U2 confirms they will miss Glastonbury after Bono's emergency back surgery

U2 confirmed yesterday they will miss Glastonbury after doctors ordered Bono to rest for two months to recover from emergency back surgery.

The band have also been forced to postpone 16 shows of a North American tour.

Bono called Glasto organiser Michael Eavis yesterday.

The singer said: "I'm heartbroken. We really wanted to be there to do something really special. We even wrote a song especially for the festival."

Mr Eavis said: "U2 are hugely disappointed. At this point we have no comment about possible replacements for their Friday night slot."

Bono, 50, who hurt his back while training for the tour last week, left Ludwig-Maximilians-University hospital in Munich yesterday.

Dr Muller Wohlfahrt said: "Bono had severe compression of the sciatic nerve." He was in a lot of pain and had partial paralysis but recovery prospects are "excellent".

U2 announce DVD release of ‘YouTube’ Rose Bowl gig

U2’s 2009 ‘YouTube’ gig from California’s Rose Bowl stadium is to come out on DVD.

‘U2360° At The Rose Bowl’ will be the band’s first live release available in Blu–ray, and deluxe editions also feature a new documentary called ‘Squaring the Circle: Creating U2360°’. It’s out on June 7.

The gig, which took place on October 25 last year, was broadcast over YouTube live at the time.

The tracklisting is:

‘Get On Your Boots’
‘Magnificent’
‘Mysterious Ways’
‘Beautiful Day’
‘I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For’
‘Stuck In A Moment You Can’t Get Out Of’
‘No Line On The Horizon’
‘Elevation’
‘In A Little While’
‘Unknown Caller’
‘Until the End of the World’
‘The Unforgettable Fire’
‘City of Blinding Lights’
‘Vertigo’
‘I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight’
‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’
‘MLK’
‘Walk On’
‘One’
‘Where The Streets Have No Name’
‘Ultra Violet (Light My Way)’
‘With Or Without You’
‘Moment Of Surrender’

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U2’s remix album on the horizon

U2 have announced a limited-edition remix album, featuring 13 years of phat beats and, er, genre cash-ins. The album, Artificial Horizon, compiles three new tracks and 10 previously available remixes on a limited edition triple-LP.

isn’t the U2 release that fans were hoping for. In the days before No Line on the Horizon came out last spring, Bono and the boys described a “companion record” due late 2009. Eventually, it was even given a name: Songs of Ascent. But as the seasons wore on, no such songs ascended. The band now say they are working on new material, with an album ETA of June.

In the meantime, there’s Artificial Horizon. Despite its title, only four of the remixed songs are from No Line on the Horizon. The rest stretch from a Grand Jury mix of If God Will Send His Angels, released in 1997, to Trent Reznor’s take on Vertigo. Other highlights include remixes by David Holmes, Hot Chip, Justice and a reimagining of Happiness is a Warm Gun cover.
Artificial Horizon is on sale now, either on CD or as a limited-edition vinyl set. It’s not clear why the album’s 60 minutes of music have been set across three entire LPs, but the gatefold sleeve will doubtless be pretty. According to U2’s website, vinyl versions will only be manufactured after orders close on 14 May, making the album a “collectors must-have”.

U2’s previous remix album, 1995’s Melon: Remixes for Propaganda, was a fan club exclusive. It regularly sells on eBay for upwards of £30.

Michael Jackson, U2, Take That and the biggest deals in music history

Michael Jackson Estate made history this week when signing a contract with Sony Music Entertainment worth up to £170 million.
The agreement will see ten projects released over the space of seven years as it’s reported that Jackson recorded three albums worth of new material.
This deal propels Jackson’s estate to the top of the list of most expensive record deals ever, but who did he knock off the top spot? And who else has hit the jackpot with mega deals?
1. Irish rock band U2 previously boasted the biggest earnings from a single deal when they agreed to a deal with Polydor Records for a massive £130 million.
2. The acclaimed Queen of Pop Madonna was paid a sum of £120 million for producing just three albums by Live Nation Inc.
3. In 2002, Robbie Williams became ‘rich beyond his wildest dreams’, after striking a £80 million deal with EMI Records to make a four albums.

