And now Bill Clinton returns the favour

Full story and video here

 

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/no...n-29617560.html

 

 

Bill needs some more practice I fear :huh:

The Edge has been out and about in New York. At a 'luvvy' party.

 

Photos here

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...tipe-event.html

Adam is moving to London

 

From

 

http://www.homesandproperty.co.uk/property...damclayton.html

 

 

U2's Adam Clayton moves to Westminster

 

Adam Clayton is leaving Ireland to join his new wife Mariana Teizeira De Carvalho in London

U2 bassist Adam Clayton is leaving his home in Ireland to join his new wife Mariana Teixeira De Carvalho in her Westminster house. The Brazilian model, 35, is an associate director of art company Hauser & Wirth, which has galleries in Saville Row and Piccadilly.

 

The 53-year-old musician, who was formerly engaged to Naomi Campbell, will swap his 18th century stately home on the outskirts of Dublin for London life. This will be a huge change for Bono's bandmate as he has lived in Danesmoate House for the past 20 years. U2's most celebrated album, The Joshua Tree, was recorded in the 20-bedroom mansion so it holds special memories.

 

His love nest in the capital may be more modest but if he is craving the open spaces he can pop to nearby Hyde Park.

 

U2 performance included on Amnesty International box set

 

Story here

 

http://www.nme.com/news/radiohead/73086

The boys at an art exhibition in Dublin

 

 

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/bo...n-29650747.html

From

 

http://www.herald.ie/news/u2s-adam-urges-s...n-29650133.html

 

 

U2's Adam urges schools to back mental health campaign

 

FIONA DILLON – 10 OCTOBER 2013 02:30 PM

 

U2 BASSIST Adam Clayton has written to secondary school principals asking them to support a mental health initiative.

 

 

He got married just over a month ago, but he still took time out of his busy schedule for the 'Walk in My Shoes' campaign, for which he is the ambassador.

 

It's a nationwide awareness and fundraising initiative of St Patrick's Mental Health Foundation which aims to change the lives of vulnerable young adults in Ireland by providing them with mental health services and support.

 

 

 

IMPORTANCE

 

In his letter to school principal's, Adam asked them to help him highlight the importance of mental health to young people in Ireland today.

 

He said: "I think we all have to care about anyone who is young and troubled; we have to be able to recognise the warning signs and try to respond to them not only with sympathy but with seriousness.

 

"This is one of the most important challenges facing us now."

 

He added: "The idea behind 'Walk In My Shoes' came from a 16-year-old boy attending St Patrick's Mental Health Services in Dublin who said he wished his friends could put themselves in his shoes and understand what he was going through.

 

He invited principals to get behind the initiative by asking staff and students to organise a Walk in My Shoes day, and to donate just €2 each.

 

The star said that the funds raised would provide mental health services to vulnerable young adults who otherwise could not afford them, and would provide a support and information telephone helpline manned by mental health professionals.

 

 

U2 to release limited edition single in November

 

 

Irish band will release 'Ordinary Love' and 'Breath' on 10-inch vinyl for Record Store Day's Black Friday

 

 

U2 will release two new songs from the forthcoming Nelson Mandela biopic, Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom on Record Store Day's Black Friday, it has been confirmed.

 

The two new tracks, titled 'Ordinary Love' and 'Breath', will be released on exclusive 10-inch vinyl on November 29, according to the official Record Store Day website. The release will coincide with the release of the Mandela biopic, which features actor Idris Elba in the lead role. Modern Vinyl reports that only 10,000 copies of the release will be pressed, while the artwork for the single can be seen above.

 

U2 bassist Adam Clayton recently revealed that the band are aiming to finish a new album by the end of November. They last put out an album in 2009 when they released 'No Line On The Horizon'. It is expected that their new record will appear in 2014 with Clayton confirming that the band are trying to get the songs "absolutely right" prior to Christmas.

 

"I think it’s a bit of a return to U2 of old, but with the maturity, if you like, of the U2 of the last 10 years. It’s a combination of those two things and it’s a really interesting hybrid," Clayton said.

