'Invisible' will debut during the Super Bowl, and will help raise funds for the fight against AIDS.

U2 shoots a commercial for their song "Invisible" for (RED) to raise money for the fight against AIDS in Africa. The commercial will debut during the Super Bowl and the song will be downloadable for free for 24 hours following on iTunes. For every download, Bank of America will donate $1 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria.(Photo: Brantley Gutierrez)

"A bit of jiu jitsu" is how Bono characterizes the process of introducing a new U2 song during Sunday's Super Bowl broadcast.

A video featuring the band performing Invisible, the track in question, will be featured in a commercial launching a partnership between (RED) — the non-profit organization co-founded by Bono and Bobby Shriver to support the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — and Bank of America.

The spot will end by directing fans to a free download on iTunes. From 6 p.m. ET Sunday to 11:59 p.m. on Monday, Bank of America will donate one dollar for each download, up to a total of $2 million, to the Global Fund. (The song will no longer be available on iTunes as of Tuesday.)

"We're taking all the energy around the Super Bowl and interest in what U2's doing and flipping it," Bono explains, "into the fight against HIV AIDS."

Invisible is not, U2's frontman notes, the first official single from the group's long-awaited new album, expected later this year. "We have another song we're excited about to kick off the album," he says. "This is just sort of a sneak preview — to remind people we exist."

The track was chosen because "it's the first one we finished," Bono says, chuckling. The band has "lots and lots of songs" compiled, he adds, but will continue to work on the album "for a couple of months. We want it to come out this summer, but you don't want to let anyone down."

Bono says that (RED) wanted to collaborate with Bank of America in part "to tell Americans how extraordinary they've been in the fight against AIDS." The ONE Campaign, (RED)'s parent organization, has determined that nearly seven million lives have been saved by the USA's donations to the Global Fund and the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), established under President George W. Bush.

"I'm not sure that American taxpayers know that, and it's worth for a moment noting how heroic the struggle has been. The seven million, they know, and they're very grateful. All over the continent of Africa, if you poll people, you'll find respect for the (USA) very high."

Anne Finucane, global strategy and marketing officer for Bank of America, says, "We saw in working with U2 the opportunity to engage and excite a consumer base with the band's music and with (RED)'s mission. Bono was very focused; he has applied the same rigor to this effort as I'm sure he does to his music."

The commercial went through several stages of development. "One plan was for us to go knocking on doors in the middle of America, thanking people for saving lives," says Bono. "But a couple of band members thought that might seem self-aggrandizing."

When his bandmates "agreed to give their song away," Bono was "amazed" — but not entirely shocked.

"They don't like to talk about it, but they gave $11 million of (U2)'s last tour to (RED)," he says. "They're big supporters. And I'm very proud of them for this."

http://www.usatoday.com/

Bono reaches back, looks ahead in music, philanthropy

Bono of U2 performs onstage during the third-annual Help Haiti Home benefit at the Montage Beverly Hills on Jan. 11, 2014 in Beverly Hills, Calif.(Photo: Jonathan Leibson, Getty Images for J/P Haitian Relief Organization)

"It's a rainy Dublin day — what's new?" Bono jokes, calling from home. A moment later, though, sharing lyrics from a new U2 song called Invisible, the band's frontman turns reflective.

"It opens with, 'It's like the room just cleared of smoke/I didn't even want the heart you broke/It's yours to keep/You just might need one,'" he says. "Then it goes, 'I finally found my real name/I won't be me when you see me again/No, I won't be my father's son.'"

Bono pauses. "That's a heavy thing, I realize, as a father myself — to not take your family name, you know? I'm known as Bono. And I realize now that all the angst and rage I had at that time," during his youth, "must have really hurt (my father). I thought my family was the problem, but I was the problem. A typical thing."

The man born Paul David Hewson, who is now 53, and lost his dad 13 years ago, reached back a lot in working on U2's upcoming album — which, incidentally, still doesn't have a release date.

