Finally New U2 Music !

Reports out of  Dublin suggest that we could have some new U2 music very soon. ​ We have already reported about the "Leaked U2 Jam Session (2010-2013)" which the video can be found on our facebook page ( U2TOURFANS). If you remember early this year Bono commented on a Dublin radio station (Sunshine 106.8FM) that they have been working on #13 and that a title was in the works. We have heard "10 Reasons to Exist" could be the title or at least right now its the working title.

Two other songs that are rumored to possibly be part of the new album are "Soon" and "Winter." "Winter" was featured in two movies, Brothers and Linear, while "Soon" was used as an intro to concerts in 2010.

"U2 is on the verge of irrelevancy," Bono told Fashion and Style magazine recently.  "We have to do something on this next album that is very, very special in order to have a reason to exist.”

“U2 has been beating the odds of being irrelevant for close to 20 years, since Rattle and Hum, and we had to find ways to keep ourselves fresh yet loyal to our fans which we love so much. We are still hungry and not ready to give up our spot as the biggest and best band in the world because we feel like we have much to offer...we are still as cool as we were in 2004 and even 1994."

Reports coming in from Dublin - Again this could all be rumors - Heck until the machine starts we really have to go with what we hear.  Bono ? Any comment ​

U2 and Willie Nelson Video Released

The group collaborated with the American country singer in 2003 to record 'Slow Dancing', which was written by Bono.

While a live version of the track, which featured on 'The Essential Willie Nelson' album, surfaced online, no official footage was previously available.

The five-minute video was posted on YouTube earlier this week, on U2's account as a tribute to Nelson on his 80th birthday, and it has already been viewed 10,000 times.

It is completely shot in black and white. The credit reads: "Happy birthday Willie! 80 and still a pilgrim. All the best from Bono, The Edge, Larry and Adam."

The band had previously collaborated fellow country legend Johnny Cash. U2 are currently working on their 13th studio album, provisionally entitled '10 Reasons to Exist'.

It has been reported that the band are hopeful of unveiling their latest offering to fans in September.

Irish Independent

Future, The Future is

​Right now most U2 fans are asking the same question. What the heck is taking so long?  We all seem to be asking the same questions. If most of the songs have already been played before what seems to be taking them so long? So long ? Really now why are we U2 fans so demanding that our boys produce some music asap to fill our need to have fresh U2 music.  Its not that standard pop crap that we seem to hear blasting from the radio today. 

Songs: North Star, Glastonbury, Every Breaking Wave, Boy Falls From The Sky, Mercy, Return Of The Stingray Guitar and a "Stolen Demo" from the bands recent sessions with Danger Mouse.

Most of these songs were played by U2 on the 360 tour after Bono recovered from a back injury and wanted to do something special for his fans.

"Boy Falls From the Sky" was done for the "Spiderman" musical while"North Star" was featured in "Transformers" for a few seconds but wasn't released in any other format.

Two other songs that are rumored to possibly be part of the new album are "Soon" and "Winter." "Winter" was featured in two movies-"Brothers" and "Linear" while "Soon" was used as an intro to concerts in 2010.

Why exactly is the next album proving to be difficult for U2? Bono explained that he believed, "U2 is on the verge of irrelevancy" (we disagree) and added "we have to do something on this next album that is very very special in order to have a reason to exist."

He also said, "U2 has been beating the odds of being irrelevant for close to 20 years, since Rattle and Hum, and we had to find ways to keep ourselves fresh, yet loyal to our fans which we love so much."

Thank goodness that "we are still hungry and not ready to give up our spot as the biggest and best band in the world because we feel like we have much to offer...we are still as cool as we were in 2004 and even 1994."

U2 Mega Rich List

Air 360

U2 Arrives ​

It may be four years since they last had a number one hit but U2 remain among the world's richest musicians according to an influential rich list. Bimpe Archer reports THE eagerly awaited Sunday Times Rich List has ranked Dublin rock band U2 as the third richest music millionaires in the UK and Ireland.

It calculates that the band's wealth has increased since 2012 with Bono, the Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton sitting comfortable in the top three of the annual rock and roll-call of riches.