 

He added: "We’re in the studio. We’re trying to get these 12 songs absolutely right and get them finished by the end of November, and then we can kind of enjoy Christmas."

 

Earlier this year U2 were reportedly spotted entering a New York studio with Coldplay's Chris Martin, fuelling speculation that the singer may appear on the band's new album. All four members of the rock group were seen at the Electric Lady Studios in New York in May, where Danger Mouse was reportedly mixing the new material.

 

 

 

 

NME.com

Paul McGuinness to step down as U2 manager

 

 

‘It could be seen as poor etiquette for a manager to retire before his artist has split, quit or died’

 

U2’s manager Paul McGuinness who has confirmed he is stepping down from his role as part of a deal which will see Live Nation buy the management teams of the Irish band and Madonna.

 

 

Wed, Nov 13, 2013, 10:08

 

 

U2’s long-time manager, Paul McGuinness is to leave his role with the band.

 

In a statement Mr McGuinness said: “It could be seen as slightly poor etiquette for a manager to consider retiring before his artist has split, quit or died, but U2 have never subscribed to the rock ‘n’ roll code of conduct.”

 

“As I approach the musically relevant age of 64, I have resolved to take a less hands-on role as the band embarks on the next cycle of their extraordinary career.”

 

His decision comes as Live Nation Entertainment, the concert company that includes Ticketmaster, is in advanced negotiations to buy the management companies behind U2 and Madonna.

Under the deal, Live Nation would pay more than $30 million for both Principle Management, Mr McGuinness’s company, as well as Maverick, run by Guy Oseary, Madonna’s manager.

 

Mr Oseary would then take over day-to-day management of U2.

McGuinness (62) who has managed U2 almost since its inception - and in doing so became one of the most highly-rated executives in the music business - would become Principle’s chairman, a role that is not fully clear.

 

“I am delighted that Live Nation, who with Arthur Fogel have been our long term touring partners, have joined us in creating this powerful new force in artist management,” Mr McGuinness said.

“I have long regarded Guy Oseary as the best manager of his generation, and there is no one else I would have considered to take over the day-to-day running of our business.”

 

A spokeswoman for Live Nation declined to comment, and Oseary could not be reached yesterday.

 

According to Pollstar, a concert industry trade magazine, the top 10 highest-grossing tours include four by U2 and one by Madonna. U2’s last tour, called 360, had more than $700 million in ticket sales and was seen by nearly 7 million people around the world.

Live Nation, which besides its concert promotion and ticketing business manages the careers of some 200 acts through its Artist Nation division, has had close ties with both U2 and Madonna for years.

 

In 2007, it struck a $120 million deal with Madonna that covered touring and recorded music rights for a decade, and it later sold the recording rights to Universal. In 2008, it made a deal with U2 to handle the band’s touring and merchandising exclusively for 12 years.

 

Along with other arrangements Live Nation made around that time with Jay-Z, Shakira and Nickelback, those deals came to symbolize a major change in the music business, as artists looked to concerts, merchandise and myriad other outlets to make up for lost record sales.

 

 

irishtimes.ie

 

Wow! That's a shocker!

 

After so many years! :o :o :o

From

 

http://www.independent.ie/business/irish/p...l-29758932.html

 

 

Profits fall 35pc at U2's Clarence Hotel

 

GORDON DEEGAN – 16 NOVEMBER 2013

 

Profits at the four-star Clarence Hotel – co-owned by U2's Bono and The Edge – fell 35pc to just €73,442.

 

 

New accounts just filed by the Clarence Hotel in Dublin's Temple Bar show that the hotel cut accumulated losses by €73,442 to €2.379m last year.

 

It was the third successive year that the hotel has recorded profits. The boutique hotel made losses in 2009 and 2008.

 

The Clarence hotel was purchased by Bono and The Edge and a consortium of investors in 1992. The shareholders advanced interest-free loans to the business and were owed €769,583 at the end of December last.

 

The shareholders are Bono, his wife, Ali Hewson, The Edge along with financier Derek Quinlan and developer Paddy McKillen.

