U2 Winner of two Billboard Awards

Bono Awarded George W. Bush Medal for Distinguished Leadership for AIDS Work

Bono was awarded the inaugural George W. Bush Medal for Distinguished Leadership Thursday, with the former president honoring the U2 singer for his work in combatting the HIV/AIDS crisis and poverty in Africa.

In 2002, during a visit to the White House, Bono lobbied the president to lend financial support to a series to humanitarian organizations that would provide financial assistance and help stem the AIDS crisis in poor countries.
"It's a huge honor to [win] this award, and I'm here to honor your leadership on the greatest health intervention in the history of medicine," Bono told Bush Thursday in a conversation that was live-streamed from the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas.

"That's what I'm not sure people understand: 13 million from PEPFAR [President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief], and if you add the Global Relief Fund, it's probably been 21 million lives have been saved by this work that you began and led and I'm here to honor that."

Bush responded, "The truth of the matter is, [PEPFAR] never would have made it out of Congress had you not been engaged. The first time I met you, you knew more statistics, like you were coming right out of the CIA."

Bush added, "Here's the thing about Bono that people got to understand: I like to say he's a real deal. This is a guy who has got a huge heart, obviously a talent, but cares so much about the human condition that he spends an enormous amount of time and capital on saving lives."

Bono also praised the ONE campaign and the American taxpayers for their help. However, the singer expressed concern about whether the Trump White House will continue the fight.

"Tackling a virus like this, if you're not as fast or faster than the virus, it's outrunning you. So all the progress that we made over the years can be undone," Bono warned.

"This was a moonshot, and [Bush] started something that was kind of 'put America on the Moon' in this regard, and I feel like we're just about to land on the Moon, and right now with this administration, we have some problems because they're talking about turning back. And I think we've got to be very hardheaded but making the argument for saving lives. It would be a very un-American thing to get all the way to the Moon and not put an American flag on it."

Bono joked that he was worried he would be fired from U2 over the honor, since his band mates were in Montreal rehearsing for their upcoming tour while the singer was accepting awards from the former president. "I kind of snuck out the back window," Bono told Bush. The singer also expressed his condolences to the Bush family following the death of Barbara Bush earlier this week.


www.rollingstone.com

Bono talks Texas, why he's saluting George W. Bush and the foreign aid argument we're missing

Over the last two decades, Bono has become known almost in equal measure as the frontman of U2, one of the most successful rock bands of all time, and for his humanitarian efforts. It’s for the latter that he’s set to receive the George W. Bush Medal For Distinguished Leadership.

Ahead of his trip to Dallas to receive the award, he talked with The Dallas Morning News. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.


What does good leadership look like to you? What does it mean to be a good leader?

Off the top of my head, I've always thought you're as good as the arguments you get, really. That's probably why I'm in a band and why I'm still married. [Chuckles.] I'm not just in U2. I'm in a lot of band.

I see the One campaign as a band. I see (Red) as a band. I've just started this impact fund called Rise — that's kind of a band with [co-founders Jeff Skoll and Bill McGlashan]. I just always want to be around the right arguments, I suppose, and having people who are smarter than me around. That's just what I've tried to do. And to listen. I'm a talker — sometimes I talk to try and understand subjects, but actually listening. Especially in development work, in any work, but in development work it's critical.

President [Lyndon B.] Johnson was from Texas, right?

Oh yeah, he's a big Texas guy.

Was he the one who said, “If you're talking, you're not learning?”

I'll have to look that up, but it sounds like something he would've said.

Yeah, [imitates Johnson's voice] “You're not learnin' anything if you're talking!”

I was hoping you could talk to me about your approach to activism and humanitarianism and how it's evolved over the years. I'm curious about the differences in strategy between the (Red) campaign and the One campaign.

I always saw (Red) as the sort of gateway drug to the kind of activism that the One campaign does. You know, I think it was [former Senator from Tennessee] Bill Frist ... he's a physician, and he was saying to me, if you want to make this stuff relevant to politicians, then you're going to have to bring it back to the pig roast, bring it back to the people where they live — not just the Capitol. Not just to the media. That was really where (Red) began.

We look at Bank of America and their support of (Red). It's critical in terms of their cash contributions in saving lives, but the amount of neon, of — let's call it, yeah, the neon, the amount of signage in all their branches ... You can't move without seeing the statistics about what America is doing and reminding people that it's a political imperative, using the creativity of corporate America. The creative departments of corporate America — the advertising, the marketing people, we needed particularly in the fight against HIV/AIDS, we needed everybody onboard.

Apple is our most generous contributor. Strange enough, they're most quiet in terms of the neon because they're all very modest. I'm always saying to [Apple CEO Tim Cook], please take a bow here, because we've got to half a billion dollars with (Red) and Apple deserves to take some applause. But also, we need you to make more noise, because as we're discovering, there can be some compassion fatigue.


