Wake Up and Dream

A new U2 song? Looks like it!

Some of the U2 pictures displayed at  Timeless: The Photography of Julian Lennon. Excellent shots of the band at work and good candid ones:

Bono with a young John Lennon at the background

It´s always good to see the Lennon surname (father or son)  associated with U2. Seems Julian has really found his niche. The new Anton Corbijn??

Pics:Twitter user @hula_doll  in  yFrog / www.atu2.com

Spanish Eyes in San Sebastian

'Thirty four years ago yesterday, I got to meet these guys: so it's a birthday of sorts.' said Bono in the first concert in Spain. On 26th September was the 34th anniversary of U2's first meeting in Larry's parents' house in Dublin.

There was a bit of a celebration in San Sebastian , with the 360 debut of Spanish Eyes - written and recorded during the sessions for The Joshua Tree -  and another bow for the beautiful 'Mercy', with a shout-out to Terry Lawless ('down in underworld').

'Muchas gracias,' says Bono at the end of With Or Without You. 'Let's do the magic trick one more time, let's take out our phones and turn this place into the Milky Way.'

And with countless phones illuminating the stadium floor and a beautiful moon hanging in the dark sky above, the whole 360 scene in Spain looks pretty amazing.

Setlist

Return of the Stingray Guitar,

Beautiful Day,

I Will Follow,

Get On Your Boots,

Magnificent,

Mysterious Ways,

Elevation,

Until the End of the World,

I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For,

Spanish Eyes,

Mercy,

In A Little While,

Miss Sarajevo,

City of Blinding Lights,

Vertigo,

I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix) –

Relax, Sunday Bloody Sunday,

MLK,

Walk On - You'll Never Walk Alone

Encore(s):

One,

Amazing Grace - Where the Streets Have No Name,

Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me, With or Without You,

Moment of Surrender

 Mercy in San Sebastian. (www.u2.gigs.com)

Picture gallery

www.u2.com/www.u2.gigs.com

Bono’s ONE campaign: we do not waste money

In response to The First Post’s column attacking Bono’s charitable work, a ONE spokesman explains where the money goes.

Contrary to Johnny Dee's column (Bono under fire: where does all the ONE cash go?), ONE does not fundraise from the general public, we do not receive any government funding and we do not deliver development projects on the ground.

We are funded almost entirely by a handful of philanthropists on our board of directors to raise awareness and pressure political leaders to fight extreme poverty through smart and effective policies and programs, like the Global Fund to fight Aids, TB and Malaria, which is saving 4,000 lives a day.

The whole point of ONE is to combat extreme poverty by raising awareness and changing government policy - it has never been to directly fund charity projects in developing countries, work which is done well by other NGOs. ONE was created by philanthropists to tackle the structural policy issues such as debt, trade, and access to health care and other resources which make it hard to break out of extreme poverty.

ONE has nearly 120 staff in the US, UK, Germany, Brussels, France, Nigeria and South Africa whose job it is to fight for funding for effective programs like the Global Fund and the US global Aids program PEPFAR.

As a result of those programs, today more than 4 million Africans have access to life-saving Aids medication, up from only 50,000 people in 2002.

Malaria deaths have been cut in half in countries across Africa in less than two years. As other examples of our work, ONE helped successfully press for debt relief for Haiti after the devastating earthquake there and we recently played an important role in the passage of a law in the US requiring oil companies to report any payments to government officials - an effort to end backhanded deals between energy companies and corrupt politicians that hurt people in poor countries.

We raise awareness and bring about policy change by mobilising the support of the two million members who have given their voice to our campaign and by lobbying governments to keep to the promises they have made. We also work on issues of good governance and transparency, to ensure that aid goes to those who need it most and to support trade, investment and strong economic growth in Africa.

ONE has been a relentless advocate for these programs and policies and we have used the media spotlight to ensure world leaders keep their commitments.

The media kits that were mentioned in your article, which were  an effort to focus reporters on the Millennium Development Goals, a set of promises world leaders made to cut poverty, hunger and disease by 2015.