 

A note attached to the accounts states that "the company continues to meet its day to day working capital requirements by way of loans from its directors/shareholders, which are unsecured and interest free". The note goes on: "These parties have confirmed that they will not seek repayment of such loans for the foreseeable future."

 

The note adds that directors, Bono and The Edge "have confirmed their intention to provide the financial support necessary to enable the company to discharge its liabilities as they fall due, and continue its operations for the foreseeable future".

 

Bono and The Edge have already invested millions in the hotel. In 2006, a loan of €8.5m from their company, Lorijudd Investments Ltd to the Clarence was written off.

 

Advertised online room-rates at the hotel yesterday ranged from €139 for a Standard King Room, with nightly rates for the two room River Suite going from €614. :rolleyes:

From

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/mu...r-29760545.html

 

 

 

All is quiet – U2 keep schtum following shock departure of manager

 

 

http://cdn2.independent.ie/entertainment/music/article29760543.ece/ALTERNATES/w620/NWS_20131117_ENT_003_29648754_I1.JPG

 

WITHOUT YOU: Paul McGuinness, in earlier days with Bono, and above with his wife Kathy Gilfillan, Bono and Ali Hewson. U2 have been silent since McGuinness called time on his career with the band

NIAMH HORAN – 17 NOVEMBER 2013

 

WHY the deafening silence? U2 have yet to pay public tribute to Paul McGuinness after he called time on 35 years as their manager.

 

Although the announcement was heralded as a seminal moment in rock history by some, the news failed to even register on the band's official news stream.

 

U2's official website, Twitter page and Facebook remained silent, as acknowledgments from music industry figures around the world flooded in.

 

Last night, when asked why U2 had not released a statement at such a momentous moment in their rock 'n' roll timeline, the band's PR company did not respond.

 

A music industry source told the Sunday Independent: "The silence is a bit strange. Especially when it involves four men who usually have a witty word or observation for every occasion.

 

But a separate industry source pointed out that the core of every decision made by the band was: "What's best for the business?"

 

"Whatever the reason is for the silence, you can be sure it's down to what is in the best interests of the band and the U2 machine. Maybe, as far as they are concerned it's 'business as usual' and the tributes will come in time."

 

McGuinness has sold Principle Management for a reported $30m (€22m) and handed over U2's day-to-day management to Madonna's manager, Guy Oseary.

 

In a statement to The New York Times, Mr McGuinness, 62, said: "It could be seen as slightly poor etiquette for a manager to consider retiring before his artist has split, quit or died, but U2 have never subscribed to the rock 'n' roll code of conduct." He went on: "As I approach the musically relevant age of 64, I have resolved to take a less hands-on role as the band embark on the next cycle of their extraordinary career."

 

Speaking to The Sunday Independent, Harry Crosby, a long-time friend of McGuinness and the band, said: "His unshakeable integrity in an industry that is full of chancers and fantasists was a great asset to the band."

 

Gay Byrne said: "He was with them from the word go. He recognised their potential and he made some very shrewd decisions with everything from marketing to royalties and how to deal with the many dragons and piranhas that are in this business. He served them very well and I am sorry to see him go."

A bit strange, non? :unsure:

U2: what will $30m management deal mean?

 

 

U2 are being taken over by Live Nation and Madonna's manager in a $30 million deal. Will this lead to a disco mix of Bono Don’t Preach, wonders Neil McCormick

 

 

U2 are under new management. The flag-waving rock megabrand are being taken over by the biggest concert promotion company in the world, Live Nation, in a $30 million deal.

Paul McGuinness, the charismatic manager who has steered their career from the beginning, is being kicked upstairs, to an ill-defined “chairman” role, which even he has likened to retirement.

 

Perhaps adding to the sense that this is a some kind of sinister corporate manoeuvre exposing the venal heart of the world’s most famous rock idealists is the news that Madonna’s manager, Guy Oseary, is in line to take over the day-to-day running of the U2 operation (whilst continuing to oversee the career of his solo superstar).

