dozen pieces of clothing, including outfits worn on the group's tours and in videos from the past 20 years; instruments provided by all four band members; original lyric manuscripts; stage set designs; personal correspondence; and video and animation cells. There's also some U2 memorabilia that's been on loan to the Rock Hall Museum since it opened in 1995. The exhibit is scheduled to run through September 2003.

U2 guitarist the Edge says that the exhibit is part of a long-term commitment the group has made to the Rock Hall. "We've been donating stuff to the Hall Of Fame over the years, you know, and I've been there a couple of times, and I think it's a great facility," Edge said. "It's fascinating to wander around. We give them any help we can." Edge and U2 frontman Bono have been involved in Hall Of Fame inductions for the Who, the Yardbirds, Bob Marley, and Bruce Springsteen.

The U2 exhibition will take up the top three floors of the museum, with a shifting design on the top floor. From its opening through May, the fourth floor will feature an exhibit of U2 photographs by Anton Corbijn, who has also directed many of the band's videos, while June through September will bring an exhibit dedicated to the band's image, spotlighting U2 artwork by designer Steve Averill and his Four 5 One team, plus unused album cover concepts.

"In The Name of Love: Two Decades Of U2" will kick off with a special preview party open to museum members and their guests. A limited number of tickets priced at $15 each will go on sale Monday (January 13) through Ticketmaster and at the Museum box office.

U2 is nominated for a Grammy Award in the category of best rock performance by a duo or group with vocal for its live version of "Walk On," taken from the America: A Tribute To Heroes album. The Grammy Awards will be handed out February 23 at Madison Square Garden in New York City and broadcast on CBS.

Posted by Jonathan at 02:10 AM | Comments (0)

November 02, 2002

Keanu, Bono and the Winona Trial

11.2.02 - Eonline

by Joal Ryan

Winona Ryder keeps Keanu Reeves' phone number in her Filofax. Bono's, too.

Such were two of the educational revelations during an otherwise nasty day in the actress' non-uplifting shoplifting trial in Beverly Hills.

Day four of testimony saw Ryder's attorney rip into an ex-Saks Fifth Avenue security guard who testified Wednesday she spied the two-time Oscar nominee "sucking on her finger" in a department-store dressing room after slicing herself with scissors deployed to snip sensor tags off merchandise.

On Thursday, defense legal-eagle Mark Geragos accused the former guard of: (1) Making up the story; (2) trying to sell said story (presumably entitled "I Watched Winona Ryder through the Slats in the Dressing Room Door"); and (3) jotting down Keanu and Bono's respective digits from Winona's datebook.

But Colleen Rainey, who left her job with Saks in August, remained firm and denied everything--including Geragos' assertions that she threw something at Ryder and called her "a bitch" after the actress was detained by store security guards at the Beverly Hills Saks last December 12.

Ryder, who marked her 31st birthday in court Tuesday, is accused of trying to walk off with a pair of $80 socks and 20 other designer doodads during an unauthorized $5,500-plus shopping spree. She faces charges of grand theft, burglary and vandalism.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:17 PM | Comments (0)

October 11, 2002

Bono, Petty, Britney Proclaim 'Elvis Lives'

10.11.02 - Billboard

Bono, Tom Petty, Sheryl Crow, No Doubt, Dave Matthews, and Britney Spears are among the artists scheduled to appear on the prime-time special "Elvis Lives," to air on NBC in late November or early December. The hour-long show will feature commentary and performances that pay tribute to the legacy of Elvis Presley.

The special is the latest marketing move designed to tie into RCA's "ELV1S 30 #1 Hits," and will attempt to drive holiday says of the album. The set is No. 1 on The Billboard 200 for a second-straight week, having sold 837,000 units since its release. The show will feature four performances of Presley classics.

Also slated to appear on the special are Denis Leary, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Dennis Hopper, and Public Enemy's Chuck D, who turned heads when he rapped "Elvis was a hero to most, but he never meant s*** to me" on his group's 1990 hit "Fight the Power." More guests will be announced in the future.

The program will intersperse new material with historic footage of Presley's performances, as well as recent coverage commemorating the 25th anniversary of his death.

-- Todd Martens, L.A.

Posted by Jonathan at 05:07 PM | Comments (0)

September 21, 2002

Bono's Here, There...and Everywhere

9.21.02 - The Mirror

By Sharon Millar

Bono has spent the week rocking all over America in an effort to drum up support for tackling Third World hunger.

First the U2 frontman joined wrinkly rockers the Rolling Stones on stage in Chicago. After surprising concert-goers by performing a quick duet with old friend Mick Jagger he was back on the road. Next day the 42-year-old star appeared with chat show queen Oprah Winfrey and poured his heart out about the plight of the Third World.

And Oprah couldn't hide her passion for the Irish rock icon as she stole his trademark shades and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

But there was no stopping Dubliner Bono as he then rushed to New York to party with his friends in the fashion world after Brazilian designer Rosa Cha invited Bono to the unveiling of his spring and summer collection.

One onlooker said: "Bono was the centre of attention everywhere he went. I don't know how he keeps going at that pace but he is a man on a mission to help the world's hungry."

And after all that the family man still had time to spend with his wife Ali Hewson.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:59 PM | Comments (0)

August 15, 2002

I Love U2 Ali

8.15.02 - Irish Mirror

Bono and Wife Toast 20 Years of Bliss

By Paul Martin

Twenty years after they got married, U2's Bono and wife Ali are having a royal wedding anniversary.

The couple have been partying with Prince Albert of Monaco as they enjoy a romantic break in St Tropez.

Bono, 42, and Ali, 41, were invited by the prince to enjoy a few days on his luxury yacht at the exclusive Nikki Beach resort. The pair will have been married for 20 years next Wednesday and are already celebrating the achievement in style.

Guitarist The Edge and Bono's pal Jean Roch also dropped by to enjoy the celebrations along with Prince Albert, who is a big fan of U2.

A pal of the rocker said yesterday: "They have been having a great time and everyone has come along to congratulate them.

"They absolutely love St Tropez and it is the perfect romantic place for them to spend some time together.

"They have been keeping a low profile and just relaxing together. Every night they go out for dinner and a few glasses of wine. Bono even decided to go for a dip in the sea on one occasion and he has been really unwinding after months touring."

The source said Bono has been doing his best to keep under cover for most of the trip, wearing a hooded top and his trademark dark glasses.

The source added: "But it's difficult to stay anonymous when you're one of the most recognisable men in the world.

"They stayed a couple of nights on Prince Albert's yacht and he even joined them for dinner.

"The Edge has also been hanging around with them and out partying at night."

Bono has just returned from a mission to Africa to highlight the plight of millions of children who have Aids.

Despite the star's frantic schedule his relationship with Ali remains one of the strongest in showbiz.

Bono said: "She is the light of my life.

"She gets more perfect the longer we are together. I am completely in love with her."

U2 will be back in action next year with a new album in the pipeline and a rumoured world tour.

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

August 07, 2002

Drummer Larry Digs Back into Band's Keepsakes for Major American Exhibition

8.7.02 - The Express

Hall of Fame Sets Up U2 Showcase

By Mark Jagasia

Millionaire U2 drummer Larry Mullen is digging out the band's secret history for a major exhibition to be staged in the US next year.

Larry has been sent a four-page "wish list" of band memorabilia by the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame which plans to launch the new show in the spring.

He has already donated several items to the famous music museum in Cleveland, Ohio. U2 visited the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame while they were in Cleveland last year for their Elevation Tour.

"The chief curator Jim Henke collared the band and talked to them about doing a major exhibition, " said a source.

"The band was open to the idea and work is now progressing."

Larry is widely known as the collector of the group and has held on to crateloads of material relating to the band's career.

His U2 memorabilia collection dates back to the days in the late 70s when they came together at Dublin's Mount Temple School. He has held on to all the band's early concert posters, handwritten notes and lyrics, backstage passes, items from when the group called themselves The Hype and the first-ever U2 T-shirt made in a school art class.

Larry has already donated two record company rejection letters which are on display in the museum's U2 exhibit.

RSO records bosses fired off one letter to Bono - or more correctly "Mr P Hewson" - in May 1979 informing him that the demo tape he sent to the label was "not suitable for us at present".

The RSO letter coincidentally bears the same date as Bono's 19th birthday and was signed by the label's unfortunate A&R man, Alexander Sinclair.

Larry also donated a brief, standard rejection letter from Arista Records from around the same time.

Just a year later, U2 signed up with Island Records and went on to become one of the biggest selling bands in the world.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:56 PM | Comments (0)

June 24, 2002

U2 in Eze: Wedding with Friends for Dave Evans aka The Edge

6.24.02 - Nice-Matin

The guitarist/singer of the mythic band chose the village of Eze for an exotic garden celebration reports The Envoyer.

The secret was well guarded, however for several days before the wedding, rumors of the marriage were appearing on the internet: Dave Evans (The Edge), guitarist/singer of U2, would be celebrating his marriage in the Cote d'Azur and in Eze.

This information was revealed except for the date. But yesterday afternoon, all the signs around Eze pointed to a grand celebration: Bono's yacht was anchored at the edge of the beach in front of his large seaside villa; a line of limos had organized in front of the Chteau de la Chvre d'Or; and a sign indicated that the exotic gardens had been reserved from 2 to 7 p.m. The newlyweds, who had already exchanged vows in Ireland, would appear at any time in Eze.

Later The Edge, who was wearing a black cap, and Bono were seen leaving a salon and also seen by tourists outside the exotic garden. Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen weren't far off. The bride, in a magnificent dress, was seen climbing the stairs [of the gardens] while the rest of the party was at the Chteau de la Chvre d'Or.

Dave Evans and Morleigh Steinberg have been sharing their lives together since U2's 1993 ZooTV tour, for which she was a dancer and choreographer. The two met again yesterday at the top of the village of Eze. Thanks to the kindly cooperation of the village, the exotic garden was reserved for the couple and their 250 guests, friends, and celebrities.

