U2 - Pride

Friday, February 29, 2008

It's rock 'n' roll cinema, but not as we know it. Noel McAdam had a sneak preview of the new U2 film - only showing in one Ulster cinema - and his verdict is: boy, it sure does rattle and hum
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/reviews/article3477438.ece


Dubliners like a good debate and a recent hot topic of discussion has been the U2 Tower, the development in the city's docks area that has earned its nickname through the involvement of Bono and other members of the Irish rock ban

http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article3453319.ece

Highlight | The News is NowPublic.com

U2 - Beautiful Day

U2's Bono Embroiled in Hotel Historic Preservation Controversy

Michael Smith, former chair of Irish development watchdog group An Taisce, has strong words for U2's Bono, who is often cited as one of the most progressive, humanitarian and green celebrities in the world.

Smith opposes Bono's plan to renovate Dublin's 177-year-old Clarence Hotel. "The Clarence demolition is an old-fashioned, money-driven, anti-environmental exploit," Smith, told the Los Angeles Times. "Bono is behaving like just another private-jet-addicted property speculator feeding on Ireland's greedy zeitgeist."

Bono's proposed $220-million project would triple the hotel's size and top it with a panoramic glass bar. The rocker had purchased the 49-room hotel in 1993 with U2 guitarist David Evans, better known as the Edge. The renovation reportedly involves tearing down four adjacent Georgian buildings, gutting the hotel and expanding it to 140 rooms.

The plans were done by London-based architect Lord Norman foster, who is well known as a pioneer in green building, having designed the Hearst Tower in New York City and the Swiss Reinsurance Company's home in the British capital. Foster's plans for the Clarence include preserving the exteriors and salvaging the original fireplaces, windows and doors.

But such nods to green building don't go far enough, say critics, especially considering the scale of the project and the fact that other historic structures will be raized.

Boosters claim Bono's hotel plan will be good for Dublin, and will stimulate the local economy. The city has approved the project, despite some rising opposition.

Across town, the rockers are also backing a new 394-foot building dubbed the U2 Tower, to be completed in 2011.





From the album: All That You Can't Leave Behind.
Directed by: Jonas Âkerlund
Shot at: Charles De Gaulle Airport (Paris)
2000

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
But there's no room
No space to rent in this town
You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere
You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Always
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace
Always

It's a beautiful day
Day
The sky falls and you feel like
Day
It's a beautiful day
Day
Don't let it get away
Day

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination
You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you
Always

It's a beautiful day
Day
Don't let it get away
Day
It's a beautiful day
Day, day
Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by clouds
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light and
See the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

Day, day

It was a beautiful day
Day
Don't let it get away
Day
Beautiful day
Day, day

Touch me
Day
Take me to that other place
Day
Reach me
Day
I know I'm not a hopeless case
Day

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
It was a beautiful day

U2 Stop the Massacre in Gaza Concentration Camp

On January 30, 1972, British troops opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilians in Derry, Ireland during a civil rights march, just like the Zionist do, in Gaza Concentration Camp almost daily. This music video is a tribute to the 14 killed and others wounded - combining video/music of U2, video from "Bloody Sunday" (2002 movie), and photographs from that terrible day. The butchery still goes on today with guns and aircraft given to the Zionists by the USA, today. Support the boycott, of all International War Criminals and their states.


It's all About Justice: Don't Honor Israel!

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has learned that you have been invited by Israeli President Shimon Peres to take part in a conference designed to mark Israel's contributions to medicine, science, and conservation. We urge you, as a prominent activist on issues of global inequality and a campaigner for basic human rights, to say no to Israel, especially since the invitation coincides with celebrations marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state. With the creation of this state sixty years ago, “Palestine ceased to exist except in the hearts and mind of Palestinians,”[1] of whom three quarters of a million were dispossessed and uprooted from their homes and lands, condemned to a life of exile and destitution.

Israel at 60 is a state that is still denying Palestinian refugees their UN-sanctioned rights, simply because they are "non-Jews." It is still illegally occupying Palestinian and other Arab lands, in violation of numerous UN resolutions. In the occupied Palestinian territory (OPT), Israel is continuing the construction of its colonies and massive Wall in direct violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention as well as the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of July 2004. It is still persistently and grossly breaching international law and infringing fundamental human rights with impunity afforded to it through munificent US and European economic, diplomatic and political support. It is still treating its own Palestinian citizens with institutionalized discrimination.

We urge you to reject the invitation from a man who has nothing to do with the lofty ideals of progress in science, medicine and the environment. His decades-long political career includes war crimes committed against the Lebanese and Palestinian people.

In 1996, when Israel still occupied southern Lebanon, Shimon Peres as Prime Minister launched "Operation Grapes of Wrath," causing 400,000 Lebanese to flee their homes, with almost 800 of them fleeing to a UN base in Qana, South Lebanon. On April 18 the Israeli army shelled the UN shelter in Qana, killing 102 civilians, mainly women, children and the elderly. Many more were injured. Human Rights Watch, the UN and Amnesty International subsequently disproved the myth that the Israeli army did not deliberately intend to shell the UN base. Shimon Peres said at the time, "In my opinion, everything was done according to clear logic and in a responsible way. I am at peace."

