Happy birthday to the best drummer!!!
' My job in the band is to play drums, to get up on stage and hold the band together. That's what I do. At the end of the day that's all that's important. Everything else is irrelevant."
Friday, October 30, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Bono: "U2 are more punk rock now than when we started"
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| Bono and Adam Clayton talk the joys of touring and completing tacks for their new album on The Chris Moyles Show. |
Bono has revealed U2 are more "punk rock" now than they ever were. The frontman and bassist, Adam Clayton, came in to The Chris Moyles Show this morning (28 October), to chat about everything from their new tracks to their current Innocence + Experience tour.
Asked about their huge performances, Bono revealed: "What's so great is to be on stage making that noise that only a Rock 'N' Roll band can make.
"And for (Radio) X and the music you play, it's a great thing when you hear artists like Jimi Hendrix. I'm not nostalgia orientated, but I am orientated to that sound, that rage, and that's Rock 'N' Roll. And that's in our show".
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| Waiting for Chirs...Adam |
Asked about their huge performances, Bono revealed: "What's so great is to be on stage making that noise that only a Rock 'N' Roll band can make.
"And for (Radio) X and the music you play, it's a great thing when you hear artists like Jimi Hendrix. I'm not nostalgia orientated, but I am orientated to that sound, that rage, and that's Rock 'N' Roll. And that's in our show".
He added: "It's funny 'cause we're more punk rock now than we were when when we started.
"In fact when we first started, in the early days of punk, somebody shouted at us on stage: 'There's more punk in The Monkees!'"
The frontman added that the band had "10-12" tracks already written for their new album.
U2 continue their Innocence + Experience Tour this Thursday (29 October) at London's O2 Arena and end their run of gigs at Dublin's 3Arena on 28 November.
http://radiox.co.uk
U2 are among the artists who will vie for honors at the 2015 Billboard Touring Awards
The Rolling Stones, The Grateful Dead and U2 are among the artists who will vie for honors at the 2015 Billboard Touring Awards, scheduled for November 19 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.
The Rolling Stones are finalists in the Top Tour category, which acknowledges the highest-grossing tours of the year. The British rock legends' Zip Code Tour of North American is up against tours by a couple of young pop juggernauts -- Taylor Swift and One Direction.
The Grateful Dead and U2 both are in the running for the Top Boxscore prize, which honors the highest-grossing single engagement by an artist. Both of the famed jam band's respective series of "Fare Thee Well" concerts, which took place June 27-28 in Santa Clara, California, and July 3-5 in Chicago, have been nominated for the award, as has U2's July 18-31 stand at New York City's Madison Square Garden. The Grateful Dead's "Fare Thee Well" shows celebrated the band's 50th anniversary and featured the group's surviving core members -- Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart -- performing with Phish frontman Trey Anastasio and other musicians.
Incidentally, The Rolling Stones took home last year's Top Boxscore award for a February-March 2014 stint the band played in Tokyo.
As previously reported, Bob Seger will be presented with the Legend of Live honor at the 2015 Billboard Touring Awards in recognition of his career contributions to the touring industry. The ceremony will serve as the finale of the 12th annual Billboard Touring Conference, which is scheduled for November 18-19.
http://abcnewsradioonline.com/
Monday, October 26, 2015
Darker Bono still knows what fans are looking for
Having surrendered first the moral high ground with their tax arrangements and then their aura of invincibility with last year’s disastrous launch of the Songs Of Innocence album, U2 had little option but to retreat into their music, where, quietly by the standards of a global phenomenon, they are enjoying a new golden era.
Last night, the Innocence + Experience tour began its London run, before an audience including Noel Gallagher, Bono’s wife Ali, Matt Damon, Javier Bardem, Mariella Frostrup, Simon Mayo, Slaves, John Rocha and George Clooney’s mother-in-law Baria Alamuddin. At the very moment U2 desperately needed to re-state their case for greatness —over more than two hours, always exhilarating, occasionally unsettling and overwhelmingly inspiring — they did precisely that.
Intriguingly, there is new vulnerability and darkness to Bono, whose sense of mischief now seems consigned to history. Before Iris (Hold Me Close), dedicated to the mother who died when he was 14, he admitted “I’ve been trying to fill that hole in my heart with music ever since” and when, at the end of Raised By Wolves, he fell to his knees, hollering “comfort me”, it was as knuckle-clenchingly raw as he’s ever been. He twice railed against unspecified “enemies”, while Bullet The Blue Sky was reworked to include his saga of a boy (presumably his younger self) berating the singer for hobnobbing with the powerful.
If their singer has changed, U2 remain endearingly gauche — and still have the capacity to dazzle. A giant catwalk surrounded by video screens linked the two stages and, during Cedarwood Road, Bono appeared to stroll down the Dublin street that was his childhood home. There were teasing snippets of Send In The Clowns and Mother And Child Reunion, but they slalomed down their mountain of hits.
Sunday Bloody Sunday was stripped and slowed to menacing effect, but wind tunnel versions of Where The Streets Have No Name, Beautiful Day and Vertigo were the full-throttle sound of crowns being reclaimed. They still do this rock band thing better than the rest.
U2 play the O2 Arena October 26, October 29, 30; November 2 and 3,
http://www.standard.co.uk/
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Bricks from the demolished 'U2 wall' at Windmill Lane are to be sold online for charity
There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth amongst U2 fans earlier this year, when the iconic 'U2 wall' at Windmill Lane was demolished.
