Bono and Enda: whiskey and waffle

 

 

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Rock star offers to be ambassador in two-hour meeting with Taoiseach

 

WHEN Bono met Enda, the rock star presented the Taoiseach with a bottle of Mayo whiskey as the advisers were sent away and the pair discussed affairs of state.

 

The duo had a two-hour private meeting in the Taoiseach's office last Wednesday during which the U2 singer's offer to act as an ambassador for Ireland was discussed, the Sunday Independent can reveal.

 

Bono presented the bottle of whiskey, believed to be the niche Inish Turk Beg, to the Taoiseach as a Christmas gift.

 

A Government spokesman last night confirmed that the meeting had been tentatively agreed at the Global Irish Economic Forum at Dublin Castle in October. At the forum, Bono said he was willing to "hit the road again", not on a U2 world tour, but to resurrect the reputation of Ireland abroad.

 

The U2 singer told delegates at the forum that he was willing to work for the country in whatever role was asked of him.

 

Last night the Taoiseach's spokesman said a "wide range of issues" were discussed by the two men during what turned out to be an extended meeting. Mr Kenny asked all staff to vacate the room while he and Bono discussed national and international events.

 

The meeting, which took place ahead of the U2 Christmas party in Dublin, is the first known occasion in recent years that Bono has had a one-to-one meeting with a Taoiseach. In the late Eighties, the rock star, who is from Glasnevin in Dublin, established a close relationship with the late Fine Gael leader Garret FitzGerald. Bono was also a member of Young Fine Gael in that decade.

 

He has since gone on to world fame, not only as a singer and musician, but as a campaigner against world poverty and a civil rights advocate. He is most notably associated with the 'Drop the Debt' campaign in the Third World.

 

At the forum in Dublin in October, Bono said the mood was "oddly optimistic" and referred to a "certain fighting spirit" which he found evident. He also praised the Irish people's "anarchic spirit" and said the Government had been smart to fight for Ireland's tax competitiveness.

 

He said the most important thing to take from the forum was that it was "within us to make this country ours again so we're not beholden to these financial institutions".

 

In recent years, U2 was subjected to significant criticism back when it emerged that the band had relocated part of their rock empire to the Netherlands after the Government capped the artists' tax exemption.

 

Bono's offer to act as an ambassador to resurrect the reputation of Ireland abroad may be seen as an attempt by the frontman to restore a reputation which was somewhat damaged by the disclosure.

 

After his meeting with the Taoiseach, Bono joined his bandmates, management, staff and friends at Harry's Bar at Hanover Quay in Dublin where they enjoyed the Christmas festivities.

 

The comedy rap duo The Rubberbandits were among those present at the Principal Management get-together. The bar's owner, Harry Crosbie, also turned up for the occasion.

 

 

 

Source..Irish independent

Edited December 29, 201113 yr by Sacramento

Times best portraits 2011

 

http://i44.tinypic.com/2r20hw1.jpg

 

 

Thanks to u2log.com

 

 

u2log.com is winding up...love their goodby sig, it sayd u2log.com-news - From July 2000 till our moment of surrender

 

 

a bit sad though !!! :(

Edited January 3, 201213 yr by Sacramento

Snapper's lens gets stuck in a moment

 

 

It was one of the most anticipated gigs of their entire career -- and a photographer who got up close and personal to U2 in Glastonbury said he could see the fear in their eyes.

 

Rock photographer Barry Delaney doesn't use long lenses or stepladders which means he sometimes goes on stage with the stars to get the picture he wants.

 

"My other hat is as a boxing photographer and something you capture, being up so close to young fighters and performers, is the fear in their eyes, just as they go on," he said.

 

"I photographed U2 from the pit in Glastonbury, and Bono was genuinely scared, but it's a good thing to be scared. It showed U2 weren't just going through the motions."

 

The Friday night U.K. festival headliner was a long way from the last show Mr. Delaney saw U2 perform, at a small bar gig in Dallas, Texas during 1982.

 

"I'd moved to the US and this was before U2 were famous over there. I remember Bono was fascinated to meet a guy from back home, and wanted to buy me a drink," said Mr. Delaney, who took up photography while living in America, and returned to Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, six years ago.

 

But if the snapper praises U2 for "always being helpful", he doesn't always find other music stars so appreciative.

 

"The photographer is the unwanted guest at every gig but the moment an act comes off stage, they will be asking for your pictures. Coming from a punk background, I'm not that bothered. I don't believe in putting musicians on a pedestal," said the snapper, who cites The Ramones as an influence alongside French photographer Henri Cartier Bresson.