And we've got budget cuts being pushed by this administration that would decimate not just lives, but all the work we've done. If I can remember it's over 20 million lives would be lost over the next 15 years or so. It's like getting three-quarters of the way to the moon and turning back — it's this great moonshot by America, and it is so close. I think it's the greatest single health intervention in the history of medicine, fighting a single disease and these cuts threaten to destroy it. We need heat to keep the pressure up ...

The government money is obviously doing the heavy lifting. The Global Fund and the stuff that (Red) brings in is really important, but the big numbers [are from government]. That’s why I'm coming to salute President [George W. Bush, whose administration started the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR]. Because in this, the U.S. leads the world, and he brought us there. There were a lot of people encouraging him to do it, I was one of them — it took all kinds of we sort of punk rockers and priests, we of all kinds, gathered in that movement. But he had to show leadership there. And he really did.

With proposed cuts to PEPFAR funding, there's this sense now — and getting back to what you were saying about Bill Frist — how do you bring this back to American taxpayers?  


We're really grateful for the United States for the role that you play in the world, in terms of defense. But if you ask the military men and women, they will tell you that [foreign aid, like PEPFAR] is defense. I went into the Oval office to visit President Bush and I had three pills in my hand and I said, 'Paint them red, white and blue, Mr. President, because these [life-saving medications] are the best advertisements for the United States.' And he laughed.


But actually it's turned out to be true. People love President Bush all over Africa and this is a continent that will be the most powerful player. This demographic bulge will either turn out to be a dividend or a very big problem. For Europe, for the world. I think it's going to be a very great dividend. In fashion, and music and business, I really believe in Africa. But whatever you think about Africa, it is critical that we are with these new African countries that are trying to tackle corruption and put their people first. We need them to succeed.


So, development, alongside diplomacy and defense, I think, was an early Bush doctrine. Whatever you feel about the war in Iraq, [the HIV/AIDs fight] is a monumental achievement by the people of the United States. It is akin, honestly, to the heroism of Omaha Beach or the intervention in the Second World War. I think off the top of my head, it's something like 23 million lives saved through PEPFAR [and the Global Fund] — and think about that!  That is a moonshot, and the only thing I'm sad about is that I don't think Americans know that they've done this. Americans are great at beating yourselves up about stuff, but actually you're really getting this right!

Unless there's a pratfall now, Congress — Republican and Democratic heroes in the House and the Senate — people like [Fort Worth Rep.] Kay Granger, there in Texas, they are not letting this administration screw this up. But I think the best way to ensure that it's not screwed up is if the American people take a bow, and say, wow, we really got this right. That’s why I'm coming to the Bush Center: I feel that I have a duty to report back on what's been achieved, a hell of a lot — a heaven of a lot.



You've obviously done a lot of development work over the last 15, 20 years in Africa and it's not a monolith, obviously, but is there one thing you've learned doing work there that you wish you could go back and tell yourself at the outset, when you were starting out with (Red)?



A Senegalese man in a meeting, he very gently introduced me to a proverb, which was: “If you want to cut a man's hair, be sure he's in the room.” And I felt, you know, gently scolded. We’ve got to watch with this. A messianic complex is a great thing for the lead singer of a rock band, but it doesn't work in development. You have to listen and listen again, you've got to learn from communities what they want.


What year do you think that was?


Probably early — like 2001, 2002, around that time. The One organization has 3 million members in Africa. I think we should've been called a Half, really up until that moment. Though we've had some brutish behavior down there from the leadership that went wrong in the South Africa office, but I'm still sure that we are right to be investing in our African leadership, and I think their voices will drown out ours pretty soon. It's up to 9 million members [total]. Hopefully we can be wind at the back of people who make courageous decisions in Congress, but also we can listen better and learn. We're mostly deployed on the continent of Africa, but I think it's a very exciting place and the best navigation is by Africans. Not by Irish singers.

I wanted to ask you specifically about working with George W. Bush. On its face, that could be an odd pairing, but your goals have sort of aligned over the years. Do you remember the first time you met him and was there anything where you sort of thought, "Huh, really did not see that coming," in interacting with him?


In terms of our bases, our relationship didn't look well on either of us. [Laughs.] I don't think he had much interest in meeting me — and why should he? You know, he'd just taken the Oval Office and he was a busy guy.

The first thing we did together was something that became known as the Millennium Challenge Corp. It was a new approach to development, it was if a country was tackling corruption and could prove the fiduciary quality of a particular investment, whether it be infrastructure, like roads or something, then the United States would invest. And it was a sort of pro-growth strategy and it was — it's not written about a lot. The Millennium Challenge Corp. — it's really innovative, and I think that other leaders are now looking at that in dealing with the problem that we're having now with un-managed migration in Europe. Leaders are seeing the need to invest in African success stories, and so this concept of partnering with people who are ready to be clear and transparent and have a really good plan and strategy, to back that — that was the first thing we did together. It was very practical.