The studio complex in its entirety - where the band part-recorded albums like 'Boy' and 'The Joshua Tree' - was razed in April, but at least one good thing will come of Dublin losing one of its best-known musical landmarks.
The wall, on which U2 fans from all over the world travelled to see and daub their own graffiti upon, has been saved and will be sold off to fans after studio boss Paddy Dunning (who owns Co. Westmeath's Grouse Lodge Studios and Sun Studios in Temple Bar) approached the construction company with a proposal.
The Irish Sun reports that the money raised from the sales will go to good causes, while part of the wall will go on display at the Irish Rock 'n' Roll Museum Experience in Temple Bar.
Info on buying bricks from the U2 wall will be made available soon via irishrocknrollmuseum.com.
http://entertainment.ie/
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Electric nights in Germany
From 'The Miracle (of Joey Ramone)' to the miracle of 'Electric Co.', has there been a more powerful U2 tour opening than these two songs?
Powerful as ever at the first show in Köln tonight, maybe it was something to do with that walk Bono took earlier in the day, out in the wild on the edge of the city, watching the leaves changing colour.
'Wildness in our heart this evening, that is what we want here tonight.'
This was the band’s first visit to Köln since July 2001 and it brought back good memories. ‘We’re back here in a city with so many strong memories for our band… and we’re here to begin some more memories… thank you for coming out to see us.’
One of those memories was of I Will Follow, the first U2 single released in Germany… and the only song to be performed by the band on every tour since.
'Better sing one about the Missus… what have you got Edge...?'
Edge had The Sweetest Thing and everyone in the house joined in the vocals.
Special mention for 'Pride' tonight, singing for the peacemakers - in Syria, in Israel and Palestine - and namechecking Henriette Reker, local Mayoral candidate, seriously injured with four others in a stabbing in the city earlier today
'Sing for the peacemakers, sing for Henriette Reker and all the others that were injured not far from here...
'Sing for the peacemakers...'
CHAMPAGNE MOMENT IN KÖLN
'I know a girl
A girl called Party, Party Girl
I know she wants more than a party, Party Girl
And she won't tell me her name...'
Can't go wrong with Party Girl, first time out on this leg of the tour and only the fourth outing since 2006 (thanks @U2gigs).
Always a champagne moment and with the band joined by an additional guitarist from the audience (@Bonojour it turns out), the song finished with Bono cracking open a bottle of bubbly and serving the drinks.
Bit of a party all night long actually, and maybe U2's longest ever live set in terms of number of songs. That's the word from Zoo Fan Site Of The Week @U2Gigs (them again) and they got a stat no one was expecting - 27 songs. Seems that's a first.
Another rarity - the second performance in 3 nights for Out Of Control - and another, an earpiece malfunction in I Will Follow.
'Our time in your city has been short but very sweet, an amazing time. Last night was one of the most special nights we've ever had. Anywhere. And that was just a warm up for tonight! We'd like to start by taking you to our home town, to the North Side of Dublin…'
The band were sensing the vibes too: 'Weddings... funerals... bar-mitzvahs. Allow us a moment to be festive and thank you for some incredible shows here in your country. Tonight alongside the best of them…'
Birthday greetings to Bill Gates in Beautiful Day and a special rendition of Happy Birthday before Mother and Child Reunion.
http://www.u2.com/
Bono: a marketing genius and the world’s greatest popular communicator
Bono’s (RED) has raised $300m the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Its mix of celebrities and corporations redefined corporate social responsibility.
As U2 prepare for their first indoor tour for a decade, and the first live action since Bono’s serious bike accident in New York a year ago, is it time to finally recognise the Dublin-born front man as one of the world’s great campaigners?
It could be argued that the Product (RED) campaign, launched in 2006, is one of only a dozen or so marketing campaigns that have genuinely “shaken the world” over the past four decades. Indeed Team Bono, which includes PR adviser Matthew Freud, displays most of the core characteristics of any great modern campaign.
To date (RED), founded by Bono and the US philanthropist Bobby Shriver, has raised more than $300 million for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Moreover, the intriguing mix of celebrities and corporations in ambitious coalition has created a new model for corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns.
Prior to the creation of (RED), the vast majority of the money contributed to The Global Fund – set up as a public-private partnership in 2002 – had come from governments such as the US, Britain, France and Germany. The great achievement of (RED) was to bring corporates and brands fully into the war against these devastating diseases, particularly in Africa, both in terms of funding and public awareness.
The campaign is best known for Bono’s ability to galvanise A-list celebrities and politicians worldwide – from Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss to Desmond Tutu – to contribute their time and image rights to raising public awareness of these issues. However, (RED) is truly groundbreaking because it provides a solution to the tricky conundrum of matching corporate capitalism with civic causes via the charity sector. Freud explains this in typically colourful terms: “(RED) invented a condom that allowed safe sex between companies and charities; a completely transparent relationship between product purchase and charity donation to a particular cause”.
(RED) encourages consumers to buy certain products on the basis that a percentage of their purchase fee would go directly to a specified good cause. The mechanics are upfront and honest and the charity delivery process is set up to be transparent and first class. It was this complex coalition between brands, celebrities, politicians and consumers that has changed the thinking of marketing departments around the globe, both within corporations and NGOs.