Peres is on record for being responsible for other war crimes, from building colonies on occupied Arab land to endorsing a policy of extra-judicial killings, by which Palestinians and other Arabs are murdered without the benefit of a trial or, in fact, any evidence other than that provided by Israeli intelligence. Peres also supports the siege of Gaza and the elaborate system of checkpoints all across the West Bank. He defends the demolition of Palestinian homes, and he justified the atrocities committed by the Israeli army in its recent war on Lebanon in 2006.

We, like all other Palestinians and international supporters of human rights and international law, expect you to uphold the highest standard of respect for the human rights of the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, which has been under a hermetic siege imposed by Israel for almost two years. Poverty is rampant, and the lives of the ill, children, and the elderly are in danger. Difficult and brave decisions need to be taken in support of Palestinians exactly like South Africa was supported long before it became fashionable to do so. Instead of legitimizing Israeli war criminals by accepting their invitations, people of conscience who respect international law and justice should shun them.

In 2005, inspired by the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa, Palestinian civil society called for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) [2] against Israel until it fully complies with international law and recognizes the fundamental human rights of the people of Palestine. A specific call for cultural boycott of Israel [3] was issued a year later, garnering wide support. Among the many groups and institutions that have heeded the Palestinian boycott calls and started to consider or apply diverse forms of effective pressure on Israel are Aosdana, the Irish state-sponsored academy of artists; the Irish Congress of Trade Unions; the British University and College Union (UCU); the two largest trade unions in the UK; the Church of England; the Presbyterian Church (USA); prominent British architects; the British National Union of Journalists (NUJ); the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU); the South African Council of Churches; the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario; celebrated authors, artists and intellectuals led by John Berger; and Palme d'Or winner director Ken Loach.

We strongly urge you to uphold the values of freedom, equality and just peace for all by rejecting the invitation to attend a conference in Israel celebrating that country's contribution to science and scholarship. Israel is not a member in good standing of the global community of scientists and scholars, and cannot be honored as such. After all, "it's not about charity, it's about justice."

Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)

U2 - Beautiful Day

The heart is a bloom
Shoots up through the stony ground
But there's no room
No space to rent in this town
You're out of luck
And the reason that you had to care
The traffic is stuck
And you're not moving anywhere
You thought you'd found a friend
To take you out of this place
Always
Someone you could lend a hand
In return for grace
Always

It's a beautiful day
Day
The sky falls and you feel like
Day
It's a beautiful day
Day
Don't let it get away
Day

You're on the road
But you've got no destination
You're in the mud
In the maze of her imagination
You love this town
Even if that doesn't ring true
You've been all over
And it's been all over you
Always

It's a beautiful day
Day
Don't let it get away
Day
It's a beautiful day
Day, day
Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me
I know I'm not a hopeless case

See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by clouds
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light and
See the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out

Day, day

It was a beautiful day
Day
Don't let it get away
Day
Beautiful day
Day, day

Touch me
Day
Take me to that other place
Day
Reach me
Day
I know I'm not a hopeless case
Day

What you don't have you don't need it now
What you don't know you can feel somehow
What you don't have you don't need it now
Don't need it now
It was a beautiful day
Day


Feb. 21 (Bloomberg) -- U2's Bono helped persuade George W. Bush and Tony Blair to increase African aid and cancel a portion of Third World debt. Ireland's most famous rock star is finding it harder to charm Dublin preservationists as he seeks to expand the 177-year-old Clarence Hotel.

The singer failed to win over opponents with several bottles of wine and lunch at the Clarence in September, said Michael Smith, former chairman of An Taisce, an independent planning watchdog. The 150 million-euro ($220 million) project would triple the hotel's size and top it with a panoramic glass bar.

``The Clarence demolition is an old-fashioned money-driven, anti-environmental exploit,'' said Smith, 42, who attended the lunch. ``Bono is behaving like just another private-jet-addicted property speculator feeding on Ireland's greedy zeitgeist.''

It's the latest controversy to entangle the U2 front man, who has worked with governments and corporations to fight AIDS and reduce poverty. Members of the Irish parliament criticized U2 for moving its music publishing company to the Netherlands to avoid taxes in 2006. The band is also behind a new skyscraper called the U2 Tower, which some neighbors call an eyesore.

Bono, whose name at birth was Paul Hewson, bought the 49- room hotel in 1993 with U2 guitarist David Evans, better known as The Edge. The renovation involves tearing down four adjacent Georgian buildings, gutting the hotel and expanding it to 140 rooms.

`Discredited' Design

While critics liken the sky bar to landing a spaceship atop the Clarence, manager Oliver Sevestre said the project was approved in part because it would make the hotel a landmark in Dublin's Temple Bar district. The plans were developed by British architect Norman Foster, perhaps best known for the gherkin- shaped London tower he designed for Swiss Reinsurance Co.

