Killing Bono

An unreleased song composed by U2 around 30 years ago is to be revealed in the new film Killing Bono.

The song, Secret Mission, was recorded by the band shortly after they formed but it has never been heard by the public before.

Despite being three decades old, the song is only coming to light now because of the film’s music producer, Ciaran Gribbin, who was given the thumbs- up by the band to rework some of their earliest material for the actors to perform.

The Derry singer said he was brought in as a music supervisor and producer for the highly anticipated film and found it a “dream come true” to work with the raw song.

“Hopefully everyone will be really happy with it,” he said.

“It’s an absolute dream come true. I’ve been writing music for a long, long time – I did eight songs for the movie – but it remains to be seen how it came out in the end. I hope the public will get it. I’m confident with what I’ve got though.

“It was written before U2 ever existed. They never officially released it, they recorded it when they were teenagers and called themselves The Hype.

“They were probably 16 or 17, it’s one of their first ever songs. You can hear where they were going with it though. It has that early punk angst that you would find in a teen band – but there are hints of where they were going with October in there also.

Gribbin said the majority of people involved in the film have close ties to the legendary band.

“There’s a strong U2 connection with the team actually making the film. One of the producers was U2′s agent when they first got signed, so they obviously know and trust him,” he added.

He approached them saying they needed an early song for that first school gig scene, and they were happy to oblige.

The singer, who performs under the stage name Joe Echo, said that he hopes his version does U2 justice.

Killing Bono just been picked up by Paramount Pictures and is set for release in the UK by the end of the year.

U2 frontman Bono is set to book a loss of $140m (£92m) after Palm announced a $1.2bn deal to sell itself to personal computer giant Hewlett-Packard.

Bono’s private equity venture, Elevation Partners, owns an approximate 30pc stake in Palm, having invested $460m in the struggling handset maker in 2007 and 2008. The H-P deal values Palm’s equity at $961m – the rest of the deal price is debt – meaning Elevation’s stake will be worth roughly $320m.

Palm, which began life in 1992 as one of the companies at the forefront of the personal digital assistant (PDA), has struggled of late as a result of lagging sales and increasing marketing costs, downgrading sales estimates for the current quarter by more than half in March.

Palm put itself up for sale earlier this month, amid speculation of offers from Lenovo of China and HTC of Taiwan.

But H-P said late on Wednesday it has reached an agreement to buy Palm, as part of a concerted attempt by the world’s largest computer maker to make its presence felt in the smart phone market.

The all-cash deal values Palm’s shares at $5.70 each, a 23pc premium to last night’s closing price of $4.63, although considerably lower than the $18.09 it reached last year following the release of its Palm Pre handset.

- Telegraph.co.uk

An honorary knight and a former president are being feted by the prestigious Atlantic Council in Washington, D.C.

U2 lead singer Bono and former President Bill Clinton will take home awards tonight, and not for the interest they share in music. They are being acknowledged in the nation’s capital for their distinguished work on the international stage in the interest of peace around the globe.

Bono will receive the Council’s first-ever Humanitarian Leadership Award. Known worldwide for his music, Bono also has earned respect and praise for his longtime crusade against global poverty. The Queen of England tapped the Ireland native for honorary knighthood two years ago for his outstanding efforts for the world’s poor and downtrodden.

At the same ceremony, the Atlantic Council also will honor the international leadership of former President Bill Clinton. He will be singled out for his distinguished international leadership that led to peace negotiations in Northern Ireland, NATO’s growth and NAFTA. He also will be lauded for his exceptional efforts that led to the Dayton Accords, the 1995 peace agreement that ended the war in Bosnia.

Among the others to be honored this evening are two generals — James Mattis, of the U.S. Marine Corp., and Stephane Abrial, of the French Air Force. Deutsche Bank Chief Executive Josef Ackermann also will receive a Council prize.

The Atlantic Council, which counts current National Security Advisor James L. Jones and UN Ambassador Susan Rice as former employees, is a non-partisan group with a mission of promoting international cooperation, particularly between the U.S. and Europe. Jones will be joined at the black-tie gathering by Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen, Sen. John McCain and a host of other Washington socialites and politicians.

Last year’s council dinner included a musical interlude from one of the awardees, baritone Thomas Hampson. With a singer and a saxophonist (Clinton) being honored, tonight’s elite gathering could turn into a Bono-fied party.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC Washington

U2 are taking some time off before gearing up their 360 World Tour again later this year, and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. recently found himself in rural Ontario to shoot a film called Man On The Train.

Work on the film reportedly began on April 19. According to popular fan site atu2.com, Mullen is playing a bank robber in the film, which is being shot in Orangeville, Ont. Man On The Train also stars Donald Sutherland (M*A*S*H, National Lampoon’s Animal House) and Graham Greene (Dances With Wolves, The Red Green Show).