Among those attending the wedding party yesterday afternoon were Bob Geldof, Helena Christensen, Dennis Hopper, Lenny Kravitz, and Quincy Jones.

The discrete alleys [of the village] and sunglasses couldn't conceal all the celebrities who attended, however, the ceremony in the garden was strictly private.

One could hear the murmurs of vows being repeated, which were most likely done because of the couple's deep religious beliefs. The Edge was christened in the religious group Shalom with Bono and Larry in 1980, which almost destroyed their rock 'n roll dream.

Around 7 p.m., the wedding party left for the gardens at the Chteau de la Chvre D'or where more stars, friends, and many children joined them. Among them were David Evan's three daughters from his first marriage and the two children that he and Morleigh share.

The mayor of Eze, Noel Sapia, and the secretary general of the townhall, Pierre-Paul Leonelli, welcomed the bride and groom and congratulated them. For 8 months in advance, the mayor had kept the secret of the celebration.

Bono shared a joke with Noel Sapia. The mayor spoke of the singer's meeting with Jacques Chirac. Bono reassured him, "I'm not making any demands from the mayor of Eze -- but I have asked something huge of the president of the Republic."

Very cheerfully, the couple walked the grounds of the garden. A little later, Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, who is a fan of rock 'n roll and the guitarist was entertained with a show. The wedding party, which grew to 350 guests, partied throughout the night.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:36 PM | Comments (0)

June 19, 2002

U2 Loses Battle To Save Studio

6.19.02 - Belfast Telegraph

Bono and the rest of U2 will get a replacement studio in Dublin's docklands

SUPERGROUP U2 has lost the fight to save their Dublin docklands recording studio from demolition to make way for a 2bn euro development.

But the band has reached agreement for a replacement studio building which will enable them to remain in the docklands area, it was later announced. The deal between U2 and the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) for a replacement studio emerged after Bord Pleanala (the Irish planning authority) gave the green light for the compulsory purchase by the authority of the band's recording studios at Hanover Quay in the Grand Canal Dock area of Ringsend.

U2 had fought a major planning battle to prevent the studios from being levelled after the band had formally objecting to the move.

A statement issued on behalf of the band's management said arrangements had been made with the authority to allow the band to say in the docklands area "in a new building."

The existing studios are being levelled as part of a rejuvenation plan which includes 1,200 new homes and the creation of 20,000 jobs in a development of shops, restaurants, bars and an open-air amphitheatre for concerts.

The DDDA plans to knock down the Hanover Quay buildings to allow public access to the water through a new civic square.

The 24-acre site is being transformed into a cultural centre it is hoped will rival Dublin's Temple Bar.

The Bord Pleanala oral hearing into objections to the development had heard that U2 had invested heavily in the development of the studios over the past seven years and had recorded four albums there.

Representatives of U2 told the inquiry in January there was no good reason to demolish the studios which they said should be retained.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)

May 08, 2002

Cleveland College Radio Station Announces The U2002 Marathon

5.8.02 - WBWC

PRESS RELEASE http://www.runninglate.org/marathons/u2.html http://www.wbwc.com

WBWC 88.3 FM The Sting, the radio voice of Baldwin-Wallace College, in Cleveland, Ohio, announces its long-running summer marathon series. Irish rockers U2 get the marathon treatment on Thursday, May 30, 2002, with "U2002."

Todd Richards and Mary Cipriani -- longtime college DJs and U2 fans -- will be co-hosting this special broadcast beginning at 7:00 a.m., and running continuously through 1:00 a.m. the following day.

Richards is an alumni of Baldwin-Wallace, and Cipriani is an '83 alumni of John Carroll University's WJCU 88.7FM.

The WBWC "Beautiful Day 2001" U2 marathon featured interviews with U2 staffers Willie Williams and Joe O'Herlihy, and was reported in a story at U2's official web site (http://www.u2.com/homepage/news200701.html).

"It was such an incredible honor to be featured on U2's web site last year," says Richards. "It doesn't get much better for a fan than that!"

WBWC streams audio, and listeners around the world may listen in at http://homepages.bw.edu/~wbwc/ram/wbwc.ram. All WBWC.com audio requires RealPlayer 8 or RealOne, which may be downloaded from http://www.real.com/player/.

Fans may participate by requesting their favorite U2 track via email to Richards or Cipriani.

Todd Richards trichard@bw.edu Mary Cipriani ciprianim@cs.com

"We have an extensive U2 collection available at the campus station, so no request for an import, b-side, remix, or soundtrack is too obscure for us to play," says Cipriani. "Fans may specify the hour (EST) in which they'd like to hear the song. We'll do our best to accommodate all the requests from the emails we receive in advance."

Listeners also may call in on the studio request line at 440-826-2187 on the day of the marathon.

"In 2001, we received dozens of emails from around the world," says Cipriani. "We were amazed by the response of U2 fans listening in."

WBWC is licensed as non-commercial, educational, FM radio station to Baldwin-Wallace College under the authority of the Federal Communications Commission. In 1958, WBWC signed on as the first totally student funded and operated radio station in the United States. WBWC began its popular summer marathon series more than 20 years ago, featuring one artist's music all day every Thursday throughout the summer.

Other marathons planned for this summer include Simple Minds, Steely Dan, Genesis, Pearl Jam, The Beatles, Beach Boys, and Joe Jackson.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:28 PM | Comments (0)

May 06, 2002

The Cops Check Bar As Singer Sleeps On

5.6.02 - Sunday People

Cops swooped on a bar in Northern Ireland while Bono was fast asleep upstairs.

Four officers entered the public bar of Belfast's trendy Ten Square Hotel after an awards bash nearby. The visit was part of an ongoing campaign of pub visits by police to raise public awareness of licensing hours.

There's no suggestion that the hotel had been bending the rules.

Bono had spent some time in the exclusive members only China Club.

He'd been celebrating with the other band members of U2 after they had cleaned up at the Hot Press music awards in Belfast that night.

Other guests at the hotel on the same night two weeks ago included The Corrs.

Band members and revellers had been drinking Champagne and partying in both bars of the hotel.

One punter who was in Bar Red - the hotel's public bar - said: "The cops have been into bars all over town over the last month.

"They came into Bar Red and spoke with management.

"There were a few jeers when people saw the cops because there had been a lot of drink taken by then.

"But Bono himself wasn't there.

"He had been in the China Club but he had already hit the sack."

The Police Service of Northern Ireland told us that they have been tightening up on the rules to make sure everyone knows the score.

At the awards bash U2 were crowned with the best band, best singer and best concert accolades while the Corrs scooped best musician.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:30 PM | Comments (0)

April 20, 2002

U2 Player Plays At Lord Of The Manor - And Why Not?

4.20.02 - Irish Independent

U2's Adam Clayton is no stranger when it comes to playing Lord of the Manor, and why would he be, with a beautiful Georgian mansion and 17 acres to play with?

The rock star and former fiancee of supermodel Naomi Campbell has called Danesmoate in Rathfarnham, Dublin 16, ''home'' for over a decade. During that time, he has lavished attention on the Kellystown Road property, with the addition of a top-class security system and soundproofing of his studio following complaints from neighbours.

At the beginning of March this year, the bass player was granted permission from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to carry out alterations to a 19th Century estate cottage on his land. Back in 1998, the protected structure had a one-storey extension added to it. Now Clayton is seeking to demolish this extension and build a new single-storey extension in its place.

Clayton has also made at least two attempts, one in 1997 and one in 1999, to purchase 4.5 acres adjoining Stackstown Golf Course and bordering the grounds of his estate. Orchard Auctioneers were the agents for the land at the time, but it was never actually sold.

The club may well decide to begin marketing the valuable plot, given that the market has picked up substantially since the beginning of the year. A price of around EURO850,000.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:20 PM | Comments (0)

March 28, 2002

Bono At Peter Buck's Trial: 'This Is Ridiculous'

3.28.02 - Sonicnet

U2 frontman provides character reference for R.E.M. guitarist at air rage trial.

This report is from MTV News

Accused of drunken debauchery on an international flight last April, Peter Buck was painted a saint in his air rage trial Monday (March 25) by someone who would be considered a powerful witness in any courtroom: U2 singer and worldwide philanthropist Bono.

Providing character reference for the R.E.M. guitarist, who has pleaded not guilty to assault charges and all other allegations, Bono took the stand at Isleworth Crown Court for five minutes and testified that his friend "is famously known for being a peaceable person."

"I have never ever seen him drunk," Bono told the jury, according to reports. "I have absolutely never seen him taking drugs."

Bono said he couldn't believe his eyes when he read about the incident, in which Buck allegedly assaulted members of a British Airways flight crew and damaged crockery after they refused to continue serving him alcohol on a flight from Seattle to Heathrow Airport in London (see "Peter Buck Arrested For Busting Up First Class").

Buck's first trial was called off after one day in December (see "R.E.M.'s Buck To Be Retried For Air Rage Incident"). In the re-trial, which began March 18, prosecutors have claimed the guitarist drank about 15 glasses of wine in the first three hours of the flight before proceeding to mistake a hostess trolley for a CD player, claim a stranger was his wife and cover crew members with yogurt.

"This is ridiculous," Bono testified. "I just wanted to stand up and be counted. I don't know what must have happened to him. It is certainly a bizarre event and unusual. He is a very quiet man. It is hard to get him to go on tour because he loves his kids so much. I had to twist his arm to get him to a boxing match once because he thought it was too aggressive a sport."

Bono said he met Buck in 1985 when R.E.M. and U2 played at the Milton Keynes Bowl and has seen the guitarist yearly since then. "Our groups' work have been parallel for the same amount of years," he said. "They are one of the only groups who have had the same longevity as our group."

Buck testified last week that he downed a sleeping pill with a glass of wine and does not remember the events that occurred afterward.

The guitarist was flying overseas April 20 on his way to an R.E.M. performance at the South Africa Freedom Day Concert in London's Trafalgar Square on April 29. The other members of R.E.M. were on a different flight.

Buck's trial is scheduled to conclude later this week.