"We've been at it for a while now," Bono admits, his tone becoming lighter again, and self-effacing. "In this band, a song isn't finished until it's being sold online, or in the shops. And even then, Edge might try to remix it."


It has been nearly five years since Bono, The Edge and bandmates Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. released their last studio album, 2009's No Line on the Horizon, and they know fans are getting itchy. A U2 song, Ordinary Love, was featured on the soundtrack to last year's biopic Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom; it won a Golden Globe Award for best original song earlier this month, and is up for an Oscar in the same category.

Bono says Love was inspired by late South African president Nelson Mandela's love letters to his former wife, Winnie. "They're really worth reading, with this very quaint, almost archaic language that's tender and beautiful." The activist-turned-political leader had Shakespeare's works smuggled to him while in prison, Bono notes.

The songs being readied for U2's new album draw inspiration from the more recent past. "We went back to the reason we wanted to be a band in the first place. We started listening to music from the late '70s, remembering our early trips to London," he says. "I remember being with Ali, my girlfriend at the time — now my wife — feeling incredibly uncool in the middle of this punk-rock explosion."

Not that the album will be a nostalgia trip. "There are some very different moods, and some extraordinary guitar stuff out of Edge," with modern-rock and R&B savant Danger Mouse producing "most of" the album — though the group "might experiment with some new people" in the final stages, Bono says.

Adam Clayton, Bono, The Edge and Larry Mullen, Jr. of U2 win the Golden Globe for best original song from a motion picture with their 'Ordinary Love' from the movie 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' on Jan. 12, 2014.(Photo: Paul Drinkwater, NBC)

"As a band, we never think about the past," Bono says. "But going back to the '70s as a starting point brought up so much, just to return to that moment when you're formed. I started dating Ali the week I joined U2, I think — a good week."

That period marked a political coming of age for Bono as well. He cites Mandela and Bishop Desmond Tutu as key figures in his becoming an activist, "anti-apartheid and anti-poverty. These two men turned our lives upside down — or rightside up, more accurately. ... Mandela gave this beautiful speech in (London's) Trafalgar Square in 2005, where he said that poverty is not a natural condition. It is man-made; it can be overcome by the action of human beings."

That philosophy got Bono involved with the cause of international debt relief 15 years ago, and continues to propel his advocacy against extreme poverty. He has "made some unlikely bedfellows" in the process, courting conservative politicians whom many pop stars would shrink from, "but as uncomfortable as I've sometimes felt, I get over it quickly when I think about the lives we are trying to save and improve."

Occasionally, Bono says, U2's other members "will fret that I've 'gone native' — I think that's how they put it, when I get lost in the development of something. But I always come back, energized by it all."

Despite the band's reputation for cohesion, the musicians have had "big fights" in their more than 35 years together, Bono insists. "We've very Irish. It's a noisy, messy family business, but there's deep love and respect between us at the same time."

U2 will likely tour after its new album is released. The group emerged energized after a recent surprise performance at Beverly Hills' Montage Hotel, at the third-annual benefit for Help Haiti Home thrown by Bono's buddy Sean Penn.

"We played in this little ballroom — we hadn't played a ballroom in a long time," Bono notes. "I realized, there's something very fresh about just guitar, bass, drums and a voice. The way music is processed at the moment, when you hear that you go, 'Wow!' Though it's obviously been around for a while."

You'll likely be able to catch U2 at bigger venues, though not necessarily stadiums. "I'd like to play indoors again. Some of the best nights of my life have been at (New York's) Madison Square Garden. Venues that size are in a lot of cities. I think it might be nice."

Bono quips, "I always know that we're getting close to touring time when the missus asks me when we're going out again. I think, should I read something from this question? 'No, not at all — you're great at home.'"

And the globe-trotting rock star/philanthropist enjoys being there. "As they say in Dublin, we've a lot of weather. But it can be beautiful, the mornings here, and I'm just on the edge of the city, so I get to walk in the hills and down by the sea and all that kind of stuff. I'm away more than most, but I always look forward to coming home."

http://www.usatoday.com/

Bono and Edge's Unnoticed Visit

U2 exhibition at The Little Museum of Dublin

Apparently not everyone in Dublin recognises Bono and Edge. This is what happened at The Little Museum of Dublin: 

Rock stars usually arrive with a bang. But when Bono and The Edge decided to visit our new exhibition about the story of U2, they turned up unannounced – and we failed to recognize the stars!