U2 call rural craftsman to repair broken Grammy

The trophy – awarded for the band’s 1987 album The Joshua Tree – had split into three pieces including the gramophone horn.
So the band’s managers simply searched “trophy craftsmen” online and found Stuart Allcock, who runs a small shop in Taunton, Somerset.
Mr Allcock said he felt ”dizzy” to receive the call but was disappointed to discover the award was made of cheap cast iron that was sprayed gold.
The lifelong U2 fan, who went to a Joshua Tree gig in 1987 and another in 2001, said: ”Taking the call was bizarre – I though it might have been a joke and said: ‘Is this Bono?’
”It turned out to be someone in their management team on the phone.
”I think it got broken pretty innocently, like someone dropped it or something like that.
”When it arrived with me it was broken into three pieces and looked a bit of a state.”
It is not known how the award was damaged, but Mr Allcock and his team at Alpha Trophies in Taunton, Somerset, took two weeks to repair it.
The gramophone had to be welded back on and other parts had to be glued together and resprayed.
Mr Allcock described the work as ”complex” and admitted that working on the famous trophy made him nervous.
He said: ”I wanted to get it looking as good as new and after some skilled welding, the cast iron piece was completely re-sprayed.
”It was a bit nerve-wracking, especially when I had to give it to someone else to be welded, but I was pleased with the result.”
Asked how much he thought the Grammy was worth, he said: ”If it was just an award, not a Grammy and having been given to U2, I wouldn’t pay more than a fiver for it.
”But as it stands, it’s priceless.”

U2 fan’s joy after getting job to fix band’s Grammy

A lifelong U2 fan was thrilled when the band called – and asked him to mend a broken Grammy award.
The trophy, for 1987 album The Joshua Tree, was smashed in three pieces with its iconic gramophone broken.
So band managers Googled ‘trophy craftsmen’ and found Stuart Allcock in Taunton, Somerset. Stuart, who went to his first U2 gig in 1987, felt “dizzy” on the phone. He said “I thought it might be a joke and said: ‘Is this Bono?’.”
But he was disappointed to find it was made of iron and had to be welded, glued and re-sprayed gold. He said: “I think someone dropped it. It was a bit nerve-wracking, but the result was pleasing.”
Asked how much it was worth, he said: “If it wasn’t a U2 Grammy, I wouldn’t pay a fiver. But it’s priceless.”

U2 360º Tour 2009/2010 - Promo

U2 360º Tour 2009/2010 - Promo



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U2 start work on new album

U2 have revealed that they have begun work on a new album.The follow-up to 2009's 'No Line On The Horizon', the as-yet-untitled album is set to be "really special"."We are working on a lot of new songs," The Edge told EW. "Some of them are really, really happy.

We're convinced that we have something really special."Adding that the band have been working on material in-between legs of their world tour, the guitarist revealed a little more about the making of the album."We are experimenting with a lot of different arrangements, and electronic is one of the things we are playing with," he explained. "But there are other songs that are very traditional, almost folk. That's the thing we haven't figured out yet, where this album is going to end up."Meanwhile, U2 frontman Bono has recorded a new song with Jay-Z, to help raise money for those affected by the recent earthquakes in Haiti.

U2 at the U of M announcement expected Monday

Monday could be the day when Twin Cities U2 fans finally find what they've been looking for — a local date for the band's massive 360° Tour.
The official announcement of a June 27 stop at the new TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis is expected to happen Monday, capping off weeks of fan speculation and news reports/rumors about when, where and how U2's stadium tour would visit Minnesota. Initially, July 1 was bandied around as the possible date — the band has announced regional shows in East Lansing, Mich., on June 30 and Chicago on July 6.
The tour has already hit numerous European destinations and wrapped up its first run of North American dates last month, grossing more than $311 million in the process. The New York Times described the massive in-the-round stage as "a claw-like, spired structure that's part insect, part spacecraft, part cathedral."
Tickets for the Chicago date range in price from $250 to $30. Paid subscribers to the band's Web site, U2.com, have the opportunity to buy tickets before they go on sale to the general public.
- Ross Raihala

Latest On The U2 Spider-Man Musical

Here's the latest on "Spider Man, Turn Off The Dark", the musical featuring music from U2's Bono and The Edge. The gig has added a new lead and second producer and full financing is "expected to be in place shortly". Once this happens the show will resume full production. The show will open in 2010 at the Hilton Theatre in New York .The show has also have selected Reeve Carney, the lead singer of Carney, to play the role of Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. Carney joins previously announced cast members Evan Rachel Wood as Mary Jane Watson, Peter Parker's girlfriend and Alan Cumming as Norman Osborn (aka Green Goblin).Pre sale tickets for the show are on sale now via Ticketmaster.