The list continues to be led by Sir Paul McCartney, whose £680 million fortune is shared with third wife Nancy Shevell.

McCartney has topped all the charts since the Sunday Times Rich List began in 1989, when the former Beatle was worth £80m.

By 1993, the McCartney fortune had grown to £400m.

In addition to starring roles at Queen Elizabeth's diamond jubilee and closing the opening ceremony for the London Olympics, his 'On the Run' tour grossed $57m from just 18 dates in 2012.

The tour added £15m to his fortune but the total includes £150m for Shevell's stake in her father's New England Motor Freight trucking operation.

Also ahead of the Dublin rock band is composer and theatre owner Andrew Lloyd-Webber.

Profits from his hugely successful stage shows, such as Phantom of the Opera, Evita and Cats, have helped to boost Lord Lloyd-Webber's fortune by £30m to keep him in sec ond place in the Music Rich List at £620m.

Lord Of The Dance creator Michael Flatley, who brought Irish dancing to global audiences, comes in at number seven.

The show, which made him millions, evolved from his work on Riverdance and became a phenomenon in the 1990s.

Also making an appearance on the list is Donegal singer Enya who is ranked at number 27.

The Sunday Times only started to measure wealth in Ireland as part of its annual Rich List in 1997.

Last year Bono's personal wealth received a boost after the flotation of Facebook. Immediately established a value of $1.9 billion for the Elevation partnership.

The equity investment group was co-founded by Bono, who is also its managing director.

It paid around $90m for just over 2.3 per cent of Facebook.

Before this, with U2 profits split between the band and manager Paul McGuinness, Bono's estimated personal wealth was around £100m.

News that the band's wealth has also increased is likely to increase criticism from taxpayers in the Republic who have been angered at their sophisticated tax arrangements.

A $65m investment by U2 on Broadway's Spider-Man musical also seems to be paying off.

Initially panned by critics and plagued by a series of accidents, things are now looking up and it is proving popular with audiences.

The band also own Vertigo3, an Airbus A320, to fly them around in style.

Beat Depression By Stop Drinking

Adam Clayton ​

Adam has identified his drinking habit as the main cause of 'suicidal thoughts' which he battled during his early years with the band. Adam has pleaded directly with young people not to ignore depression, and to seek out help if they are feeling down. He has revealed that despite his comfortable upbringing and years of superstardom with U2, he was prone to suicidal thoughts and depression. "I am an ex-drinker and I am a very happy ex-drinker but before I got to that point I had been through the whole process of suicidal thoughts," Clayton confessed. Clayton made the comments as part of the National Walk in My Shoes day – a fundraising and awareness event for St Patrick's University Hospital, Dublin. The money raised will go towards providing mental health services to vulnerable young adults.

Text 'shoes' to 57802 to donate €2 or go to www.walkinmyshoes.ie to donate or seek help with depression.

U2 and Hard Rock Team Up

U2 are raising funds for Amnesty International with a new range of T-shirts. The group, fronted by Bono, has teamed up with Hard Rock International to produce the U2 Signature Series: Edition 30 T-shirt line in the name of charity. They have pledged 15 per cent of the item's $32 (£20) retail price to the human rights charity, and are hopeful the extra money will help boost the organisation's work. The Edge says, "I hope this T-shirt generates loads of cash for Amnesty International and their tireless work towards the release of prisoners of conscience all around the world. Plus there's a guitar on it - so it's a win-win as far as I'm concerned." The T-shirt will be available online or at Hard Rock venues around the globe.

Clayton,Hewson and Danger Mouse

​ Adam and Ali have given us some insight to the future of U2 and its “sounding great” Adam stated in Spinner that the boys are in fact working with Danger Mouse. "It's a great team and feels very liberating at the moment -- anything goes. We have an abundance of riches, we could make three or four different records and justify that to ourselves, but to make the best record you can, you have to steer away from the ones you can make easily. We are really trying to get into territory that we are not comfortable in. If that makes sense..." Ali Hewson also shared some information on the record in an interview with The Guardian. "They're well down the road on the new album and it sounds good," Hewson said. "That's all I'm saying.

