U2 use concert to call for 'leadership' over refugee crisis

Singer Bono says Europe ‘will be no more’ if it is unable to cope with wave of refugees, as he and his band play Turin

Musician Bono has warned that Europe “will be no more” if a solution to the refugee crisis is not found.

The leader of U2 and his fellow band members drew attention to the plight of refugees and called for “humanitarian leadership” as they kicked off the European leg of their world tour on Friday night.

Bono, who addressed Turin’s packed Pala Alpitour in Italian on a number of occasions, said on Saturday night: “We don’t know what the answer to the refugee crisis in Europe and Africa is, but we know that if we don’t figure it out, then Europe, which is a beautiful idea, will be no more. So we have to figure it out, whatever it is.”

On Friday night, he said he did not have the answers to the refugee crisis but added we “must work together” to find the solution.

The band’s bass player, Adam Clayton, spoke of the anger felt by Europeans, who he says are questioning why their governments cannot seem to “do the right thing”.

The image of a three-year-old Syrian boy, Aylan Kurdi, washed ashore in Turkey earlier this week sparked outrage and calls for governments throughout Europe to do more to help the tens of thousands of refugees. Bono made reference to the shocking incident by changing the lyric of Pride (In the Name Of Love) to include: “One boy washed up on an empty beach.”

In a set on Friday night that included more than two dozen of the band’s songs, and at one point featured a screen showing footage of refugees, Bono said: “There is a lot of heartache in the world, but there is so much joy in here this evening.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you. It’s incredible. Watching the news, ordinary people – all of us – seem capable of such great evil and such great love.

“I don’t know the answer to the refugee crisis in Europe and Africa but I know we must work together to find an answer to the refugee crisis in Europe and Africa.”

He added: “As Nelson Mandela said: ‘It always seems impossible until it is done.’”

Bono asked the crowd: “What do you want? A Europe with its heart and borders closed to mercy? Or a Europe with its heart open?”


Clayton said: “We really like to be able to respond to things as quickly as possible and you know the way the migration really has been covered in the last couple of weeks, you can feel there’s a lot of anger out there among the citizens of the European nations and they just don’t know why their governments can’t seem to kind of do the right thing or at least lead on these issues.”

The Edge, U2’s guitarist, said: “Every nation should step forward and do the best they can.”

Asked if there was scope for a concert in the style of Band Aid to raise more awareness and funds for refugees, Clayton said: “I think that’s a secondary issue. But I think primarily we’re in a situation where we have elected leaders who need to show leadership.

“Because we don’t know all the issues, we don’t know all the information here. But definitely, we need to see some humanitarian leadership from Europe.”

Commenting on whether U2 would get on board with a Band Aid-style event, The Edge said: “I think we’d take it very seriously, but again, as Adam says, it might not be the right response since it couldn’t be any more high profile.”

http://www.theguardian.com/

Bono at World Food Programme at Expo site, Milan

Bono attends the event 'It begins with me. How the world can end hunger in our lifetime', organised by Italy and Ireland to sustain the initiatives of the World Food Programme at Expo site on September 6, 2015 in Milan, Italy.

U2 to tour Ireland at end of November, Bono confirms

"We are coming home ... we just had to make it happen," Bono tells Brian Boyd in Turin

Bono has confirmed that U2 will be playing “Innocence and Experience” shows in Ireland at the end of November.

“We are coming home... it was really hard to figure out a way of doing it, but we just had to make it happen,” he told The Irish Times after coming off stage on Saturday night in Turin following the band’s second show in the city.

The city or cities they will play in, the exact dates and venue names will be made public soon as well as infomation about ticketing for the shows.

The difficulty for the band in playing Ireland was that the stage configuration of the current tour is simply too big to fit into any Irish venue.

“We found a way to reformat the show, to literally rebuild it for the Irish shows,” says Bono.

“It got to the stage where we just had to tell our people “You have to make this happen, you have to make this work, this is where we are from and we have to bring the tour home.”

The tour was supposed to finish in Paris on November 15th but has now been extended until the end of November to accomodate these new Irish shows.

