Angelique Kidjo "MOVE ON UP"- with Bono and John Legend

Angélique Kidjo, Grammy Award-winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, has published her new work where Bono and John Legend colaborates. The song is called "Move on Up" and is part of her album "OYO" . Angélique is noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. this case is not the exception and the song and the video are worth noticing.

source:www.kidjo.com

"Soon" Makes its Debut in U2360° At The Rose Bowl DVD

U2360° At The Rose Bowl was the penultimate gig of last year's U2360° Tour and the band's biggest ever US show, with a live audience in excess of 97,000. 
The DVD ,which is released today for the rest of the world, was released for UK and US early this week.


@U2 has posted  a very good review by  Matt Mc Gee  that you can read if you follow the link.
One of the novelties of the DVD, apart from the extras and photos, is the inclusion of the song "Soon" (previously known as "Kingdom") which was the introduction of all the concerts throughout the tour.


This is "Soon" (probably included in upcoming album "Songs of Ascent"):









It  can be bought in DVD and Blu-ray versions and there is a deluxe set (first picture) which includes: a 32 page hardback book; limited edition 2-disc DVD of U2360° At The Rose Bowl plus 2 hours of bonus material; 1 Blu-ray of U2360° At The Rose Bowl plus 2 hours of bonus material; 1 vinyl 7inch; 3 U2360° guitar picks; the Tour Programme; a limited edition numbered drawing of final stage design; and 5 art prints in an embossed wallet.


Now if you have not got your copy yet, U2.com has launched a microsite where you can find Live clips, band interviews and commentary from management and production team as the new DVD goes onstage, offstage and backstage when U2360° hits the Rose Bowl.
You have to log in with your Facebook or Twitter account.

source:www.u2.com// www.atu2.com//

Bono's career rescued by surgery

                     Bono and friend Guggi 

Artist Guggi has revealed his relief after his close pal Bono was saved from possible paralysis following his recent back injury.

The dad of four admits he was terrified his friend's career on the stage could be in jeopardy when he first heard the news.

The former singer says he has been in constant contact with the U2 star since he was released from hospital in Munich after undergoing emergency back surgery, and revealed how Bono is devastated that the band had to pull out of the Glastonbury festival.

"I've been talking to him and he's doing as well as can be expected," he told the Diary. "I'm just glad they caught it in time.

"Of course he's devastated about having to cancel the tour. Bono was also very much looking forward to playing at Glastonbury.

"These things happen. We're all wishing him a speedy recovery."

Guggi was speaking at the launch of the U2 360 at the Rose Bowl DVD/Blu-ray Disc at the Lighthouse cinema in Smithfield last night.

Among the guests who turned out for the event, where they had the chance to relive the band's biggest performance of 2009, was Mr Ireland Kamal Ibrahim, model Lianne Kavanagh and a number of music insiders.

Across the hall at the debut screening of feature documentary His and Hers was singer Sinead O'Connor.

Also spotted was Linda Keating, sister of Boyzone singer Ronan.

source: www.herald.ie

More Unknown Early U2 Pictures

The British Auction House, Bonhams, holds a sale of several old photos, among which is  a whole set of U2 ones.

"An historic set of photographs of U2 at the Stella Ballroom, Limerick, Ireland during the Limerick Civic Week Pop '78 Competition, 17th March 1978, comprising thirteen strip negatives and a corresponding set of prints, 20.5 x 30.5cm (8 x 12in), to be sold with copyright"

The sale is on 23rd June and most of the pictures belong to the  event  in 1978 which marked the first time the band appeared under the name of U2. There was a prize of £500 and the promise of a record deal. They had entered the competition under the name they were using at the time, The Hype. However, they felt that if they did well in the competition, they would be stuck with this name and so changed to U2 at the last minute, a choice they had been considering adopting for a while.

On the evening of the event the band found themselves up against a number of other, seemingly more experienced entrants and felt there was little hope of success. As Bono recalled in the book 'U2 On U2', ''There were bands there that could play in time and in tune and with great confidence, all of which we couldn't pull off. But, you know, some bands have everything but 'it'. We had nothing but 'it'.'' They played three tracks, 'Sweet Missions', 'Life On A Distant Planet' and 'The TV Song' and, much to everyone's astonishment, they were awarded first place. It was a pivotal moment for the band and Larry has commented that ''...We had no real idea how winning in Limerick would change our lives.''

One of the images has been used in the photographer's own publicity material in the past but the remainder are unpublished.





source:www.bonhams.com

Mark Knopfler solves Bono's back problems

Or so that  is what  Neil Mc Cormick thinks. Bono´s long-time friend gives us a hilarious account of what is like to be an ageing rocker in his blog in the Telegraph...