And that’s all we are saying too…..

War Turns 30

U2 War Album Cover ​

War is the third studio album by Irish rock band U2, released on 28 February 1983. The album has come to be regarded as U2's first overtly political album, in part because of songs like "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "New Year's Day", as well as the title, which stems from the band's perception of the world at the time; Bono stated that "war seemed to be the motif for 1982." While the central themes of their earlier albums Boy and October focused on adolescence and spirituality, respectively, War focused on both the physical aspects of warfare, and the emotional after-effects.  Musically, it is also harsher than the band's previous releases. The album has been described as the record where the band "turned pacifism itself into a crusade." War was a commercial success for the band, knocking Michael Jackson's Thriller from the top of the charts to become the band's first #1 album in the UK. It reached #12 in the U.S. and became their first Gold-certified album there. War has received critical acclaim. In 2012, the album was ranked number 223 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".

U2 began recording War on 17 May 1982. The band took a break soon afterwards, as newlyweds Bono and Ali honeymooned in Jamaica. It has been noted that it was not a typical honeymoon, as Bono reportedly worked on the lyrics for the upcoming album. The lyrics to "New Year's Day" had its origins in a love song Bono wrote for his wife,but the song was reshaped and inspired by the Polish Solidarity movement.

The album's opener, "Sunday Bloody Sunday", an ardent protest song, stems from a guitar riff and lyric written by The Edge in 1982. Following an argument with his girlfriend, and a period of doubt in his own song-writing abilities, The Edge — "feeling depressed... channeled [his] fear and frustration and self-loathing into a piece of music." Early versions of the song opened with the line,

"Don't talk to me about the rights of the IRA, UDA"

 After Bono had reworked the lyrics, the band recorded the song at Windmill Lane Studios in Dublin. The opening drum pattern soon developed into the song's hook. A local violinist, Steve Wickham, approached The Edge one morning at a bus stop and asked if U2 had any need for a violin on their next album. In the studio for only half a day, Wickham's electric violin became the final instrumental contribution to the song.

During the sessions for "Sunday Bloody Sunday", producer Steve Lillywhite encouraged drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. to use a click track, but Mullen was firmly against the idea. A chance meeting with Andy Newmark (of Sly & the Family Stone) — a drummer who used a click track religiously — changed Mullen's mind. Mullen used the click track to stay in time for other songs on the album.Mullen said of the album in a 1983 interview, "I think the drumming has always been pretty simple, I don't think it needs to be flashy. For War I use a click track, something I haven't used before, it's a way of keeping time in my headphones. When I listened to the music in time with the click track I knew I had to bring it down to the real basics. Hopefully for the next LP it will be more complicated, I'll move on. I think of it as a musical progression for myself because I learned a lot recording this album, just about my own style and that's what I wanted to do. I think there is a definite style on War where there isn't on the previous albums."

The studio version of "40" was recorded right at the end of the recording sessions for War. Bassist Adam Clayton had already left the studio, and the three remaining band members decided they didn't have a good song to end the album. Bono, The Edge, and Mullen Jr. quickly recorded the song with The Edge switching off to both the electric and bass guitar. Bono called the song "40" as he based the lyrics on Psalm 40. In live versions of the song, The Edge and Clayton switch roles, as Clayton plays guitar and Edge plays the bass.

Three of the tracks featured backing vocals by The Coconuts, of Kid Creole and the Coconuts. In the words of Steve Lillywhite, "they just happened to be in Dublin on tour, so we hung out with them and they came in and sang on "Surrender." So it was sort of random - this serious Irish rock band having the Coconuts on their album."

The album was titled War for several reasons; in 1982, Bono said that the album was called War because "War seemed to be the motif for 1982," adding that "Everywhere you looked, from the Falklands to the Middle East and South Africa, there was war. By calling the album War we're giving people a slap in the face and at the same time getting away from the cosy image a lot of people have of U2."The Edge said that "It's a heavy title. It's blunt. It's not something that's safe, so it could backfire. It's the sort of subject matter that people can really take a dislike to. But we wanted to take a more dangerous course, fly a bit closer to the wind, so I think the title is appropriate."