“I am so happy we are bringing this home,” adds Bono. “These Irish shows will be like an Irish wedding. It is always tricky planning a wedding – who sits besides who could ruin it!”

There have been previous reports that the band have block-booked rooms in Dublin’s Gibson Hotel, which is adjacent to the 3Arena, from November 25th to November 29th. The 3Arena is free on these nights.

Given that the current album details U2s upbringing and early days on the Northside of Dublin, the tour is the most “Irish” thing they’ve done with Cedarwood Road (the road in Ballymun Bono grew up on) being brought to life on huge video screens as Bono walks down the length of the road during the show.

A centrepiece of the performance is the band calling on the British governement to make public the files on the Dublin/Monaghan bombings of 1974. Thirty-three people died in May 1974 when car bombs were detonated without warning – the atrocity remains the largest loss of life at any point in the Troubles.

The band have reworked Sunday Bloody Sunday to draw attention to how the bereaved families are still looking for answers to who was responsible for the deaths. A portrait picture of each of the 33 victims is shown on huge video screens as the band sing Raised By Wolves — a song specifically written about the bombings.

Bono has spoken about how, on the Friday the bombs went off, he would normally have been in the exact area of Dublin where the explosions occured as there was a well known record shop in the area he would always frequent after school. A punctured bicycle on the day meant he didn’t make it into town that day but a good friend of his was caught up in the bombings and it is the friends voice who narrates the story on Raised By Wolves.

The band have reworked the live show to reflect the Syrian refugee crisis. The singer changed the lyrics to “Pride” in Turin when singing “One boy washed up on an empty beach” in reference to the horrific image published last week of a drowned young Syrian boy.

http://www.irishtimes.com/

In Turin, Italy

U2 launched the second leg of the Innocence + Experience tour  at Pala Alpitour in Turin, Italy. As expected, there were some thematic changes made so that the show reflects more of what's going on in Europe at the moment -- namely, the refugree crisis emanating from Africa.

Introducing the band members to the people of Italy after an incendiary version of 'Out Of Control'.

'On Bass, all the way from Ard na Mara - Adam Clayton
On drums, from Rosemount Avenue, Larry Mullen Jr
On guitar, all the way from St Margaret’s Park - The Edge
my brothers
miei fratelli.'

We don't mention 'Invisible' enough. What a song. Just as great in Europe as in North America.

Never been a version of 'Desire' . Elena from Naples jumped up on stage to boogie her way through Mysterious Ways but the Meerkat wasn’t behaving so Elena wasn’t needed to broadcast Desire around the world. Instead Bono started looking for additional players. First a drummer. Then another drummer. Then a guitarist. Then another guitarist… who turned out to be a singer.. and a very fine one. And then this spontaneous seven-piece - or was it eight? made their live debut. And it was pretty near genius...
'Lover, I'm off the streets
I'm gonna go where the bright lights
And the big city meet
With a red guitar, on fire
Desire....'

On the eve of the eighth anniversary of the death of Luciano Pavarotti, 'Every Breaking Wave' is dedicated to his wife Nicoletta and their daughter Alice - with a rendition in Italian of 'Torna A Surriento'. There’s another date marked in 'Angel of Harlem', which goes out to Van Morrison, in the week of his 70th birthday.


www.u2.com/http://www.atu2.com/

The Edge Reflects On 10 Years Of Music Rising

The Edge Reflects on Charity’s Decade of Growth Into Disaster Relief Organization for Musical Communities Nationwide


10 years ago Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, leaving behind a trail of destruction that The Edge of U2 would soon witness firsthand during a visit to New Orleans’ hard hit 9th Ward. Moved by the devastation suffered by the local musical community, Edge teamed with legendary producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitars, MusiCares and the Guitar Center Foundation to provide immediate aid to the musicians whose lives and livelihoods had sustained the most damage when the levees broke. In short order, efforts including donations of net proceeds from the sales of Gibson and Epiphone Music Rising special edition guitars and the providing of musical instruments to professionals whose gear was destroyed in the storm were implemented. In a PSA at the time, Edge explained the helplessness he would have felt in the face of such overwhelming loss as Music Rising replaced thousands of instruments in what would ultimately be the first phase of its still ongoing and continually expanding mission.