(RED) is actually a culmination of a 20-year movement that Microsoft founder Bill Gates coined “conscious consumerism” and whose corporate incarnation can be described as “cause marketing”. Of course, Bono participated in the seminal Band Aid charity single back in 1984, and U2 were central to the Live Aid event the following year. Two decades later it was Bono’s vision, open-mindedness and relentless energy – alongside that of (RED)’s co-founder the attorney and journalist Bobby Shriver – that came up with a consumer marketing solution for this movement.
Between them Bono, U2 and Freud demonstrate the key elements of successful modern campaigns. The first of these – authenticity, clarity of vision and purpose – were apparent from the start.
Despite Bono’s huge wealth and array of business interests, those close to him say that his campaigning around global health remains second only to U2 in his list of personal priorities. Freud describes him as “one of the great global marketeers and the world’s greatest popular communicator”.
“Two pills: magical, astonishing pills, they cost 40 cents and if you have HIV, they will keep you alive,” said Bono in early 2005. “I remember going to Lilongwe, Malawi where there were up to four people to a bed, waiting to be diagnosed… but the diagnosis was basically a death sentence because there was no treatment available; drugs that you could get in any pharmacy in Europe or America. It was an assault on the whole idea of equality, that where you live can decide whether you live or whether you die.” Bono was already working with Aids activists from Africa, and was clearly hell-bent on using his celebrity as currency to get people in Europe and America to take action.
But when it came to the next key element – the strategic creation of a marketing “movement” – Freud’s input was crucial. Indeed during one live performance, when Freud was in the audience, Bono thanked his valued PR man in front of tens of thousands of envious fans. Bono explains: “Matthew’s company not only specialised in corporate PR but his connections and history with Comic Relief and Make Poverty History put him and Freuds in a unique position to understand the complexities around launching a pro-social brand like (RED) in the UK market.”
The final vital element of any great campaign is the presence of big powerful ideas, executed with creativity. And in a masterstroke in 2007, Freud arranged for Bono to guest-edit the Independent newspaper. The cover, designed by Damien Hirst, simply said “NO NEWS TODAY*” and in very small letters at the bottom “*Just 6,500 Africans died today as a result of a preventable, treatable disease”. Based on this success, and Mark Dowley’s introduction to Vanity Fair editor, Graydon Carter, the following year Bono guest-edited the June issue of Vanity Fair, branded “The Africa Issue” and with 20 different covers, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. It featured celebrities dedicated to issues in Africa including Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali and Desmond Tutu. Several such guest-edited issues of newspapers and magazines around the world followed.
Subsequently a raft of new corporate partners signed up. Apple alone now sells half a dozen (RED) products and has contributed more than $100million via the campaign. And this is not to mention American Express, Gap, Armani and Converse.
Strangely, despite their huge fan base and enduring sales, Bono and U2 continue to divide opinion around the world. Overblown, ubiquitous and arrogant are adjectives often attached.
Perhaps it will still take a few decades for Bono’s campaigning work to be fully appreciated and Product (RED) recognised as having truly broken the mould.
Danny Rogers’ new book Campaigns that Shook the World: The Evolution of Public Relations (Kogan Page) is out now
http://www.irishtimes.com/
http://www.red.org/
As U2 prepare for their first indoor tour for a decade, and the first live action since Bono’s serious bike accident in New York a year ago, is it time to finally recognise the Dublin-born front man as one of the world’s great campaigners?
It could be argued that the Product (RED) campaign, launched in 2006, is one of only a dozen or so marketing campaigns that have genuinely “shaken the world” over the past four decades. Indeed Team Bono, which includes PR adviser Matthew Freud, displays most of the core characteristics of any great modern campaign.
To date (RED), founded by Bono and the US philanthropist Bobby Shriver, has raised more than $300 million for The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Moreover, the intriguing mix of celebrities and corporations in ambitious coalition has created a new model for corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns.
Prior to the creation of (RED), the vast majority of the money contributed to The Global Fund – set up as a public-private partnership in 2002 – had come from governments such as the US, Britain, France and Germany. The great achievement of (RED) was to bring corporates and brands fully into the war against these devastating diseases, particularly in Africa, both in terms of funding and public awareness.
The campaign is best known for Bono’s ability to galvanise A-list celebrities and politicians worldwide – from Oprah Winfrey and Kate Moss to Desmond Tutu – to contribute their time and image rights to raising public awareness of these issues. However, (RED) is truly groundbreaking because it provides a solution to the tricky conundrum of matching corporate capitalism with civic causes via the charity sector. Freud explains this in typically colourful terms: “(RED) invented a condom that allowed safe sex between companies and charities; a completely transparent relationship between product purchase and charity donation to a particular cause”.
(RED) encourages consumers to buy certain products on the basis that a percentage of their purchase fee would go directly to a specified good cause. The mechanics are upfront and honest and the charity delivery process is set up to be transparent and first class. It was this complex coalition between brands, celebrities, politicians and consumers that has changed the thinking of marketing departments around the globe, both within corporations and NGOs.
(RED) is actually a culmination of a 20-year movement that Microsoft founder Bill Gates coined “conscious consumerism” and whose corporate incarnation can be described as “cause marketing”. Of course, Bono participated in the seminal Band Aid charity single back in 1984, and U2 were central to the Live Aid event the following year. Two decades later it was Bono’s vision, open-mindedness and relentless energy – alongside that of (RED)’s co-founder the attorney and journalist Bobby Shriver – that came up with a consumer marketing solution for this movement.