Bono and The Edge – arguably the two most famous Dubliners alive today – made their way up to the third floor of the museum to visit a new exhibition that celebrates the success of the band over the last four decades. 

The exhibition has drawn record crowds to the Little Museum, and it’s thought that the stars may have been confused for particularly eager fans.

U2 at the Little Museum

Bono and the Edge visited the museum over Christmas, but it was only last week that their autographs were discovered in our visitors book. The signatures were then authenticated by Professor Scott Calhoun, an expert on the band and one of the curators of our exhibition.

“Awesome!” is Bono’s verdict on the exhibition, which features never-seen photography, a Trabant designed by Maser, many rare recordings and a life-size statue of, eh, Bono.

According to our director Trevor White, “We’d like to say everyone was too cool to acknowledge the presence of Bono and the Edge. The truth is that we didn’t recognize them. They must have come the morning after our Christmas party.”

“It wasn’t the welcome we were hoping to give them,” says museum curator Simon O’Connor, “but at least they liked the exhibition.” U2: Made in Dublin remains on view at the Little Museum of Dublin.

If you visit Dublin, this is a must-see!!!

The museum is open 9.30-5pm seven days a week, with late opening until 8pm on Thursdays.

The Little Museum is on the first floor of 15 St Stephen’s Green, on the north side of the Green, near the corner of Dawson Street,  three minute walk from Trinity College.

Update video:

http://www.littlemuseum.ie/

U2 to premiere new track during Super Bowl 2014

Group will reveal single Invisible in conjunction with Bank of America, who have agreed to donate up to a million pounds to the Global Fund to Fight Aids Tuberculosis and Malaria.

U2 have confirmed plans to premiere a new song during next weekend's Super Bowl. Invisible, from the group's as-yet-unannounced 13th studio album, will appear on a commercial as part of a team-up by Bank of America and Bono's Red campaign.

Once the commercial airs, fans will have 24 hours to pick up Invisible as a free download from the iTunes Store. During that period, Bank of America have agreed to donate up to $2m (£1.2m) to the Global Fund to Fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria - allotting $1 (£0.60) to the charity every time the song is downloaded.

However, Bank of America's $2m download promise is much smaller than what they are reportedly paying to air an ad during the Super Bowl. Fox Sports are allegedly charging advertisers around $4m (£2.4) for each 30-second commercial. But Bank of America have pledged to generate more than $10m (£6m) altogether, as well as soliciting donations from the public. For U2 and friends, the American football game's 120m viewers are an enormous pool of possible donors.

"[This is] the kind of game-changing influence that will not just deliver millions of dollars but raise consciousness and keep public pressure on putting an end to this devastating pandemic," Bono said in a statement. According to his press release, the Gates Foundation, SAP and South Africa's Motsepe mining clan have "matched" the Bank of America's financial commitment "for a total [donation] of $22m". "Incredible," the singer said.

Invisible will be the second new song to have been released by U2 in recent months. The first, Ordinary Love, appeared as part of the soundtrack to Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom. It is one of five Oscar nominees for best original song.

U2's new record, their first since 2009, is thought to have been produced by Danger Mouse.

 "I can't really discuss it so I can't really quote anything about it but it's still ongoing and that's all I can really say, to be honest," Danger Mouse said in a Rolling Stone interview published this week. According to Billboard, Interscope will be releasing the LP in the United States, with Island Records representing the band everywhere else.

More information at (RED)

http://www.theguardian.com/

Bono lays down challenge to world business leaders

Singer calls for businesses to raise ethical standards to help fight against world poverty.