 

He said he made a decision a long time ago not to use long lenses.

 

"It's not about stomping on fellow photographers. It's about getting into the right position early on, which means I'm always the first photographer into the pit at gigs. Half the battle, getting the right shot, is knowing where to stand."

 

Source...Irishindependent.ie

U2's Bono and The Edge have raised a glass to the success of their record-breaking New York hit show, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark.

 

 

 

 

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The rock musical once branded the biggest flop on Broadway broke box office and attendance records during the last week of 2011 - taking in just under $3m over nine performances last week.

 

Music and lyrics were penned by Bono and The Edge, who both welcomed the turnaround.

 

The show had a turbulent start including injuries to actors, delays in opening night and poor reviews.

 

Bono said: ''For all the problems, there was magic on the stage.

 

"Things did get chaotic and messy after our producer Tony Adams died.

 

''But this week's news has us all giddy again and we are raising our glasses to Tony, to our indefatigable cast, crew, creative- and production team.''

 

The Edge added: ''It just goes to show that you can't keep a good superhero down. This is a proud day for everyone who has been a part of this show. The Broadway public have voted with their feet.''

 

The show has been seen by more than 700,000 audience members from around the world - including 17,375 people last week in The Foxwoods Theatre.

 

The previous record was held by Wicked, which grossed $2.3m in January 2011

 

 

Source RTE.ie

Edited January 7, 201213 yr by Sacramento

WOW :o

 

 

Spiderman is actually making money for them? :blink:

10 Greatest Hopes and Fears for 2012

 

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Hope: U2's 2009 album No Line On The Horizon was an extremely ambitious record that sold millions of copies all over the world. Songs like "Moment of Surrender" and "Magnificent" rank with the band's best work, but the singles failed to connect with a mass audience and by U2's standards it was a disappointment. We hope that they realize that radio is unlikely to put any song they ever write into heavy rotation; instead, they should just focus on making another great record, and then hit the road on an arena tour that drops some of the old warhorses in favor of great songs from the past. How about "Acrobat," "Drowning Man" and "Numb"? "Pride (In The Name of Love)" is a great song, but enough's enough.

 

Fear: U2 tends to end each decade with a commercial disappointment, and then begin the new decade with an album that's the exact opposite of their last work. The failure of Rattle and Hum gave the world Achtung Baby and the failure of the (criminally underrated) Pop led to the back-to-basics approach on All That You Can't Leave Behind. They have spent much of the last two years working with a rotating cast of producers, including Danger Mouse and RedOne. We fear their primary focus is competing with Lady Gaga on the radio. It's a fight they're going to lose. Hey Bono, don't overthink this next record. Just make it great. It'll serve you better in the long run. Remember that awful charity single "Stranded" you cut with Jay-Z and Rihanna? Never do anything like that again.

 

Source..Rollingstone.com

Edited January 9, 201213 yr by Sacramento

:unsure: I don't remember a charity single with Jay z and Rhianna. When was that?

:unsure: I don't remember a charity single with Jay z and Rhianna. When was that?

 

 

He did do something with Rihanna, I am sure I saw ti somewhere...I shall look on YT

 

 

Here you go Sparkle...i found it

 

Edited January 9, 201213 yr by Sacramento

U2 Reveal Work On Three New Albums

 

With the band finally off the road following 360, their record-breaking moneymaker of a world tour, U2 have shed some light on their current studio work, including that they are working on three separate albums.

 

"We're working on three albums at the moment and we haven't decided what order we're going to put them out but 'The Songs Of Ascent' have the kind of beautiful intimacy that we're speaking of now," Bono said in an exclusive interview to members of the band fan club on U2.com and revealed on fan site U2 Hellas. "They fit into this moment, the mode of some of these artists that I was hanging out with on Christmas Eve."

 

Bono is referring to busking in and around Dublin on Dec. 24 with fellow musicians - including the Swell Season's Glen Hansard - for two homeless charities: the Peter McVerry Trust and Simon Community. The singers played "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and "Silent Night".

 

"I played a couple of songs acoustically but earlier in the year both Edge and I played at the memorial to Steve Jobs and also at the Hollywood Bowl for the Bill Clinton Foundation," Bono added. "It's quite something hearing our own songs, like 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' or 'A Man And Woman', so stripped down and I think it showed us some clues for the future."

