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

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

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

© 2008 Contactmusic.com Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Copyright © 2008 World Entertainment News Network.

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

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

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

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

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

Commenting on how U2 have remained so cohesive a unit over 30 years, he said: "Maybe it's because we were friends before we were a band. So in a sense the friendships were solid, so when it came to those moments of conflicts or difficulty, we kind of were able to skirt around the big conflicts and diffuse the situation and so we're operating in pretty much the same way now as we always did."

Watch the full clip below.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ms. Devlin Smith, board member, African Well Fund

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Dubliners like a good debate and a recent hot topic of discussion has been the U2 Tower, the development in the city's docks area that has earned its nickname through the involvement of Bono and other members of the Irish rock band.

Paul Shearer, Times Online

Prices have been falling across most of Ireland, but in the capital developers have not lost their appetite for looking skywards. Dublin, the argument runs, is suffering from urban sprawl. Traffic is clogging up and polluting the city and surrounding suburbs. The city council says that it has been losing tax revenue as business park and retail developments have been built outside the city. So the developers' solution is to build tall in the city centre - a decision that has caused considerable local controversy, as similar schemes have done in London.

Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U2's Bono helped persuade George W. Bush and Tony Blair to increase African aid and cancel a portion of Third World debt. Ireland's most famous rock star is finding it harder to charm Dublin preservationists as he seeks to expand the 177-year-old Clarence Hotel.

The singer failed to win over opponents with several bottles of wine and lunch at the Clarence in September, said Michael Smith, former chairman of An Taisce, an independent planning watchdog. The 150 million-euro ($220 million) project would triple the hotel's size and top it with a panoramic glass bar.

"The Clarence demolition is an old-fashioned money-driven, anti-environmental exploit," said Smith, 42, who attended the lunch. "Bono is behaving like just another private-jet-addicted property speculator feeding on Ireland's greedy zeitgeist."

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

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

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

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