So what does this mean for the outspoken Irish rock legends? Will Bono be next seen posing naked but for strategically placed sunglasses in a high-fashion photo book? Will Madonna and U2 be marketed as a megastar double bill with the highest ticket prices in the known universe and a disco mix of Bono Don’t Preach? Or will it just be (music) business as usual

 

When news of the proposed sale of U2’s Principle Management broke, McGuinness released a droll statement admitting that “it could be seen as slightly poor etiquette for a manager to consider retiring before his artist has split, quit or died, but U2 have never subscribed to the rock ’n’ roll code of conduct.” At 63 years old, he says he wants to take “a less hands-on role”.

Like most managers, McGuinness is a little older than his charges (Bono is 53). McGuinness has grown wealthy steering U2’s ship, but he has also suffered periods of ill-health. With the band rumoured to be gearing up for yet another album and tour, he has perhaps wisely decided it is time for a younger man to take the reins (Oseary is 41).

Judging by U2 messageboards and Twitter chatter, their fan base is quite perturbed by these events. For what it’s worth, from the vantage point of someone who has seen this grow from a one-man operation run from McGuinness’s home phone, I don’t think there will be much change. Everyone knows Bono really runs the band.

Or rather, Bono leads the band, in terms of spirit, big ideas, charisma and energy. Guitarist Edge takes the lead musically. Bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen Jr tend to be the sage counsellors steadying the ship. Every major decision is made by democratic vote, although, as Mullen has pointed out, “only in the classic Greek sense that a democracy is in the hands of those in power. If you are in a band with someone as loud, talkative, argumentative and persuasive as Bono, things can be kind of difficult for the rest of us.”

McGuinness is the fifth member of the U2 cabal, with an equal share of the profits, and an equal vote at the table. I don’t expect that to change a great deal. McGuinness will still be available for big-picture strategising, which has always been his great strength, to balance the band’s artistic impulses with the fundamental principle that they are a business, and what they do has to make money. It might seem obvious but any experience of the giddy flamboyance of rock and roll management will tell you this is not always the case.

 

 

U2 are effectively pre-empting a crisis, managing what can be one of the most difficult transitions for an artist: outgrowing their management. When Brian Epstein died, the Beatles were left effectively rudderless, steered mainly by Paul McCartney, and eventually splitting when bullish music accountant Allen Klein attempted to take control.

The Rolling Stones were managed with inspirational zest at the beginning of their career by the brilliant Andrew Loog Oldham but by the end of the Sixties, the band were broke. So who manages the Stones now? The answer is Mick Jagger, with the (not always forthcoming) support of Keith Richards and the advice of a trusted inner circle of music business accountants, promoters and record company bosses.

Because setting things in motion for brilliant, naïve young artists is a very different business from overseeing an established ticket-selling showbusiness juggernaut headed by experienced, wealthy, powerful, adult stars. Once success has been achieved, most bands effectively co-manage themselves. U2 have always done this, with a large and experienced team at Principle Management, most of whom will remain in place.

What Oseary will bring is energy, ideas, a grasp of practical detail and, given his particular music business experience, a strong affinity for new music-technology interfaces.

The latter is particularly important because it suggests that U2 are not ready to shuffle off onto the vintage rock platform currently occupied by the Stones and so many other veteran superstars, effectively touring operations focused on established fan bases. Bono is determined that, even at this late stage of their career, they continue to engage with the pop marketplace and remain part of a big cultural conversation.

It is four years since their last album, No Line On The Horizon, and over two years since they played their last 360 Degree show, the highest-grossing concert tour in history. In the meantime, they have been writing and recording almost constantly, amassing and refining material, because they are determined to make the next album count.

 

“U2’s been on the verge of irrelevance for 20 years,” Bono admitted in 2011. But like their new stablemate Madonna, U2 are committed to constant reinvention, on Bono’s principle that “it’s stasis that kills you off in the end, not ambition”.

 

 

Rather than worrying too much about management changes behind the scenes, fans should see it as an indication that, after a period of reflection and regrouping, gears are clicking into place for the full-scale return of one of the biggest bands in the world.

Madonna’s fans, on the other hand, may well have something to worry about. I suspect Oseary is going to have his hands full next year.

 

Telegraph.co.uk

You're watching...