Bono: “Some of the criminals around here are not wearing ski masks, they are wearing skis.” Photograph: Jean-Christophe Bott/EPA

Bono has challenged world business leaders assembled in Davos to boost the fight against world poverty by raising ethical standards in their respective sectors.
The Irish activist participated in a discussion with British prime minister David Cameron and others who have drafted a successor to the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDG), which end in 2015.
The MDG included targets for reducing poverty, hunger and child mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

The new goals, known as the sustainable development goals, aim to eliminate extreme poverty by 2030 by renewing targets not achieved in the first round and adding new proposals, such as fighting corruption.
The U2 singer admitted yesterday the MDG was a “shite name” that put people off and that the proposed new name - “Sustainable Millenium Goals” - sounded like “a bad heavy metal band”.
Even his own band, though “really supportive” of his campaigning against poverty, had only to hear MDG and “you can see their eyes rolling”.
He suggested worldwide competitions to find a better title for the new programe.
“We want ownership from the wider population,” he said.
The Davos panel agreed that the success of the new goals, in particular the fight against corruption, would hinge on western leaders gathered in Davos acknowledging a need for greater transparency in how they do business.
“Some of the criminals around here are not wearing ski masks, they are wearing skis,” said Bono. “Capitalism can be a great creative force but it can be a destructive force. It is not immoral but it is ammoral, we need to give it some instructions.”
British prime minister David Cameron, who co-chaired the UN panel which drafted the new goals, agreed that fighting corruption in poor countries required rich countries to improve business transparency.
He said he was confident the new goals to tackle poverty were complementary and not contradictory to business and enterprise.
“The two things people want is a job and a voice,” said Mr Cameron.
Nigerian finance minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was also involved in drafting the new goals through a public consultation with the world’s poor.
She expressed optimism that the new goals would be embraced because they address universal issues.
“Gender rights are not just about people at bottom end of scale,” she said. “Corruption and governance may be more of a problem in countries of the south but accountability for it has a north and south end of it.”
Save the Children International CEO Jasmine Whitbread said she hoped the last 700 days of the existing MDG would see a redoubled push to complete goals not yet met, such as eliminating infant mortality
“It is always easier to do the first half and that is what we are facing now,” she said, “but with a redoubled effort we can manage it.”

http://www.irishtimes.com/http://www.one.org/

Bono Talks at the Pat Kenny Show

U2 frontman praises coalition for economic efforts

Bono's been paying tribute to the efforts of the Taoiseach and Finance Minister to promote Ireland at the World Economic Forum.

He's among 2 and a half thousand delegates including heads of state and business leaders gathered at Davos in Switzerland for the annual event.

The U2 frontman joined an event last night where the IDA had potential investors in their sights in the areas of pharmaceutical, technology and financial services.

Bono said this morning that Enda Kenny and Michael Noonan impressed those gathered at the dinner. He also talked about "Invisible" the new U2 song that will be available for free download for 24 hours only (1st Feb) and every time the track is downloaded a $1 donation  will be made to (RED) by Bank of America (All the funds will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. )

Bono also announced that this song will be part of the upcoming album.
You can listen to the podcast online here.

http://www.newstalk.ie/

Invisible - Free For (RED)

The band have given a new track, 'Invisible', to (RED) for a free download on iTunes next week - for 24 hours only. 
The song, produced by Danger Mouse and mixed by Tom Elmhirst, launches a partnership with (RED) and Bank of America to fight AIDS. 

Every time the track is downloaded, anywhere in the world, a $1 donation will be made to (RED) by Bank of America - up to a total of $2m. All the funds will go to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. 

'Invisible' will be available on iTunes for 24hours from Feb 2nd - 'Super Bowl Sunday'. A commercial during the Super Bowl will feature the band performing the track, from a forthcoming video directed by Mark Romanek. 

Since Bono and Bobby Shriver founded (RED) in 2006, to engage business in the fight against AIDS, it's generated more than $240 million for the Global Fund. (RED) and its partners – from Bank of America, to Starbucks, Apple and others – are working to end mother-to-child transmission of the deadly HIV virus by 2015, in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals. 



Here's a transcript of Bono's words.

DONATE!!!

http://www.u2.com/