U2, World Cup United Thanks

t’s not about politics,
Or religion,
Or the economy,
It’s not about borders,
History,
Trade,
Oil,
Water,
Gas,
Mineral rights,
Human rights,
Or animal rights,


When Nicholas Sonderup (right), a 34 year-old copywriter at the advertising firm of Wieden-Kennedy, turned in his script for the FIFA ad entitled “United”, he was understandably anxious. And not just because he had spent eight months working on the campaign for ESPN’s five FIFA ads. Sonderup’s avocation, you see, is writing music and the man whose approval his lyrics needed was none other than the lead singer and lyricist of the biggest band on the planet.

“After Bono read the script,” recalls Sonderup, “from what we heard, he said, ‘Wow, I feel like I could have written it.’”

It’s not about global warming,
Global pandemics,
Globalization,
GDP,
NATO or Kyoto,

Sitting in a Manhattan office and clad in a U.S.A. soccer jersey, Sonderup is justifiably thrilled that so many people who have seen the minute-long ad, in which Bono reads his script while the opening chords of U2’s “Magnificent” linger in the recesses, assume that the globally-conscious Irish rock god himself wrote it.

“I remember saying in the edit room, ‘People are going to think Bono wrote those words,’” says Sonderup, who played Division I soccer at Winthrop University.

It’s not about elections,
Sanctions,
Proliferations,
He said she said,
My land your land,
No man’s land,

The images, many of them shot on location in South Africa and Buenos Aires and the rest culled from file footage, convey a global awareness that would look right at home in any one of a dozen U2 videos. The script, a series of nouns and terms with little else in the way of diction, sounds as if it was written in the same vein as the band’s “Elevation” or “Beautiful Day”.

It’s not about the stock market,
Black market,
Orange alerts,
Green homes,
Hope,
Change,
Fear or loathing,

“We went through several iterations of the script,” says Sonderup. “We kept coming back to the idea that there are very few things in the world that unite the world.”



Hence, the lyrics themselves are almost a global laundry list of factions and divisiveness, which plays wonderfully into the contrast provided by the World Cup: the idea that for one month every four years the globe’s most widely played sport overcomes all of these competing values that lead us apart. For one month we are, as Sports Illustrated’s Grant Wahl wrote last month in a clever pun to kick off his own World Cup story, “Man United.”

Originally, the script had almost double the verbiage and Sonderup confesses that when he turned it in to his creative director, he was thinking “I really hope this doesn’t change much.” It was shortened, and a word or two was altered, but the lyrics are mostly true to his original copy. And while Wieden-Kennedy knew that U2 was aboard for this ad campaign, Sonderup’s supervisors, having read his script, were unanimous that for this particular spot they just had to have Bono’s vocals.

“At the time we didn’t know what U2 song we were going to go with,” says Sonderup. “We just kept saying, ‘We have got to get Bono to read this one.’”

It’s not about communism,
Socialism,
Or capitalism,
War or peace,
Love or hate,

Alas for the soccer-crazed Sonderup, he will not be attending the World Cup nor did he get to meet the voiceover artist who read his lyrics with such unabashed conviction. Too, he understands that advertising copywriters are seldom if ever recognized on the street (you may have stood in line at Wendy’s behind the guy who penned “Where’s the beef?” for all you know).

Still, he has the peace of mind, as an aspiring musician, that one of the world’s most successful rock stars is a wee bit envious of the lyrics that he provided him. Put another way, Sonderup has writtein one of the most compelling U2 tunes of the past decade. You can close your eyes and imagine Bono opening “Magnificent” live by voicing these very words as The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen provide the backing instrumentals.

This is about the one month,
Every four years,
Where we all agree on one thing,
32 nations,
One world watching,
2010 FIFA World Cup

“What makes the ad good is that it’s very simple,” says Sonderup.

Just like soccer. 

U2 Weekly wap up

 

Since the 2009 leg in October wrap up, the boys have in the studio working on three albums simultaneously: Songs of Ascent, a second volume from the sessions for last year’s No Line On The Horizon; the score from the Broadway musical Spiderman; and a set of entirely new songs.

This is not the first time that there’s been talk of three album projects, but in the previous reports, the third project was said to be old material from the Rick Rubin sessions in 2006. The above specifically refers to “entirely new songs.”

Kingdom on Vinyl?

Universal/Interscope seems interested in reporting what’s on the 7-inch, orange vinyl that comes with the U2 360 at the Rose Bowl super deluxe box set. But, judging from a couple fan postings, it looks like that vinyl includes the unreleased track that played as U2 took the stage during last year’s concerts. The only question is … what’s the song called?

