04-12-07

Bono: New U2 album will be extraordinary

By Kimberley Dadds, Rex Features

Bono has claimed that U2's new album is going to be "extraordinary" and that it will sound completely different to anything that has been heard before.

The frontman revealed that the band's new sound has been inspired by a visit to Morocco last year.

Bono told the Independent: "Normally when you play a U2 tune, it clears the dancefloor. And that may not be true of this. There's some trance influences. But there's some very hardcore guitar coming out of The Edge. Real molten metal.

"It's not like anything we've ever done before, and we don't think it sounds like anything anyone else has done either."

The singer explained that going to a religious music festival in Fez, Morocco helped them write new material. He said: "It was a real humbling thing for a punk rock shouter, listening to these people who just close their eyes for 40 minutes and sing the most sophisticated melodies."

He added: "We have enough material for two albums but it has to be extraordinary. And I think we've got that." 

20.07.2006
U2’s Vertigo Tour Hits The Road Again!

It's official! At last we can confirm the rescheduled Vertigo//2006 shows. U2 will hit the road again in November. Starting in Brisbane on November 7th , U2 will play further dates in Australia, New Zealand and Japan before finishing in Hawaii on December 9.

Kanye West will join the band in Australia and New Zealand while Special Guests, Pearl Jam will join Rocko and the Devils for December 9 in Honolulu.

These show dates are rescheduled following the postponement of Vertigo//2006 earlier in the year. For full ticket information in your area please see below.

“We are very happy to announce the rescheduling and appreciate everyone’s patience.” said Arthur Fogel, of TNA.

The Vertigo Tour, which opened in San Diego in March 2005, is set for a grand finish in Hawaii with the addition of Pearl Jam.

“It’s going to be a great night in Hawaii,” said Paul McGuinness, U2’s manager. “The band are really pleased Pearl Jam could join the bill, a great end to what has already been a very successful tour.”

The new show dates are as follows:

Auckland - Ericsson Stadium - (Old Date) Friday, March 17th/06 - (New Date) Friday, November 24/06

Auckland - Ericsson Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, March 18th/06 - (New Date) Saturday, November 25/06

Brisbane - QSAC Stadium - (Old Date) Tuesday, March 21st/06 - (New Date) Tuesday, November 7/06

Melbourne - Telstra Dome - (Old Date) Friday, March 24th/06 - (New Date) Saturday, November 18/06

Melbourne - Telstra Dome - (Old Date) Saturday, March 25th/06 - (New Date) Sunday, November 19/06

Adelaide - AAMI Stadium - (Old Date) Tuesday, March 28th/06 - (New Date) Thursday, November 16/06

Sydney - Telstra Stadium - (Old Date) Friday, March 31st/06 - (New Date) Friday, November 10/06

Sydney - Telstra Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, April 1st/06 - (New Date) Saturday, November 11/06

 

Looks Like November

Auckland - Ericsson Stadium - (Old Date) Friday, March 17th/06 - (New
Date) Friday, November 24/06

Auckland - Ericsson Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, March 18th/06 - (New
Date) Saturday, November 25/06

Brisbane - QSAC Stadium - (Old Date) Tuesday, March 21st/06 - (New Date)
Tuesday, November 7/06

Melbourne - Telstra Dome - (Old Date) Friday, March 24th/06 - (New Date)
Saturday, November 18/06

Melbourne - Telstra Dome - (Old Date) Saturday, March 25th/06 - (New
Date) Sunday, November 19/06

Adelaide - AAMI Stadium - (Old Date) Tuesday, March 28th/06 - (New Date)
Thursday, November 16/06

Sydney - Telstra Stadium - (Old Date) Friday, March 31st/06 - (New Date)
Friday, November 10/06

Sydney - Telstra Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, April 1st/06 - (New
Date) Saturday, November 11/06

Honolulu - Aloha Stadium - (Old Date) Saturday, April 8/06 - (New Date)
Saturday, December 9/06
 

13.03.2006

Bono has told Australian TV that U2 will be back in the country in November to reschedule postponed shows. There’s no specific dates yet but the band are hoping to make an announcement very soon.

Speaking to ABC’s ‘Enough Rope’ on Monday evening, Bono said that he didn’t want to leave Australia without confirming that the band are aiming to get back on the road later in the year. Last week the March and April dates were postponed because of the illness of a family member of one of the band.

‘I can't really get into details why,’ Bono told presenter Andrew Denton. ‘There was a lot of distress and angst and (the) good news is ... I can announce tonight we are coming back, looks like November and that's a great relief for me.’