Between them Bono, U2 and Freud demonstrate the key elements of successful modern campaigns. The first of these – authenticity, clarity of vision and purpose – were apparent from the start.
Despite Bono’s huge wealth and array of business interests, those close to him say that his campaigning around global health remains second only to U2 in his list of personal priorities. Freud describes him as “one of the great global marketeers and the world’s greatest popular communicator”.
“Two pills: magical, astonishing pills, they cost 40 cents and if you have HIV, they will keep you alive,” said Bono in early 2005. “I remember going to Lilongwe, Malawi where there were up to four people to a bed, waiting to be diagnosed… but the diagnosis was basically a death sentence because there was no treatment available; drugs that you could get in any pharmacy in Europe or America. It was an assault on the whole idea of equality, that where you live can decide whether you live or whether you die.” Bono was already working with Aids activists from Africa, and was clearly hell-bent on using his celebrity as currency to get people in Europe and America to take action.
But when it came to the next key element – the strategic creation of a marketing “movement” – Freud’s input was crucial. Indeed during one live performance, when Freud was in the audience, Bono thanked his valued PR man in front of tens of thousands of envious fans. Bono explains: “Matthew’s company not only specialised in corporate PR but his connections and history with Comic Relief and Make Poverty History put him and Freuds in a unique position to understand the complexities around launching a pro-social brand like (RED) in the UK market.”
The final vital element of any great campaign is the presence of big powerful ideas, executed with creativity. And in a masterstroke in 2007, Freud arranged for Bono to guest-edit the Independent newspaper. The cover, designed by Damien Hirst, simply said “NO NEWS TODAY*” and in very small letters at the bottom “*Just 6,500 Africans died today as a result of a preventable, treatable disease”. Based on this success, and Mark Dowley’s introduction to Vanity Fair editor, Graydon Carter, the following year Bono guest-edited the June issue of Vanity Fair, branded “The Africa Issue” and with 20 different covers, photographed by Annie Leibovitz. It featured celebrities dedicated to issues in Africa including Barack Obama, Muhammad Ali and Desmond Tutu. Several such guest-edited issues of newspapers and magazines around the world followed.
Subsequently a raft of new corporate partners signed up. Apple alone now sells half a dozen (RED) products and has contributed more than $100million via the campaign. And this is not to mention American Express, Gap, Armani and Converse.
Strangely, despite their huge fan base and enduring sales, Bono and U2 continue to divide opinion around the world. Overblown, ubiquitous and arrogant are adjectives often attached.
Perhaps it will still take a few decades for Bono’s campaigning work to be fully appreciated and Product (RED) recognised as having truly broken the mould.
Danny Rogers’ new book Campaigns that Shook the World: The Evolution of Public Relations (Kogan Page) is out now
http://www.irishtimes.com/
http://www.red.org/
Thursday, October 15, 2015
'Hello. Remember us? Two nights at Antwerp,Belgium
'Hello. Remember us? It’s been a while. We didn't intend to be away for so long. We got lost in our songs but somehow we've found our way back to Antwerp. To this small perfectly formed country of Belgium.
'We come from a small but perfectly formed country too and for the next few songs, we'd like to take you to our hometown, to the Northside of Dublin where myself and my bandmates are from because there's a part of us that's still there...'
It has been a while - almost a decade and a half since the band last played Antwerp, on the Elevation Tour in 2001. But if the temperature has fallen outside, with the journey from sunny Barcelona to chilly autumnal Antwerp, it was cooking inside the Sportpalais.
The arena was packed, might have been the biggest capacity of the venues we've played this year, and the Belgians were well up for it.
'at the start of Even Better Than The Real Thing Bono tells people to put their hands in the sky to feel the heartbeat of Innocence... ...and when the band exits the screen to the e-stage, it's feel the heartbeat of experience? Nice shift.' (@atu2)
Sweetest Thing was in the mix last night ('not bad for a two fingered piano player') before Every Breaking Wave took us into the special European sequence of tracks opening with October.
A beautiful little girl found herself centre stage for City of Blinding Lights - she knew the words and got to sit on the drum riser, the best seat in the house. 'See the world in green and blue - here's Lianna right in front of you...'
And Paul Simon's Mother and Child was dedicated to a beautiful new mother and her beautiful new daughter.
'I wanna dedicate this song to a strong, beautiful woman... who's always been our mother.. but just until the last hours she hadn't got a child.. the child's name is Grace... this is for you.... this is a Paul Simon song, we're stealing it to tell the tale...'
'I had the feeling it was out of control...' Second in Antwerp
And the feeling was true in Antwerp tonight, incredible atmosphere from a passionate Belgian audience.
'Wow! That's an incredible noise - we don't expect people to go so crazy on a Wednesday night, but thank you.'
Out of control all night long...
www.u2.com
Monday, October 12, 2015
Four Nights in Barcelona
"October" in October
S
"October and the trees are stripped bare
Of all they wear.
What do I care...'
First of four shows in Barcelona, and the atmosphere was rocking by showtime.
Three songs in and no language barrier here: was that the loudest ever opening to Vertigo? 'Uno, Dos, Trez…Catorze!' The crowd can turn up the volume in this city.
The energy in the house moved from floor to stage and the band were delighted to be back in Barcelona, as Bono noted before introducing Iris.
'Look at you! You look great - haven't changed a bit!
'Even as we circled over your great city today, got this feeling that this is a city that serves beauty and loves artists.