Hollywood Nation: U2 comes out of hiding

 

 

http://video.foxnews.com/v/2860213374001/

 

 

Fox news

Bono - Bono Recruits Top Designers Jonathan Ive And Marc Newson For Charity Auction

 

 

by WENN | 22 November 2013

 

 

U2 rocker Bono has teamed up with acclaimed designers Sir Jonathan Ive and Marc Newson to curate a unique collection of innovative masterpieces to auction off for charity.

Ive, who created the iPod for Apple, and industrial designer Newson have helped the philanthropic musician pick out items for Saturday's (23Nov13) (Red) sale at Sotheby's New York, and they have even collaborated on two new products just for the auction - an aluminium desk produced by California's Neal Feay Studios, and a Leica Digital Rangefinder Camera, worth an estimated $500,000 (£333,330).

They have also customised a Steinway & Sons Parlor Grand Piano, a 2012 Range Rover and a Fiat car.

Other products due to go under the hammer include a bottle of vintage Dom Perignon champagne from 1966, a pair of classic Apple earphones in solid rose gold, and a bespoke pair of Christian Louboutin boots in patent red leather, which are priced between $20,000 (£13,330) and $30,000 (£20,000).

Ive tells Britain's The Telegraph newspaper, "Each piece represents the value of thoughtful design. What we create for each other is not only a comment on our culture but of course in many ways defines it."

Proceeds from the sale, organised by officials at Bono's (Red) organisation, will be donated to The Global Fund to fight Aids, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and the rocker is confident his continued focus on the battle against Hiv and Aids will result in a cure in the near future.

He tells U.S. breakfast show Good Morning America: "It's a political tool, (Red) is a tool, not just to raise money, as it will, but to raise awareness, which helps keep the fight against Hiv/Aids a political priority. This disease has cost 34 million lives and there's a chance, in the next few years, if we stay concentrated, that we could see the beginning of the end of Aids. Who'd have thought?"

 

Contactmusic.com

 

SourceTV Exclusive: U2′s Bono & The Edge Talk Making ‘Ordinary Love’ For ‘Mandela’

 

 

 

http://thesource.com/2013/12/01/sourcetv-e...ve-for-mandela/

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thesource.com

from

 

http://www.spin.com/articles/grammy-hall-o...rolling-stones/

 

 

Grammy Hall of Fame 2014 Inductees: U2, Neil Young, Run-D.M.C., Rolling Stones, and More

'The Joshua Tree,' 'After the Gold Rush,' and "Walk This Away" immortalized by Recording Academy

 

WRITTEN BY

Kyle McGovern

December 3 2013, 11:25 AM ET

 

Songs by Neil Young, U2, Run-D.M.C., the Sugarhill Gang, Gil Scott-Heron, and the Rolling Stones are among this year's inductees into the Grammy Hall of Fame, the Recording Academy has announced.

 

Once again, 27 iconic recordings are headed for the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles. The class of 2014 includes Neil Young's 1970 album After the Gold Rush; U2's barnstorming 1987 LP The Joshua Tree (the most recently released honoree); Run-D.M.C.'s watershed "Walk This Way" team-up with Aerosmith; the Sugarhill Gang's 1979 game-changer "Rapper's Delight"; the Rolling Stones' 1969 hit "Honky Tonk Women"; George Harrison's 1970 triple-album All Things Must Pass; and Gil Scott-Heron's 1970 single "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised."

 

Some other highlights: Creedence Clearwater Revival landed two recordings in the batch, the 1969 single "Fortunate Son" and 1970 album Cosmo's Factory; James Brown's 1970 track "Get Up — I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine" earned an acknowledgement, as did Sam Cooke's 1960 tune "Wonderful World" and Dolly Parton's endlessly admired 1973 single, "Jolene."

 

The Recording Academy head Neil Portnow said in a statement, "Memorable and inspiring, these recordings are proudly added to our growing catalog — knowing that they have become a part of our musical, social, and cultural history."

 

With this latest round of additions, the Grammy Hall of Fame features 960 recordings, all of which have must go through a special committee of industry figures and receive final approval from the Recording Academy's National Board of Trustees. Last year's inductions included Bob Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'," Whitney Houston's self-titled 1985 debut album, and AC/DC's 1980 full-length Back In Black.