I suppose the thing that surprised me was his sense of humor. It's not new to Texans. I wasn't expecting to belly laugh with this president. I remember riding in his motorcade with him and people were waving, and I said, "Oh, Mr. President, you're very popular, clearly," and he just goes, totally deadpan, "When I first came here, the people used to wave at me with one finger," and that made me laugh. I get it. You know, I might've been one of them.

In my teens even, I'm a protester by nature, and the undoing of my black-and-white view of things as a young man, were things like when people just didn't behave as the caricatures I had been told they were. I just had a lot of surprises. People whom I thought would be total [jerks] turned out to have a humanity and people I thought would be very inspirational let me down.

I started to be suspicious of clear political lines. I came from the left, that's where I grew up on the left, but I would consider myself, I'm interested in the radical center, which is just problem-solving. When it came to working with the world's poorest, the cartooning of people on the right as being totally unconcerned with what the Bible calls the least of these — I think we're misunderstanding the American people and we're misunderstanding conservatives. People laughed openly when we arrived on Capitol Hill to talk about a historic AIDS initiative with a Republican administration. People laughed at us — they really did — they got it wrong. And they underestimated this president.

I think that sort of pragmatism is interesting, especially in the social enterprise space, where you’re saying, hey, this is an opportunity to invest, do some good and if you're investing in infrastructure, make some money — it doesn't have to be either/or all the time.

Well, it's tricky. We’re trying to get rid of what's called tied aid, which is you buy our products and we will help, will feed your starving people. I don't think it should be so binary. I do think it's OK to see Africa — and Africans demand this — as a place to do commerce. And I can tell you that the rise of China did a hell of a lot for Europe and America in buying American products. I remember asking [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, where would the German economy be without the rise of China?


When I'm speaking in the U.K. with people who are suspicious of development assistance and suggesting that we should take these small percentages and keep them for our own problems, I always try to remind them that this is their next door neighbor continent, and their problems will become yours if you're not careful. Also, there's an enormous opportunity here for your financial services, for your engineering, for your manufacturing sector.

We've got to stop seeing this through the old lens, which is very patronizing. You're investing in lives and those lives are important to you. They're important to America, for compassion reasons and also commercial reasons. If I'd heard myself say that in my 20s I might've thrown up, but I'll tell you who wouldn't throw up is my African friends. They see the dignity of trade as a way of making a relationship that was vertical into a horizontal one.


If I could switch it up real quickly, do you have a favorite thing to do in Dallas or in Texas more broadly?


It's funny because for a musician, you think of Austin, Texas, and I think of Willie Nelson. I think of more romantic pursuits like music, but the last time I was out with the Bushes, I went out into the landscape, and I really enjoyed that. I really enjoyed the country life. My missus would slap me around the head for saying that because she's been trying to get me to do more hiking and that kind of thing. But I would like to spend time on trails and I'd like to ride. The Joshua Tree Tour was great, and we played Dallas. That was pretty special.

I enjoyed the president's paintings when I was out there. That made an impression on me, too.


They're something else, huh?


I don't think there could be a more alchemical bond between the subjects and the paint in the hand of this painter. I found some of them quite overwhelming. I loved the attempt to portray these [veterans] as ordinary lives, with the sort of clear fact that they're actually extraordinary lives just under the surface. I liked that. Where do you think I should go? Tell me.


I like Deep Ellum. But that might be crazy on weekend nights. Fort Worth is nice, too. The president probably has better recommendations.


In Fort Worth they have a [painting by Mark] Rothko. And I know that Sean Scully, who's a sort of Anglo Irish giant in painting, I'm pretty sure he's in one of the great museums there. I've got to go to South By Southwest. I've never been, I'm embarrassed.



Jill Cowan,Jill Cowan, Economy Writer

www.dallasnews.com

60th Grammy Awards

During the 60th Annual Grammy Awards, U2 performed “Get Out of Your Own Way” from a barge in front of the Statue of Liberty. As the song ended, Bono referenced Donald Trump’s recent disparaging remarks, shouting, “Blessed are the shithole countries, for they gave us the American Dream.” (It was censored on live TV.) The lines were a variation of Kendrick Lamar’s lyrics from the studio version of the track.  Earlier in the evening, Bono and the Edge participated in Kendrick’s opening performance; they did “XXX.”






Later Bono and Edge  present Bruno Mars with the Grammy for Album of the Year for 24K Magic.

U2 win Global Icon Award at 2017 EMAs

U2, who have now been a formidable force in global music for over 40 years, were deserving winners of the night's award.

Bono and co. received a gushing introduction from actor and 30 Seconds To Mars frontman Jared Leto.