- Corey Moss

Posted by Jonathan at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)

March 25, 2002

The Edge Wins Wife & Loses Ride

3.25.02 - ShowBiz Ireland

U2 guitarist The Edge was left red faced on Wednesday night last in Dublin after he left a fashion show he was attending with his fellow band mate Bono.

After the duo left Dublin Castle where the show was taking place The Edge walked to the band's hotel The Clarence nearby.

The Edge had parked his vintage green Mercedes outside the hotel but before he got there the local Dublin council had taken his car away as it was illegally parked.

The star did not have to wait to long to get his car back as he was spotted in it around Dublin the next day.

However, more news came out about the Edge this week. News leaked that the couple plan to marry in Ireland in June of this year (yet to be confirmed). The couple live between Morleigh's homeland of California and the couple's home in Kiliney, Dublin. They also own a home in Morocco.

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

January 09, 2002

U2 In Fight Against Demolition Of Studios

1.9.02 - Belfast Telegraph

Supergroup U2 have cited multi-million record sales and musical heritage in their case against the compulsory demolition of their recording studios.

The first ever pop planning battle could see U2 members in action at the Gresham Hotel in Dublin in a fortnight when a Bord Pleanala oral hearing gets underway into objections by the group and their manager Paul McGuinness to the planned compulsory purchase of the Dublin southside docks studios.

In their formal objection made in the names of Adam Clayton, David Evans, Paul Hewson, Laurence Mullen and Paul McGuinness, the band say they have been recording albums at the Hanover Quay premises since about 1994. This was well in advance of the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA), which has served a compulsory purchase notice on the studies for a quayside public amenity.

According to the nine-page submission, their latest album 'All That You Can't Leave Behind' was recorded at the studio and has sold over 10m copies.

The band say they have been recording in the docklands area since the early 1980s at studios in Windmill Lane, prior to the move to Hanover Quay.

U2 insist that the present use of the premises is entirely in accordance with both the corporation's development proposals and the DDDA master plan.

According to the submission, keeping the buildings and structures was not inconsistent with the creation of a public amenity area. Although the premises would not qualify as a protected structure, a strong case could be made for its retention as "as an element in the recognised music-recording heritage of the area".

They say they are the owners of the 400 sq metre single-storey plus mezzanine building located at the dockside and that it is a converted former warehouse. The land is subject to a 35-year lease in favour of U2. Another objection by businessman Harry Crosbie, who owns adjoining buildings, says the compulsory acquisition was not necessary and that the order did not specify the purpose.

The DDDA, in placing the CPO, said it wanted people to have access to the waterways and these were currently cut off because of the buildings.

U2 manager Paul McGuinness has said the band had strong feelings about the building and that they were not going to let anyone knock it down without a big fight. The DDDA have said the buildings were not particularly pleasant looking.

The oral hearing is to be conducted by Padraig Thornton, a planning inspector with Bord Pleanala. It will be held on January 29 at 11am in the Gresham Hotel, O'Connell St.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:59 PM | Comments (1)

December 13, 2001

Stamp Of Approval For Irish Rock Heroes

12.13.01 - Reuters

DUBLIN (Reuters) - U2 frontman Bono and Manchester United soccer club captain Roy Keane are among a gallery of Irish rock and sporting heroes set to appear on commemorative stamps next year, Ireland's Post Office said.

The first of the stamps, intended to celebrate the world impact of Irish musical and sporting talent, will go on sale in mid-2002, costing 38 euro cents.

The rock star line-up, due for release next October, will feature, along with Bono's U2, Belfast-born singer Van Morrison, guitar legend Rory Gallagher and Phil Lynott, lead singer with popular 1970s band Thin Lizzy.

Joining Keane in the soccer series, due for release ahead of the World Cup in June, are national team legends Paul McGrath, Dave O'Leary, and Packie Bonner.

A spokeswoman for the Post Office said on Wednesday that postal authorities were expecting an enthusiastic response to the issues.

"Irish stamps are hugely popular with collectors around the world because of the time and detail we put into them, and we expect -- given the themes -- big interest in these in particular," she told Reuters.

She added that the finer details were still being finalised and that changes to the line-ups could not yet be ruled out.

Another planned series commemorating the 250th anniversary of the Steeplechase, a sporting event first recorded in Ireland, will feature some of the country's best-known race-horses -- Arkle, Dawn Run, L'Escargot, and Istabraq.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:27 AM | Comments (0)

November 19, 2001

VH1 Special U2: Elevation Live 2001

11.19.01 - VH1.com

VH1 Concert Event Immediately Preceded By "U2: Legends" At 7:30 P.M. And Special Concert Pre-Show At 8:30 P.M.

NEW YORK, NY, November 15, 2001 - Viewers will get front-row tickets when VH1 presents "U2: Elevation Live 2001," premiering on Friday, November 23 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT). "U2: Elevation Live 2001" captures the band live on stage at the Fleet Center in Boston this summer, one of 101 sold-out tour dates on their current "U2 Elevation Tour 2001" of North America and Europe, which was hailed by David Browne at Entertainment Weekly as "a staggering confirmation that this is rock's greatest arena band, ever."

The 90-minute VH1 special "U2: Elevation Live 2001" features Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry performing a mix of their hits as well as songs from their latest album, "All That You Can't Leave Behind," including "Beautiful Day," "Stuck in a Moment," "Kite," "I'm Not Comin' Down," "New York," "I Will Follow," "Desire," "Wide Awake," "Where The Streets Have No Name" and "With or Without You" and "Walk On."

Highlighting VH1's Thanksgiving "Stuffed" Weekend, "U2: Elevation Live 2001" will be immediately preceded by "U2: Legends" at 7:30 p.m., and a special half-hour U2 concert pre-show beginning at 8:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

The band's first tour since the highly successful "PopMart" (the top-grossing tour of 1997), and their first arena tour since 1992, "U2 Elevation Tour 2001" kicked off on March 24 in Miami/Ft. Lauderdale and has continued with more than 101 sold-out dates in North America and Europe. The tour began its second North American leg in Notre Dame, IN, on October 10, and winds up in Miami on December 2.

Released on October 31, 2000, "All That You Can't Leave Behind" debuted at #1 on the charts in 32 countries and has since sold more than 10 million copies worldwide. The song "Beautiful Day" received three Grammy Awards, including "Song of the Year," "Record of the Year" and "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group." In addition, U2 is tied with Dave Matthews Band for the most nominations at the upcoming "My VH1 Music Awards '01," airing live on December 2 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT) on VH1. U2 is up for "My Favorite Group," "Hottest Live Show" and "Coolest Fan Website," and music fans can log on to VH1.com to vote for the winners right up until the moment before each category is announced.

U2 fans can also go to http://www.vh1.com/fanclubs/main/1022.jhtml to check out the U2 Fan Club to find out the latest news on the band, the best U2 web links, hear audio clips, see video clips, CD reviews, message boards, cool photos and much more.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:17 AM | Comments (0)

August 24, 2001

U2 Join Bono At Father's Funeral

8.24.01 - CNN.com

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Members of the rock band U2 sang a tribute at the funeral of frontman Bono's father. Bob Hewson, 75, died earlier this week from cancer after a long illness.

He was buried on Friday in the Old Balgriffin Cemetery in Co Dublin after an hour-long mass at the Church of the Assumption in the nearby fishing port of Howth.

Bono, real name Paul Hewson, his wife Ali and their four children, and his brother Norman led the mourners.

The Roman Catholic Church at Howth was packed to capacity for the requiem mass which was held as small groups of local people and U2 fans stood outside in the rain.

The three other members o f U2 -- The Edge (real name David Evans), Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen -- also attended the funeral.

After the service Mullen and The Edge helped Bono, together with his brother, to carry the coffin from the church.

Near the end of the mass Bono and The Edge sang a song dedicated to Hewson Snr, called Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own.

Among the congregation were a number of celebrities, including U2 manager Paul McGuinness, ex-Boyzone singer Ronan Keating and veteran singer Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners group.

Another member of the congregation was former Irish presidential candidate Adi Roche, who works closely with Ali Hewson to raise funds for the child victims of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, and Gerry Corr, father of Irish family singing group The Corrs.

The funeral went ahead just 24 hours before the start of U2's first Irish concert for three years.

The show is being staged on Saturday at Slane Castle in Co Meath before an audience of tens of thousands.

Earlier this week, after hearing of his father's death, Bono paid tribute at a concert in Earl's Court, central London, to the man he said had been a support and inspiration to him throughout his career.

He dedicated the song Kite to him and told the thousands of fans: "I want to thank my old man, my father, for giving me this voice.

"He was a fine tenor and always said if I had his voice who knows what might happen."

He told the congregation: "Dad had a beautiful tenor voice."

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

August 21, 2001

Bono's Father Dies

8.21.01 - ABCNews.com

With U2 on tour, Bono had been flying home to Dublin after shows to visit his father, Bob Hewson, who had been battling cancer. A spokesman for the band has confirmed that Hewson has passed away.

Bono's father has lost his battle to cancer.

With U2 touring in Europe, Bono had been returning home to Dublin every night to visit his ailing dad, Bob Hewson, a 75-year-old retired postal worker. At recent shows, the lead singer had been dedicating the song "Kite" to the man.

'This Is for You Bob'

Bono first spoke publicly about the severity of his father's illness last week during a concert in Britain.

"He only has a few days left in this world. This is for Bob, you old tough-o," said Bono, who continued to dedicate "Kite" to his father at U2's subsequent appearances.

The song, which appears on the current release All That You Can't Leave Behind, reflects upon death.

I'm not afraid to die,

I'm not afraid to live,

And when I'm flat on my back,

I hope to feel like I did

Bono's loss comes as U2 is again at the top of the rock scene.

The group earned three Grammys for a song from their current release and continues to score hits from the album.

U2 is also selling out concerts around the world and is on track to become one of the most profitable tours in history.

"I can confirm that Bono's father has died. We don't have any more details at this stage," a U2 spokeswoman told Reuters.

