Latest U2 News & Information

By Sandy Cohen, AP Entertainment Writer
Guitarist the Edge takes a break from recording new U2 album to host charity auction

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For the second year in a row, the Edge is putting his money where the music is.

The U2 guitarist announced Wednesday he will donate two Gibson guitars and other items from his personal collection to the “Icons of Music” auction benefiting Music Rising, a charity the Edge co-founded to replace musical equipment lost or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. Read the rest of this story »

A T-Shirt, designed by Bono for Hard Rock International, will raise funds to benefit cotton farmers and garment workers in Africa. The design features a fish soaring through the moon and stars. With Bono’s signature.

The ‘Bono Signature Series T-shirt’ is set on a black 100% African cotton t-shirt (men’s) and on a white 100% African cotton t-shirt (women’s) and it’s produced by edun LIVE, the ethical t-shirt company, founded by Bono and Ali.

‘Proceeds from sales will benefit Wildlife Conservation Society’s Conservation Cotton Initiative, which helps lift African farmers out of poverty by providing education on proper land management, organic cotton growing techniques and wildlife conservation.’

Order yours here

More about the Wildlife Conservation Society and its Conservation Cotton Initiative, here

Check out edun Live here

THE architect at the centre of the 1990s regeneration of Temple Bar yesterday said if ambitious plans like those for U2’s Clarence Hotel were on the table back then he would have backed them.

James Howley, who oversaw much of the regeneration of the cultural centre of Dublin, told a hearing of An Bord Pleanala into plans to transform the Clarence site: “It is important to understand the meaning and essence of the term conservation, which is often mistakenly confused with those of preservation.” Read the rest of this story »

The lead singer for the Irish rock band U2 is expected to attend the 10th anniversary celebration of the Good Friday Agreement in Northern Ireland on Friday, April 11. He will be one of over 200 expected guests to attend. Ireland’s Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, former British premier Tony Blair, US Senator George Mitchell, Northern Ireland politician John Hume and Africa campaigner Bob Geldof are also expected to attend.

The Good Friday Agreement, signed in Belfast April 10, 1998, led to the creation of the administration between pro-British Unionists and pro-Irish Nationalists in Belfast.

Ahern has stated, “It is particularly appropriate that we honour Tony Blair, his achievements and his huge personal commitment to the cause of peace in Northern Ireland as we mark the 10th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.”

- Finditt

After an Easter break, U2 is back in the studio in Dublin to work on its next album with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois. “Everyone [is] still hoping the new album will be out this year,” reads a post on U2.com.

The as-yet-untitled disc will be followed by a 2009 tour, U2’s first since recently cementing a 12-year deal with Live Nation Artists.

In other U2 news, Universal has set a July 22 release for remastered, expanded editions of the band’s first three albums: “Boy” (1980), “October” (1981) and “War” (1983).

Guitarist the Edge is overseeing the reissues, which will include the original album on a single-disc, 180-gram vinyl and in a two-CD package featuring B-sides, rare tracks and live material.

The reissue program began last fall with “The Joshua Tree,” which featured a previously unreleased video for “Red Hill Mining Town” and a host of other rarities.

- Billboard.com

April 9, 2008 — AFTER more than two years, Bono has finally found a buyer for his co-op apartment at 300 Central Park West. The Post’s Braden Keil reports that the U2 frontman sold his three-bedroom, fourbath co-op in the Eldorado for $4.9 million after first listing it for $5.5 million. Under his given name, Paul Hewson, the singer and his wife, Ali Hewson, paid $3.4 million for the 16th-floor pad in 2001. The couple listed the place after buying a larger duplex penthouse down the street in the San Remo from Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 2005 for $14.9 million.

- New York Post

In ‘The View Presents… The Edge’ the guitarist talks about the responsibilities of fame, creativity and the band’s longevity.

Commenting on how U2 have remained so cohesive a unit over 30 years, he says: “Maybe it’s because we were friends before we were a band. So in a sense the friendships were solid, so when it came to those moments of conflicts or difficulty, we kind of were able to skirt around the big conflicts and diffuse the situation and so we’re operating in pretty much the same way now as we always did.”

The View Web page

THE Sunday Independent in Ireland published its annual list of who’s making what over there, and to absolutely no one’s surprise, U2 top the list of wealthiest entertainers, with a healthy bank balance of €900 million. Nice! “The band, which has traditionally split earnings equally among Bono, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, the Edge and manager Paul McGuinness, has begun to divide up its vast portfolio among their respective families,” says the Indo. Clearly, the relatives won’t have any financial worries in the future!

Coming in second is Michael Flatley, who’s said to have €590 million to his name. Chicago-born Flatley resides full time at his Castlehyde mansion in Co. Cork with wife Niamh and son Michael Junior. “He has a wide range of investments,” says the paper. Putting it mildly! Read the rest of this story »

Live Nation, the promoter that owns or manages venues such as Wembley Arena and Manchester Apollo, has signed an $80 million (£40 million) upfront deal with U2 that will tie the Irish rock band to its venues for the next 12 years.

The deal underlines the growing battle for live rights and cements the Irish four piece into a long-term deal, where previously the band worked with New York-listed Live Nation on a tour-by-tour basis.

Bono, lead singer of U2, said: “We’ve been dating for over 20 years now; it’s about time we tied the knot.” Live Nation has produced every U2 tour since 1997 but company bosses first worked with the band in Toronto in 1980. Read the rest of this story »

US concert promotion company Live Nation has signed U2 up to for 12-year deal for merchandising.While U2 will stay with Universal Music, all merchandising, digital and branding rights will now be controlled by Live Nation.

The deal will be global.

Live Nation has managed U2’s world tours for the last 20 years.

Licensing rights, sponsorship opportunities, fan club and web site activity as well as marketing and creative services will be handled now by Live Nation on behalf of the band.

The deal falls short of a similar agreement the company signed with Madonna last year. Under the Madonna deal, the touring company will also release all of Madonna’s new music once her Warner deal runs out after her forthcoming ‘Hard Candy’ album.

Live Nation shares closed at $11.83 on Friday, down from 12 month high of $24.09

by Paul Cashmere, Undercover.com.au