'That's why artists love Barcelona because Barcelona loves artists.
Painters, architects, rock stars... we are here in your city for the next week and at the end of the week we'll give it back to you.
'And now we want to take you to our hometown, to the northside of Dublin where myself and my bandmates are from…'
On opening night in a city, always plenty of people noticing Adam's choice of T-Shirt. It was a shirt with the date 13th Sept 1997, #U2 played in Barcelona Popmart'
The whole house singing 'Ole' after 'Elevation' and then the whole house singing 'The Sweetest Thing', making only it's third appearance on this European leg.
'Not being able to play the guitar has given me a great opportunity to play the piano…' joked Bono, before Edge took over the keyboard for 'Every Breaking Wave'.
Did we mention 'October' in October? The first time this evergreen track has been played during the month of October since 1989 and Memorial Drive Park in Adelaide, Australia. No-one could have predicted how this song could find a new meaning all these years later?
Shoutouts tonight for Paul McGuinness and also for Shakira, who told her huge social media audience just where she was at: 'At U2's awesome concert! Shak.'
'TONIGHT THIS CITY BELONGS TO ME...'
'New York like a Christmas tree
Tonight, this city belongs to me,
Angel...'
Barcelona actually, but who's checking? What a night... and by the way, who said it was Tuesday?
'This feels like the best Saturday night ever,' as Bono put it after Harry stepped off the stage, following a very accomplished guest guitar slot for Angel of Harlem. 'Very cool Harry, very relaxed...'
BEAUTIFUL NIGHT IN BARCELONA
'You're on the road but you've got no destination
You're in the mud, in the maze of her imagination
You love this town even if it doesn't ring true
You've been all over and it's been all over you...'
As fresh as ever, Beautiful Day, fifteen years to the day since release. Pretty great show again tonight and as Bono put it, 'We love your city, we love your country...
Felt like the feeling was mutual right from the get go.
'This is great, we should do this every Friday night... We can be like the house band in Palau Sant Jordi... every Friday night.
'We've been getting out and about in your home town, some eating, some drinking… and then some repenting for the drinking at Sagrada FamÃlia. That was a beautiful church to have been in... spectacular.'
Also some cycling into the country, along the beach… and some watching of the football, as Ireland qualified for next year's European championships, beating Germany, the World Cup holders. 'A very historic event happened… and we had to go back to the pub.'
Something extra special about Invisible tonight, the way the show kicks off again, how you don't know where the band are playing from… until they become visible.
Wearing a tinsel halo, an 'angel of Barcelona' was up on stage for Mysterious Ways and to send Desire out around the universe. 'All this technology so we can get close to our people.'
And then a surprise. 'OK Edge, what do you want now?' Ok, we don't play this one every night...'
They bust out Volcano for Barcelona!'
And Bono becomes one with the audience, crowd-surfing along the i stage.
Back after 9 shows, and only the third time in Europe, that's its tenth performance since release on Songs of Innocence - including a TV debut for Later With Jools Holland. (Thanks @U2gigs).
Not to forget 'Bullet', The Edge channelling something even more powerful than usual.
Bono noticed: 'What is going on with The Edge - that was pretty special.'
Did we say it was fifteen years to the day since Beautiful Day first arrived? That's a song that never stops giving.
SPANISH EYES IN BARCELONA
S
'
'Wey, hey, baby hang on
Wey, hey, baby hang on
Hang to your heartbeat, tight as a drum
Hang on to your love, see it shines like a song
Wey. hey, hey, baby hang on
Our love shines like rain
In those spanish eyes..'
What a show to finish up in Barcelona tonight.
In blue feather boa and cowboy hat, took a moment to realise that that was Javier Bardem on stage, grooving through Mysterious Ways - he's got some moves.
And then, in her platinum blonde bunny girl wig, it was the turn of Penelope Cruz... to try and get Javier off stage.
He wouldn't leave until he'd had his photo taken with everyone in the band and when he was finally escorted away, Penelope stayed to shoot 'Desire' live on Meerkat worldwide.
Great moment with a great couple of Spanish actors and activists and then - it had to be - 'Spanish Eyes'.
A song that made its live debut in Madrid in 1987, this was only the fourth time it's been played in all the years since.
www.u2.com
Saturday, October 3, 2015
Humanitarian award for Adi Roche and Ali Hewson
Adi Roche and Ali Hewson will receive the Princess Grace Humanitarian Award from Prince Albert in Monaco tonight in recognition of their work in helping thousands of children affected by the Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
Ms Roche, peace campaigner and a former presidential candidate and Ms Hewson, Irish activist, businesswoman, and wife of U2 frontman Bono, have raised more than €100m for Chernobyl Children International.
The charity was established in response to the 1986 disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, 95km north of Kiev, near the Belarus border. More than 8m people continue to live in Chernobyl and contaminated areas of Belarus and Ukraine — many of them children.
Chernobyl Children International has brought around 25,000 children to Ireland for medical treatment and recuperation. The children stay with host families during the summer and the charity also flies surgeons to the Ukraine to carry out life-saving procedures on infants.
Ms Roche, from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, but now living in Cork with her husband Seán, established the charity in 1991 after doctors in Chernobyl appealed to anti-nuclear groups to help them get children out of the area. Two years later, Ms Hewson got involved with the charity and they have worked hard to keep it going during difficult financial years in 2012 and 2013 so it could continue with its life-saving programmes. The charity’s financial situation stabilised last year and while Ms Roche is a full-time executive, she works for the organisation on a voluntary basis.