Bono isn’t the only aging rocker suffering for his art. As we all know by now, the U2 singer hurt his back during rehearsals and has had to pull out of their much heralded headline spot in Glastonbury and postpone the first half of U2’s north American tour. This is presumably what you get for leaping around like your 19-year-old self at the grand old age of 50. And I say that with some sympathy, cause I’m approaching the half century myself, although the only work related injury I am at risk of is bad posture from sitting at a computer all day typing blogs like this.
Rock and roll can be cruel. If you become famous performing with the energetic abandon of youth, your public will expect you to continue the same way when most of your contemporaries ideas of a physical work out is taking the dog for an arthritic stroll in the park. Last weekend, I watched 65-year-old Rod Stewart wiggling his behind and singing ‘Do Ya Think I’m Sexy?’ To which the only sane answer is surely “put it away grandad, you’re frightening the kids.” Shouldn’t rockers be allowed (indeed encouraged) to age with dignity, like old jazz and blues players. No one ever expected Miles Davis to climb on top of a speaker stack and stage dive the front row at Ronnie Scott’s. Just think, Mick Jagger could stop spending Rolling Stones shows jogging from one side of the stage to the other just to prove he’s still got some puff, and actually stand still and sing a bit.
But it turns out there is one visionary rock star striking a blow for creaky oldies everywhere. Sixty year old Mark Knopfler, currently in the middle of a series of dates at the Albert Hall, has been performing from the comfort of an ergonomically-enhanced swivel chair. The former Dire Straits frontman explained to audiences that he had been having treatment for a trapped nerve in the back, and acquired the chair to aid his recovery. His doctor has apparently given him a clean bill of health, but Knopfler likes the chair and he’s decided to stick with it.
And I say congratulations to Mark, who has made a brave step towards accepting mortality, and rocking on into a golden old age. Henceforth, he shall be known as the Sultan Of Sitting, or the Brother In (an) Armchair.
Even with insurance, U2’s tour postponement is likely to prove very expensive for the band. According to an “Irish music tour insider” quoted in the Irish Times, “U2’s daily tour overhead spend is $750,000. Bono’s back has put them out of action for two months. They’re insured for show postponement, but that’s not the full story. The set-up costs of the three Claws they use was phenomenal. They don’t need this, their insurance company doesn’t need this and the global touring economy doesn’t need this. It’s not just the show day; it’s the three of four days before setting up the stadium, one day stripping it down after, the 200 trucks, the drivers, the security, the merchandising people, the drinks and food people, the programme sellers, costume, make-up and hundreds of other people. U2 would have over 100 permanent touring personnel and an extra 200-300 working personnel at each local venue. It’s the hotels, the flights, the food vouchers. It’s like a small country coming to a standstill.”
And to think, it could have all been saved by an ergonomically-designed stool. Of course, Bono has always been a bit more mobile than Mark Knopfler. But what about an electric wheel chair? Surely he could have rocked Glastonbury from a mobility scooter? Or even better, they could have built a hydraulic arm into the Claw, and whizzed him about over the heads of the flag waving faithful, singing “Stuck In A Moment That You Can’t Get Of’.


Or maybe not. Get well soon, old friend.


source:blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Being Married to Bono Still Doesn’t Guarantee Success

At least on the business side...Jeremy Waite posted this article in his blog, "Sex,Brands & Rock ´n' roll"

I was delighted to read an interview this weekend about Ali Hewson and Bono’s ethical clothing company Edun, which is preparing to be ‘re-launched’ after a couple of years in the wilderness.  They launched the company in 2005 after a visit to a clothing collective in the African town of Lesotho and soon had the fashion world at their feet.  You’d expect nothing less would you?  Married to the most famous celebrity in the world and co-founder of Product (RED), how could it not work?  But the thing was, it didn’t…

Two years after it’s initial launch in Vogue, the company hadn’t made a profit and owed $3.6m in bank loans.  It also owed the 3 shareholders over $7.9m (Ali Hewson, Bono and Bono’s brother Norman).  Not that you think they’d be short of the cash, after all U2′s recent 360 Tour grossed over $311 from just 44 concerts.  Still, with all their contacts you’d expect a certain degree of instant success.  What was refreshing from the interview I read with Ali though was that she insisted that it was a very ambitious business model, and it didn’t expect to make any money during the first 5 years, despite their celebrity status.  Only hard work and determination was ever going to make it succeed.

But even as Edun was haemorrhaging money, they still continued to support it because they believed in it.  They’d been to Africa and seen the kind of difference that supporting the workers could make.  And despite consultants advising otherwise, giving 100% of wholesale profits to the actual people who made them seemed like a great idea.  Of course with all their money they couldafford to believe in it, but surely it’s proportional and all the lessons here are still the same?

I’ve spent over $79,000 trying to grow my own business so far – that’s 1% of the $7.9m that the Hewson’s have lost and no way are they only 100 times richer than me. Jeremy Waite

Famous brands face exactly the same kinds of problems that everyday entrepreneurs like me and you face, only with a few more 000′s on the end.  The point is, at what point do you choose to pull out of a business deal, no matter how much you believein it?

95% of entrepreneurs quit at this point, fearing failure and damage to their reputation.  Only 5% continue inspite of the odd’s, fighting for “The Dip” to start to go upwards until it reaches a tipping point.  For two years, Edun hardly traded at all, due to factory problems in Africa and having to part company with their New York designer Rogan Gregory, yet they still chose to chase the cause they were so passionate about.

I didn’t want my four children wearing clothes that they didn’t know where they came from.  Edun clothes are made with respect for the people who made them. Ali Hewson

In 2007 they chose to pour more money into the company until luxury goods conglomerate Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH) recently bought a 49% stake and ex-DKNY Chief Exec Janice Sullivan was hired.  What I think is beautiful about this story is that the Bono’s actually had more to lose reputation-wise than they had to gain.  Who know’s what a failed business may have done to Bono’s credibility in political circles, charity fundraising and with Product (RED)?

The Moral of the Story…

The key is knowing when to quit and when to fight.  When to decide that, no matter what, you’re NOT going to give up.  Everyone gets excited about an exciting new idea, but two years down the line when the going get’s tough, if your vision and belief isn’t strong enough then nothing will carry you through your dip.  If you are totally passionate about what you do and committed to a vision, then carry on at full speed – ignoring ALL criticism.  Your day with come and your brand will shine, because every good idea has its day eventually.  xx

Way to go Mr and Mrs Hewson!!! Don´t give up and May EDUN and its goal live for a long, long time!!




source:http://jeremywaite.wordpress.com/

First Pic of Bono After Op

This picture was taken by a fan in the South of France yesterday. Bono is looking good so we hope he gets well soon as he rests in his house of Eze, France.