The site and the Orangeville Banner report that security was heightened at various locations when word leaked about Mullen’s presence. A series of photos are also available here with Mullen sporting a goatee.

Meanwhile, popgoesthenews also featured additional photos of a scene with Mullen running out of a bank brandishing a gun.

Man On The Train is reportedly a remake of a 2002 French film and is being directed by Mary McGuckian (Inconceivable). There’s no word on when the film will be released.

U2 will release a live DVD, U2 360 At The Rose Bowl, on June 7 in Europe and June 3 in the U.S. That latter date the same day the band kick off their North American leg in Salt Lake City.

You can see U2 here:

June 3 Salt Lake City, UT @ Rice Eccles Stadium w/ Lenny Kravitz
June 6-7 Anaheim, CA @ Angel Stadium w/ Lenny Kravitz
June 12 Denver, CO @ Invesco Field w/ Lenny Kravitz
June 16 Oakland, CA @ Oakland Coliseum w/ The Fray
June 20 Seattle, WA @ Qwest Field w/ The Fray
June 23 Edmonton, AB @ Commonwealth Stadium w/ The Fray
June 27 Minneapolis, MN @ TCF Bank Stadium w/ Interpol
June 30 East Lansing, MI @ Spartan Stadium w/ Interpol
July 3 Toronto, ON @ Rogers Centre w/ Interpol
July 6 Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field w/ Interpol
July 9 Miami, FL @ Land Shark Stadium w/ Interpol
July 16-17 Montreal, QC @ Montreal Hippodrome w/ Interpol
July 19 New York, NY @ New Meadowlands Stadium w/ Interpol
Aug. 6 Turin, Italy @ Stadio Olimpico w/ Kasabian
Aug. 10 Frankfurt, Germany @ Commerzbank Arena w/ Kasabian
Aug. 12 Hannover, Germany @ AWD Stadium w/ Kasabian
Aug. 15-16 Horsens, Denmark @ Casa Arena w/ Snow Patorl
Aug. 20-21 Helsinki, Finland @ Olypic Stadium w/ Razorlight
Aug. 25 Moscow, Russia @ Luzhniki w/ Snow Patrol
Aug. 30 Vienna, Austria @ Ernst Happel Stadium w/ OneRepublic
Sept. 3 Athens, Greece @ Olympic Stadium w/ Snow Patrol
Sept. 6 Istanbul, Turkey @ Ataturk Olympic Stadium w/ Snow Patrol
Sept. 11-12 Zurich, Switzerland @ Letzigrund Stadium w/ OneRepublic
Sept. 15 Munich, Germany @ Olympic Stadium w/ OneRepublic
Sept. 18 Paris, France @ Stade De France w/ Interpol
Sept. 22-23 Brussels, Belgium @ Stade Roi Boudoin w/ Interpol
Sept. 26 San Sebastian, Spain @ Anoeta Stadium w/ Interpol
Sept. 29 Seville, Spain @ Olympic Stadium w/ Interpol
Oct. 2-3 Coimbra, Portugal @ Estadio Cidade Coimbra w/ Interpol
Oct. 8 Rome, Italy @ Olympic Stadium w/ Interpol

- ChartAttack

WHEN rock band U2 embarks on its five-month world tour in June, Bono and the gang will be accompanied by Melbourne security company boss Andrew Wolveridge.

A regular and trusty face guarding red carpets across town, Wolveridge worked with U2 during the Australian leg of its 2006 Vertigo tour and was approached by the group’s head of security to co-ordinate the 2010 shows. Wolveridge will oversee logistics at stadiums in the US, Helsinki, Moscow, Istanbul, Paris, Rome and many more stops in between. What to pack for the northern hemisphere summer?

Definitely Bono-style sunnies. Wolveridge has worked with the Rolling Stones, Pink, Priscilla Presley, Taylor Swift, Harry Connick jnr, Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev but the ultimate endorsement came from Stormin’ Norman Schwarzkopf. The general told Wolveridge: ”Thanks for another great trip with superb security.” It’s no surprise that U2, when deciding to go with or without him, jumped at going with him.

- theAGE.com.au

In between promoting U2’s latest album No Line On The Horizon and his various charitable efforts around the world, lead singer Bono has found the time to provide the voice over for a television advertisement for the upcoming World Cup Soccer (an ad which ran continuously during this weekend’s NFL Draft, leading one to wonder whether perhaps ESPN had gotten the two kinds of “football” confused). Set to the backdrop of current U2 Magnificent, Bono begins the ad with “It’s not about politics or religion or the economy…” and continues on from there.

The 2010 World Cup will take place in South Africa, running from June 11th through July 11th – right around the time that fans of “American football” will be wishing their 2010 season would hurry up and begin. U2 is gearing up for May’s release of Artificial Horizon before touring the U.S. on its “U2 360″ tour beginning June 3rd in Salt Lake City, then heading overseas in August.

- Beatweek magazine