Bono said it was hard to describe how bad the band felt about postponing the dates – something U2 have only ever done once before - and praised fans for their generous reaction to the sudden news.
'Our music does come out of (a) very tight community,' he said. 'So if one of us is going through it we're all going through it.'

He promised that the rescheduled shows would be something special. ‘It will be the only time, you know, we get a chance to play these songs for a long time, it will be extraordinary.’

Catch a clip of Bono's TV interview here

Keep checking in with U2.Com for updates on when rescheduled dates might take place.

LONDON (Reuters) - Irish rock band U2 have postponed the Asia-Pacific leg of their sold-out world tour due to a family illness, their promoter said on Thursday.

"This action is unavoidable due to the illness of an immediate family member of one of the band," tour promoter Arthur Fogel said in a statement on the band's Web site (http://www.u2.com/news).

"Any fan of U2 will realize that this decision has not been taken lightly. We will announce further details as soon as we have them."

The band's publicist in Los Angeles declined to elaborate on the announcement.

Australia's Nine television network said the concerts were postponed because the daughter of one of the band members was ill.

U2 was scheduled to begin the Asia-Pacific portion of its "Vertigo" world tour in the New Zealand city of Auckland on March 17, and then play Australia, Japan and Hawaii. In all, it postponed 10 shows.

Michael Coppel, promoter of U2's Australian and New Zealand concerts, said the band had sold out seven concerts downunder, and had sold more than 250,000 tickets.

U2 last played New Zealand 12 years ago and Australia eight years ago. The band has been touring the world in support of its Grammy-winning album "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb" since March 2005.

The postponement disappointed fans.

"I'm totally shocked. I was waiting for the show for a long time ... the last time I saw U2 play was in late 1980s when they came to Japan," said Yoshihiro Watando, a 39-year-old worker at an electronics company in Tokyo.

The band had been set to play at a stadium in Yokohama, just west of Tokyo, on April 4.

It completed the Latin American leg in Buenos Aires last week. In Brazil when tickets went on sale, people waited for more than 12 hours in queues stretching round city blocks, despite tickets costing about $75, or two-thirds of Brazil's minimum monthly wage.

In Mexico, lead singer Bono and the band played hits including "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" to 90,000 fans at the capital Mexico City's Azteca Stadium.

The band -- Bono, guitarist the Edge, bass player Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. -- received an Amnesty International award for its human rights work before going on stage in Chile.

U2 were among the top three highest earning touring bands in 2005, making close to $140 million from concerts, according to trade publication Pollstar.

U2's tour is promoted by TNA, a unit of Live Nation Inc., the recently spun-off live-entertainment arm of Clear Channel Communications Inc.

19.11.05 U2.com

It's Official! Australia To Get Vertigo!  Eight years after they last played Australia, U2 are taking the Vertigo Tour to Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney in March. The shows are the first to be announced for 'Vertigo '06' which will kick off in February and also stop in Mexico, South America, New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

U2.Com can exclusively confirm the Australian dates - tickets will go on general sale on Monday December 5th.

Tuesday March 21 Brisbane Queensland Sports & Athletics Centre

Friday March 24 Melbourne Telstra Dome

Tuesday March 28 Adelaide AAMI Stadium

Friday March 31 Sydney Telstra Stadium


And New Zealand too!

Tickets are priced at $99 for General Admission to the stadium field area,with Reserved Seat tickets to be priced between $99 and $199. Ticket sales outlet information will be released one week prior to the on-sale date of December 5.

Since the Vertigo Tour kicked off in San Diego last March, three and a half million fans have filled 110 shows in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, a year after release, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb enjoys 9 million sales worldwide and this week 'U2//Vertigo//2005 Live from Chicago, a live DVD of the show was released worldwide.

14.11.2005 U2.com

Live From Chicago. Out Today!

‘Vertigo 2005//U2 Live from Chicago’, the live DVD of the current tour is released around the world today and in the US tomorrow.
Filmed at the United Center Chicago on 9th and 10th May, the new DVD brings Vertigo '05 to the small screen.
Grab a look at a clip here and view our exclusive All Because Of You clip here.

The DVD comes on two discs. The first comes with the ful
l live show, directed by Hamish Hamilton who directed both of U2's previous million selling live DVDs.

The second disc is full of bonus material including Beyond The Tour, an intimate behind the scenes documentary.