The Ireland Fund of Monaco’s Princess Grace Humanitarian Award will be presented at a gala dinner in Monte Carlo.
Update:
Ali Hewson and Adi Roche were awarded the Princess Grace Humanitarian Award
Ireland’s leading ladies were centre stage at the Ireland Fund of Monaco Ball.
Bono’s wife Ali Hewson jetted into the city to receive the prestigious Princess Grace Humanitarian Award from Prince Albert and was joined by the U2 frontman.
Joined by peace campaigner Adi Roche, both women were recognised for their work in helping thousands of children affected by the Chernobyl disaster.
Opting for a floor-length off the shoulder black gown, Ali paired the look with an oversized clutch.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/http://www.goss.ie/
Friday, October 2, 2015
Bono and Mark Zuckerberg aim to bring the Internet to the globe
They call for Silicon Valley tech companies to take action.
U2 frontman and humanitarian Bono and Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg want to bring the Internet to the entire world. The pair co-authored an op-ed for the New York Times, “To Unite the Earth, Connect it,” in which they laid out a plan to provide Internet access to everyone by 2020.
Today, only about 3 billion people have access to the Internet, less than half of the upwards of 7 billion people on earth. They write: “The Internet should not belong to only three billion people, as it does today. It should be see as a necessity for development, and a tool that makes larger things possible.”
Bono and Zuckerberg argue that international economic development is closely tied to global connectivity. In Ethiopia, access to the Internet has helped farmers get better prices for their crops, track their inventory, and make insurance payments to protect their assets in case of an emergency. In Guatemala, the Internet has given expecting mothers information on how to have a healthy pregnancy.
Bono and Zuckerberg write that 9 out of 10 people living in rural Africa don’t have electricity, so the first step in extending connectivity on a global scale is extending energy access.
They point to a handful of government initiatives that are helping with these goals, but call for the private sector, specifically Silicon Valley tech firms, to build on that foundation:
More technology companies and entrepreneurs must take more responsibility. Silicon Valley should look beyond itself and act more on issues like education, health care and the refugee crisis. We challenge the tech industry to do far more for those most marginalized, those trapped in poverty, and those beyond or on the edge of the network.
http://fortune.com/
Bono at the Global Citizen Festival
The Global Citizen Festival 2015, aimed at taking action against major global issues, took place on September 26th in New York's Central Park. At the festival, the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development, as agreed upon by world leaders, were unveiled and the #62MillionGirls campaign was kicked off by First Lady Michelle Obama.
Bono gave a rousing introduction to Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and her fellow female activists, demanding the audience chant one of his favorite Nelson Mandela quotes, "It is always impossible until it is done."
Bono gave a rousing introduction to Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai and her fellow female activists, demanding the audience chant one of his favorite Nelson Mandela quotes, "It is always impossible until it is done."
https://www.globalcitizen.org
U2 songs featured in Rock Band 4
Videogame makers Harmonix and Mad Catz have announced U2's "Cedarwood Road" and "I Will Follow" will be among the songs featured in the upcoming release of Rock Band 4, available for pre-order starting today. According to the game's press release, "fans can expect additional U2 tracks to be added to the in-game Music Store for download after launch." Other artists include Aerosmith, Avenged Sevenfold, The Black Keys, Elvis Presley, Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, Jack White, Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars, St. Vincent, Queens of the Stone Age, Van Halen, The Who and many others. The game will be released on October 6.
http://www.atu2.com/
http://www.atu2.com/
Every breaking wave nominated for Camerimage award
U2's "Every Breaking Wave" is nominated for Best Music Video and Best Cinematography in a Music Video at the upcoming Camerimage awards.
The festival website describes the event as, "The greatest and most recognized festival dedicated to the art of cinematography and its creators—cinematographers."
Cinematographer Steven Annis and Director Aoife McArdle will be recognized, should the video win. U2's competitors for the awards include Pharrell Williams, Rhianna, Florence and the Machine, and Imagine Dragons.
The winners will be announced at the festival's closing ceremony in Bydgoszcz, Poland on Nov. 21. No word yet on whether any of the band members will attend, but they do have a break between their Belfast and Dublin gigs at that time.
http://www.atu2.com/
Berlin: 22 to 29 September 2015
Four intense nights in Berlin for the iNNOCENCE and eXPERIENCE tour.
O
'I'm ready
Ready for the laughing gas
I'm ready Ready for what's next...'
Zoo Station into the show to mark the band’s arrival in Berlin, Germany... a song made just down the road at Hansa Studios. Went down pretty well online. And after a blistering opening quartet of songs, Bono paused before 'Iris'.
'Here we are in the heart of Europe. The beating heart of Europe. We have many many friends here..sometimes we feel a little too at home here...'
According to the people who know these things (@U2gigs), this was the tenth time the band have played Berlin - they first performed here in 1981 on the Boy Tour. The city was written through the show tonight - with seven songs from Achtung Baby, the album that was born in this city nearly a quarter century ago. Extraordinarily resonant moment when the great graffiti-strewn wall fell from the roof, dividing the venue in two for the The Fly - just like a wall once divided a city and a country. Zoo Station was the biggest surprise, the first time it's been played live for nearly ten years, along with a snatch of Ultraviolet in Beautiful Day and everyone on song for One which closed the night.