The group will perform in London tonight and complete their U.K. tour despite the loss, according to NME.com. They will then return home to Ireland this weekend for two sold-out concerts at Slain Castle in Dublin which holds 80,000 people.

Posted by Jonathan at 04:00 AM | Comments (18)

June 06, 2001

Rocker Bono To Grads: Rebel Against Indifference

6.6.01 - Harvard University Gazette

By Ken Gewertz and Alvin Powell

Harvard University Gazette Staff

Third World countries are drowning in debt, and it's up to the wealthy countries to save them, said rock superstar Bono, highlighting an afternoon of reflection, thank-yous, and goodbyes for members of the Harvard College Class of 2001 during Class Day ceremonies in Tercentenary Theatre.

Bono, lead singer for the Irish rock group U2, quoted some shocking statistics to prove his point that the world's wealthier countries must step in to prevent disaster.

"For every one dollar in government aid we send, nine dollars comes back to us in the form of debt service," he said.

Third World countries, which cannot declare bankruptcy as individuals can, are often saddled with debt through no real fault of their own, he said. President Mobutu of Zaire, for example, transferred huge portions of his country's wealth into his own Swiss bank accounts, resulting in deficits that his people are still struggling with.

"The debts of the fathers are now the debts of the sons and daughters," he said.

Bono was the highlight of a two-hour program that featured a send-off by Harvard College Dean Harry R. Lewis, as well as the Ivy Oration, given by B.J. Novak, and the Harvard Orations, given by Amy Chen and Mark Little.

The day before Commencement has traditionally been known as Class Day, when graduating seniors say goodbye to each other and to Harvard in their own way. Thousands of graduates, parents, and family members filled Tercentenary Theatre's rows, almost like a casual dress rehearsal for today's Commencement.

Bono, wearing his trademark sunglasses and a backward camouflage cap, strode to the stage raising his fist in a victory salute. He spent the first part of his talk explaining how he, a rock musician, came to be involved in the cause of debt relief.

"Who am I and what on earth am I doing here? My name is Bono, and I am a rock star. I say that not as a boast, but more as a confession."

A rock star, and especially a rock singer, is "someone with a hole in his heart almost as large as his ego," he said.

Nevertheless, rock music has been a path for the singer toward social responsibility. As a teenager, he found rock to be the music of rebellion. But as an adult and the father of four children, he asks himself what he is rebelling against now.

"I am rebelling against my own indifference, against the idea that the world is the way the world is and there's not a damn thing I can do about it."

Bono spoke about others who have joined him in his efforts to secure Third World debt relief - including Muhammad Ali, Bob Geldof, Pope John Paul II, and especially Harvard economist and Center for International Development director Jeffrey Sachs.

"Sachs not only let me into his office, but into his Rolodex, into his head, and into his life for the last few years."

He also praised the efforts of Harvard's President-elect, Lawrence Summers, then U.S. Treasury Secretary. Summers was instrumental in getting Congress to vote $435 million for Third World debt relief, which leveraged billions more from other wealthy countries, Bono said.

On the grass roots level, these efforts have spurred improvements that include twice as many children attending school in Uganda and a $14 million increase in health spending in Mozambique.

"I'm not here to brag or take credit. I've come here to ask your help," he said, calling the current AIDS crisis in Africa, "The biggest health crisis since the bubonic plague wiped out a third of Europe."

Bono spoke of watching the moon landing on television as a child and thinking that America could do anything.

"Is it still true?" he asked. "If it's not, then you of all people can make it true again."

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

May 22, 2001

Bono Jokes New Son 'Looks Like Thug'

5.22.01 - ITN

U2 star Bono has become a dad for the fourth time and joked that his newborn son "looks like a thug".

The child, who has yet to be named, was born on Sunday night within 20 minutes of Bono's wife Ali being driven to a Dublin hospital.

Bono flew back from the North American leg of the band's tour to be with his wife, and the group even shifted some of the dates in an effort to avoid clashing with the birth.

He told Irish radio station 2FM, "I'm really just very, very excited."

"I've had quite a few days of excitement - more than I would have liked, just trying to get home for the baby."

"We walked off stage in Chicago went straight to the airport and got home to a very cool customer. Y'know Ali is very relaxed and very chilled out and `what's all the fuss'. She was great."

He said Ali "roared like a lion" when she was giving birth.

Of his son Bono laughed, "He looks like a bullet. He looks like a thug".

The rock idol paid tribute to the nurses at the hospital and said, "They passed the baby to me and he opened his mouth and I thought he was going to do one of those things they do where they just scream - and he just yawned."

"He's a very cool customer. He looked around at the world and was bored already."

It makes a pretty large family for a rock star, with two boys and two girls at the Bono residence.

Their daughters are Jordan, 11, and Eve, 9, and their son is Elijah who is nearly two.

"I really am the happiest man and in awe of those nurses and mothers," he said.

The millionaire music star, who is scheduled to continue with the band's Elevation Tour later this week, said they would try to work out the baby's character before naming him.

"I just want to kind of get a grip on the baby and pick up on what he is. What I'm getting is that he's like a bank robber."

"I'm quite high at the moment - I don't know which end is up. I'm just amazed to be so blessed."

"Things are going so well with the band and to have this work out now - two boys and two girls - I feel really, really blessed."

U2 have had something of a renaissance in recent years, with their hit album All That You Can't Leave Behind bringing a raft of new hit singles and heralding a return to their old fashioned rock format.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:38 AM | Comments (0)

April 09, 2001

U2 Join Forces With Lara Croft

4.9.01 - dotmusic

U2 have just made a state-of-the-art video for their single 'Elevation', which combines an evil depiction of the band with an appearance from actress Angelina Jolie.

Pop director Joseph Kahn is behind the promo, which was largely shot in Los Angeles at the weekend, and has made others for the likes of Britney Spears and the Backstreet Boys.

The track will feature on the forthcoming 'Tomb Raider' movie soundtrack in which Jolie plays a real-life version of the computer game heroine Lara Croft.

During the video the good version of the Irish band enlist Lara's help to rescue The Edge from the clutches of their wicked look-alikes.

After the guitarist returns safe and sound, the rival U2's set about competing against each other in a virtual street jam.

The promo's director explained: "The U2 as you know them want to save the world, but the evil U2 want to destroy the world."

Kahn came up with the treatment for the video himself but has spent a lot of time on the road with the group members to get their input.

Although most of it has already been made, Jolie is set to shoot her scenes separately in Seattle at some point this week.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:35 AM | Comments (0)

February 24, 2001

Bono Sings at Burial of Enigmatic Painter Balthus

2.24.01 - Reuters

By Jean-Bernard Sieber

ROSSINIERE, Switzerland (Reuters) - Balthus, the highly respected realist painter of often erotic work, was buried on Saturday in this Swiss village close to the chalet were he spent the last 23 years of his long and productive life.

Bono, lead singer of the Irish rock group U2, sang for some 350 mourners including French photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan and Australian supermodel Elle McPherson.

The French, Italian and Swiss governments also sent representatives to the church ceremony in honor of the enigmatic painter who is among the few to have his works exhibited in the Louvre museum in Paris while still alive.

Balthazar Klossowski, Count de Rola, died last Sunday.

The man who hid behind an artist's name and kept quiet about much of his private life was born on February 29, 1908.

He had been ill but left the hospital the night before he died to see once more his large chalet in the area of Gstaad where he lived with his second wife, Japanese artist Setsuko.

After the ceremony in the village church, two horses pulled a carriage with the coffin draped in black. The artist was buried at the foot of a hill on a plot owned by the Balthus Foundation, some 300 meters (yards) from the chalet.

Balthus, whose claim to an aristocratic title is doubted by some, had a daughter Harumi with Setsuko as well as a son who died in childhood. From his first marriage he had two sons.

He and his family moved to Rossiniere in 1977 after having resided in the antique Villa Medicis in Rome since 1961 while heading the cultural center.

Child Prodigy With Famous Friends

Balthus' advanced age hides the fact that he was a child prodigy. The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke helped publish his first drawings when Balthus was only 13.

Born in Paris the son of a Polish father and a Russian Jewish mother, Balthus grew up in Berlin and Geneva before returning to Paris. Rilke, Matisse and Pierre Bonnard were among the famous friends of his parents.

He had his first exhibition in Paris in 1934 where he caused a stir with his erotic "Guitar Lessons." Pablo Picasso, Andre Derain and Joan Miro collected his works.

Miro called Balthus, who never attended an art school, "the greatest realist painter of his age."

Balthus was known for his provocative paintings of young women, often with surreal elements in the background.

Unlike most of his famous contemporaries, Balthus remained faithful to figurative art. His later works showed adolescent girls absorbed in romantic dreams.

The scenes in his paintings were in the "fin de siecle" style of the last century, bourgeois and slightly decadent salons, where girls are reading or sitting near an open fire.

The atmosphere of his work has been compared to the ambiance evoked by the books of French writer Marcel Proust. Balthus painted some 350 works, sketched a thousand drawings and compiled 50 sketch books.

While living largely as a recluse, Balthus was a welcome guest in modern high society and lately struck friendships with modern singers and actors.

At a birthday party in 2000, Tony Curtis and David Bowie were among the guests and U2 performed.

Posted by Jonathan at 03:02 AM | Comments (0)

December 27, 2000

INXS Singer Had Discussed Suicide With U2's Bono

12.27.00 - Reuters

LOS ANGELES, (Reuters) - Australian rocker Michael Hutchence, who killed himself in 1997, had discussed suicide with U2 singer Bono who now feels guilty that he let his friend slip through the cracks, Rolling stone magazine said Wednesday.

In the upcoming issue of the magazine, Bono said that they had both agreed how "pathetic" suicide was, "(a)nd we kind of promised each other we wouldn't, we wouldn't cross that line where things get stupid."

Hutchence, charismatic frontman for rock band INXS, broke that promise in November, 1997, when he hanged himself in a Sydney hotel room. A coroner determined that Hutchence had been depressed about a custody battle between his lover, Paula Yates, and her former husband, singer Bob Geldof.