 

The nominations for the 56th annual Grammy Awards will be announced on December 6 at 10 p.m. EST as part of the The Grammy Nominations Concert Live!! — Countdown to Music's Biggest Night telecast airing on CBS. The 56th annual Grammys will be broadcast live on CBS on January 26, 2014 at 8 p.m. EST from L.A.'s Staples Center.

 

See the full list of 2014 Grammy Hall of Fame inductees below.

 

After the Gold Rush, Neil Young (Reprise, 1970)

All Things Must Pass, George Harrison (Apple, 1970)

The Chicago Transit Authority, Chicago (Columbia, 1969)

Cosmo's Factory, Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy, 1970)

Doc Watson, Doc Watson (Vanguard, 1964)

"Fortunate Son," Creedence Clearwater Revival (Fantasy, 1969)

"Georgia (On My Mind)," Hoagy Carmichael and His Orchestra (Victor, 1930)

"Get Up — I Feel Like Being a Sex Machine," James Brown (King, 1970)

"Honky Tonk Women," The Rolling Stones (London, 1969)

"Jolene," Dolly Parton (RCA, 1973)

The Joshua Tree, U2 (Island, 1987)

Kristofferson, Kris Kristofferson (Monument, 1970)

"Low Rider," War (United Artists, 1975)

Mary Poppins — Original Cast Sound Track, Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and Various Artists (Buena Vista, 1964)

"Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," Louis Armstrong and the All Stars (Decca, 1938)

"Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head," B.J. Thomas (Scepter, 1969)

"Rapper's Delight," Sugarhill Gang (Sugar Hill, 1979)

Relaxin' With the Miles Davis Quartet, Miles Davis (Prestige, 1958)

"The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," Gil Scott-Heron (Flying Dutchman, 1970)

"Strange Things Happening Every Day," Sister Rosetta Tharpe (Decca, 1945)

"Sweet Home Chicago," Robert Johnson (Vocalion, 1937)

"3 O'Clock Blues," B.B. King (RPM, 1952)

"Under the Boardwalk," The Drifters (Atlantic, 1964)

"Walk This Way," Run-D.M.C. (Profile, 1986)

"Wonderful World," Sam Cooke (Keen, 1960)

Woodstock — Music From the Original Sound Track and More, Various Artists (Cotillion, 1970)

"Yardbird Suite," Charlie Parker Septet (Dial, 1946)

Bono, Gerry Adams, President Higgins all remember Mandela as hero

 

 

 

Following the news of the death of the great South African leader Nelson Mandela at 95 years of age on Thursday, there has been an outpouring of grief and tributes from around the world.

 

A number of reflections on the human rights hero have come from leaders of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Former Irish president Mary Robinson, who worked closely with Mandela as one of the Elders, the organization of elder statesman, human rights and peace activists he founded, and who delivered the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s 10th annual lecture in 2012, asked “Why are we so bereft? Because he was the best of us, the best of our values…. As we mourn the passing of this extraordinary man, and young people around the world feel a particular sense of loss, we can honor him best by giving of ourselves to others.”

 

Ireland’s current president, Michael D. Higgins, commented that, “The immense moral force that was Nelson Mandela was built on his commitment to all of the people, and was motivated by a deep humanity and limitless compassion that was delivered with modesty and a powerful simplicity.”

 

In Dublin, Irish flags at Ireland's parliament building, Leinster House, City Hall, and civic offices are all being flown at half mast. In Dublin, books of condolence are open at the Mansion House (the Lord Mayor's official residence), and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Elsewhere in Ireland, Limerick’s City Hall, the Limerick County Hall in Dooradoyle, and NUI Galway also have opened books of condolence.

 

“The name Mandela stirred our conscience and our hearts. It became synonymous with the pursuit of dignity and freedom across the globe….Today, a great light has been extinguished. The boy from the Transkei has finished his long walk. His journey transformed not just South Africa, but humanity itself,” Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, said.