``It's a great asset to sell Dublin and the country,'' Sevestre said during an interview in the Clarence's 2,700-euro-a- night penthouse suite.

Located on the River Liffey and enclosed by fragments of Dublin's 12th century city walls, Temple Bar is filled with art galleries and pubs.

Foster's architects say preserving the exteriors and salvaging the original fireplaces, windows and doors will retain the essence of the Clarence. That was rejected by the Dublin City Council's conservation architect, Clare Hogan, who called the plan to keep the exteriors alone a ``discredited and meaningless'' act of historical preservation.

Clinton's Hotel

Nonetheless, city officials approved Foster's plan in November, saying the hotel facelift would help Dublin's economy and therefore justify tearing down protected buildings.

Though the Clarence has attracted guests such as former U.S. President Bill Clinton, it may not have been the band mates' wisest investment.

While the hotel made an operating profit of 148,800 euros in 2006, investors wrote off 9.04 million euros of loans that year, accounts filed in Dublin show. In 2005, the hotel reported a loss of 575,000 euros. The renovation plan is also backed by Clarence investors Paddy McKillen and Derek Quinlan, two Dublin property developers.

``I would say we are making sense financially,'' Sevestre said. ``It is difficult to make more sense financially because the size of the hotel means we can't maximize the price that we charge each night.''

It's that pursuit of profit that has left U2 open to criticism. The band is also backing a 120-meter (394-foot) tower in the Dublin's docklands. The U2 Tower, to be completed in 2011, would be the city's tallest building.

``Taken together, these are two egomaniacal projects,'' said Ian Lumley, a spokesman for An Taisce.

Art Vs. Commerce

Some back Bono and Foster's vision for the hotel.

Conor Martin, who controls the Purty Loft bar opposite the hotel, withdrew his opposition after he was persuaded the project would benefit the city.

``It is a poor reflection on Dublin and the rest of the country if we turn it down,'' he said in a letter to city officials.

Bono, who wasn't available for an interview, has said there's no conflict between his activism and investments.

``I long since grew out of the idea that artists good, businessmen bad,'' Bono said Jan. 24 at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. ``I got over that one when I was 22.''

Smith is taking the Clarence fight to the planning appeals board, which is expected to issue a decision within four months.

Seasoned Campaigner

He is a tenacious opponent. In 1995, angered by what he said was the cozy relationship between politicians and developers, Smith placed a newspaper ad offering a 10,000 Irish-punt ($18,579) reward for information leading to corruption convictions.

Though the reward was never paid, the campaign triggered a 10-year probe of bribery allegations, leading to the current investigation of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern's finances. Ahern denies any wrongdoing.

Even after lunch with his ``perfectly gracious'' host, Smith is carrying on the fight against a man who once gave Pope John Paul II a pair of wraparound sunglasses.

``If assessed for good old-fashioned rock star glamour, this proposal is a success,'' Smith said in his written appeal against the project. ``Unfortunately for the owners, the Clarence is not a pair of sunglasses.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Dara Doyle in Dublin at ddoyle1@bloomberg.net .

http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=13562&pt=e
U2 frontman Bono has ruled out a full-time acting career as he attended the European premiere of his latest film in his hometown.


Arriving for last night`s screening of U23D in Dublin, Bono also said the supergroup`s long-awaited new album will be "very radical".

Bono has featured in many award-winning U2 music videos during his career and also starred in the 1998 concert movie, Rattle And Hum.



http://www.nme.com/news/u2/34496Bono and company begin work in Dublin

* Feb 20, 2008
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* Add U2 to MyNME

U2 have reportedly entered a Dublin studio to begin work on their new album.

U2 Desire

http://www.connietalk.com/bono_red_auction_021708.html


On Thursday night, The "RED" Auction - organized by U2's Bono and by Damien Hirst - raised $42.6 million towards fighting AIDS in Africa. In the Valentine's Day charity soir�e, Bono posed and conversed with everyone from Russell Simmons to supermodel Christy Turlington, to Queen Noor of Jordan (above).

"It is a historic night for artists, an extraordinary night in New York City," Bono said. "I am very moved."

Sotheby's Auction RED project has also held an event that raised millions for The Global Fund which fights AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. You can find out more info about Auction RED, where sales proceeds go to the United Nations Foundation to support HIV/AIDS relief programs in Africa here.

Bono, by the way, is a fellow lover of C-Span - he appeared on C-Span channels just last month to talk about humanitarian crises and discuss the climate and environmental concerns with former U.S. Vice President Al Gore.

http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/artman2/publish/movie_reviews/Reviewed_U2_3-D_22170208.p

http://www.thehollywoodnews.com/artman2/publish/movie_reviews/Reviewed_U2_3-D_22170208.p

Rwanda's Prostitutes Love Bush

Prostitutes may or may not be George Bush's natural lovin' constituency but Rwanda's prostitutes have wonderful things to say about him, although their clients, regard the American president as a walking criminal against humanity.