Leto described U2 as the inspiration behind his own band 30 Seconds To Mars, and thanked U2 for their music and "poetry" over the years.

Leto made particular mention of The Joshua Tree, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, as a source of inspiration for him.

U2 had previously performed live from Trafalgar Square in a specially arranged gig that was streamed direct to the main EMA Awards taking place in Wembley.


www.buzz.ie

U2 WINS TOUR OF THE YEAR AT LOS40 AWARDS IN SPAIN

U2 picked up two awards Friday night at the Los40 Music Awards in Madrid. First was the Golden Music Award 2017, a sort of career achievement-type award that was announced earlier this year. The band later picked up a second award, as The Joshua Tree Tour 2017 won for Tour of the Year.
Bono and Adam both gave brief speeches while accepting each award. Bono spoke a bit in Spanish and gave special thanks to U2's Spanish audience. Adam praised U2's crew for the work they do while the band is on tour. They sat at a table with their manager, Guy Oseary, and longtime friend, actor Penelope Cruz.

www.atu2.com

Adam Clayton: ""In our band, no one will be a casualty. We all come home, or none of us come home. No one will be left behind"

In a frank and heartfelt speech, U2 bassist Adam Clayton thanked his bandmates of four decades for their support during his treatment and recovery for alcohol abuse years ago, and then joined them for a rollicking rendition of a few hits.

"We have a pact with each other," said Clayton, 57, who was receiving an award from MusiCares, the charity arm of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. "In our band, no one will be a casualty. We all come home, or none of us come home. No one will be left behind. Thank you for honoring that promise, and letting me be in your band.

He ended by quoting lyrics that Bono, U2's frontman, had written when the band was starting out: "If you walk away, walk away, I will follow." At that, his bandmates came out to join him, performing "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of," ''Vertigo" and, fittingly, "I Will Follow."

The evening at the PlayStation Theater in Times Square also featured performances by rapper Michael Franti, Jack Garratt, reggae singer Chronixx, Macy Gray, and The Lumineers, who are currently appearing with U2 on their Joshua Tree tour.

Clayton was introduced by British record producer Chris Blackwell as someone who "lived through addiction and came out the other side, and has been courageous enough to admit it."

Taking the stage, the bassist quipped: "I'm not used to achieving anything on my own."

Turning serious, he said: "I'm an alcoholic, addict, but in some ways that devastating disease is what drove me towards this wonderful life I now have. It's just that I couldn't take my friend alcohol. At some point I had to leave it behind and claim my full potential."

He said part of the reason he had a hard time quitting drinking was that, "I didn't think you could be in a band and not drink. It is so much a part of our culture."

It was Eric Clapton, he said, who finally told him he needed help.

"He didn't sugarcoat it. He told me that I needed to change my life and that I wouldn't regret it," Clayton said. He credited another friend, The Who's Pete Townshend, for visiting him in rehab, where he "put steel on my back."

As for his bandmates, Clayton said, "I was lucky because I had three friends who could see what was going on and who loved me enough to take up the slack of my failing. Bono, The Edge, and Larry (Mullen) truly supported me before and after I entered recovery, and I am unreservedly grateful for their friendship, understanding and support."Clayton received the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his support of the MusiCares MAP Fund, which offers musicians access to addiction recovery treatment.

Arriving at the theater earlier, he told reporters the fund was especially important given the current epidemic of opioid addiction. "MusiCares ... really provides funding for a lot of people to look into those things and find help," he said.

He added that his bandmates had been supporting him for 40 years.

You know, I guess they loved me before I knew how to love myself," he said. "So it's really important that they share this with me.

http://www.billboard.com

Edge received the Les Paul Spirit Award

In private tent on the Bonnaroo grounds, The Edge received the Les Paul Foundation’s second annual Les Paul Spirit Award. It recognized his status as an innovative artist whose embrace of technology (like his signature “delay effect”) has taken him to new creative heights






www.u2.news

Adam Clayton to receive MusiCares addiction recovery award

U2 bassist will be honored at the MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in New York on June 26 in support of MusiCares' addiction recovery programs


MusiCares has announced that the 13th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert will honor 22-time GRAMMY winner Adam Clayton of U2 at PlayStation Theater in New York on June 26.

Clayton will receive the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award in recognition of his dedication and support of the MusiCares MAP Fund as well as his commitment to helping others with the addiction recovery process. Performers will be announced shortly.

Brit Award-winning singer/songwriter Jack Garratt and GRAMMY-nominated folk-rock band the Lumineers will be among the artists to pay tribute to U2's Adam Clayton at the 13th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert on June 26 at the PlayStation Theater in New York City.

A 22-time GRAMMY winner, legendary bass player Clayton will give a closing performance at the event and receive the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award in recognition of his dedicated support for the MusiCares MAP Fund, improving access to addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community. GRAMMY winner Hal Willner will be the evening's musical director.