'Last night was strong but I can see tonight is going to be even stronger,'said Bono, catching his breath after The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone), Electric Co, Vertigo and I Will Follow.
'Berlin knows what to do on a Friday night.
Berlin knows what to do with the Irish cousins...'
And Berlin is also host to a special anniversary tonight, marked with respect to Herr Mullen, for 'making that great invitation to us, thirty nine years ago... wow!'
Bono returned to the theme introducing Every Breaking Wave.
'I saw that notice and I wanted to be in a band but I didn't think I could be but a friend of mine, Reggie Manuel, the Cocker Spaniel, talked me into it and took me to Larry Mullen's house on his motorbike.
Reggie Manuel, the Cocker Spaniel, is in Berlin tonight and I want to sing this song for him…'
Good to have Reggie in the house tonight and good to have another special guest appearance - underlining the Achtung Baby Berlin vibe in his slicked back hair, devil horns and gold lame suit, and grooving all the way down the stage for Mysterious Ways.
'Wow Mr Macphisto, haven't seen him in a while...'
Special intro to Beautiful Day, as Bono prepares to fly to New York. 'Well tonight, as we sing, as we pray, world leaders at the United Nations are adopting some new Global goals & it's a big deal' (@atu2)
There's a hint of Moment of Surrender as Beautiful Day ends - and it's another night in Berlin where we all surrendered to the music.
New Year's Day in Germany
'All is quiet on New Year's Day.
A world in white gets underway.
I want to be with you, be with you night and day.
Nothing changes on New Year's Day...'
No mistaking those opening chords and the roof nearly came off the Mercedes Benz Arena when everyone realised New Year's Day was making its tour debut.
All in all, it was a special night. As Bono put it earlier, 'This cannot be Monday night... it must be Friday night.' The band have been enjoying life in Germany.
'We've been hanging out here in your fine city... Yesterday we found a pub to watch the Rugby World Cup... and met some people who had come from working in the Syrian refugee camps in Jordan...
Some of them are here tonight, thank you to them for doing God's work.
It's been nice to walk around your home town. Next few songs we're going to walk around our home town... where it all began for us...'
And with that we were into Cedarwood Road. Later Bono mentioned that apart from catching the rugby in Berlin, he'd also found time on the weekend to fly to New York and back. He hinted at the reason in Beautiful Day - 'See the world in green and blue, Global Goals right in front of you' - and then explained some more.
'I had a bit of a mad weekend.. I went to New York for 14 hours... for the launch of the Global Goals… a road map for how we might rid this planet of extreme poverty and turn around the climate crisis in the next 15 years.. so its a big idea…'
It was a moment to thank the people of Germany for their leadership in showing Europe how to respond to the refugee crisis. 'We love this Germany… we are in awe of this Germany.
'I saw your Chancellor, and she wants to make sure that in the next five years we have the first HIV-free generation. We can do that... we really can.'
'Two hearts' on night four
I can't stop to dance
Honey, this is my last chance
I said, can't stop to dance
Maybe this is my last chance...'
All the way from 1983, Two Hearts Beat As One was the set list surprise tonight, only the fourth time in thirty years.
And special mention for film director, photographer and longtime band friend Wim Wenders who was in the house tonight celebrating his birthday, with Bono leading the audience in Happy Birthday.
'In Dublin, where we grew up, sometimes birthdays can go on for a very long time.. like if someone's really... something.. it can go on on for a really, really long time… and tonight is actually the official end of the great Wim Wenders 70th birthday party.. and he's here with us tonight and for Wim Wenders we would like you to sing… Happy Birthday…. what a gift dear friends to this country… great visionary… great man... it is indeed a beautiful day... gift to the world.'
It was always going to be a great night, this last one in Berlin.
'You have made us feel very special, explained Bono after I Will Follow. 'Thank you very much. Maybe you treat all your rock and roll bands like this… its ok... if it's a Summer romance.. just let us know.. but we've kind of fallen in love sort of thing.. we want to take the relationship to the next level.. we are kind of at the moving-in phase… we may not want to move-out phase.. We are liking Berlin a little too-much kind of phase.. but if we are gonna get married then you probably know some stuff about us, where we came from, how we started out... so where gonna take you to where we come from, to our home town… to Dublin, to the North side of the city… to the streets where we grew up.'
Amra, from Sarajevo - also known as @U2_ultraviolet - was volunteering with the ONE campaign at the show yesterday. Tonight she was up on stage for Mysterious Ways, dancing with the band. What a journey. Amra's first ever U2 gig was when the band played Sarajevo in 1997. During the 360 tour she met @harrykantas, another hardcore fan and now her husband. They've been all over this tour…
'I don't even know how this song ends.' said Bono, introducing Every Breaking Wave. 'It's not finished yet.'
And we can't not mention that a great show closed with Bad going into '40' - most people seem to think that is the finest ending to any U2 show ever.
'http://www.u2.com/
On the first night: Zoo station.
O Ready for the laughing gas
I'm ready Ready for what's next...'
Zoo Station into the show to mark the band’s arrival in Berlin, Germany... a song made just down the road at Hansa Studios. Went down pretty well online. And after a blistering opening quartet of songs, Bono paused before 'Iris'.
'Here we are in the heart of Europe. The beating heart of Europe. We have many many friends here..sometimes we feel a little too at home here...'