The bonus disc also comes with a very cool extra sequence of U2 material, something unique to the Vertigo Tour. This is a startling 'surveillance cuts’ version of the Chicago show, conceived and filmed by U2’s longtime Show Director Willie Williams. The footage uses four remote controlled black and white infra-red surveillance cameras. Trust us – it offers a totally different perspective on the show. (You might even be on it!)

So what’s the tracklisting ?. OK, this is what it looks and sounds like:

Disc One

City Of Blinding Lights
Vertigo
Elevation
Cry/Electric Co.
An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
Beautiful Day
New Year’s Day
Miracle Drug
Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own
Love And Peace Or Else
Sunday Bloody Sunday
Bullet The Blue Sky
Running To Standstill
Pride (In The Name Of Love)
Where The Streets Have No Name
One
Zoo Station
The Fly
Mysterious Ways
All Because Of You
Original Of The Species
Yahweh
40

Disc Two

1. BEYOND THE TOUR – DOCUMENTARY
Directed by Erica Forstadt

2. BONUS MATERIAL

- Surveillance Cuts
Love And Peace Or Else
An Cat Dubh/Into The Heart
Cry/Electric Co.
Running To Stand Still
Concept, direction and photography by Willie Williams.

- Sometimes You Can’t Make It On Your Own – Alternative Video
Directed by Phil Joanou

(10-14-2004) Special Report: U2 Album Playback, London -- Music Week*

Special report: U2 album playback, London
13 October 2004 - 12:03:02

It's the 27th floor of London's Centre Point - one of the city's tallest structures. Security is tight with the insistence that all potential recording devices are left in lockers on the ground floor.
The room is decked out like a nightclub with low, red lighting and
speakers mounted in every direction. It's the U2 playback. No expense spared.

Manager Paul McGuinness introduces the record to a small number
gathered from national press. Tomorrow, the whole affair will be repeated for regional press and on Thursday, for TV and Radio.

McGuiness starts by talking about the band's label. "It's odd to be
on such good terms with the record company. Of course, there's always a little pushing and shoving, but it's great to have all the records in one place and not be squabbling with former labels over best ofs. The people at Island are the smartest in the business and the most fascinating thing over the last 25 years is that they continue to do their best work."

On U2 and the forthcoming album, he says, "The band have become more and more ambitious. Yes, the albums get longer and longer to make."

He continues, "London is the centre of the musical world, mostly
because of the paranoia it induces and the savage criticism. We aare as scared of that as we always were."

How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb - Preview:

On first listen, this is an entirely different record to 2000's All That You Can't Leave Behind, in fact, there appears to be no natural progression between the two. The relative calm, assured and complete tones of the former album have been usurped by a more consistently upbeat slab of work. The majority of tracks on HTDAAB swagger with uptempo melodies and adventurous guitar lines, probably resembling something more similar to 1997's Pop.

And, as is typical of a U2 album on first listen, the melodies and
song structures are not entirely discernible. No doubt a few plays
will correct that, but for the time being, only Miracle Drug, Love
And Peace Or Else, All Because Of You and Original Of The Species,
are the instantly accessible tracks.

The others: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, City Of
Blinding Lights, A Man And A Woman, Crumbs On Your Table, One Step Closer and Yahweh appear to have almost confused, ramshackle song structures that demand more patience from the listener. Undoubtedly these will become the album's masterpieces.

While HTDAAB is standard U2 fodder, it is more appealing that the
band has not settled for a remake of ATYCLB and has instead created something that could be described as a cacophony of the best in U2 sounds, and how they vary: HTDAAB incorporates shreds of so many brilliant and familiar moments from the past - Bono's urgent vocals from War re-surface, the atmospherics of The Unforgettable Fire are ever-present, the adventure of Achtung, Baby! and the dirty distortion of Pop all seem to have been wrapped up, dismantled, and wrapped up again in that intricate bomb that is U2's distinct sound.

Track by track:

Vertigo:
First single. U2 return the glory days of the early 80's when it was
all confidence and style over content. The riff from October's Two
Hearts Beat As One used in the middle eight will excite the most
ardent U2 fans.

Miracle Drug:
Edge digs up the guitar sound that is synonymous with the Joshua Tree, while the ending has the rousing drums that first appeared on U2's slight foray into hard rock on Exit. Begins downtempo, but in true U2 fashion, rouses before too long.

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own:
Slow ballad that again, invokes sounds more familiar on Joshua
Tree's Where The Streets Have No Name. An honest, heartfelt ballad that drops rather unexpectedly to a sinister minor key two thirds of the way in.