Lauded as one of Britain's freshest talents, Garratt recently played at the 2017 installment of Coachella. His debut album, 2016's Phase, reached No. 3 on the UK album chart on the strength of the hits "Worry" and "Breathe Life."

Touring in support of their 2016 album, Cleopatra, the Lumineers  are currently opening shows for U2's U.S. tour celebrating the 30th anniversary of GRAMMY Hall Of Fame recording The Joshua Tree.

Support MusiCares by buying the new Don Williams tribute album


https://www.grammy.com

Bono declared honorary citizen of Sarajevo

With 31 votes in favor and none against representatives of the Assembly HP decided that Paul David Hewson, better known as Bono, an honorary citizen of Sarajevo.

Besides being a very talented musician and songwriter, this recognition was awarded to Bono because he is a great humanitarian and uses his status as rock stars  to help others.
"During the siege of the Bi- capital, Bill Carter made documentary' Miss Sarajevo', which was produced by Bono and  it was made a song. Bono did not  keep quiet and watch the suffering of the citizens of B-H and he warned the world on developments in the  country  with the language of art.

During the show in Bologna on 17 July 1993, via satellite link  the show connected the image to Sarajevo, where Bill Carter interviewed citizens of Sarajevo who spokeabout  the discomfort  in the country. This move of the Irish band started the British and world media to tackle the issue of  the suffering B-H. citizens in the war.

 From that day  a strong bond between the  frontman of  U2  with the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina was created. He pointed in 1997, when, despite the loss of 500,000 pounds, ranked Sarajevo on the list of  "PopMart" tour and on  23 September they  held a spectacular concert.

Bono stayed in touch with Sarajevo and was a guest of the Sarajevo Film Festival  where he  received an honorary passport B-H.

Bono is well known for his  humanitarian work in African countries. He often meets with world leaders to help third world countries.

He is awarded  a HP plaque that will be presented to the Special Olympics BiH.

https://www.klix.ba

Bono at SkollFoundation at Oxford, April 5

Bono accepts the Skoll Global Treasure Award at the Skoll World Forum. Past recipients include the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. After the ceremony Bono joins Michael Franti and Don Henley in singing Franti's "My Lord," and John Lennon's "Imagine." 

Bono's appearance at the Skoll World Forum  wasn't just another chance for him to talk about the humanitarian issues near and dear to his heart. In addition to a lengthy sit-down conversation with Forum founder Jeffrey Skoll, Bono also accepted the Skoll Foundation's Global Treasure Award and sang at least a couple songs.

source:ATU2//Skoll.org

ADAM CLAYTON TO RECEIVE MUSICARES ADDICTION RECOVERY AWARD

U2 bassist will be honored at the MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert in New York on June 26 in support of MusiCares' addiction recovery programs

MusiCares has announced that the 13th annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert will honor 22-time GRAMMY winner Adam Clayton of U2 at PlayStation Theater in New York on June 26. Clayton will receive the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award in recognition of his dedication and support of the MusiCares MAP Fund as well as his commitment to helping others with the addiction recovery process. Performers will be announced shortly. 

MusiCares offers a variety of addiction recovery services, including their signature MusiCares MAP Fund. Developed as a pool of resources to address addiction and recovery needs, the fund provides addiction recovery treatment and sober living resources for members of the music community, regardless of their financial condition. The MusiCares MAP Fund acknowledges that a vital part of recovery consists of ongoing support aftercare services.

With 22 GRAMMYs, U2 are among the top GRAMMY winners of all time. The quartet — comprising frontman Bono, bassist Clayton, guitarist The Edge, and drummer Larry Mullen Jr. — are the only group in GRAMMY history to earn Album Of The Year twice, winning for The Joshua Tree for 1987 and How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb for 2005.

"We are extremely pleased that our annual MusiCares MAP Fund benefit concert is returning to New York City, and paying tribute to such a genuinely talented and influential artist as Adam Clayton," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy and MusiCares. "Adam is a hero to fans and music creators around the world, and he is also a hero in the world of recovery for his fearless determination to give voice to the issues of addiction that affect — and all too often devastate — our music community."

"MusiCares does such vital work in helping vulnerable people across our industry," said Clayton. "I know from experience the importance of an accessible, supportive environment in times of need and I'm always happy to do what I can to benefit this important organization. I'm very much looking forward to the event in June."

www.grammy.com

Bono urges Donald Trump to prioritise gender equality

Ali Hewson and Bono with their daughters Eve Hewson and Jordan Hewson at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in Hollywood (AP)

Bono has urged US president-elect Donald Trump to make gender equality "a priority" as the U2 singer was honoured at Glamour's Women of the Year awards.

The Irish musician received the magazine's first Man of the Year award at the star-studded ceremony in Los Angeles.