Bush is in Africa today, to start a five-country tour, he will be welcomed by prostitutes for saving the lives of more than a million people with HIV.

The $15bn President's Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) is in its fifth year and is a "revolution" that is transforming Africa, it is the most significant aid programme ever, in Africa.

Bush's contribution will be, extending millions of lives, even though the programme, has been criticised for emphasising abstinence in Aids education and using religious organisations to deliver the aid.

"This is the best thing that ever happened to the poor people I work with," said Father Phillips, a priest overseeing the distribution of life-saving antiretroviral drugs in Nairobi, Kenya. "It's one of the few times I've seen US government money, really reach down to the poorest of the poor. It's kept a hell (tut tut, Father, language) of a lot of people alive."

Dr Venter, head of HIV Clinicians Society in South Africa, is providing 200,000 people with ARVs, is one of a number of Aids doctors, almost disbelieving in praise of Bush. "I look at all the blood this man has on his hands in Iraq and Palestine, I can't quite believe myself but I would say, it's a bold experiment from the last person in the world I would expect to do it, and it is saving a lot of lives. To intervene on such a scale and make such a difference is huge," he said.

Pepfar's ultimate target of providing treatment and care to 20 million people with HIV, in Africa and the Caribbean. It is already supplying ARVs to about 1.5 million people. Congress doubles Pepfar's budget later this year.

The US programme owes its success to combining large amounts of money to fund drugs, with broadening assistance beyond the individual with HIV. Pepfar is supplying medical equipment and training large numbers of healthcare staff. It is also reaching into households, hit by Aids with programmes, to put children through school and help those with HIV to carry on working.


In Rwanda - on Bush's tour, one of Pepfar's 15 priority countries - Dr Bigwaho, the head of the national Aids council, says the US programme, is the major contributor to a tenfold increase over the past four years, in the numbers of Rwandans on ARVs to nearly 50,000 people. Today about 70% of Rwandans who need the drugs receive them. "The impact is huge. The average life expectancy of Rwandans has improved by four years because of Pepfar," she said. "The impact is also really big in the health sector, because of the equipment and training. It is putting children through school."

An American group, CHF International, is using money to pay for 39,000 children to go to school in Rwanda, because Aids orphans and other young people left without support, are more likely to prostitute themselves, like colleagues in the USA, to survive.

Ms. Smith, in Kigali - who says she is personally keen on a change in the White House - says the unprecedented amount of money provided by George, has changed how Rwanda deals with Aids.

"The scale of the money coming in, has really changed everything. If someone in a household has HIV, it used to be we only focused on them. Now we look at the health of everyone in the household, because if a parent has HIV, that has implications for their ability to provide and care for their children. We can now treat the children for other diseases, because that is a consequence of HIV in the household," she said.

But religion has come in for strong criticism because its Aids education programme, ABC - Abstinence, Be faithful, Condomise - pushes the first two over the third.

Democrats including Senator Obama want to scrap the emphasis on abstinence, when legislation comes up for renewal later this year. Many Aids workers in Africa, think the Bush administration's obsession with the issue is misplaced but say its impact is minimal because government programmes in most countries emphasise the use of condoms.

Senator Obama has criticised the large numbers of "faith-based" organisations funded such as Phillips' Eastern Deanery Aids Relief Programme, which distributes ARVs to 7,000 people in the poorest parts of Nairobi. Its $3.3m slice of Pepfar's $386m budget in Kenya last year has funded expansion, to a network of more than 10 clinics and 300 staff.

Church policy and programmes do not distribute condoms - but the Kenyan government's emphasis is on condoms. "The prevalence of Aids has dropped significantly in Kenya. It's down to the various education campaigns by the government, by communities and that people saw that people were dying. You can draw your own conclusions," said Phillips, a leading church figure.

Mr. John Dunlop, who heads one of the health team in Rwanda, said the relationship had less to do with evangelicals in Washington, than with practicalities in Africa. "These are very pious communities; the church runs through every component of life. So if you ignore these church networks, as a means of pushing out messages of change, you're ignoring a huge resource," he said.

The HIV budget in Kenya will rise to more than $500m this year. It already pays for 90,000 people to receive ARVs, nearly half of all those taking them in the country, as well as home care for those with HIV, including food and finance, so they can make a living.

Mr. Warren Buckingham, head of the Pepfar programme in Kenya, found himself pressing the Kenyan government, on behalf of the very people, the American Judea-Christian right most despises. "If there is resistance it is not in Washington. The people we have to push, are the public health officials here, to recognise neglected populations and highly stigmatised groups, gays, intravenous drug users, sex workers," he said.

In a busy Kigali bar, Linda, a 24-year-old HIV-positive prostitute, explained that she had originally was fearful of being tested because she didn't want to know that she might soon die. "Then they said, they could make us well, they have these drugs. So I got tested and I have the drugs," she said.

So whom does she like?

"The American, Georgy Bush and don't you bring no Senator Obama round my door but you can always bring Bill Clinton, he is the best of them all, I hope his wife gets elected."

