Bono Feared Most

U2 singer Bono revealed to Ryan Tubridy that his recent back injury could have left him crippled for life.

The 50-year-old claimed it was only the intensive treatment he received from German doctors that allowed him to retain use of his left leg.

And he also revealed that he was still trying to cope with his injury.

“I had a pretty close call. What was dangerous about it was a piece of disc that had ripped through ligaments had gone down into the spinal canal and I could have lost the use of my left leg,” said the singer.

However, the Dubliner said that his role at the helm of one of the world’s biggest rock bands helped see through weeks and weeks of painful rehab. “Being the frontman in U2 is a great job and a reason for me to stick to what has been a really very hard programme of rehab,” he said. “It consists usually of German doctors beating me up and pushing me into all kinds of positions and exercises. I’m very fit now.

Surgery

“I think it’s something like 11 weeks since surgery so they’re very pleased. It’s really turned my life upside down.”

The singer was speaking to Tubridy from his Finnish hotel room ahead of the band’s latest gig in Helsinki. Bono joked he had been inspired to ring into the show after seeing Gerry Ryan in a dream.

“Gerry appeared to me last night in a dream and said: ‘That fellow Ryan Tubridy used to work making me coffee years ago and I always knew he had his eyes on my gig.’”

He advised Tubridy that the key to following in Gerry’s footsteps was to be himself.

“I suppose he could be very serious but never earnest, which is something I find quite hard,” Bono said of Gerry.

“I always tuned into him for that and you have that, too. You’ll have a great time on this show. They’re big shoes to fill.

“He had a big foot and a big mouth to put it in. You can’t do anything wrong with this spot if you are yourself. That was really the great art of Gerry Ryan, being himself.”

Irish Independent



U2 Helsinki Review

Before we jump into the review of the show lets talk mobile signal jamming, it was interesting yesterday that most of the fans that tweet in the show or send video expressed issues with their signal. We can only report that this could only be related to this statdium.

U2 walked on stage relaxed despite the delay. The band was at home and seemed to crowd. They grabbed the audience from the start of the show and maintained them. Starting off with Beautiful Day seems to work well.  

Critics seem to have their day too. Stating that the boys have seemed to miss the 90’s and beyond.  Nothing fresh, nothing new yet the concert seemed to prove that Mysterious Ways has a place on this new setlist.

Enthusiasm did not slow down as they played “Where the Streets Have No Name” A couple of songs deleted from the show making room for Until the End of the World.

Bono seemed into the crowd, taking time to reference some points of interest. The show did start with a technical issue, the screen failed to go up causing a bit of delay in the start.

The crowd danced and sang along; remember the comment from the hotelier that U2’s audience is a bit old. Well the forty something crowd was clearing driving the show.

Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi was in the house and Kiviniemi received special treatment because he met with Bono before the gig and the singer mention the Prime Minister during a concert a few times.

Bottom line translators did not really do a good job of understanding the importance of U2’s arrival. Can U2 fill every show and create a buzz that over takes Rock? Well with 4 new projects on the way. U2 and I can only hope.

Australian Promotional Posters

During yesterday show we updated that we have spotted the Australian promotional posters with dates and ticket sales details. Here is what we do know. The posters are real, however they are production posters so we could claim them as official. So based on what we have seen we are just updating you of the possibility of the their arrival back to OZ, which will be the first time since PopMart - 

  • 1 December 2010: Etihad Stadium, Melbourne, Victoria
  • 8 December 2010: Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane, Queensland
  • 13 December 2010: ANZ Stadium, Sydney, New South Wales
  • 18 December 2010: Subiaco Oval, Perth, Western Australia


These shows will, according to the posters, go on sale at 9am on Friday, 3 September 2010 via the usual outlets - Ticketmaster or Ticketek, depending on the venue’s ticket agency arrangements.

Helsinki Local Time -

FYI guess who is attending Saturday’s show ?

Andrea Corr looks set to mark her first wedding anniversary to well-to-do hubby Brett Desmond in style after the pair were invited to the Russian leg of U2’s 360 tour in Moscow, as VIP guests of Bono.

The loved-up newlyweds are on holiday abroad and will mark the milestone on Saturday, but are then hoping to jet to the Russian capital in time for a belated celebration at the gig next week.

Brett and Andrea are firm friends of the U2 frontman and are said to have offered him great support during his recent health scare, which saw him take a two-month break from the limelight after he was forced to undergo emergency surgery for a back injury. The Vertigo singer and wife Ali Hewson were among those at Brett and Andrea’s wedding at Doonbeg Golf Resort in Co Clare last summer.

The two couples share the same anniversary — and Bono and Ali will celebrate their 28th year together at U2’s concert in Helsinki, Finland, on Saturday.

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for the singer, who last weekend showed Sean Penn a night to remember as the Oscar-winning actor celebrated his 50th birthday in Dublin.

Penn is in Ireland filming new movie This Must Be The Place alongside Bono’s daughter Eve Hewson.

 

Baby Baby Light My Way

Sometimes I feel like I don’t know
Sometimes I feel like checking out…’

Second show in Horsens tonight, another capacity crowd and this European leg is hitting its stride. A great atmosphere with the Danish audience  and signs that the band are thinking about some more surprises in the set list.

‘When I was all messed up and I heard opera in my head,
Your love was a light bulb hanging over my bed…’

Helena Christensen’s presence got Bono musing about the band: ‘Speaking of tall, beautiful, elegant, well dressed sex symbols, on my left… the Helena Christensen of our band… Adam Clayton…’
And on my right, the Heidi Klum of our catwalk, The Edge.
And behind me, on the drums, our very own model/actor,  Brigitte Neilsen - Larry Mullen Jnr…
‘I don’t know what that makes me. Lucky I suppose?’

‘Baby, baby, baby, light my way.
Alright now, baby, baby, baby, light my way…’


Fans wondering could we expect to see Ultraviolet return to the setlist tonight ? 

Record Attendance Expected

Helsinki Olympics Stadium 2010

A record audience turnout is expected at Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium for concerts given by the U2 rock band as part of its “360” world tour. An estimated crowd of 104,000 fans are expected for the two concerts.

The concerts mark the reopening of Helsinki’s Olympic Stadium to the public after recent renovations. An audience of 52,000 people is expected on both nights, representing an all time record of attendance at the venue.

Previous audience records date from concerts given by the Rolling Stones and Tina Turner, each attended by 50,000 fans. Dual concerts given by Bruce Springsteen in 2003 attracted a precise total of 89,856 people.

Back in 1952, over 70,000 attended the Helsinki Olympics at the stadium.

The concerts-in-the-round feature the world’s biggest stage set for a pop tour. Some fans have been camping outside the venue since Wednesday, hoping to catch a glimpse of “the claw”, a steel construction at the heart of the band’s stage set.

About 600 extra tickets to the shows went on sale on Friday morning.

This is the band’s third visit to Finland since 1983, when they played at Turku’s Ruisrock festival.

Concert Postponed

The show in Seville will be postponed by one day to Thursday, 30th of Setember 2010. The original show date was 29th however due to a general strike planned for the 29th it makes it impossible to hold a show.

U2.com has annouced the changes and stated that all tickets for the original date will be honoured at the new date. Fans that can not attend the new date must return their tickets to thier point of purchase no later than September 10th 2010.

The complete tour guide can be found here