Love And Peace Or Else:
Bono and Edge's love of Bowie and Stooges, plus Larry Mullen's
continued Ramones influence is plastered all over this track.
Reminiscent of Mofo on Pop, it flaunts distorted basslines and
dampened drums, yet manages to be simultaneously progressive.

City Of Blinding Lights:
Sounds as though it is a lost track from 20 years ago that could
have appeared on The Unforgettable Fire - this is mainly owed to the production that seems to have Daniel Lanois written all over it. Not a particularly obvious song, but one that has the potential to be a U2 classic.

All Because Of You:
This is undoubtedly one of the most obvious and accessible tracks on the album. It arrives with a warning bell sound and proceeds to kick in like Pop's Discoteque. Pure swagger and rock 'n' roll. U2 at their finest.

A Man And A Woman:
The vocals on this sound as though they were recorded in 1983 for War. How Bono has managed to pull this off after aging 20 years is beyond belief. The combination of this and the acoustic guitar sends flashbacks of War's Drowing Man, however, the incredibly slick production serves to remind us that this is, after all, 2004.

Crumbs From Your Table:
Maybe one of the slightly weaker songs, this is modern U2 which is almost as adventurous as Achtung, Baby! and at times, sounds a little like Mysterious Ways. The breakdown at the end, however, is stunning.

One Step Closer:
Very traditional downtempo, atmospheric classic U2 number.

Original Of The Species:
Very accessible, pop melody that isn't too far removed, in some
senses from mid-career Beatles. It's a love ballad that could have
featured on All You Can't Leave Behind.

YahWeh:
Huge chiming guitars, incredibly uptempo song that seems to be
calling out for the ancient Hebrew God.

Fast Cars:
Features arabic style drumming that gives way to marriachi rhythms. Excellent energetic song and unusual for U2 to complete an album on an upbeat note.

From U2.com:12-10-04
"U2 To Tour in '05... But Don't Buy Tickets Yet!
Paul McGuinness has confirmed that U2 will tour next year but urged
fans not to buy tickets until details are confirmed.

U2 manager Paul McGuinness today confirmed that the band will set out
on a major tour next year but urged the band's fans not to part with
any money for concert tickets until the tour details are confirmed.

An announcement is expected in the coming months. Some web sites are
currently offering tickets for speculative dates.

"We are still very much in the planning stages of our tour for next
year which will visit the US, Canada, Europe, Japan and Australia,
and the band is really looking forward to getting out on the road."
said McGuinness today.

"As soon as we have finalised the plans, the tour will be announced
on U2.Com as usual and purchase instructions will be clearly
available. Nothing is confirmed until the official tour announcement,
no tickets will be on sale until after this time."

U2's forthcoming album, 'How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb', will be
released by Universal Island Records on 22nd November.

'Vertigo', the first single from the album, is currently Number 1 on
the download chart and hits shops on 8th November.

08-17-2004) Exclusive: Confirmed - First Single, Album Release Date - Interference*

xclusive: confirmed - First Single, Album Release Date

Interference.com has received the following information from insiders today that the album will be released in the United States on Tuesday, Nov. 23, 2004. We received word from Universal France a few weeks ago that the album would be released in Europe on Nov. 22.

Interference.com has also confirmed through another source that the first single will be titled 'Vertigo' and is set for release on Sept. 24th!

Stay tuned to Interference.com for all the latest U2 tunes and happenings!

(07-27-2004) Cracking The Case of the Stolen U2 CD - Chart Attack*

Cracking The Case of the Stolen U2 CD

By: ChartAttack.com Staff

Is it at all possible that this whole mysteriously stolen U2 CD incident is simply a publicity hoax perpetrated by the artists themselves? Of course, we'd never suggest such a thing, but Bono’s recent statement that the band may release the entire album on iTunes immediately if the songs were to turn up seems to make the whole situation a bit more suspect. Let’s don our replica Sherlock Holmes outfits and investigate this further, shall we?

The album is officially set for a November release, a very calculated plan in and of itself as it creates a huge Christmas rush market on top of the normal drones still aching for a proper follow-up to The Joshua Tree. However, as we’ve previously mentioned, The Edge’s carelessness led to the theft of a CD containing every last track. Ready your magnifying glasses my young apprentices. The band was in France shooting photos for sleeve art on the album and yet, for some reason, felt it prudent to bring along this highly important, much anticipated album seemingly just because. Immediately, the album, which had not been receiving very much press since its initial conceptualization, was the topic of conversation everywhere.