Achtung Baby - Mysterious Ways

Through a combination of zealous righteousness and post-punk experimentalism, U2 became one of the most popular rock & roll bands of the '80s. Equally known for their sweeping sound as for their grandiose statements about politics and religion, they were rock & roll crusaders during an era of synthesized pop and heavy metal. The Edge provided the group with a signature sound by creating sweeping sonic landscapes with his heavily processed, echoed guitars. Though the Edge's style wasn't conventional, the rhythm section of Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr., played the songs as driving hard rock, giving the band a forceful, powerful edge that was designed for arena rock. And their lead singer, Bono, was a frontman who had a knack of grand gestures that played better in arenas than small clubs. It's no accident that footage of Bono parading with a white flag with "Sunday Bloody Sunday" blaring in the background became the defining moment of U2's early career -- there rarely was a band that believed so deeply in rock's potential for revolution as U2, and there rarely was a band that didn't care if they appeared foolish in the process. During the course of the early '80s, the group quickly built up a dedicated following through constant touring and a string of acclaimed records. By 1987, the band's following had grown large enough to propel them to the level of international superstars with the release of The Joshua Tree. Unlike many of their contemporaries, U2 was able to sustain their popularity in the '90s by reinventing themselves as a postmodern, self-consciously ironic dance-inflected pop/rock act, owing equally to the experimentalism of late-'70s Bowie and '90s electronic dance and techno. By performing such a successful reinvention, the band confirmed its status as one of the most popular bands in rock history, in addition to earning additional critical respect.

With its textured guitars, U2's sound was undeniably indebted to post-punk, so it's slightly ironic that the band formed in 1976, before punk had reached their hometown of Dublin, Ireland. Larry Mullen, Jr. (born October 31, 1961; drums), posted a notice on a high-school bulletin board asking for fellow musicians to form a band. Bono (born Paul Hewson, May 10, 1960; vocals, guitar), the Edge (born David Evans, August 8, 1961; guitar, keyboards, vocals), Adam Clayton (born March 13, 1960; bass), and Dick Evans responded to the ad, and the group formed as a Beatles and Stones cover band called the Feedback, before changing their name to the Hype in 1977. Shortly afterward, Dick Evans left the band to form the Virgin Prunes. Following his departure, the group changed its name to U2.

U2's first big break arrived in 1978, when they won a talent contest sponsored by Guinness; the band were in their final year of high school at the time. By the end of the year, the Stranglers' manager, Paul McGuinness, saw the band play and offered to manage them. Even with a powerful manager in their corner, the band had trouble making much headway -- they failed an audition with CBS Records at the end of the year. In the fall of 1979, U2 released their debut EP, U2 Three. The EP was available only in Ireland, and it topped the national charts. Shortly afterward, they began to play in England, but they failed to gain much attention.

U2 had one other chart-topping single, "Another Day," in early 1980 before Island Records offered the group a contract. Later that year, the band's debut, Boy, was released. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the record's sweeping, atmospheric but edgy sound was unlike most of its post-punk contemporaries, and the band earned further attention for its public embrace of Christianity; only Clayton was not a practicing Christian. Through constant touring, including opening gigs for Talking Heads and wet T-shirt contests, U2 was able to take Boy into the American Top 70 in early 1981. October, also produced by Lillywhite, followed in the fall, and it became their British breakthrough, reaching number 11 on the charts. By early 1983, Boy's "I Will Follow" and October's "Gloria" had become staples on MTV, which, along with their touring, gave the group a formidable cult following in the U.S.

Released in the spring of 1983, the Lillywhite-produced War was U2's breakthrough release, entering the U.K. charts at number one and elevating them into arenas in the United States, where the album peaked at number 12. War had a stronger political message than its predecessors, as evidenced by the U.K., college radio, and MTV hits "Sunday Bloody Sunday" and "New Year's Day." During the supporting tour, the band filmed its concert at Colorado's Red Rocks Amphitheater, releasing the show as an EP and video titled Under a Blood Red Sky. The EP entered in the U.K. charts at number two, becoming the most successful live recording in British history. U2 had become one of the most popular bands in the world, and their righteous political stance soon became replicated by many other bands, providing the impetus for the Band Aid and Live Aid projects in 1984 and 1985, respectively. For the follow-up to War, U2 entered the studios with co-producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, who helped give the resulting album an experimental, atmospheric tone. Released in the fall of 1984, The Unforgettable Fire replicated the chart status of War, entering the U.K. charts at number one and reaching number 12 in the U.S. The album also generated the group's first Top 40 hit in America with the Martin Luther King, Jr., tribute "(Pride) In the Name of Love." U2 supported the album with a successful international tour, highlighted by a show-stealing performance at Live Aid. Following the tour, the band released the live EP Wide Awake in America in 1985.