 

U2 front-man Bono spoke of the deep impact Mandela’s activism had on his life and outlook. “As an activist, I have pretty much been doing what Nelson Mandela tells me since I was a teenager. Mandela lived a life without sanctimony. His lack of piety helped him turn former foes into friends,” he told Time.

 

Others gave more politicized comments, such as Paul Hill of the Guilford Four. “I’ll be raising a glass to the Dunnes Stores workers whilst those who called him a terrorist parade at his funeral,” he said, in reference to the eleven Dunnes Stores workers who went on strike in Dublin in the early 1980s, refusing to sell fruit imported from South Africa. Their protests helped bring about Ireland’s ban on South African products in 1987. When Mandela traveled to Dublin in 1990, he met with nine of the former strikers (the other two were living in Australia at the time).

 

 

 

Irishcentral.com.

Bono: My friend Nelson Mandela, the man who could not cry

 

 

‘He has been a forceful presence in my life going back to 1979, when U2 made our first anti-apartheid effort’

 

 

 

As an activist I have pretty much been doing what Nelson Mandela tells me since I was a teenager. He has been a forceful presence in my life going back to 1979, when U2 made our first anti-apartheid effort. And he’s been a big part of the Irish consciousness even longer than that.

Irish people related all too easily to the subjugation of ethnic majorities. From our point of view, the question as to how bloody South Africa would have to get on its long road to freedom was not abstract.

Over the years we became friends. I, like everyone else, was mesmerised by his deft manoeuvring as leader of South Africa. His cabinet appointments of Trevor Manuel and Kader Asmal were intuitive and ballsy. His partnership with Sowetan neighbour Desmond Tutu brought me untold joy.

This double act – and before long a triple act that included Mandela’s wife, the bold and beautiful Graca Machel – took the success of the anti-apartheid fight in South Africa and widened the scope to include the battle against Aids and the broader reach for dignity by the poorest peoples on the planet.

 

‘Time to set them free’

Mandela saw extreme poverty as a manifestation of the same struggle. “Millions of people . . . are trapped in the prison of poverty. It is time to set them free,” he said in 2005. “Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome . . . Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that great generation.”

It certainly fell to Mandela to be great. His role in the movement against extreme poverty was critical. He worked for a deeper debt cancellation, for a doubling of international assistance across sub-Saharan Africa, for trade and private investment and transparency to fight corruption.

 

Indispensability

Without his leadership, would the world over the past decade have increased the number of people on Aids medication to 9.7 million and decreased child deaths by 2.7 million a year? Without Mandela, would Africa be experiencing its best decade of growth and poverty reduction? His indispensability can’t be proved with math and metrics, but I know what I believe . . .

Mandela would be remembered as a remarkable man just for what happened – and didn’t happen – in South Africa’s transition. But more than anyone it was he who rebooted the idea of Africa from a continent in chaos to a much more romantic view, one in keeping with the majesty of the landscape and the nobility of even its poorer inhabitants. He was also a hardheaded realist, as his economic policy demonstrated. To him, principles and pragmatism were not foes; they went hand in hand. He was an idealist without naivety, a compromiser without being compromised.

Surely the refrain “Africa rising” should be attributed to Madiba – the clan name everyone knows him by. He never doubted that his continent would triumph in the 21st century. “We are not just the peoples with the oldest history,” he told me. “We have the brightest future.”

He knew Africa was rich with oil, gas, minerals, land and, above all, people. But he also knew that “because of our colonial past, Africans still don’t quite believe these precious things belong to them”. Laughing, he added: “They can find enough people north of the equator who agree with them.”

 

Humility

 

He had humour and humility in his bearing, and he was smarter and funnier than the parade of world leaders who flocked to see him. He would bait his guests: “What would a powerful man like you want with an old revolutionary like me?”

 

 

irishtimes.com

Just what is going on at U2 Inc

 

 

There’s still a lot of intrigue around the U2, Paul McGuinness and Principle Management story

 

 

Longtime U2 watchers will recognise the signs. When there’s a new album in the offing, the soft spin campaign from the band gets slowly underway. You have stories like CDs going missing or someone walking past Bono’s gaff recording new music the singer is playing in his parlour. This little tidbit goes all around the world and, voila, the U2 campaign has begun in earnest. It’s a little trick which they’ve gone back to again and again over the last few albums to fire up interest ahead of release.

