U2’s THE EDGE is to marry the band’s former belly dancer this
summer. The guitarist, real name Dave Evans, and stunning
American MORLEIGH STEINBERG will tie the knot in June.

The pair met while U2 were touring the States in 1992. They hired
Morleigh to dance with frontman BONO during the song Mysterious
Ways.

The couple live in Ireland and have two children.

An insider said: “When the band found a space in their diary, Edge
and Morleigh leapt at the chance to tie the knot.”

- The Sun – http://www.thesun.co.uk/

Bono has told a jury he has never seen Peter Buck drunk.

He said the REM guitarist, who denies a drunken rampage aboard a British Airways plane, also steered clear of drugs.

Bono stated Buck is a famously peaceful individual with a strong sense of family values.

Bono – real name Paul David Hewson – was speaking during a surprise 10-minute character witness appearance on the sixth day of Buck’s trial at London’s Isleworth Crown Court.

According to the Crown, Buck – who denies one charge of being drunk on a Boeing 747 from Seattle to Heathrow flight last April, two of common assault on crew, and one allegation of damaging crockery – spent a large part of the flight downing wine and behaving like a “lout”.

A string of witnesses claimed how two cabin staff were attacked and covered in yoghurt. Shortly afterwards he allegedly tried to load a CD into a business trolley, before upending it, sending crockery and food spilling across the floor. Then he was spotted attempting to slip a knife up his sleeve as he tried to clear up the mess, it was alleged. On other occasions Buck was said to have been pulled away from an exit door after announcing at 35,000ft above the Atlantic he wanted to “go home”.

Bono said that he had known Buck for 17 years after REM and his group played together at the Milton Keynes Bowl. It marked the beginning of a lasting friendship.

Asked if they socialised with one another, the U2 singer replied: “There has been a certain amount of social interchange because we like each other’s company. I have never ever seen him drunk. I have absolutely never seen him taking drugs. I came over because he is actually famously known for being peaceful.”

When he heard of the allegations against Buck, “I could not believe my eyes and ears. I just wanted to stand up and be heard. It didn’t add up to the person whose arm I had to twist to go to a boxing match because he thought it was an aggressive sport.”

Referring to the proceedings, he said: “This is ridiculous, it is a very bizarre event.”

- Ananova 2002

U2 led the field today as they received six nominations for this
year’s Hot Press’ Irish Music Awards.

In what is being billed as a star-studded ceremony in Belfast next
month, U2 will be battling the Corrs, Ash, and the Frames for Best
Band.

They will also challenge Ash in the Best Single and Best Rock Gig by
an Irish Artist categories.

Bono has also been nominated for the Best Male Singer against former
Boyzone member, Ronan Keating and will be challenged for the title of
Best Songwriter by Neil Hannon, whose band the Divine Comedy split up
last year and by folk legend, Christy Moore.

U2 guitarist, the Edge will battle for the Best Musician award.

Ash have received four nominations including Best Album.

Up and coming singer-songwriter David Kitt has secured four
nominations for Best Album, Best Single, Best Male Singer and Best
Songwriter as have the Frames whose lead singer, Glen Hansard was one
of the stars of the Alan Parker movie “The Commitments.”

The Corrs have four nominations — Best Band, Best Pop Artist, Andrea
Corr for Best Female Singer and Sharon Corr for Best Musician.

Westlife and Oscar-nominated Enya have one nomination apiece.

Meanwhile, Radiohead, Bob Dylan, David Gray and the Red Hot Chilli
Peppers will be vying for the award for Best Live Gig for an
international act.

? 2002 The Irish Times/ireland.com

-U2 “Best Of 1990-2000″ will be released in autumn 2002.
-There will be a new U2 single before the album release.
-There will be a second new U2 single in early 2003.
-The “Best Of 1990-2000″ will be released as a limited edition double CD set,
as well as a standard 1-CD edition. Tracklistings are not known.

as reported by Universal Switzerland & posted at U2swisshome.com.

“U2?s manager Paul McGuinness issued a short statement today, revealing that
the band are in the studio and working on new material.

?U2 would like to clarify that, contrary to certain speculation in the
press, they will be neither touring Europe this summer, nor splitting up.?
said the statement. ?Instead, they are spending time in the studio working
on new material for a possible release later this year.?

That?s all for now, more as we get it. “

-U2.com

Yes, there is the temptation to look at Bono’s face splashed across the
cover of Time Magazine and think: “Egocentric rocker schmoozes with
world leaders, enhances career.” But there is no denying that Bono is
an effective political operative. By taking the less than popular cause
of debt relief and focusing his efforts on the neglected continent of
Africa, he has certainly taken the road less traveled by other celebs
– who usually take on sexier or easier to understand causes. More
importantly, he has moved forward the discussion on policy.

Bono’s self-appointed task is to help the world — and especially white
America — understand how the financial and physical health of Africa
is intricately linked to the well-being of our country and the globe.
To fulfill this challenging goal, Bono started DATA (Debt, Aid, Trade
for Africa), a non-profit advocacy group which is slated to launch
later this month. Apart from debt relief, DATA’s ambitious agenda
includes short-term economic aid, lowered trade embargoes, and money to
fight the AIDS crisis.

The Masher notes Bono’s and U2’s activism has not hurt the band’s
success. According to Pollstar magazine, U2’s tour in 2001 brought in
$110 million, making it one of the most profitable tours in rock
history, second only to the Rolling Stones 1994 tour ($121.2 million).
Concert-goers paid a lot more per ticket in 2001. Ticket prices went up
more than $3 to an average of $43.86 a ducat — no doubt, an effect of
the increasing monopoly power of Clear Channel Communications and its
entertainment subsidiary formerly known as SFX. Pop opera singer Andrea
Bocelli charged the highest average ticket price at $161.45 in 2001,
while the old heavy metal act Poison ranked the lowest with $16.32 per
ticket.

? 2002 Independent Media Institute. All rights reserved.