While U2 had become one of the most successful rock bands of the '80s, they didn't truly become superstars until the spring 1987 release of The Joshua Tree. Greeted with enthusiastic reviews, many of which proclaimed the album a masterpiece, The Joshua Tree became the band's first American number one hit and its third straight album to enter the U.K. charts at number one; in England, it set a record by going platinum within 28 hours. Generating the U.S. number one hits "With or Without You" and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For," The Joshua Tree and the group's supporting tour became the biggest success of 1987, earning the group the cover of respected publications like Time magazine. U2 decided to film a documentary about their American tour, recording new material along the way. The project became Rattle & Hum, a film that was supported by a double-album soundtrack that was divided between live tracks and new material. While the album Rattle & Hum was a hit, the record and film received the weakest reviews of U2's career, with many critics taking issue with the group's fascination with American roots music like blues, soul, country, and folk. Following the release of Rattle & Hum, the band took an extended hiatus.

U2 reconvened in Berlin 1990 to record a new album with Eno and Lanois. While the sessions for the album were difficult, the resulting record, Achtung Baby, represented a successful reinvention of the band's trademark sound. Where they had been inspired by post-punk in the early career and American music during their mid-career, U2 delved into electronic and dance music with Achtung Baby. Inspired equally by late-'70s Bowie and the Madchester scene in the U.K., Achtung Baby was sonically more eclectic and adventurous than U2's earlier work, and it didn't alienate their core audience. The album debuted at number one throughout the world and spawned Top Ten hits with "Mysterious Ways" and "One." Early in 1992, the group launched an elaborate tour to support Achtung Baby. Dubbed Zoo TV, the tour was an innovative blend of multimedia electronics, featuring a stage filled with televisions, suspended cars, and cellular phone calls. Bono devised an alter ego called the Fly, which was a knowing send-up of rock stardom. Even under the ironic guise of the Fly and Zoo TV, it was evident that U2 was looser and more fun than ever before, even though they had not abandoned their trademark righteous political anger.

Following the completion of the American Zoo TV tour in late 1992 and before the launch of the European leg of the tour, U2 entered the studio to complete an EP of new material that became the full-length Zooropa. Released in the summer of 1993 to coincide with the tour of the same name, Zooropa demonstrated a heavier techno and dance influence than Achtung Baby and it received strong reviews. Nevertheless, the album stalled at sales of two million and failed to generate a big hit single. During the Zooropa tour, the Fly metamorphosed into the demonic MacPhisto, which dominated the remainder of the tour. Upon the completion of the Zooropa tour in late 1993, the band took an extended break. During 1995, U2 re-emerged with "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me," a glam rock theme to Batman Forever that was produced by Nellee Hooper (Bj�rk, Soul II Soul). Later that year, they recorded the collaborative album Original Soundtracks, Vol. 1 with Brian Eno, releasing the album under the name the Passengers late in 1995. It was greeted with a muted reception, both critically and commercially.

Many hardcore U2 fans, including drummer Larry Mullen, Jr., were unhappy with the Passengers project, and U2 promised their next album, to be released in the fall of 1996, would be a rock & roll record. The album took longer to complete than usual, being pushed back to the spring of 1997. During its delay, a few tracks, including the forthcoming first single "Discotheque," were leaked, and it became clear that the new album was going to be heavily influenced by techno, dance, and electronic music. When it was finally released, Pop did indeed bear a heavier dance influence, but it was greeted with strong initial sales, and a few positive reviews. In late 1998, the group returned with Best of 1980-1990, the first in a series of hits collections issued in conjunction with a reported 50 million dollar agreement with Polygram.

Three years after the mediocre response to Pop, U2 teamed up with Eno and Lanois once again to release All That You Can't Leave Behind in fall 2000. It topped charts around the world, reached number three in America, earned the band Grammy Awards for the singles "Beautiful Day" and "Walk On," and became their biggest-selling record in years. (The Elevation tour that followed also brought U2 a hefty paycheck.) Steve Lillywhite, producer of the early-'80s landmarks Boy, October, and War, returned to the helm for U2's next record, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. Released in November 2004, it hit the top of the Billboard charts and quickly gained platinum status. The album also garnered eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Rock Album of the Year, and Song of the Year (for "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own"). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
Written by Stephen Thomas Erlewine



Bono is to host an auction in New York City this week to raise funds for the (RED) initiative, it has been confirmed.

The U2 star will co-host the event at Sotheby's with Damien Hirst, who is one of many famous artists expected to attend.

Tracey Emin, Sam Taylor Wood and Marc Quinn are amongst the guests, who will be bidding on work donated by the likes of Banksy, Jeff Koons and Hirst.

Josh Hartnett, Dennis Hopper, Helena Christensen, Christy Turlington. Q-Tip and Moby will also apparently be in attendance at Thursday's event.

U2 & Bruce Springsteen - I still haven't found what I'm look

This is a very great video!!! I'm most likely one of Swedens biggest U2 fans. I reserved The 20th Anniversary Edition of The Joshua Tree Remastered Super Deluxe Limited Edition Box 2CD+1DVD+56 page book and 5 photos about three weeks before the release date. The Joshua Tree was available the 9th march in 1987 and it's the best album they have ever made so far i think.
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My two fav artists, seeing the Boss in London Wed, cannot wait - these guys should definately do a tour together.