Reflecting on the 10-year journey of Music Rising, The Edge commented: Music is at the core of these communities. It’s an essential part of their identities, their hearts and their lives. So when these centers of musical culture are damaged, getting the music going again is a crucial part of the healing process.

With Music Rising, we and our partners continue to do everything in our power to help support this centuries old music culture so it can do its magic for many generations to come.

What started as a direct response to one of the worst disasters to affect a musical capital of the U.S. has grown over a decade to offer assistance to musicians far and wide. Where there is music, there is hope, and Music Rising will continue to do everything possible to restore both for another 10 years and beyond.

In the decade following the initial 2005 Katrina aftermath, Music Rising’s efforts have grown in scope. Additional programs in the Gulf Coast region have included the distribution of over $​5 million worth of instruments for some 30 schools (in conjunction with the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation), as well as becoming the largest purchaser of ​Hammond organs in order to replace those destroyed by Katrina in regional houses of worship, and contributed $1 million to develop the Music Rising curriculum at Tulane University. Music Rising’s national outreach broadened as the organization provided aid to creative communities impacted by the 2010 Tennessee floods, as well as relief along with MusiCares and the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.


Music Rising’s nationwide efforts are not limited to aid in the aftermath of natural disasters—its outreach continues in the very fortunate lull between these cataclysms: The organization recently reached out to Detroit, with efforts to aid the Motor City’s singular musical heritage including the distribution or hundreds of musical instruments to students. Elsewhere, Music Rising’s Music Icons auctions hosted by the world renowned Julien’s Auctions have raised millions in bids for items donated by Edge, U2 and friends. With support from friends and family including the Hard Rock International Corporation, Aaron Neville, Trombone Shorty and Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day—who teamed with U2 for the historic 2006 performance that reopened the Superdome and welcomed the New Orleans Saints home—Edge, Ezrin and Music Rising’s efforts on behalf of musical communities in need promise to be just as tireless and far reaching for decades to come. 


http://musicrising.org/

Bono joins African stars in campaign to use music to empower women

African stars have joined rock star Bono in a campaign to use music to help empower women globally.

Bono and the top African male musicians D'banj, Diamond and Banky W announced Friday that they will be included in a remix of the song Strong Girl, a rallying cry for women's empowerment which features top African female talent.

U2 frontman Bono, whose ONE advocacy group is the creative force behind the campaign for women empowerment, said music can create awareness and help shift policies to empower women because politicians are driven by popular things.

Sipho Moyo, Africa executive director of ONE, said the campaign hopes to create structural and policy changes globally that will ensure women are empowered. The ultimate goal is to eradicate extreme poverty in 2030, Moyo says.

http://www.cbc.ca/

New Video for "Song for Someone"

‘Don’t let it go out…’ Illustrator and photographer Matt Mahurin directs this visual meditation on 'Song For Someone', from U2’s latest album Songs of Innocence.

The video was posted in U2's official Facebook page.

Reuniting U2's music and Mahurin's distinctive style - the two worked together on 1993's 'Love Is Blindness' - 'Song For Someone' is a visual meditation on one of the standout tracks from Songs Of Innocence. 

Rendered in a beautiful black and white palette and featuring a performance from Bono filmed earlier this year in Malibu, Mahurin's vision for 'Song For Someone' draws sharp parallels between song, inspiration and other forces of nature.

'Collaboration is a great part of the creative process,' said Matt, talking about working with the band again. 'And it has been a true joy to once again jump aboard the band's mission of music, mercy and mayhem.'

Mahurin's evocative take on 'Song For Someone' contrasts with Vincent Haycock's short film, starring Woody and Zoe Harrelson, which debuted July 9 on SundanceTV.

'Song For Someone' has been a highlight of the  iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Tour, which resumes September 4 in Turin, Italy.





http://u2hellas.blogspot.com.ar/