Bono wrote a song about Hutchence called "Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of," which appears on the new U2 album "All That You Can't Leave Behind."

"That song is an argument. It's a row between mates. You're kind of trying to slap somebody around the face, trying to wake them up out of an idea. In my case it's a row that I didn't have while he was alive."

Describing himself in the Rolling Stone interview as a deeply loyal friend, Bono recalled feeling guilt, anger and annoyance when hearing of Hutchence's death.

He said the tune was a "really tough, nasty little number," because he felt it would be disrespectful to Hutchence to write a "soppy" song.

The issue containing the article is due out on Dec. 29. U2 are featured on the cover as band of the year, as determined by the magazine's critics.

Posted by Jonathan at 12:22 AM | Comments (2)

September 28, 2000

U2 Rocks Dublin Downtown From Hotel Rooftop

9.28.00 - Reuters

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Veteran Irish rock band U2 proved Wednesday it could still draw a crowd as several thousand people jammed central Dublin to watch a rooftop gig.

Fans, braving wind and rain, strained for a glimpse of their musical heroes as the band performed a selection of hits from its forthcoming album "All that you can't leave behind."

The gig, taking place 100 feet above street level on top of the Clarence Hotel, evoked memories of a U2 performance on a hotel roof in Los Angeles 13 years ago.

Police struggled Wednesday to contain the crowd, which spilled into two of Dublin's main roads along the banks of the River Liffey.

A roar erupted as lead singer Bono saluted the onlookers, who could only see the foursome in silhouette, framed against a gray and cloudy skyline.

Not all spectators were pleased though.

"This is just total insanity," a U.S. tourist said as she struggled through the crowd, lamenting that she could barely hear the music over the din of fans and traffic.

U2 filmed their video of hit single "Where the Streets Have No Name" on the roof of the Million Dollar Hotel in Los Angeles in 1987. Bono produced a film, directed by Wim Wenders and released earlier this year, named after the decaying hotel.

Posted by Jonathan at 11:50 PM | Comments (0)

March 26, 2000

Ali Hewson: In The Name Of Love

More magazine

Ali Hewson: In The Name Of Love

Ali Hewson, formerly Alison Stewart, grew up in the less affluent suburbs of north Dublin and met Bono at school - Mount Temple interdenominational. He tried to chat her up on her first day there, but she brushed him away. He pursued her for several years, using humour as his calling card. The relationship moved slowly, because she didn't want to become just another of Bono's girls.

After his mother died, it was the more practical Ali who helped look after the scatter-brained Bono, taking care of the essential things like food and clothes and house keys. The couple were married when Ali was 22, at the old Guinness Church of Ireland in Raheny, Dublin, in August 1982, with U2 bass player Adam Clayton as best man.

Ali Hewson comes across as open, natural, and sincerely warm. She is not inclined to make false claims of herself, or pretend to have any more knowledge than she has. Her smile is frequent, and often self-deprecating. At the age of 33, she has gained a degree in social science, politics and sociology, as a mature student, and now devotes most of her time to her daughters, Jordan and Eve, and to doing some campaigning work for Greenpeace.

"It is hard, sometimes. I hate being called 'Bono's wife,' and being identified just as that. I know that people who know me well enough don't think of me like that. But there are always going to be others who don't see me as having a separate identity, who just see us as the one person. At the end of the day, I don't really care what people think, just so long as I feel strong enough about myself."

Ali is forced to fall back on her own resources a great deal because her husband is away touring so often. "That is different, that is a bit harder. Especially when the children get to the stage that they won't listen to you anymore," she says. "I say, 'I'm going to ring your father, and tell him to give out to you'. It doesn't work, I'm afraid, with my two, particularly as they have his character! They are both strong-minded."

It was having children that made Ali Hewson start thinking about the environment in which they would grow up. She got involved with Greenpeace, campaigning against the Sellafield nuclear power plant, 200kms across the Irish Sea, on the northwest coast of Britain. And to lend strength to the campaign, she agreed to present a powerful and moving documentary on the effects of the fallout from the Russian Chernobyl nuclear disaster, Black Wind, White Land, shown recently on Irish television.

More than 600,000 people were evacuated from the former Soviet state of Belarus, following the Chernobyl accident, in 1986. Since then, leukemias and childhood cancers have doubled, genetic deformities tripled and people of all ages are traumatised. Radiation levels must be checked before children can be allowed outside to play. There is talk of young girls being sterilised when they reach puberty, to reduce the incidence of birth deformities. Already, the birth rate has dropped by 50%.

Ali and the film crew were, naturally, anxious about exposing themselves to radiation during their three-week stay in Belarus. "We were in the exclusion zones, where the radiation was highest. The main dangers now are dust particles and contaminated food, and the soil. We just brought along dried food and our own water. But people wanted to give us food and drink, and look after us. There was no way that you could say, 'It's okay for you to eat that, but I'm not going to eat it, thanks very much.' So we did eat and drink there, and just sort of hoped for the best," says Ali.

Despite her own involvement, she declines responsibility for U2's recent protest at the imminent opening of a second plant at Sellafield. "We probably both influence each other, we both share the same concerns," she says. "I am really frightened about the second plant at Sellafield opening up. And I don't want to sit back and let them do it without me protesting, which is all I can do."

As a wealthy person, she feels she has a responsibility to do what she can to raise awareness on such issues, if only because she is not tied to a nine to five job. "I am very privileged from that point of view. I would not feel right about taking money for anything I do. It's really nice to be able to get into something without having to feel I'm financially dependent on it." There is a set of women married to rich, high profile men, who involve themselves in charity work. While their work is both worthwhile and commendable, does Ali ever fear that she will be branded as another one of the so-called 'Ladies Who Lunch'?

"I can really see where that criticism comes from - that these people are rich and can go out and raise money for charity, and feel like they have done something, but never really care. But I don't think that's justified. People who criticise these women are probably giving into cynicism, and I think if you get cynical about life, you lose the real meaning of it. I couldn't allow the fear of someone saying that about me to stop me from doing what I believe in," says Ali.

"A lot of these women do really good work, they are necessary, and they are people who really care. Fair play to them for putting themselves in a position where they are going to be ridiculed sometimes for what they are doing. Especially if they are filling a gap where the government has let people down. They are giving back and I think that is a good thing. They could sit on their ass and do nothing if they wanted to. They could go to lunch without raising money for charity."

Ali Hewson has chosen to live apart as much as possible from the glittery, celeb-encrusted circuit. "I wasn't raised for that. I'm from the northside! It's just the way things have fallen really. I know a lot of people in those circles, who are really good friends. But it just doesn't seem right for me. It's not where I would really feel comfortable, I suppose."

She hopes her environmental work will not keep her in that limelight too long. "I will probably do my best to avoid that. This is an exception, made for what I thought was a very good reason. I'm very protective of my kids, and of my life with Bono. It has worked very well up to now, the sort of life where I can go out and do all the normal sort of stuff, and he can take all the heat. I'd like to stay that way. I'd rather work behind the scenes."

She refutes any idea that telling Bono of her experiences at Belarus may have fed into the mood of his recent compositions. "Bono is not influenced by me in the slightest!" she laughs. "We have only had one really good conversation about it since he became famous. We have seen very little of each other in the last year and a half. Our communication has been erratic." Is it hard to keep track of a relationship in those circumstances? "I suppose we are used to it by now, we have been together for long enough, and it works for us. I usually find that after a separation, the relationship jumps a bit; when you get back together, it has moved on.

"It can be really difficult to readjust to having someone living back in the house. I can't help thinking, 'What are you doing in my bed?' or 'What are you doing in my bathroom?' or 'Why are you leaving your clothes all over my house?' Bono always says that he feels like a bit of litter around the house, that I just want to tidy him away.

"But apart from the practical adjustments like that, I usually find that we are much closer together after a separation. You don't take each other for granted, like you do if you see each other every day. There is always something new to talk about."

Dealing with the coming down process, after Bono returns from a major tour, could present difficulties. "Going away to Belarus for three weeks was quite interesting because I went through that when I came home. I had never been away on my own like that before, away from Bono and the kids, working on an independent project. So I could really understand how he feels when he comes back from a tour," says Ali.

"It is very hard for him to come back home and say, 'Yeah, I'm normal.' He wants to climb on the table at 11 o'clock every night and try to perform! He's wondering where are the 50,000 people. We sort of laugh at it now."

Does she worry that home life for Bono will seem dull and boring by comparison? "Well, he never makes me feel like that, at all," she says.

Occasionally, doesn't Ali wish she had married Joe Bloggs from north Dublin? "Sometimes, yes, but I have never met Joe Bloggs! I don't know anyone who is normal - everyone has their own little quirk. Sometimes I wish life was just a lot simpler. But I can't imagine Bono in a nine to five job. He would have lost his marbles.

"It would be nice to walk down Grafton Street, and do lots of of things that we can't do together. But I have kept my life private, so at least I can still do it." It would be easy to resent someone coming home and bringing a load of cameras with them. "Well, it comes with the territory," remarks Ali. "But we are fortunate - at least the job pays well, so we can get out of it if we want to. We can go and have a holiday somewhere away from it all. So it all works out in the end."

Bono will sometimes come home drained after his touring schedule with U2. "You have get the band aid out, and try to fix all the bits that are broken. But every relationship goes through that. It is just a matter of whether it works or not, and if it does, everything is fine. I think Bono is happy," says Ali, smiling.

"I don't feel threatened. You can live your life being scared of losing someone, and, at the end of the day, if he is going to leave you he'll leave you, and that's it," she laughs.

Posted by Jonathan at 08:33 PM | Comments (0)

February 26, 2000

Bono Promotes Debt Forgiveness At Italy Songfest

2.26.00 - Reuters

ROME (Reuters) - Irish pop singer Bono Saturday used the stage of Italy's glitzy San Remo music festival to thank the Pope and Italian Prime Minister Massimo D'Alema for supporting the campaign for Third World debt forgiveness.