U2 are currently writing a new album and almost certain to tour later.

Bono the Prophet

Sightings of Bono

Cool clip...thanks for posting it.

I'm a fan since I was 11 ('81).

U2 has been the soundtrack to my life.
That line has become a cliche' but it's true.

I can't say enough great things about them but although I've seen them Sooo many times since '85, I found that The (ATYCLB) Elevation Tour in 2001 was very Spiritual and the Vertigo Tour while very good was more on the Political side.


I don't know the story behind the film, but what it spoke of to me is the way we can be touched by people we don't even know, they can even enter our dreams. But in the end it's not about them - its about us, what they represent about our own longings. Didn't it seem significant that once the character actually met him, she no longer needed the book, and he no longer haunted the perimeters of her life as he had? It wasn't really about him after all and she had come back home to herself. IMO.

Inspiring speeches of the 20th century

A brief collage of the most inspiring people and speeches of the 20th century. Winston Churchill, Oprah Winfrey, JFK, Bono, Lance Armstrong, Nelson Mandela, Steve Jobs, Al Gore, Gloria Steinem,

Gore and Bono at Davos - Bono Says Still No Movement

Gore and Bono at Davos - Bono Says Still No Movement

Here Bono speaks about the limits of personal lobbying, suggesting there is still no social movement for change, something essential for success.

Gore and Bono at Davos - Bono on World Hot Spots

Here Bono speaks about possible connections between climate change and political instability in places like Darfur.

Davos Annual Meeting 2008 - A Unified Earth Theory

It's true, we should all take this matter seriously because when ice melts and water rises, also heavy rain and oceans waves will erode soil of any land, flooding will occur and people will be forced to move to another land. The result of that occuring is people who lost their habitat will be forced to move somewhere else, major problem of overcrowding, where are people gonna go to seek refuge? hellooooooooo, wake up, taste that salt water as it creeps up to your ankle!!



This is an amazing video session. I am going to tell my friend and assciates to come her to view it. I helped produce both Live8 and Live Earth viewing gatherings in San Francisco. Communication, community action and creating political will to meet basic human needs and goals is the key it success for humanity.

Gore, Bono speak in Davos

It's a major disappointment that the global climate crisis has been largely absent as a topic on the Presidential campaign trail.

Every scientific study to come out recently--in the last several months since the IPCC agreed that man-made global warming is a reality and even the Bush administration agreed we need to address it-- shows the trajectory is much worse than previously thought.

Every viable scenario for addressing the global climate crisis involves slowing down (or reversing) the use of coal. West Virginia should start planning now for a post-carbon economy--not later when the transition will be even more painful. As a state we ought to be aggressively pursuing alternative carbon-free energy solutions instead of the false promise of carbon sequestration and "clean coal."

Lets act now while we have a chance to be move to the top of a ranking as experts, producers, and consumers of green energy.

Unchained Melody

http://politics.guardian.co.uk/eu/comment/0,,2251644,00.html

U2 Numb U2

January 30, 2008

By Cahir O’Doherty

CATHERINE Owens, the Irish visual designer behind each of U2’s worldwide tours for the past 15 years, and the co-director (with Mark Pellington) of U2 3D, the concert film about the celebrated Irish rock band that’s now playing, first began her work by shaping the look and feel of the band’s “ZooTV” tour in 1992.

In a real sense, Owens became a fifth member of the band in the early 1990s, because her background in multimedia (sculpture, video art, sound design, photography) went on to serve as a powerful inspiration for U2’s subsequent “PopMart,” “Elevation” and “Vertigo” tours.

Working closely with the band for years, Owens became familiar with their artistic sensibilities, and that made her the natural choice to direct U2 3D, the new concert movie about the band, and the first ever film of their show in digital 3D.

This week she told the Irish Voice how the project got started. “The band really are big fans of high technology, so when they got the chance to film in digital 3D they jumped at it,” she said.

“Having worked with them as their visual content provider for over 15 years now we already knew about their stage presence really well, we know how they look on stage. I just knew the 3D medium would be a good medium to reflect that show in.”

3D may not be an entirely new medium, because we live in it after all, but dispel any lingering memories of cheesy1950s era sci-fi 3D movies and prepare to be dazzled. The fact is, 3D has entered the digital age and the advance in the technology is literally stunning.

“We didn’t commit to filming in 3D until we saw the test screening by the company that makes the 3D cameras. They made a test with the NFL for a Super Bowl game,” she said.

“It looked amazing and that just clinched it. I could tell that if we really made it ours we’d get what we wanted out of it.”

As U2 played Buenos Aires, Argentina, Owens and her co-director Mark Pellington called the camera shots from a control room where they were looking at a bank of monitors. The filming process was exactly like a 2D shoot in most respects, with cameras directed at each of the band members.

Owens made the decision at the beginning to focus exclusively on the band’s performance. There was no Spinal Tap intimate behind the scenes shots of how many trucks it takes to carry the set, or the band members arriving bleary eyed at another foreign airport.