 

The news comes following a suggestion from bassist Adam Clayton last October in Q magazine that "The Songs Of Ascent" might not be ready for some time. "We thought there was more material left over from 'No Line'... We now feel a long way from that material," he said in the article. Various titles to unreleased songs have been mentioned in different articles and interviews dating back to "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" recording sessions.

 

Although there's been speculation there's no word as to when any of the albums could be released or if the group would tour in support of one, two or all three albums at the same time. Both Bono and The Edge also discussed the year in music, giving props to bands like Foster The People, Florence and The Machine and Bon Iver among many others.

 

"Something really exciting is that finally the rock band is melting into clubland and experimenting with sounds that are not normally deemed authentic for the rock band - synthesizers, experimental sounds - which you can hear in an album by the Temper Trap," Bono said. "That's exciting, a new hybrid."

 

The duo also commented on the fact R.E.M. decided to disband in 2011, with The Edge having his doubts they are done for good.

 

"That really came out of the blue," the Edge said regarding R.E.M.'s announcements, but adding "I'm still thinking to myself that maybe in a few years time they'll do some stuff together "What's the point in breaking up except to be back together again! I'm being selfish, I suppose, I would love to see them doing some more work together."

 

U2 released their last studio album "No Line On The Horizon" in 2009 and a live DVD of the tour. Last September the group premiered "From The Sky Down", a documentary concerning the band's making of their 1991 album "Achtung Baby".

 

Source..ultimateguitar.com

Pah. Just release one for god's sake.... :rolleyes:

I actually thought this was a spoof story. I kept waiting for the punchline. But no. It seems he did play a festival. In Timbuktu.

 

Wonder if he met Scotty there. The French Foreign Legion was always popping up in Timbuktu. :unsure:

 

 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/...n-Timbukto.html

Having watched the video I'm not entirely convinced it isn't a spoof. :lol:

Wow $500,000 dollars for an old guitar? :wacko:

 

He's gonna be pretty p*ssed off when he sobers up :lol:

 

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/artic...old-guitar.html

http://iwannafeelsunlightonmyface.blogspot...eo-of-10th.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

iwannasunlightonmyface.com

Edited January 29, 201213 yr by Martinez

Bono helped Brad Pitt cure his depression. Link here

 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertai...on-6295438.html

U2 vs Google: Manager Blasts Search Engine

 

 

 

 

Paul McGuinness, manager of U2, The Rapture and PJ Harvey, has used a panel discussion called 'Why copyright still matters online?' at this year's MIDEM music conference to launch a stinging attack on Google, which he branded a "monopoly".

 

"Why are they not trying to solve the future in a more generous way?" McGuinness asked, adding that he felt that Google's stance on supporting the anti-SOPA campaign was counter productive. "Ultimately it's in their interests that the flow of content will continue," he said. "And that won't happen unless it's paid for."

 

He singled out Google for not hiding search results that lead people towards music available for illegal download. "It amazes me that Google has not done the right thing," he said. :The experience of people when they go on Google and look for U2's music or PJ Harvey's music is a shopping list of illegal opportunities to get their songs. They have done nothing meaningful to discourage this fact."

 

He continued: "Though there is some improvement in the digital environment in terms of people getting paid , the vast majority of content distributed through their pipes is not paid for. That's, in my view, utterly, utterly wrong. I don't think we can rely on politicians who are afraid of being unpopular to accomplish this without some real willingness - as I say, generosity - on the part of the technology area which... has shown this in the last few weeks to be very well able to make its case in a popular way.

 

McGuinness said that the recent decision by Google to back the anti-SOPA campaign was motivated by business, not ethics: "never underestimate the ability of a monopoly to defend itself".

 

However, he had kinder words for Spotify, proclaiming it "essentially honest" and adding that "there's no reason why the basic Spotify model can't be a part of the future." McGuinness did say, however, that he could understand why some artists were complaining about the streaming service: "Spotify has yet to become popular with artists because artists don't see the financial benefit. That's partly the fault of the labels because the labels partly own Spotify, and there is insufficient transparency."

 

 

Source..Thequietus.com

 

U2 manager Paul McGuinness lashes out at Google over music piracy sites

 

 

U2 manager Paul McGuinness has slammed Google as "a monopoly" and criticised the way it displays illegal download sites in search results.

 

The music mogul launched a fierce attack on the search engine as he outlined his views on online piracy.

 

Google has been campaigning against proposed legislation in the US aimed at stopping this type of illegal online piracy.