On stage, Bono said: "I know how ridiculous it is for me to be on this stage accepting this award. B ut if I didn't know how ridiculous it was, I did have the blessed internet to remind me.

"As my daughter Jordan says, there is nowhere on earth where women have the same opportunities as men.

"Unless we address this problem, both men and women together, the world will continue down this misogynistic, violent and impoverished path.

"I say to the president-elect: look across to women, make equality a priority, it is the only way forward.

"The train is leaving the station, be on it or be under it."

Bono joined International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Christine Lagarde, singer Gwen Stefani and Olympic gymnast Simone Biles on the list of winners.

He was recognised after his One campaign launched a "Poverty is Sexist" movement last year.

In a letter to world leaders, Bono and a host of celebrities including Sir Elton John, Robert Redford and Oprah Winfrey called it an outrage that girls account for 74% of all new HIV infections among adolescents in Africa.

At the awards ceremony, actress Amber Heard read the victim impact statement of the survivor of the Stanford sexual assault case, known only as Emily Doe.

The poignant letter went viral earlier this year amid criticism of the six-month sentence handed to former Olympic swimming hopeful Brock Turner for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman at the US university campus. He was released in September after serving half of his term.

Heard, whose high-profile divorce battle with Johnny Depp involved allegations of domestic abuse, joined fellow actresses Gabourey Sidibe and Freida Pinto on stage to read the letter.

Addressing Emily Doe, Heard said: "Wherever you are, we know you are listening. Thank you for your words. Thank you for your courage. We carry it with us every day."

Lena Dunham, the creator of comedy television series Girls, fought back tears as she spoke about the Stanford case and described being a victim of sexual assault herself.

She said: "When I was assaulted I lived with guilt that I had been out, wasted in a party dress, and feared I was as inconsequential as I had been made to feel when I woke up on the floor.

"Emily's statement was a gift to survivors like me, one we will work very hard to repay through our honesty and our actions. Thank you Emily."

Lagarde, managing director of the IMF, received a lifetime achievement award at the ceremony at NeueHouse Hollywood.

Accepting the honour, she said: "Receiving a life achievement (award) is probably something close to being almost buried. I was a bit concerned about this award tonight, but I'm extremely proud to receive it.

"No matter what sorrow, sadness and frustration we feel, we have the fight. We have to grit our teeth and smile as my old national synchronised swimming team used to say to us.

"What I hope is all the young girls, all the girls to be born, will be empowered to be leaders in finance, leaders in politics and leaders in anything they choose to accomplish, and will be free and not the victim of any discrimination."

Other award winners included fashion designer Miuccia Prada, IS kidnap survivor Nadia Murad, Black Lives Matter activists Patrisse Cullors, Alicia Garza and Opal Tometi, model and body activist Ashley Graham and actress and campaigner Zendaya.

Press Association

http://www.independent.ie/

Bono on "Woman of the Year" Award

Watch this video on The Scene.

Bono Reading Mean Tweets is Actually Spot on

"Sure, Glamour named Bono 'Woman of the Year' but in their defense, the Transitions lenses do make him look like a 75-year-old lady from Miami"


http://video.glamour.com/

How U2 plan to release their new album | Q Awards 2016

George Godfrey chats to The Edge and Adam Clayton from U2 backstage after they picked up 'Best Live Act' at the Q Awards 2016. They chatted about their incredible live show, business cards they want to grab and a novel plan for releasing their new album.

Absolute Radio: http://absrad.io/21DmMuB

'BEST LIVE ACT'

Edge and Adam were at The Roundhouse, in London's Camden Town, as U2 were honoured with 'Best Live Act' at the Q Awards and Edge was presented with the Les Paul Award.

'I've been doing shows with this band for forty years now, ' said Edge as he and Adam accepted the award for Best Live Act from Jack Garratt , 2016 Q Breakthrough Act.

 'And one of these days I swear we're going to get it right.'

He remembered how, just a couple of nights back, he'd been sitting on a terrace looking out over the ocean in France. 

'And for some reason this Bob Dylan lyric from Idiot Wind came into my head and it was 'when you reach the top you realise that you're really on the bottom.' 

And I thought about it for a moment and I thought, 'That is such a load of bollocks! This is GREAT! I love it!'

'So I just want to say that we don't take this for granted in our band, we really try to make sure that every show is a great show and we are grateful to everyone who has ever bought a ticket or an album. Thank you very much.'

It was an 'amazing tour, ' added Adam. 'An emotional rollercoaster, due to the events in Paris last December and it was great that we were able to perform with the Eagles of Death Metal back on stage before the end of the year.'
Edge was also awarded the Q Gibson Les Paul Award too.

http://www.u2.com/

Adam at GQ magazine event

Adam and his wife Mariana attended the event at the gallery, Tate Modern in London.