Bono in France with Paul

The original photo was postd on U2achtung. We are not sure who the fan was. However you can clearly see the pain in Bono, Paul as the driver.  The photo was taken next to a hotel where Bono may have been attending a summit - Ten days after back surgery. He did not get out of the car to take the photo. - 

 

Photo credit - Unknown - Original Posting U2achtung.

 

Glastonbury will attempt to reschedule U2 performance

GLASTONBURY Festival organisers say they will attempt to book U2 for a future gig after the Irish band were forced to pull out of this year’s event.

The band were scheduled to headline the 40th anniversary of the event on Friday, June 25, but cancelled because lead singer Bono suffered a back injury.

U2, who have never played Glastonbury, will be replaced by former Blur front man Damon Albarn and Gorillaz.

Speaking to The Irish Post, the Glastonbury organisers said: “They’ve never played here before and we’re very disappointed they can’t perform, but they could well be back next year or the year after that.”

The withdrawal of a major international act is unusual for an event which has become the Christmas Day of the British music calendar.

A spokesman for Glastonbury said: “The one that springs to mind is Kylie Minogue’s withdrawal in 2005 because of breast cancer. She was replaced by Basement Jaxx.”

In 1995, The Stone Roses were forced to cancel after guitarist John Squire broke a collarbone. They were replaced by Pulp who made full use of the opportunity. “They got great acclaim,” said the spokesman. “That gig pushed them and Jarvis Cocker into the limelight.”

U2 Rose Bowl DVD Arrives

U2’ marketing machine was planning on using the release U2 360 at the Rose Bowl this week to promote the North American summer tour.  Expected to start this Thursday which now we all know has been delayed due to Bono’s unexpected back surgery.

We don’t want to give away too much of the DVD. However we will say this is the best U2 DVD ever released. Yes, we said the best. Amazing footage, audio sounds wonderful. Clearly you will notice some edits on a couple of songs.  Remember when we said that “City of Blinding Lights” the stage was made for this song. We think you will be impressed again. 

Noticeable item would be the lack of heavy focus on the stage.  As Bono and the boys have said many times the stage was “designed to get closer to you.” You will notice that not a lot of attention on the stage rather the music such as a music DVD should be. 

Bono takes the leading role, the voice sounds better. If you remember a couple of shows he seemed to have some voice issues.  Running around the stage, singing, dancing it’s a pure love fest for Bono.  We expect that he will not be running around the stage as much as this past leg. However who knows. Singing, Dancing, its all part of the show and Bono knows you came to see the show.

We want to cut our review short. Why? Well clearly your feedback is much more interesting to us. You will find some great surprises such as Squaring the Circle - The insider look at how the stage came to be.

If we have to wait a whole year before the boys come back to America. This DVD will ease the pain.  We have thousands of hours of concert video from the 360 tour however this DVD is the one concert DVD you will want to own. 



 

Bono risks millions

Bono and his wife Ali Hewson may be at risk of losing million as their ethical clothing change, Edun, continues to lose money.

At the end of last year Bono, and his wife of 28 years, Ali, moved their family from Dublin to New York to help launch the ethical clothing line based in Tribeca, Manhattan.

Ali has now revealed that the business has so far failed to make a profit.

“It hasn’t made money — it hasn’t made a profit yet,” said Ali. “But it’s growing. It’s growing.

“The first five years of the company is about putting money in and building the trade. So of course we had to support it. We’re still here supporting it now, because we believe in it.”

In fact the Hewson family believed so entirely in the project that they all moved to New York to be closer to the day to day running of the business.

“I’ve been seeing how the operation was being upgraded on a daily, weekly basis,” she said.

“It’s been amazing to see how far it has come in six months.

In 2005 Bono, Ali and fashion designer Rogan Gregory founded the fashion line. However, Ali says that the mission to increase employment in developing regions of Africa has overshadowed the company itself.

Over the years Bono has endured some criticism for his constant involvement in charity campaigns. His critics feel that his methods are a little preachy and that he’s over exposed in the media. However Ali defends his ongoing charity activism.

“He’s always known, if you want to get anything done you’ve got to stand in the firing line sometimes…He doesn’t do it for the warm fuzzy feelings. He does it to actually bring some change about, and highlight issues that were being pushed under the carpet. And he does it very effectively.

“Bono will say to you, ‘I’m sick of Bono, and I am Bono’.”

Just three years ago Edun had $3.6 million in bank loans and owes it’s three shareholders $7.9 million.

Ali feels that the situation for the company can only get better as the Hewson’s partnered up with LVMH, who owns Givenchy, Moet & Chandon, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Christian Dior.

Edun’s plans to have a line of clothing ready for the soccer World Cup this summer designed but children in the slums in Nairobi.