Here’s where we thoughtfully pause and blow some soapy bubbles from our plastic pipes.

Now Bono and the boys have publicly stated that if the songs begin to surface on the Internet, they will unfortunately be forced to release the album immediately on Apple’s iTunes. Unfortunate indeed. In doing so, U2 will be making an unprecedented move in the music industry as a band of international stature rushing their release in a digital format because of piracy fears. Not only will they have their name in the headlines for that oh so bold move, but their album will be available virtually everywhere.

Of course, couple this with the fact that the band can then still release the infamous album, expected to be titled Vertigo, in a pretty jewel case with pretty photos and a pretty CD in November.

Cue the air violins, I think we’ve almost cracked this dubious case.

With Bono often seen traipsing about the countryside, holding hands with politicians and spewing political jargon, all this new controversy has put the focus completely on the new album and its music, seemingly divorcing Bono the politician from Bono the musician. Much like Macphisto and the Fly, the two are completely different people, which can only help U2’s sales.

See, Janet Jackson didn’t really think things through that clearly. "Need publicity," she grunted to herself. "Show boob." For U2, generating massive amounts of publicity is… well, elementary.

—David Missio

(07-22-2004) Edge and Bono Tell The Missing CD Story - Telegraph

Edge and Bono Tell The Missing CD Story

The following article is an excerpt from the Telegraph about the many uses and ramifications of the popular proliferation of Apple's megaselling iPod device.


In this brave new digital world, the spectre of online piracy still casts a long shadow. Last Friday, U2 had their new CD - which they had just finished recording the weekend before - stolen during a photo shoot in the south of France. Only a handful of copies existed but guitarist Edge decided to play his personal CD on the studio stereo during a shoot for Blender magazine.

When they wandered out to take some locations pictures, Edge neglected to press "Eject". Apparently, the band were all posing in an empty swimming pool, 50 metres from the studio, when someone snatched the CD. French police were immediately called in to question a handful of suspects, including photographers, make-up artists, set builders and stylists (a whole new twist to the word "accessory").

"It all got very heavy very quickly," Edge told me. "It was such an opportunistic crime, it was probably just someone looking for a souvenir, but the potential financial damage is disastrous."

This might seem a lot of fuss for a missing CD. Ten years ago bands would glibly hand out advance copies of their albums to friends and co-workers. But in the era of peer-to-peer filesharing, U2 are coming to terms with the fact that two years of hard work on a project expected to generate tens of millions in revenue could be made available as a free download on the internet months in advance of its planned November release.

U2's lead singer Bono has proposed a radical solution. "If it is on the internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month," he told me. "It would be a real pity. It would screw up years of work and months of planning, not to mention fucking up our holidays. But once it's out, it's out."

As we go to press, the album has not turned up on the net or anywhere else. Personally, I imagine there is a very nervous individual somewhere, wondering how a simple CD managed to stir up such a hornet's nest.

07-26-2004) U2 ready to tour Australia - SMH*

U2 ready to tour Australia
By Christine Sams
July 26, 2004
The Sun-Herald

It is the news U2's Australian fans have been waiting for. The Irish supergroup is set to include Australia in its next world tour and will most likely perform concerts in December next year.

That's the word from a source close to the band, who revealed that plans are in place for a global U2 tour after the release of their new album (believed to be titled Vertigo).

Thousands of Australian fans were left disappointed during U2's last tour, Elevation, when the band did not perform in Australia. (Much of the blame for their absence was attributed to the ailing Australian dollar.)

Until that tour, Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen jnr and Adam Clayton were regular visitors to Sydney. (They even performed an impromptu acoustic gig at the Mercantile Hotel in The Rocks, under the name of the Dalton Bros.)

Their last official visit was for the PopMart tour in 1998.

The band's new album, which is due for release later this year, has been at the centre of controversy in Europe after a CD of nearly-completed tracks was stolen from U2's recording studio in the south of France. Fears that some of the fresh tracks would be posted on the internet appear to be unfounded so far, but if the music is released early it could cost the band (and their record company) millions of dollars in lost sales.

A spokesman for Bono in Dublin confirmed the singer was still overseas last week.

As with most U2 tours, the band is likely to perform its new music in the US, UK and Europe first, before finishing up in countries including Australia.

Although few details have been leaked about the new songs on Vertigo, Bono has revealed to some reporters the CD will have a hard, punk-rock sound.