Bono, sporting tinted, glittery sunglasses, spoke in competent Italian as his fellow U2 band member The Edge strummed the guitar softly at the start of the grand finale of the week-long extravaganza in the Italian Riviera resort of San Remo.

"To the Pope -- thank you; to Mr D'Alema -- thank you for your promise," Bono said as the chic audience applauded at Italy's national version of the Eurovision Song Contest, which has millions of viewers glued to their television sets.

Bono, along with Italian rap star Lorenzo Jovanotti, on Wednesday visited D'Alema in Rome and helped persuade the premier to write off more Third World debt.

The message has also been broadcast at San Remo this week by opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, a co-host of the festival, and by Jovanotti, who performed a rap urging D'Alema to ``drop the debt.''

Jovanotti's performance sparked parliamentary controversy as conservative opposition figures accused him of using the stage to make political capital.

Bono alluded to that row Saturday when he appealed to opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi not to let politics stand in the way of helping needy human beings in 2000.

The Pope has declared this year a Jubilee or Holy Year and urged rich countries to seize the opportunity to cancel Third World debt.

"Mr Berlusconi, please help Mr D'Alema to help the Jubilee," Bono said before singing two songs. "This is not politics but people's lives."

Posted by Jonathan at 10:59 PM | Comments (0)

January 09, 2000

U2 concert announcement 'misunderstanding'

1.9.00 - Irish Times

By Kitty Holland

A misunderstanding led to the incorrect announcement that U2 would play a free concert in Dublin in the spring, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Mary Freehill, has said. There were a lot of websites "which made various statements but they weren't actually coming from U2 themselves", she said.

The Lord Mayor announced the supposed concert on RT radio on December 28th. She said the band would give the performance to up to 8,000 people in Smithfield civic square after the band members and their manager, Mr Paul McGuinness, had been granted the freedom of the city. She said she was "thrilled" that U2 were "prepared to do a short concert".

However, Mr McGuinness issued a statement on Thursday saying any suggestion the band would play a free concert was wrong.

When asked "What went wrong?" on RT radio's News at One yesterday, Cllr Freehill said the concert was a matter for the band itself.

"We had hoped that [U2 giving a free concert] might have been the case. That seems to have been a misunderstanding and that's not the case now," she said. "The point is we're in communication with one another now. We're getting into the business now of organising the conferring of the freedom of the city."

The conferring will be "probably in early March", she said.

"It will be an opportunity for all the citizens of Dublin to be there and to applaud U2 for their contribution to the city. . .I think at this stage it's sufficient to appreciate them and to confer this honour on them. And I'm quite happy with that. And I think certainly that a lot of Dubliners will be, too." The freedom of the city will also be granted to Aung San Suu Kyi, the Burmese human rights campaigner.

Posted by Jonathan at 10:33 PM | Comments (0)

April 13, 1999

Back To The Future For U2

4.13.99 - The Irish Star

U2 guitarist The Edge dropped by The Royal Hospital in Donnybrook last night to lend a hand and support his father Girvan Evans.

Mr. Evans was a founding member of the Wales-Dublin-Mayo choir in 1966 and last night they released a CD at a small reception.

Edge spoke of the new album "Yep, there is some fine tunes already finished for the album" he went on to say that the new album was back to basics for the band " The new album is U2 the band, back to the mid 80's, we have decided to drop all the technology and get back to just drums, bass, guitars and vocals"

The Edge went on to praise his father "I am very close to my dad, we get on very well, thanks to him I grew to love music because as a kid there was always music in our house"

The Edge could not stay long with his dad as he had to get back to the studio where Bono, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullin were waiting to record with The Edge "I flew up here in the car just to show a little support and grab the new CD but the rest of the band are waiting for me back at the studio so I have to get back there quick"

The Edge also said the album content was being kept secret including release dates of U2's much awaited album.

Courtesy of Derek McAllister

Posted by Jonathan at 05:52 AM | Comments (0)

March 26, 1998

Bono's Top Ten List

Los Angeles Times, 1998

Bono's Top 10 List Give Him Beatles, Bee Gees and Public Enemy

The U2 singer limits his choices to bands and warns that his list is "far from definitive."

1. The Punk Rock Album: (The Sex Pistols had the best singles, but I'll choose) the Ramones' "Leave Home" "Edge and Larry were 14, Adam and myself were 16, when, after an argument about the arrangement of our own songs, we conned an Irish national TV producer that we had written 'Glad to See You' and 'I Remember You' [from that album] . . . We got the TV show, switched the songs back to our own. . . . Fame and good fortune soon followed . . . viva la Ramone."

2. The Hip-Hop Album: Public Enemy's "Fear of a Black Planet" "Hip-hop is the most important movement in music since the Beatles. . . . PE guested with us in L.A."

3. The Only-White-Folks-Doing-This category: the Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head" "White rap's 'White Album.' "

4. Great Wordy Album: Patti Smith Group's "Horses" and the Waterboys' "This Is the Sea" "In rock, the word 'poet' gets thrown around a lot. Not here. . . . I feel the same about 'redemption.' "

5. The Haircuts-So-Bad-They-Were-Ignored-for-Years category: the Bee Gees' "Best of the Bee Gees" "Tunes and more tunes. It must have hurt to know you were that great and yet not to be taken as seriously as say . . . progressive rock!"

6. The Seminal Album slot: The Pixies' "Doolittle" "Could have been 'The Velvet Underground' or the Buzzcocks' 'Another Music in a Different Kitchen.' . . . I'll chose 'Doolittle,' a big influence on Nirvana. . . . The Pixies invented the high drama chorus-verse gear shift that was such a hallmark of 'grunge.' Frank Black has a scream to wake the dead . . . slashing songs, but not his wrist . . . paranoia without the self-pity. And humor. . . ."

7. Girls in Groups: "The Pretenders" and Hole's "Live Through This" "The Pretenders: tough-minded, tender-hearted. 'Brass in Pocket' was the single of the year. Hole: advanced guitar sounds, a sense of pop to match her man's but a better album than 'In Utero,' up there with 'Nevermind.' Both women give a lesson in how to hold an electric guitar."

8. The Calls-to-Mind-a-Location Album: The Beach Boys' "Pet Sounds" and R.E.M.'s "Automatic for the People" "Beach Boys: If I close my eyes, I can see Brian Wilson's sand pit, the West Coast, the dad, the drugs, the genius. Joy is the hardest thing to pull off . . . in life, in art, in movies (Steven Spielberg), in music (Sly & the Family Stone). The Beach Boys overcame the obstacle of major chords sounding trite. "R.E.M.: Normally you can see the sun shining in their songs. I've never been to Athens, Ga., but here it's raining. This blurred melancholia features the greatest country crooner never to make a country record. Here R.E.M. are a co-op, a four-legged table, a real band in that everyone's voice is heard (this is more difficult than you think). R.E.M. have pulled off the impossible, a giant group that doesn't appear so. . . . Standout tunes."

9. The One-Person-Writes-the-Tune-but-It-Wouldn't-Be-the- Same-Without-the-Band scenario: The Who's "Live at Leeds," the Smashing Pumpkins' "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness" and Oasis' "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?"

10. The Best-Pop-Group-in-the-World category: the Beatles' "White Album." "This category is opposed to the Best Rock Group category, which would have to be the Clash's 'Give 'Em Enough Rope' (it's the only band U2 would not go on after . . .) or the Rolling Stones' masterpiece 'Exile on Main Street.' The Stones have the songs and were much better live, but in the studio . . . the 'White Album' is the one. I know it's all over the shop. . . . It's a blueprint for us at U2 HQ . . . experimental pop, metal soul, the blues. It's all there, but it would mean nothing if you didn't care about the group and I guess I still do."

"(P.S: If there was a 'black' album category, I would choose Nine Inch Nails' 'Pretty Hate Machine.' I know drama is achieved easily when painting in black, and gothic is the flared trousers of the '90s, but something much more extraordinary is going on here."

Posted by Jonathan at 08:25 PM | Comments (0)

October 29, 1997

Accused U2 Stalker In Custody

The Toronto Sun, October 29, 1997

Accused U2 Stalker In Custody

By Sam Pazzano

A Toronto man accused of stalking U2 bassist Adam Clayton for three years appeared in court for a bail hearing yesterday.

Robert John Hector, 34, was remanded in custody until today when the hearing resumes before Justice of the Peace Jim Oates.

Hector was arrested Monday before the band's concert with criminal harassment of the Irish rock band superstar.

The justice of the peace imposed a publication ban on the evidence presented ar Hector's bail hearing. Police said a man telephoned Clayton up to 200 times a day and, in March 1996, flew to Dublin where he was arrested outside Clayton's residence.

Posted by Jonathan at 09:14 PM | Comments (0)

September 03, 1997

"Tagging Along"

Hot Press magazine/Matt McGee, September 3, 1997

Tagging Along

By Matt McGee

It was big and yellow and it was in Bono's mouth.

No, yer man hasn't swallowed the POP Mart arch. Not yet.

He has been officially inducted into an Internet subculture of U2 fans known as "Wire." (Edge has, too, and he has the Tag to prove it.)

That big yellow thing? A "Wire Tag." Bono had it in his mouth as he ran around the catwalk during U2's show in Chicago on 29 June. While you may not see it in Bono's mouth at the Lansdowne Road gig, you will surely come to know plenty about "Wire," the internet mailing list for U2 fans: The Wirelings (as they're known) and their yellow tags are planning to overtake Dublin in the days surrounding the U2 concert.

They're also bringing a traveling version of the graffiti-soaked Windmill Lane walls: A 30-foot long, black-and-white banner signed by every Wireling who's seen it so far during the band's POP Mart tour, including Bono, Edge, Larry, Adam, and Paul McGuinness.

The banner reads "World Wide Wire", and that it is. It's been to all but four shows on the first leg of the tour, and it's making its way through the European dates now, taken by an internet-worked group of fans who've volunteered to carry the 10-pound banner from gig-to-gig.

The idea is "to create a tangible testimonial to our virtual world of Wire," says 31-year-old Mike Conway of New York, who led the charge in making the banner and establishing the network of fans. "But really, we just wanted a way to bring the folks of this [mailing] list together, share our love for the band, and have something in the end which represents this love."

