Latest U2 News & Information

NEW YORK, May 28 /PRNewswire/ — WHO: U2’s The Edge to host with special performance by Aaron Neville and appearances by Les Paul, Tiki Barber, Christy Turlington, Petra Nemcova, Joan Jett, “Cry-Baby” Broadway star James Snyder, Earl Slick, Jody Porter of Fountains of Wayne, writer May Pang, Donna Karan, legendary producer and Music Rising co-founder Bob Ezrin and many more. Jim Kerr will emcee the auction.Lisa Loeb will be hosting the Auction Network show live from the red carpet.

WHAT: U2’s The Edge, will host the star-studded Icons of Music II Auction at Hard Rock Cafe New York to benefit Music Rising, a campaign founded in 2005 to support musicians, students and parishioners of the Gulf Coast Region affected by the hurricanes.

Music Rising has since aided over 2,700 professional musicians and nearly 50,000 students and parishioners and will soon launch Phase III of the campaign. The event will be conducted by world renowned Julien’s Auctions (http://www.juliensauctions.com).

The exclusive event will include a performance by legendary musician Aaron Neville and a star-studded red carpet. Auction Network, the first 24/7, multimedia network solely dedicated to auctions, will conduct a live webcast in real-time streaming video of The Icons of Music Auction II hosted by Lisa Loeb.

For more information about how to register to bid, etc. please visit http://www.juliensauctions.com or call (310) 816-1818. For tickets, visit http://www.ticketmaster.com.

WHERE: Hard Rock Cafe New York 1501 Broadway New York, NY 10036 WHEN: 5:30 PM Media Check-In 6:00 PM Red Carpet 6:30 PM Performance 7:00 PM Auction About Music Rising Music Rising, a campaign launched in 2005 to replace musical instruments lost or destroyed by hurricanes in the Gulf Region.

It has since launched a second phase dedicated to the aid of schools and churches. Music Rising was formed by U2’s The Edge, legendary producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. Partners of the campaign represent the most diverse partnership in the entertainment industry and include MusiCares, Guitar Center, Musician’s Friend, Live Nation, Kennedy/Marshall, Ticketmaster, Hard Rock International, VH-1, MTV, Real Networks, ABC News Now, The NFL, Rolling Stone, Mr. Hollands Opus, Juliens Auctions, ACT and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund.

Music Rising is the recipient of the prestigious 2005 HALO Award for Cause Marketing and the 2006 Billboard Humanitarian Award, the 2008 PRISM Award and has been recognized around the world by various media organizations. Music Rising is administered by the Gibson Foundation. For more information go to http://www.musicrising.org and http://www.gibsonfoundation.org.

FAMOUS names ranging from rock star Bono to US President George W Bush called for action to fight poverty in Africa in a special edition today of one of Japan’s major newspapers.

Bono, visiting Japan for a major Africa development summit that closed yesterday, teamed up with fellow musician-activist Bob Geldof as guest editors of a supplement to the Asahi Shimbun, an influential liberal daily.

Mr Bush wrote that the July 7-9 summit of the Group of Eight major industrial powers, to be held in Japan, needed to take concrete action to tackle AIDS and other scourges afflicting Africa.

“My message to my fellow leaders will be that our past promises are just empty words unless we provide meaningful follow-through,” Mr Bush wrote.

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This audio was posted on the Interference forum, it’s being posted to quench some thirst for new U2. Turn it up, and listen close.

http://urlbit.com/u2-hq/

U2DMfan Edited Version - 2 minutes15 sec - 5/17/2008 - Dublin, Ireland

Above image provided originally by the_edge98

Irish rockers U2’s longtime manager PAUL MCGUINESS narrowly escaped paralysis recently after he was involved in a horrific horse riding accident.

The music mogul, who also manages the careers of singer PJ Harvey and New York rockers The Rapture, had to be taken to hospital after being thrown from a horse while riding near his estate in County Wicklow, Ireland.
A source tells Ireland’s Sunday World newspaper, “It was a pretty bad fall and Paul broke his collarbone. He was rushed to hospital and was in absolute agony.

“He’s still getting over it and knows he has had a lucky escape.”

- Contact Music

TOKYO, Japan — In his first lecture as “Dr. Bono,” the rock superstar, social activist and freshly minted intellectual on Tuesday urged Japan to double its aid to Africa by 2012 and recapture its position as the global leader in overseas development.

Although Japan gave the most overseas aid in the early 1990s, its generosity has steadily fallen since then, the U2 frontman told students at Tokyo’s prestigious Keio University, where he received an honorary doctorate of law earlier in the day.

“The world is watching Japan as the G8 (summit) approaches, and it’s not good news,” he said. The summit is scheduled to take place in Hokkaido, northern Japan, in July. Japan’s net official development assistance in 2007 was US$7.7 billion, down 30 per cent from the previous year and dropping the country to fifth place among foreign aid donors, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

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Bono the gardener?

Bono hams it up with a shovel on Tuesday while planting a tree as part of the Tokyo metropolitan government’s “Green Island” project at Odaiba, part of a sprawling man-made island in Tokyo Bay.

More photos in the gallery >>

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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.”

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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