“There’s a fine line between shooting and ending up in the Spinal Tap world. We really just felt like U2’s live performance is their strength, so why not play to it? We decided to leave all the story telling to someone else,” Owens said.

It was a wise decision. U2 3D rediscovers the genius of the band live, so much so that at times it feels like a reintroduction.

The spell is never broken. The achievement is all the more impressive because technically, 3D filming is grueling to film and edit. Added to that are U2’s own standards, which are high, because what might pass in the normal world won’t pass in U2 world.

“U2 are very hands on, they’re very involved in the editing process and they insist on signing off on everything,” Owens reveals.

“We’d come to New York with scenes for their approval, for example. Or we’d meet them at home in Dublin and we’d sit in their kitchen and get a yes or a no. Bono is very tech savvy so we even sent him QuickTime files to approve online. We ran the gamut of how you could possibly sign off on these things.”

Longtime band watchers will not be surprised to hear that U2 is a democracy, not a kingdom. Creatively Bono and Owens have a fairly strong connection, but once that conversation ends, U2 members Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen kick in. The band are known to hold strong opinions, but interestingly they never get involved in conversations about the direction of Owens film.

“Bono doesn’t get involved in directing at all. His only question to me was the same as the entire band’s — what direction can you give us? My answer to that was just do what you normally do as a band, but do it a little more consciously. That was all the direction they got.”

The film is visually thrilling, raising the roof and reintroducing the band to longtime fans and even to themselves. Bono and Edge have commented that this is the first time they have really been able to see themselves live, and Owens is quite sure that those observations will follow them through to the next album. Conversations about the next tour have already begun.

“In the few seconds were I see Bono at various events — before he gets pulled away by five people — he’s always telling me we’ve got to get together, he’s got loads more ideas about the next show. Meanwhile, I would seriously suggest that anyone who’s watching the new film should dance in the aisles, if they’re so inclined.”

U2 3D is now playing in select cinemas nationwide.

Bono and The Edge:

"One day you'll look back, and you'll see
Where you were held now by this love.
While you could stand there,
You could move on this moment
Follow this feeling.

It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways.
It's alright, it's alright, it's alright.
She moves in mysterious ways.

Move you, spirits move you
Move, spirits 'its move you, oh yeah.
Does it move you?
She moves with it.

Lift my days, and light up my nights, ohUSA Today’s exclusive ride-along with Bono and The Edge through the Sundance Film Festival came to a close last Saturday as the car circled the snowy roundabout near Park City’s bustling Main Street, inching through traffic to drop them at the Riverhorse restaurants pre-screening party for the movie U2 3D. Read the full story here.

By Anthony Breznican

Bono had just finished playing me a demo track from their upcoming album, a song called “No Line on the Horizon” that he was inspired to slip into the CD player by the gorgeous white sunset settling over the surrounding mountains.

Bono looks back at the guitarist and says, “Edge – look, it’s 6 o’clock,” and the two look from the green digits on the stereo to each other. Bono explains that numbers are significant in each of the new songs, and slips in another CD that may be the first track on the album. Its opening lyric is, “It’s six o’clock …”

I said, Isn’t it weird how certain numbers seem to turn up in our lives? It seems like this kind of thing is especially common kind of game with musical people, who must make numbers and patterns a part of their art. “Yeah, we like numbers,” Bono says.

Some friends of mine in a Pittsburgh band called Race the Ghost have that thing with 316, which would pop up with all of us at strange times – the address of a party, part of an important phone number, the title of a Van Halen song, the row and seat number at a concert…

“Three-sixteen?” Bono says, turning down the music to ponder it. For a moment I think he’s going to dismiss the phenomenon. Then he jerks his head toward the guitarist and says knowingly: “Edge’s is 42.”

“I discovered recently that it is actually the secret number of the universe,” The Edge says.

“What is it?” Bono asks, and The Edge repeats himself. Bono feigns concern and says, “Steady on, The Edge …”

“Why is that funny? Quite honestly …" The Edge replies. He’s so stoic it’s hard to tell if he’s joking — but he’s joking. "It was in The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy ... But scientists have recently discovered that it’s actually true …”

The Edge’s voice is then drowned out as Bono blasts the volume on his jangling guitar intro, just in time for the “Six o’clock” lyric. Bono sings along with himself for a moment, then turns the sound down again and looks back at the guitarist and smiles sarcastically: “Say it again … Sorry, Edge, for interrupting you, oh master of the universe."

The Edge is undaunted by his friend’s teasing and describes a mathematical study about 42 recurring in formulas relating to mass, energy, speed and other physical properties. It’s clear he’s the scientist, and Bono is the poet – but both see a mysticism in numbers from different directions.

While transcribing the interview recording, I was trying to Google the number 42 and see what Edge was talking about. But I stopped when I noticed something …

This discussion started precisely at minute 42 on the recording. No joke. I went back to 3:16 on the recording, and that is the precise end of my very first question.

Coincidence ... or Mysterious Ways?