Bono was the first in the band to sign the banner -- "To the men and women behind the Wire," he wrote. Paul McGuinness signed it the same day. Edge put his name to it a few days later in Pittsburgh; Adam and Larry got on board in Chicago.

Conway already has volunteers set up in South America, Australia, and New Zealand to carry the banner to shows which haven't been announced yet. And when all is said and done, the Wire banner could end up in one town where POP Mart isn't stopping: Conway plans to donate the banner to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.

Crowning Moment

Wire Tags are the brainchild of Angie Inboden, an 18-year-old fan from Illinois. "I'm so happy I got the idea and ran with it," Angie says. "All of the stories I heard of people meeting each other made it the most worthwhile."

To get a Wire Tag, you're supposed to be a member of Wire. That's the only qualification. That, or being in the band. Angie personally delivered tags to Bono and Edge outside U2's hotel in Chicago.

"I did feel incredibly proud when I gave Bono a tag and he was happy to receive one of his own," she says. "He said, 'Now I get one too, eh?' with a smile that made me so grateful that I'd acted on the idea in the first place. He had me tie it, and he ended up wrapping it around his wrist because it wouldn't fit over his hat. I think that was kind of the crowning moment."

There have been other moments, too. The same night of the tag-in-mouth episode, Bono changed the lyrics to "Even Better Than The Real Thing", singing "Give me two more chances to ride on the Wire that you bring."

Angie is quick to point out that getting Bono to wear a tag and sing about Wire was never the idea behind the Wire Tags. It started out as a way for Internet friends to recognize each other in a crowd of U2 fans. There are about 4,000 subscribers to the Wire mailing list, and Angie estimates there are at least 1,200 wearing Wire Tags to POP Mart shows around the globe. (The actual count is impossible to guess because many fans are making their own tags.)

"It was great having the tags on and meeting other fans from Wire," says Donna Souza, who's worn her tag from Vegas to Philadelphia, Madison to Foxboro, and a lot of places in between. "They help us find friends in strange cities and places."

The tags won't get you anywhere -- at least they're not supposed to -- but they will get you noticed. They measure about 5" by 7", and they're laminated with black lettering on a bright, yellow background.

"I think I realized that the idea was really working," Angie says, "when I got email the day after the Las Vegas concert from someone telling me that he had met 50 people he otherwise wouldn't have met because he was wearing a tag identifying him as a member of Wire. And it kept happening!"

And it's still happening. Hey Dublin: tag, you're it.

Posted by Jonathan at 08:03 PM | Comments (0)

August 01, 1997

How U2 Can Look Like This

Sunday Telegraph, August 1997

How U2 Can Look Like This

They're no ordinary models, he's no ordinary designer - U2 and a half-Belgian, half-alien are fashioning history, finds Julia Robson.

HE'S big, he's bearded and he's Belgian, and he is about to make his mark on frock-and-roll history. Since launching his cult, clubwear label "W & L. T." (Wild & Lethal Trash) on the Paris catwalks three years ago, Walter Van Beirendonck has become the patron saint of the fashion victim.

Beirendonck's designs - padded, pocketed, space-age PVC workwear, with a hint of sci-fi cartoon hero - coupled with his son et lumiere Ridley Scott-style shows, have also set a new precedent for fashion productions. But it is his current project, swapping Paris catwalk for 74,000-seater stadium, and male models for supergroup U2, which may prove his most prestigious collection to date.

The story began last January, at the W. & L. T. fashion show, where U2's resident stylist, Sharon Blankson, sat in the front row taking notes. She was attending the menswear shows on a mission, to find clothes suitable for U2's forthcoming "PopMart" world tour. Her task, until the show, had proved fruitless. Hurrying back to Dublin, she played the band a tape of the show.

A week later Walter was summoned, shown a "virtual reality" impression of the PopMart stage set and asked to come up with sketches, pronto. Beirendonck, the unlikeliest-looking fashion guru, (Rasputin meets Jolly Green Giant), reveals how it was a toy that inspired him to think big.

"My brief was to come up with clothes that blended in with the stage set and PopMart theme. The band wanted something totally different from the usual leather 'rock' costumes. I came up with the idea of Action Man'. By using a muscle print as the base on every costume, I then played on a cartoon-hero theme, personalising each costume and basing them on the individual characters of U2."

Walter transforms Bono into "Bonoman", "Muscleman", "TV Man", "Walking Target" and, finally, "Fly 2000". Bass guitarist, Adam Clayton becomes bright orange, bionic "Popman". Guitarist, The Edge, is "Electric Cowboy", complete with huge 3ft plastic stetson, designed by British milliner Stephen Jones. Drummer Larry Mullen beats out his rhythm in a "Hitman" ensemble of Action Man khakis.

This week British fans will see his costumes come to life, as U2 begin the four-date UK leg of their sell-out tour. On Friday night, as Wembley Stadium shudders to several million watts of power and singer Bono struts down the 100ft runway, under a 100ft glowing arch and out of a 40ft high self-propelled mirror-ball lemon, the ultimate "gasp factor" remains, courtesy of Walter.

"The way U2 are constantly experimenting with graphics and art, as well as music and sounds, is similar to my approach to fashion. You'll find something aggressive next to something poetic on their album - the same happens in my collections.

"I found them totally down to earth, professional and human," says the designer, who in the past has described himself as half-Belgian, half-alien. "Bono, particularly, knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to be involved with every aspect of the design. He performs through his clothes."

Even those sitting at the back will witness the spectacle of the set and clothes thanks to a 56ft-by-170ft screen, the world's largest-ever video backdrop. This also will show computer animation created by musician/performance artist Brian Eno.

"The time limit was the most nerve-racking factor. I'm used to working to deadlines, but getting everything finished within six weeks (the time allocated) was a miracle. "At the final rehearsal in Las Vegas I could see the muscley body-print worked incredibly well. When Bono took off his jacket he looked nude, but "even better than the real thing" - like U2's song.

"I finally got to see the show last month in Werchter, Belgium. Bono shouted to the audience that the show was 'made in Belgium' because the stage had been built there, not just the clothes. He dedicated the last song to me, One, which is my favourite. The crowd roared and I felt fantastic."

Posted by Jonathan at 09:11 PM | Comments (0)

April 12, 1997

Stylish 'Zoo TV' Blurs Fact and Fiction

Los Angeles Times, April 12, 1997

Stylish 'Zoo TV' Blurs Fact and Fiction

By Steve Hochman

When you see a TV show open with a guy removing his prosthetic nose, you know you've got something different from the usual fare. It's a great attention-getter for the second installment of "Zoo TV," the three-week magazine-style series airing on MTV beginning Sunday, and it is the crux of the program. Metaphorically speaking, the series takes off its false nose (in the second episode). Normally on TV, the show asks, can you tell when something is fake?

Or, as the Firesign Theatre so succinctly put it in its '60s media satires: What is reality?

Spun by creator Roger Trilling out of the media-saturation themes of U2's 1992-93 concert tour of the same name--and with the blessing, partial financing and score music (but not appearances) from the Irish band -- the series consciously attempts to blur the distinctions between truth and fiction. And it comes close to succeeding in several instances.

Did hip-hop really start at a late-'70s suburban pool party where a white kid "discovered" record-scratching while trying to wipe a spilled meatball off of an Abba record? Of course not, but that's no more "unreal" than many factual things shown in other segments of these shows.

Sure, we've seen that sort of thing before. The fake segments and commercials could have come from vintage "Saturday Night Live" or "The Groove Tube." But it's done with entertaining flair.

What takes this series -- with episodes addressing television, the body and the concept of "alternative" -- into its own space is a dark current of Orwellian paranoia. Hosted by 11-year-old Nataliya Abramovitch, a Wednesday Addams variant speaking to us from a desolate landscape (representing TV's vast wasteland, no doubt), "Zoo TV" follows the premise that we are all targets of mass marketing. Everything we say or do is merely research fodder for multinational overlords to use in keeping us happy consumers. You can't even go underground, because that's been mass marketed too.

That message is presented in compelling, stylish packages. But it's also done without much humor or hope. Where, for example, Michael Moore's "TV Nation" used the reality TV format to inspire vigilance in the face of tyranny, "Zoo TV"--whatever the intent--leaves the feeling there's little choice but to surrender.

"Zoo TV" premieres Sunday at 11:30 p.m. on MTV.

Posted by Jonathan at 08:23 PM | Comments (1)

March 26, 1997

Edge on Macphisto and Batman

As for Brian Eno, he's currently producing the next U2 album, due out this summer -- while the band itself, according to the Los Angeles Times, beats the bushes for financing for a tour it wants to mount in the spring of 1997, which it figures will cost nearly $100 million. U2 management would only say that no tour plans have been confirmed. The group is also nominated for two Grammy Awards this year for its contribution to the "Batman Forever" soundtrack, "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me." Here's U2 guitarist The Edge on why the band got involved in the soundtrack project in the first place.

THE EDGE, U2: One of the things that interested us about the project was Batman, the icon. And we wrote the song about the super heroes and the fact that they're the ultimate stars. So we wrote the song kind of about stardom. And when we were thinking about doing the video, it occurred to us that it was kind of interesting and legitimate to include some of the super hero characters that we've created along the way: Mephisto and the Fly. And we felt that the best way of doing that was animation.

Posted by Jonathan at 08:38 PM | Comments (0)

December 31, 1995

Bono Spends New Year's 1996 in Sarajevo

Reuters, December 31, 1995

Bono Spends New Year's 1996 in Sarajevo

By Sabina Cosic

SARAJEVO, Bosnia-Herzegovina (Reuter) - Irish rock star Bono brought rock'n roll razzmatazz to Sarajevo Sunday -- mobbed by photographers, cracking self-deprecating jokes, and pronouncing himself a tourist with a conscience.

In trademark sunglasses and a peaked cap, the lead singer of supergroup U2 called a news conference during what was originally billed as a private visit to celebrate New Year in the Bosnian capital.