According to the people who know these things (@U2gigs), this was the tenth time the band have played Berlin - they first performed here in 1981 on the Boy Tour. The city was written through the show tonight - with seven songs from Achtung Baby, the album that was born in this city nearly a quarter century ago. Extraordinarily resonant moment when the great graffiti-strewn wall fell from the roof, dividing the venue in two for the The Fly - just like a wall once divided a city and a country. Zoo Station was the biggest surprise, the first time it's been played live for nearly ten years, along with a snatch of Ultraviolet in Beautiful Day and everyone on song for One which closed the night.
'Last night was strong but I can see tonight is going to be even stronger,'said Bono, catching his breath after The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone), Electric Co, Vertigo and I Will Follow.
'Berlin knows what to do on a Friday night.
Berlin knows what to do with the Irish cousins...'
And Berlin is also host to a special anniversary tonight, marked with respect to Herr Mullen, for 'making that great invitation to us, thirty nine years ago... wow!'
Bono returned to the theme introducing Every Breaking Wave.
'I saw that notice and I wanted to be in a band but I didn't think I could be but a friend of mine, Reggie Manuel, the Cocker Spaniel, talked me into it and took me to Larry Mullen's house on his motorbike.
Reggie Manuel, the Cocker Spaniel, is in Berlin tonight and I want to sing this song for him…'
Good to have Reggie in the house tonight and good to have another special guest appearance - underlining the Achtung Baby Berlin vibe in his slicked back hair, devil horns and gold lame suit, and grooving all the way down the stage for Mysterious Ways.
'Wow Mr Macphisto, haven't seen him in a while...'
Special intro to Beautiful Day, as Bono prepares to fly to New York. 'Well tonight, as we sing, as we pray, world leaders at the United Nations are adopting some new Global goals & it's a big deal' (@atu2)
There's a hint of Moment of Surrender as Beautiful Day ends - and it's another night in Berlin where we all surrendered to the music.
New Year's Day in Germany
'All is quiet on New Year's Day.
A world in white gets underway.
I want to be with you, be with you night and day.
Nothing changes on New Year's Day...'
No mistaking those opening chords and the roof nearly came off the Mercedes Benz Arena when everyone realised New Year's Day was making its tour debut.
All in all, it was a special night. As Bono put it earlier, 'This cannot be Monday night... it must be Friday night.' The band have been enjoying life in Germany.
'We've been hanging out here in your fine city... Yesterday we found a pub to watch the Rugby World Cup... and met some people who had come from working in the Syrian refugee camps in Jordan...
Some of them are here tonight, thank you to them for doing God's work.
It's been nice to walk around your home town. Next few songs we're going to walk around our home town... where it all began for us...'
And with that we were into Cedarwood Road. Later Bono mentioned that apart from catching the rugby in Berlin, he'd also found time on the weekend to fly to New York and back. He hinted at the reason in Beautiful Day - 'See the world in green and blue, Global Goals right in front of you' - and then explained some more.
'I had a bit of a mad weekend.. I went to New York for 14 hours... for the launch of the Global Goals… a road map for how we might rid this planet of extreme poverty and turn around the climate crisis in the next 15 years.. so its a big idea…'
It was a moment to thank the people of Germany for their leadership in showing Europe how to respond to the refugee crisis. 'We love this Germany… we are in awe of this Germany.
'I saw your Chancellor, and she wants to make sure that in the next five years we have the first HIV-free generation. We can do that... we really can.'
'Two hearts' on night four
I can't stop to dance
Honey, this is my last chance
I said, can't stop to dance
Maybe this is my last chance...'
All the way from 1983, Two Hearts Beat As One was the set list surprise tonight, only the fourth time in thirty years.
And special mention for film director, photographer and longtime band friend Wim Wenders who was in the house tonight celebrating his birthday, with Bono leading the audience in Happy Birthday.
'In Dublin, where we grew up, sometimes birthdays can go on for a very long time.. like if someone's really... something.. it can go on on for a really, really long time… and tonight is actually the official end of the great Wim Wenders 70th birthday party.. and he's here with us tonight and for Wim Wenders we would like you to sing… Happy Birthday…. what a gift dear friends to this country… great visionary… great man... it is indeed a beautiful day... gift to the world.'
It was always going to be a great night, this last one in Berlin.
'You have made us feel very special, explained Bono after I Will Follow. 'Thank you very much. Maybe you treat all your rock and roll bands like this… its ok... if it's a Summer romance.. just let us know.. but we've kind of fallen in love sort of thing.. we want to take the relationship to the next level.. we are kind of at the moving-in phase… we may not want to move-out phase.. We are liking Berlin a little too-much kind of phase.. but if we are gonna get married then you probably know some stuff about us, where we came from, how we started out... so where gonna take you to where we come from, to our home town… to Dublin, to the North side of the city… to the streets where we grew up.'
Amra, from Sarajevo - also known as @U2_ultraviolet - was volunteering with the ONE campaign at the show yesterday. Tonight she was up on stage for Mysterious Ways, dancing with the band. What a journey. Amra's first ever U2 gig was when the band played Sarajevo in 1997. During the 360 tour she met @harrykantas, another hardcore fan and now her husband. They've been all over this tour…
'I don't even know how this song ends.' said Bono, introducing Every Breaking Wave. 'It's not finished yet.'
And we can't not mention that a great show closed with Bad going into '40' - most people seem to think that is the finest ending to any U2 show ever.
'http://www.u2.com/
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