Bono's Back Costs Millions !

The Irish Times ran with this article over the weekend. Fans still trying to understand the ticket process for new shows. Nothing has been updated on U2.com as of yet. Its going to take some time. Stand by…. Your North American tour to start soon.

NOW THAT U2’S North American tour has been postponed because of Bono’s back surgery, it’s time for all involved to start totting up the cost. “U2’s daily tour overhead spend is $750,000 [€950,000],” says an Irish music-tour insider. “Bono’s back has put them out of action for two months. They’re insured for show postponement, but that’s not the full story. The set-up costs of the three Claws they use was phenomenal. They don’t need this, their insurance company doesn’t need this and the global touring economy doesn’t need this. It’s not just the show day; it’s the three of four days before setting up the stadium, one day stripping it down after, the 200 trucks, the drivers, the security, the merchandising people, the drinks and food people, the programme sellers, costume, make-up and hundreds of other people. U2 would have over 100 permanent touring personnel and an extra 200-300 working personnel at each local venue. It’s the hotels, the flights, the food vouchers. It’s like a small country coming to a standstill.”

Arthur Fogel, chief executive of U2’s concert promoter, Live Nation, says of the 3600 tour postponement: “There’s no question this is monumental.”

A million tickets had been sold for the band’s North American leg, in July and August, now put off to allow Bono to recuperate from his back surgery in Munich last week after injuring himself during rehearsals. The band are looking at 2011 for the rescheduled dates.

Of severe annoyance to the band is the fact that there was also a high-profile Glastonbury Festival appearance (their first) at the end of June – their spot has now been taken by Gorillaz – for which the band had written a song.

The European leg of the tour, from August until October, is still officially on, but it will depend on the singer’s recuperation. The emergency surgery was needed “to avoid further paralysis”, said doctors after Bono developed severe compression of the sciatic nerve, along with a ligament tear and a herniated disc.

“He won’t want reminding that he just turned 50 last month,” says a source. “He has been throwing himself around stages for over 30 years. He’s up there as the frontman for two and a half hours a night, and he’s not one to do things by half measures. This is a very serious injury and sounds like it could be the result of cumulative damage. How things play out will be interesting. This is showbiz – hundreds of millions of dollars rest upon a 50-year-old man’s back disc.”

All focus now will be on whether the singer is fit for the European tour. (There are no Irish shows this time around.) Bono may not climb up speaker stacks any more (something that always concerned other band members), but he still flings himself around a fair bit. As the focal point for 80,000 people each night, a certain degree of showmanship is required. People close to him say there is no way he will appear on stage without being able to give it “the full-on Bono treatment”.

The band train hard before going the road, but in the months off between legs of the tour they can let themselves go a bit. This back injury was caused by Bono trying to get himself into shape for two months of touring after several months off.

What is particularly frustrating for the band is that this tour is perhaps their most significant ever. They’ve never spent as much money assembling a stage configuration as they have on the Claw, and they were prepared to go substantially into the red on the tour before seeing any profit.

With their latest album not selling as well as it could have, the tour has exceeded expectations. It was the most profitable tour of last year, but in this, its second year, it was supposed to resolve a long dispute over who is the most popular live rock band of all time.

U2’s Vertigo tour (2005-2006) sits in second place as the highest-grossing music tour. Just ahead of it lies The Rolling Stones’ Bigger Bang tour (2005-2007), which grossed $558 million. The Stones, though, played a lot more dates than U2. So far, the 360 tour has grossed $311 million. Without Bono’s back injury it would have easily grabbed the prize.

Guinness World Records (and bragging rights) will have to wait. But for the still intensely competitive Bono, having U2 make another piece of music history will be motivation enough to accelerate the recuperation process. For a few months, though, there is a line on U2’s horizon.



“360” DVD tops “Entertainment Weekly’s” Must List

The Must List is a feature in which the magazine picks the 10 best things in entertainment for the week. U2’s mention is featured in the new issue of “EW” (it’s a double issue, #1105/1106) and is on page 9 (just wanted to be specific!)

It’s just a little blurb, but it still speaks to how spectacular the YouTube-live streamed Pasadena show was: “Join the nearly 100,000 fans who piled into the SoCal stadium last October, and catch the band’s groundbreaking set on DVD or Blu-ray (out June 3). Bonus: Check out how Bono and the boys put the crazy thing together.”

Its time to order yours today U2 - 360° AT THE ROSE BOWL [Super Deluxe Edition] theU2 DVD Digipack . Oh, the decisions! Interested in the Blu-Ray


We can’t wait to watch this though. It was exciting to watch it live as it was happening. Now go to amazon today and order your own copy !