There is a rich and vibrant debate in the UK media about aid that doesn't happen in the US, which is why these press kits were delivered to US reporters in New York. In hindsight, the kits were not the best way to gain attention for the issues and we regret that sending them distracted from the work we are trying to do and the issues we care about.
Sincerely,

Olly Buston, European Director, ONE 

www.thefirstpost.co.uk

2nd Show in Brussels

The  afternoon of second show in Brussels  was expected with torrential rain and thunderstorms  as afternoon turned in to evening and just when it was  going to get to dry out - around about the start of Until The End of the World - the rain returned. And didn't let up all night long.No problem, 60,000 people were soon chorusing 'Singing in the Rain'. 'Thanks for making us feel at home with this Irish weather,' remarked Bono. 'Let's give it up for the U2 crew, the hardest working crew on the planet and not all of them Belgians..'
One legendary crew member got special mention in dispatches tonight, because it was in Cork, 32years ago to this very night that  Joe O'Herlihy first worked the sound desk for U2 - even though they were fifth on the bill.
'He's not really like a sound guy, he's more like a wizard, a sonic sorcerer….'

"Bad" and "Angel of Harlem" made their first appearances in a U2 set list since last summe and there were two new songs after Still Haven't Found (North Star and Mercy).

Let's play a new song,' said Bono, reaching for the harmonica. 'This could be a hit…' Angel of Harlem was an instant hit, followed by Bad, greeted with a Belgian ovation. Pretty soon  all forgotten about the inclement conditions as the music took over all the way to the end when Larry, Adam, Edge and Bono all raised a Belgian glass of beer in toast to this wonderful audience.

www.u2.com/www.u2.gigs(video)

First of Two Concerts in Brussels

'This doesn't feel like a Wednesday night,' says Bono, after Until The End of the World. 'This is a very special occasion. You thought we were an Irish band  and we are. You thought we had an Irish crew and we do… but actually this tour is run by Belgians.'

Bono called the show a 'homecoming' for U2, what with several crew members hailing from Belgium, not to mention this being where The Claw was first built in the spring of 2009. The audience was loud throughout the show, and they continue singing With or Without You so long that Bono can't begin Moment of Surrender.


Main Set: Return of the Stingray Guitar, Beautiful Day, I Will Follow, Get On Your Boots, Magnificent, Black is Black - Mysterious Ways, Elevation, Until the End of the World, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, North Star, Mercy, In A Little While, Miss Sarajevo, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo - Ca Plane Pour Moi, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix) - Two Tribes, Sunday Bloody Sunday, MLK, Walk On - You'll Never Walk Alone
Encore(s): One, Amazing Grace - Where the Streets Have No Name, Ultraviolet, With or Without You, Moment of Surrender

 More pics here (thanks to U2.gig)
www.u2.tours.com/u2.gigs.com/ u2.com

Killing Bono to be Premiered in Spring in UK

Killing Bono, the film based on Neil McCormick's book account of growing up in the same school as U2 while trying to launch his own music career, will premiere in the UK in Spring, 2011.

For those  based in Dublin ,  the very first peek at the promotional footage for the film can be seen at  THE MUSIC SHOW on Sunday 3^rd October at 3pm in the Main Hall of The RDS, Dublin.
 The panel discussion will be headed by BAFTA award winning Director of Killing Bono Nick Hamm, Grammy nominated Composer of the Killing Bono musical soundtrack Joe Echo, and author of  “I Was Bono’s Doppelganger” (the book the film is based on) Neil McCormick.

killingbonoblog.com

Bill Carter´s "Miss Sarajevo"

In 1993 Bill Carter was an aid-worker and documentary film maker living in Sarajevo, a city under siege from 18,000 Serbian troops firing artillery and mortar from the surrounding hills.  Even though it was cut off from the rest of the world Carter saw the city as a sign of hope in the Balkan war because 'Sarajevans refused to be divided along ethnic lines.'
It was when he met up with U2 on 1993's  ZOO TV Tour that a plan developed to show young people elsewhere in Europe what life was like in a besieged city on their continent. The result was regular satellite linkups  from Sarajevo into the ZOO TV shows, when people living under siege told their story to the world.
 Bill went on to direct the documentary 'Miss Sarajevo' a portrait of the city during the height of the siege: 'an alternative scene of artists, young people and those determined to live as normal a life as they could under the most difficult and dangerous conditions.' Produced by Bono, the documentary won the International Monitor Award, Golden Hugo, and the Maverick Director Award (Newport Beach Film Festival).


You can order  a copy of the DVD here.
Bill Carter`s website.
In August 2009, Bill talked to U2.com, here is what he remembered of the filming of the documentary.


Miss Sarajevo in Modena with the great Maestro Pavarotti....

www.u2.com/www.billcarter.cc