On the occasion,  GQ magazine was celebrating  the Men of the Year award.The GQ Men Of The Year Awards in association with Hugo Boss are now in their 19th year, celebrating over 400 men - and more than a few women - who all represent GQ, from the best of film, music, sport, TV, books, politics and more: from Simon Pegg and Amy Schumer to Elton John and Aiden Turner; from Chris Pine to Michael Caine and Nile Rogers to Patrick Stewart.

"We are family" award

Bono surprised a New York audience Friday night when he jumped off the stage at the Hammerstein Ballroom midway into "Mysterious Ways." It was the last song in a short set of U2 tunes that the singer was performing with Nile Rodgers and Chic at the We Are Family Foundation gala, and the revelers – most of whom had left their $1,500-a-plate tables to dance up front – made an easy path for him. He stopped midway through the room, climbed on a chair and belted the song's lyrics about how the "spirit moves in mysterious ways." Then, in just a few strides, he made his own mysterious way out of the building – but not without speaking the night's motto as Rodgers' guitar rang out the song's final notes: "We are family."


Rodgers and his wife, Nancy Hunt, put the event together to raise money for the We Are Family Foundation, a not-for-profit organization that aims to promote a "global family" by focusing on educating young adults about respect and diversity. Early in evening, the Chic guitarist said his goal was to raise $1 million for the Foundation, which they ultimately accomplished with an auction, but the event as a whole also seemed like a celebration of creativity and compassion.

In addition to Bono, whose efforts to combat poverty in Africa and AIDS around the world, the event honored President Jimmy Carter, who accepted a "Peacemaker" award named after a young poet he once befriended, Mattie Stepanek, who had died at age 13 in 2004 after a battle with a rare form of muscular dystrophy. Between Bono's moves and Carter's moving speech, it was a gala full of surprises.

At the beginning of the evening, Rodgers stepped up to the podium holding a Stratocaster and began to tell the story of how he'd written "We Are Family," after using a sequence of chords he'd heard in a song by Children of God. "I only play that as an example that you can get an idea, and it just germinates and it blossoms and it grows – especially if you care and you have a big heart," he told the crowd. "That's what we stand for." Throughout the night, he and Hunt demonstrated that philosophy as they welcomed "youth ambassadors" to discuss how the organization had benefited them.

One young person who was involved with the We Are Family Foundation from its inception was Mattie Stepanek, whose mother Jeni gave a passionate speech about her son's admiration for Carter. Mattie had become infatuated with Carter and wanted to emulate his peaceful philosophies, and he got to share a friendship with the president a few years before his death. When Carter spoke, he dedicated his touching speech to Stepanek's memory. He talked about how the last three years of his young companion's life had affected him greatly ("It was a valuable friendship, an enjoyable friendship and it grew day by day," he said) to the point that when he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002, he said he felt like Stepanek shared the honor with him.

"I've known many famous people: kings and queens, great scientists, presidents, prime minister," he said. "I've known Mother Teresa. Nelson Mandela was a great friend of mine. We spent many times together. But I can tell you without equivocation that the most remarkable human being I've ever known was Mattie Stepanek."



After Carter spoke, the Foundation recognized the Adobe Project 1324, which promotes positive social change among young adults through creativity, and it began an auction. Items up for bid included dinner with Rodgers, a Greek getaway, an opportunity to showcase three songs for the CEO of Atlantic Records and a guitar lesson with Rodgers, among others. The pièce de résistance turned out to be the guitar Rodgers played during the David Bowie tribute at this past February's Grammys ceremony. It had been signed by Lady Gaga, LL Cool J, Dave Grohl, Beck, Skrillex, Rodgers and others, but as it went up to the crowd with a starting bid of $10,000, Bono autographed it and it sold for $100,000.

But Bono's true value at the event was not just his signature. Before the event began, Rodgers told Rolling Stone on the red carpet what it meant to him to have the U2 singer there. "Not only is Bono an incredible friend but he is at the top of the food chain when it comes to being a philanthropist and just a great humanitarian," the guitarist said.

When Bono accepted the honor, he gave his trophy to a young woman from the We Are Family Foundation who had introduced him ("It's better to give an award than to receive it," he said). "[With] the We Are Family Foundation, the gift is not just to see the future but to find those who can build the future," he said.

Bono then spent most of his time talking about the other luminaries there: Rodgers and Carter. He praised the way the guitarist had turned bad times growing up into (the song) "Good Times." Regarding Carter, Bono said that growing up during the Troubles in Ireland, he'd been impressed that the president quoted Bob Dylan and had an affinity for quoting scripture. "He presented a whole different way of thinking about American power," he said. "He made human rights a national mandate. He counted his success not by the wars that he waged but by the peace he made possible." He closed by comparing Carter to "great heroes of peace": Robert Kennedy, Mother Teresa and Martin Luther King, Jr., just as Rodgers and Chic – all dressed in white – kicked into U2's King tribute "Pride (In the Name of Love)".

