Latest U2 News & Information

U2’s now-legendary Red Rocks show on June 5, 1983, had all the makings for a classic disaster.

The weather bordered on sleet and rain all day — hardly idyllic conditions for a video shoot that included countless cameras and three giant torches sitting atop the rocks.The promoters were in California until the afternoon of the show, and when they flew into a blustery Stapleton Airport, they called the mountain amphitheater’s backstage to see where the show had been moved.

But the band wasn’t about to move the concert.

“I asked them why they didn’t call me, and the people said, ‘The band wouldn’t let us, because they knew you’d want to move the show,’ ” retired promoter Barry Fey remembered.

“Then Paul McGuinness, their manager, got on the phone, and then Bono got on the phone, and then Chuck (Morris) and I headed home to change out of our sunny California gear into something much heavier before heading up to Red Rocks.”

Read the rest of this story »

David Beckham is set to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

The soccer star decided to undertake the gruelling six day climb to raise money for children’s charity Unicef after being asked by U2 frontman Bono.

A source close to the LA Galaxy player told Britain’s The Sun newspaper: “The 19,340ft peak is a bit outside of David’s normal comfort zone but he is absolutely set on making the climb.

“He was a bit uncertain at first but he found out, like many celebrities before him, that Bono can be very persuasive.

“No date has been fixed yet because David is very busy with his LA Galaxy commitments   but he is absolutely set on doing it.”

The 33-year-old football hero could also be joined by another British soccer star, West Ham goalkeeper Robert Green, as he climbs Africa’s highest peak in north-east Tanzania.

David previously teamed up with Bono at the Live 8 concert in 2005 when he introduced British singer Robbie Williams.

- BANG! SHOWBIZ

U2 soundman Joe O’Herlihy has revealed that following a stint in
Dublin’s Windmill Lane Studios, the band are set to do some warm
weather recording overseas.

“I’m heading out to France to begin working with them on it,” Joe
tells hotpress.com. “They decided they needed a few rays while they
were working on the new songs. But things are in full swing working
towards a new album. We’re hoping to have something in the can come
September/October. We’ll know in the next couple of months how things
shape up but that’s what they’re aiming for. All things being equal
they will more than likely tour in 2009. They love it. It’s their life
and it’s what they do.”

Joe has more to say about U2, The Undertones and his beloved Cork in
the next issue of Hot Press, out on Thursday.

- Hot Press

Not for Ali Hewson the traditional rock chick’s pursuits of shopping and partying. Bono’s wife is far too busy raising a family and worrying about saving the world. Could she also be an Irish president-in-waiting, asks Justine Picardie

There was a time when one might have expected a meeting with a rock star’s wife to be attended by a certain amount of mayhem - temper tantrums and trashed hotel rooms, perhaps, or at the very least a retinue including a drug dealer, masseuse, hair stylist and personal astrologer.

But the softly spoken 47-year-old woman sitting opposite me in a suite in Claridge’s is anything but the cartoon version of a hell-raising, hard-drinking rock chick; she is wearing a black calf-length Comme des Garçons skirt with a Victorian bell-sleeved blouse; raven hair neatly brushed, porcelain skin unadorned by make-up.

Read the rest of this story »

Tim Adams speaks to Bono about the origins of the Make Poverty History campaign and persuading a reluctant Bush administration to provide over $50 billion in aid to Africa.

Vid courtesy of Guardian News and Media Limited

Brad Pitt helped Bono celebrate his 48th birthday in Monaco over the weekend.

The ‘Fight Club’ star joined the U2 frontman and his wife Ali Hewson for an intimate dinner party at Sass’ Café, where they enjoyed an elaborate meal washed down with red wine and champagne on Friday night.

Although Brad’s pregnant partner Angelina Jolie didn’t join them, Bono’s bandmate The Edge was there along with Monaco’s Prince Albert. Read the rest of this story »