Bono declined requests to sing but otherwise gave a true perfomance. Photographers and cameramen followed his every move and gesture, clambering over each other as the singer spoke.

"I'm really happy to be the first tourist in the new Sarajevo," he said. "We really just came because we heard it was going to be a great party."

"It's not just that I'm a poseur ... If rock'n roll music mean anything, it's some kind of liberation...It is about freedom in the end. As absurd as it might look to have a rock'n roll star wandering through this landscape, there is a connection with us as a rock'n roll band."

Gesturing to the media crowd, he joked: "I don't feel comfortable unless I'm around this kind of thing ... I even have them at home."

The outspoken singer has used U2 concerts to attack Western powers for failing to end the war in Bosnia.

"What I can't understand is how more of our community -- musicians and artists -- didn't respond to what was happening here."

He said that U2's recent record "Zooropa" was "about the madness of Europe ... By mad I'm really saying that, how could we have let such a thing continue?"

Bono, who arrived Saturday on an aid flight from Zagreb, is a guest of the Bosnian government and was flanked at the news conference by Foreign Minister Mohammed Sacirbey.

He said he was not prepared for the destruction he saw on his way from the airport into the city and he praised the wit and courage of the people.

"My first impression was--if people can live through this, they must be a very extraordinary people indeed and they must have a great future ... It's an extraordinary symbol of East and West and it has become a symbol of tolerance ... I'm just really humbled to be here."

After visiting a few Sarajevo night clubs Saturday night, Bono noticed the music was blasting out of the loudspeakers "very loud."

"I understand there was some practical reasons for that over the past four years -- drowning out the shelling and stuff," he said.

Bono said he would be busy in 1996 working on a new record with his band, but suggested U2 could perform in Sarajevo in 1997.

Hugging his wife Ali, Bono left the news conference room for a tour of the city, once again surrounded by photographers.

Posted by Jonathan at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)

March 26, 1994

U2's Mysterious Ways

by Tony Bowden and Jennifer Stewart

December 1989

U2 play five nights to capacity crowds in Dublin, their first gigs in Ireland for over two years. Amidst rumours of the band splitting up Bono announces to the crowds, 'We've got to go away for a while and dream this whole thing up all over again.'

October 1991

After a silence of almost two years the pure noise of The Fly grates its way across the airwaves. U2 were back with a new sound and a new image. But do they have a new set of beliefs? SIDES investigates ....

These days bringing U2 into a conversation with a group of Christians can be a dangerous occupation. Once up held as the prime examples of Christians in the music business, many people now view the band as arrogant and egotistical, having long since abandoned their early religious fervour. In fact, many churches will point to U2 as evidence of the fact that the music industry is too full of corruption and depravity for even the most committed believers to hold out against, almost as mothers used to frighten their children into good behaviour with stories of the hobgoblins that awaited the ill-behaved child! Viewing U2 on the surface this can be understandable, but a deeper look at what the band are doing portrays a very different story.

Without a doubt U2 have changed a lot since their early albums. Many believe that U2 no longer possess the Christian beliefs which so obviously underpinned these albums, and in many respects amidst the images which U2 have created their beliefs can be difficult to unearth. Often such use of artistic subterfuge is deeply frowned upon by Christian fundamentalists who argue that the gospel message should be perfectly clear; however, this is ignoring the fact that much of the Bible is itself written in artistic prose, rich in hidden meanings and multi-faceted nuances, whilst several books merely contain poetry - the most artistic of all writing forms. Jesus himself taught in parables, using the images of the day to bring across truths about God, and most of the time leaving the people scratching their heads and wondering what he meant.

We cannot know exactly what U2 dreamed of during their two year break, but anyone who knows something of the very early days of U2's career may have some ideas. Before they recorded their first album U2's live gigs were characterised by the two personas which Bono would play - the Boy and the Fool. When it came to recording, however, the Boy became the primary character, and the Fool faded into insignificance. Over the next ten years the Boy grew into a Man, and U2's punk beginnings became everything punk had rebelled against. U2 were the epitome of stadium rock giants, spearheading the social conscience in Rock music. They had taken this path as far as they could, reached the biggest audiences imaginable and needed to totally rethink what they were attempting to achieve as a band. With the realisation that Stadium Rock could never be personal or subtle, U2 were faced with a choice - return to playing smaller intimate venues, or redefine the framework entirely. Their popularity made the first total

In the Zooropa tour U2 are using the most up-to-date imagery and technology they can to bring across their message, whilst at the same time mocking the hype of today's society through their satire, even constructing an entire song, Zooropa, out of the slogans of the consumer culture. ZOO TV takes this to a level never seen before, becoming both a monument and a mockery of the post-modern society. The Berlin Wall had fallen, the old world order was crumbling, and the East was hungrily clutching on to everything the West could offer. But U2 were quick to warn of the dangers, and point out the confusion of Western society.

Whilst many other stars have burnt themselves out with the 'rock-and-roll life-style', U2 have managed to cope with the pressures of success fairly well. The band have talked of how the pressure of their lifestyle was getting to them, and, if they had kept on the way they were going, they may indeed have burnt out. However, the realisation of the absurdity of rock 'n' roll has deflated this. The band had been so intense that the only way out was to go totally over the top. Whereas they had previously spent so long avoiding the paraphernalia of being rock 'n' roll stars, now they are having fun playing with it, exploding all the clichs.

Bono has always been fascinated with the dark side of life. Exit, for example, is so dark that Bono has difficulty singing it live as it makes him feel so evil. But even Exit sounds happy beside some of the songs off Achtung Baby. Written and recorded during the Edge's painful separation from his wife the darkness was never so apparent, in either the lyrics or the music, with the Edge's exposing his pain so eloquently in the guitar work on Love is Blindness. The dark side of religion is also explored. Until the End of the World, from Achtung Baby, describes a conversation between Jesus and Judas: 'In the garden I was playing the tart, I kissed your lips and broke your heart', and Judas' remorse : 'waves of regret, waves of joy, I reached out for the one I tried to destroy'. Bono describes Judas as 'a fascinating creature , because in one sense, by committing his crime he introduced us to Grace.' Bono's attempt to grasp Judas' feelings show deep thought at a level which most Christians have not experienced and cannot understand, who condemn him for his supposed loss of faith.

In U2's recent work the darkness has found a new escape route. Realising the dangers inherent in either denying the shadow or dwelling on it, U2 have begun to play with it - inflating it till it explodes. By opening it to scorn U2 are neither denying its existence nor allowing it to take control.

Bono's 'Satan' persona, Macphisto, has probably raised more Christian hackles than anything else U2 have ever done, with most Christians failing to understand what Bono is up to. In an interview with a prominent Irish paper earlier this year Bono commented that the whole concept of the Macphisto character was one of mockery - taking his idea from the adage 'mock the devil and he will flee from you.' Such irony and tongue-in-cheek humour is common throughout the work of the band and is a very effective way of bringing people to think about the good and evil in the world. Bono mocks to make his point - and this point is transferred to thousands of people with an effectiveness that preachers can only dream about.

The Church has never coped well with its artists and U2 are no exception. They have refused to play by anyone else's rules, and have frequently overstepped the tight boundaries of 'permissible behaviour' drawn up by the church. As a result the church has often viewed them with suspicion. Even one of their most explicit songs of Christian faith and longing for a better world, "I still haven't found what I'm looking for" was taken by many Christians as evidence that U2 had lost their faith.

The tendency for the Church to look for perfection in its heroes has placed an overwhelming pressure on U2. They are expected to have all the answers with no sign of doubt, and the church embraces them warmly when they express their faith clearly. However when they have expressed doubts or confusion the church has been just as quick to point the finger and disown them.

The offspring of a mixed marriage, Bono has claimed that he feels equally at home in both Catholic and Protestant churches. However the way in which the Church has often treated U2 has meant that he has come to feel equally not at home in either. As he sings in Acrobat, "I'd break bread and wine, if there was a church I could receive in." In his experience the church is too constricting and stifling. It has constructed a set of rules and beliefs to which he is expected to adhere. However Bono describes his faith in terms of John 3:8 - no-one knows where it's coming from or where it's going to, it's like the wind. "I've always felt that way about my faith. That's why on the new album I say 'I've got no religion', because I believe that religion is the enemy of God, because it denies the spontaneity and the almost anarchistic nature of the Spirit."

He sees no reason why all of his songs have to be full of happiness and joy and is fascinated by the connection between the Blues and Gospel Music. He describes the Psalms as the Blues of the Bible, with David giving off to God, "where were you when I needed you?"

The church has often failed to understand art or rock music, and often looks with suspicion on anything which it does not understand. Everyone's faith and spirituality must be worked out in the context in which they find themselves, and although few within the church have any idea of where U2 "are", many are quick to point out where they think they should be.

We need to stop looking for perfection from those in a position of power. They are as much real people as the rest of us - open to doubts, depression, confusion and fear. We must not expect people to hide these emotions, but must allow people the freedom to be honest in their art. To do otherwise is a denial of the realities of life. God does not solve or remove all our problems, but can help us through them. U2 have never merely painted a black picture of the world, but have stressed a salvation encompassing this.

Perhaps we need to look more closely at what U2 are saying and doing, and the effect that they might be having. Then perhaps we could weep with them at the state of the world, and rejoice with them in the redemption offered. Perhaps they can give us a clearer indication of what the world is really like than we hear in sermon after sermon, Sunday after Sunday.

On the Zooropa tour, Bono was infamous for phoning people from the stage to pester them. At Greenbelt '93, Pete Williams, one of the co-ordinators of the ZOO TV project, phoned Bono live from the mainstage! After convincing the stunned Dubliner that the call was genuine, Willie asked Bono if he had anything he wanted to say to the people of Greenbelt - the biggest Christian festival in the British Isles. Bono paused and replied "Everything you know is right." And the crowd erupted.

This article originally appeared at QUB ( http://www.qub.ac.uk/ )

Posted by Jonathan at 08:48 PM | Comments (0)

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