 

But speaking at MIDEM, an annual music trade fair held at Cannes in France, Mr McGuinness said: "Never underestimate the ability of a monopoly to defend itself."

 

He attacked Google's policy of including pirate sites in its search results.

 

"It amazes me that Google has not done the right thing. The experience of people when they go on Google and look for U2 music, or PJ Harvey music, is a shopping list of illegal opportunities to get their music. They have done nothing meaningful to discourage it," said Mr Guinness.

 

Often called 'the fifth member of U2', the 61-year-old Dublin-based music manager asked why technology companies were not more "far sighted".

 

He wants to see illegal download sites -- where internet users can obtain thousands of songs, films or other files for free -- blocked from search engines such as Google.

 

He said that companies such as Google were "incredibly clever people with enormous resources".

 

"Why are they not trying to solve the future in a more generous way? Ultimately it is in their interest that the flow of content will continue, and that won't happen unless it's paid for."

 

The U2 manager said he would be more likely to give previews of U2's next album to traditional radio than an online service like Spotify.

 

"At the moment I'm inclined to treat it (Spotify) as a promotional medium. If we have to choose where to put records on their debut we're unlikely to give it to Spotify.

 

"We have arrangements like that around the world with people we've worked with over the years. Spotify has yet to become popular with artists because artists don't see the financial benefit of working with Spotify."

 

 

 

Source... Belfast Telegraph

U2’s Bono set to become billionaire thanks to Facebook investment

 

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Back in 2009, U2’s front man Bono, through his investment vehicle Elevation Partners, bought a one percent stake in Facebook for $90 million. From Wednesday’s $5 billion Facebook initial public offering (IPO) Bono is set to make almost $1 billion, making him the richest rock star on the planet.

 

To put his possible wealth into perspective – currently Sir Paul McCartney, the former Beatle, is the richest rock star in the world with a wealth estimated at $600 to $750 million.

 

Bono’s Elevation Partners original investment, one percent of stock for $90 million, was a very smart move by Bono who is already worth $200 million. Not a bad year, money-wise, for Bono whose “360 Tour” with U2 was dubbed the highest grossing jaunt of 2011, taking in $293 million, according to NME.

 

 

Source..Irishcentral.com

Edited February 4, 201213 yr by Martinez

He's going to make more money out of this Facebook investment than out of his whole music career. Truly bizarre :wacko:

When U2 comes to town: 360° tour grosses over $703 million

 

 

 

NEW FIGURES show that U2’s 360° Tour has grossed more than $703 million (€534 million) after seven million rock fans paid to see the band over the past three years.

 

According to figures published by music industry journal Pollstar, the tour grossed $231.9 million last year after 2.38 million music fans paid to see the band at 34 gigs across 26 cities.

 

The US-based publisher shows that the tour grossed the highest amount of any rock band last year and on average grossed $8.9 million per gig with an average attendance of 91,828.

 

The figures show that U2’s three-gig stint at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paolo, Brazil, alone earned $32 million.

 

The $703 million is a gross figure and does not take into account the significant costs of staging the tour, which involved 110 gigs in 79 cities around the world over three years.

 

Hundreds of people were employed in transporting and constructing the 360° “Claw” stage, while the concerts provided a major economic boost in the cities where they took place.

 

The profits from the tour are shared between the four members of the band – Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton – their manager Paul McGuinness, their promoter Live Nation, and the local venue operator.

 

The 360° production increased the capacity of venues by up to 25 per cent, resulting in record attendances.

 

The Pollstar figures show that one of the top-earning stints over the three years was the band’s sold-out three-night run at Dublin’s Croke Park, where the tour grossed $28.5 million.

 

A breakdown of the annual figures shows that the tour grossed $231.9 million in 2011; $160.9 million in 2010; and $311 million in 2009, when three million people paid on average $101 to see the band play.

 

The year 2009 was the largest grossing year of the tour, when the average gross per concert was $10 million.

 

The drop-off in revenue in 2010 came as a result of the band postponing a North American leg of the tour after Bono sustained a back injury in Munich.

 

The latest figures for U2’s main Irish company, U2 Ltd, for the 12 months to the end of 2010 show that its cash pile increased almost fivefold to €4 million.

 

The principal activity of the company is the creation, protection and licensing of intellectual property.

 

It returned to profit in 2010 to record a pretax profit of €46,571.

 

The company has yet to file returns for 2011

 

 

Source. Irishtimes.ie