Before the event, Rodgers told Rolling Stone that he'd asked to play "Pride," as it was one of his favorite songs. With Chic, the song picked up an almost transcendent quality as the beat got a little more disco-y, Rodgers played the riff crisply and the horn section played the occasional accents around Bono's "whoa-oh-oh-oh."

The Chic guitarist also picked the other selections. The guitar line in "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" rang anew as a more subtle song, gilded with female backup vocals and Rodgers' a bluesy, buoyant solo, as Bono sang the melody soulfully and smiled wide. "Beautiful Day" was greeted with a huge audience response, as fans danced and waved glow sticks previously used during the auction in the air. Bono just nodded along, grinned and blissed out.



"It's a very special feeling to be on this stage with this extraordinary band and these singers," Bono told the audience between songs. "It's a very incredible thing for me not to be onstage with my three brothers. I always feel like one quarter of an artist without them."

He also talked about Rodgers' importance to his band. "Edge doesn't look up to many guitar players, but Nile's right at the top for him. I tried to get the band here, but everyone's doing something. I said, 'Edge, this is such a hero to you.' He said, 'Listen, I just can't get out of something.' I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'I'm doing a gig in the Sistine Chapel with the Holy Father.'" The audience laughed. "I said, 'Well, I'm doing a gig at the Hammerstein Ballroom, and we are going to turn it into the cathedral that it has been over the years for rock & roll music and hip-hop and dance music. And I am with the 'groove Pope.' To which Edge had nothing to say." He introduced "Mysterious Ways," which took on new life with a horn part that swelled with the guitars, and then disappeared into the crowd as it ended.

After a brief pause after Bono's departure, Rodgers led Chic in a thrilling set of hits he'd written and produced over the years. "Stay there," he told the crowd. "It's party time." From Chic's "Everybody Dance" and "Le Freak" to "Let's Dance" by "the man who changed my life," David Bowie, and Daft Punk's "Get Lucky," it was a showcase of Rodgers' breadth. He played his oft-imitated jittery, nimble guitar lines as the audience danced and swelled toward the stage around the tables up front. The night ended, of course, with Sister Sledge's "We Are Family." Dozens of concertgoers stormed the stage, as Kathy Sledge sang the anthem next to Rodgers. It was a display of unity. "I hope to see everybody next year," said the guitarist. "Let's do it again."



 http://www.rollingstone.com

Ali Hewson ,Honorary Doctorate of Letters

The University of Limerick has  awarded Honorary Doctorate of Letters to Chernobyl Children Internationa, founder and voluntary CEO Adi Roche and board member and activist Ali Hewson. Both Adi and Ali are champions of human rights and were honoured for their work with the children of the stricken regions of Chernobyl, who continue to suffer as a result of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

Adi and Ali believe institutional care is a human rights violation and because of this they have developed pioneering interventionist programmes for the rights of children with the eventual aim of closing down institutions across the Chernobyl affected regions. Adi and Ali have collaborated on a number of projects together including independent living facilities for young adults with disabilities, baby hospices, adoption agreements and documentaries. In 2015 Ali and Adi were awarded the Princess Grace Award for their work in the Chernobyl affected regions.

http://www.chernobyl-international.com/

U2’s Incredible Career & Activism Is Honored With iHeartRadio Innovator Award

U2 received the Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards on April 3, celebrating the band’s legendary career and activism. After Pharrell Williams honored a band that ‘reinvented’ music, Bono and The Edge dedicated their award to musicians still fighting for free speech around the world!

What a beautiful day! It’s a prestigious honor given from one innovator to another, as Pharrell Williams, 42, presented U2 –with the third ever Innovator Award at the iHeartRadio Music Awards!

I guess a band still using bass, guitar and drums, after rock and roll was invented, doesn’t sound so innovative,” Bono said after he and The Edge accepted the award at the April 3 awards ceremony. “But, it turns out rock and roll has more to do with spirit than flesh.” The two then celebrated Pharrell, the first ever iHeartRadio Innovator award winner and presented of this year’s award.

“They speak up for the voiceless and they tell the truth,” Pharrell said while introducing the band. “Millions of people are alive today because of what they’ve done…making AIDS medication affordable for all. These are the type of guys who, when they see a problem, they don’t just sing about it, they try to fix it.” Right on, Pharrell! Bono and The Edge even dedicated their award to those fighting for the right to perform freely in oppressive countries today!

“U2 is a band of activists, not only in music but in politics, popular culture and human rights,” John Sykes, president of iHeartMedia’s entertainment enterprises, said in a statement, per Billboard. They began as a punk band and that attitude still runs strong throughout their songwriting, albums and live performances. They will never stop testing the limits, and that’s why we are honored to recognize them with this Innovator Award.”

http://hollywoodlife.com/