Conspiracy theorists, then, might point to the Paul McGuinness story as something from that well-thumbed playbook. They might even see the viral video of Bono and The Edge performing “Get Lucky” with Nile Rodgers in New York as more of the same. It probably would have helped if Bono had actually listened to and learned the words of one of the biggest hits of the year first. As Spin point out, Bono’s blundering doesn’t look great when you compare and contrast it with the the many better versions of the song out there. Indeed, it sounds as if he’s hearing the song for the first time in places.

But there are several flies in the ointment with this theory. For a start, the McGuinness, Principle Management and Live Nation story is still far from conclusion. When you delve a little deeper with what we know to date, you have to wonder what exactly Live Nation are buying here beyond mere goodwill. As we pointed out a fortnight ago, Principle are not a big management company compared to the mammoths like Quest or Q Prime so there are no clients to catch, especially since Live Nation already have the big ‘uns wrapped up tight. The company’s only other recent big management client, PJ Harvey, left some months ago and is now managed by Brian Message and Sumit Bothra at ATC Management. If I was a Live Nation shareholder looking at a lot of red ink, I’d wonder what we were doing here. But, then again, what’s $30 million when you’re looking at losses of $41.5 million?

U2′s omerta on this is quite telling. Aside from the lack of a public statement praising their former manager or welcoming Guy Oseary to the gang, there’s also been very little spin channeled through trusted sources. Look at those personalities and media outlets who consider themselves to be inside the tent and they’re spinning the same story as everyone else. Even those trusted names have nothing else to be going on with. All the stories and analysis from the pals-of-U2 read the same as the non-pals-of-U2. It’s a rum one.

Then, there’s the fact, which emerged via Billboard, that Guy Oseary has been handling the band’s business for ages. While OTR sources indicate that McGuinness was thinking about stepping down some time ago and a scheme to recruit a successor was in train, it’s striking that not a word about the new manager emerged over the last few months when he was making calls and taking meetings on their behalf. In a time when everything gets leaked one way or the other, especially with so many meetings and loose lips, this is better security than the NSA. Then again, isn’t the job of managing a band like U2 at this stage of their career more about administation than anything else?

All the loose ends which existed a fortnight ago when this story broke are still there. And it’s worth noting that all the other stuff which has been part and parcel of the U2 story over the last while haven’t gone away either. We talk, of course, about tax. It’s the elephant in the room which comes up every time a microphone is pushed in front of Bono – be it home or away – and it’s one which he is sounding more and more exasperated having to deal with. The fact that he’s spun Ireland’s “tax competitiveness” into both interviews shows what’s in his crib-notes about how to try to deflect these questions.

The singer may look upon it as a stick to beat the band with, but it doesn’t sit well with the social ventures which the singer has championed in recent years. It also means the band, who have always valued their standing with right-on movements and organisations, are now seen as dwelling on the other side of the fence. Of course, as members of the one per cent, U2 were always on that side of the barricades, but they played a good game in pretending otherwise.

In that interview with Gay Byrne (transcript of the relevant sections here), the singer talked tough rather than fuzzy to show a difference between Bono the businessman and Bono the artist. It doesn’t wash because one thing always shadows the other. For as long as U2 will be written about or talked about or commented on, the tax will follow them around like one of the Edge’s hats. It’s inevitable. It doesn’t help a singer who takes up the cudgels and goes out to fight the good fight on behalf of others that his own tax affairs don’t stand up to scrutiny.

 

The lads when they weren't worrying about tax

Still, they’ll try their best. You can expect more announcements about the new album and forthcoming tour (watch for the spin about “their last tour ever”) to come as the machine begins to crank up. It will be interesting to see if Oseary begins to bring his own men and women into play or if he’ll stick with the old loyalists across the board. It will also be interesting to see if U2 move any more of their business interests abroad – they’ve started so they might as well finish – and what that will mean for perception at home. Then again, judging by the tone of that Bono interview above, they may have reached the end of their tether with the views at home.

 

 

Irishtimes.com