(07-16-2004) More on the Missing U2 Disc -- The Guardian *

More on the Missing U2 Disc

French police investigate loss of disc which could cost band £10m

Jamie Wilson and Amelia Gentleman in Paris
Saturday July 17, 2004
The Guardian

Rock superstars U2 were counting the cost of a carelessly misplaced CD yesterday, after a disc containing songs from their forthcoming album disappeared during a photoshoot in Nice.
French police have launched a major investigation amid fears it may have been stolen to order by bootleggers to make pirate copies, potentially costing the band and their record company millions of pounds in lost revenue.

So far detectives have interviewed more than 20 people, including hairdressers and photographers, who were at the photoshoot in the Victorine studios on Tuesday afternoon.

The missing CD belonged to the group's lead guitarist, Edge. It was not clear yesterday exactly where he had left it, but in a statement released on the band's website he said: "A large slice of two years' work lifted via a piece of round plastic. It doesn't seem credible but that's what's just happened to us ... and it was my CD."

The band had only recently completed much of the recording of the new album in Dublin. They were in France for the photoshoot and to complete post-production work in Nice, where lead singer, Bono, has a house.

Following the disappearance, the band's drummer, Larry Mullen, and Edge were pictured going into a police station near the studio.

Guy Sapata, the police officer in charge of the case in Nice, said that the investigation was ongoing.

"We have already inspected the site where the photoshoot took place, a private studio in Nice, and have interviewed the 20 or so people who were present at the time the CD went missing."

He said that as well as the band members there had been numerous technicians, and support staff - French, Irish, British and American - helping with the shoot.

The inquiry was launched on Tuesday evening and had continued throughout Wednesday, the national Bastille Day holiday, he said - an indication of how seriously the police were taking the case.

"We are considering a wide range of possible theories - theft by a fan who simply likes the music, theft by someone who wants to exploit the CD by putting it on the internet. The CD may also have simply been lost," Mr Sapata said.

U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, told the band's website: "The recording of this album has been going so well. The band is so excited about its release. It would be a shame if unfinished work fell into the wrong hands."

Lucian Grainge, the chairman and chief executive of Universal Music Group UK, said: "This matter is of great concern to us.

"As the missing CD is our property, we're very keen to find it as soon as possible and the French police are being extremely helpful in this regard."

The new album, titled Vertigo, is due to be released in November and will be the first new studio album from U2 since All That You Can't Leave Behind, nearly four years ago.

The group's management yesterday called an emergency meeting in London to try to deal with the fallout.

One industry source said the theft could potentially cost the band and their record company upwards of £10m.

"There is a crucial window period of a week or two after a band release a new album when it will make most of its money. At that point it is crucial to have property protection, so if it has been on the internet beforehand it will obviously disrupt the whole brand," the source said.

It is not the first time U2 have fallen foul of bootleggers. New songs from their 1996 album, Pop, went on sale on the internet after purportedly being removed from their Dublin studio by computer hackers.

It was claimed at the time that the songs may have been electronically "siphoned off" along cables feeding the band's own video camera, which has been recording rehearsals and feeding images on to the band's website.

According to the IFPI, the international recording industry body, record sales fell by 8 percent in 2003 as a result of illegal file sharing.

It is also not the first time the band have been careless with a CD. In 2002 Bono handed a demo copy of Electrical Storm to Radio 1 DJ Sarah HB as a wedding gift. She promptly played it on her radio show, forcing the band to bring forward its release by two weeks.

(12-07-2004) Exclusive: U2's European Release Date Confirmed -- Interference. com*

Exclusive: U2's European Release Date Confirmed

 Interference. com got the following e-mail from Universal France this morning about U2's upcoming album:

'Release date is confirmed for Europe on Nov 22nd. I've had absolutely no information or whatsoever regarding the us release date.'

Nov. 22nd is a Monday and typically CDs are released in the US on Tuesdays so the 23rd looks like a possibility stateside.

Stay tuned to  Interference. com for more updates on the U2 album.

Live Aid II

By GEORGE PASCOE-WATSON
Deputy Political Editor


LIVE Aid is to be held AGAIN — 20 years on.

(Ed. Note -- Sir Bob Geldof has denied involvement in the proposed "Live Aid II." More information as we find it.)

The mega concert to ease Third World debt — on the anniversary of the 1985 original — will be unveiled this week. Tony Blair is backing what promises to be the greatest pop bash in history.

Last night a Whitehall source confirmed: “It’s going to be bigger and better than before.”

Live Aid II is the brainchild of U2 rocker Bono, 44.

He will officially announce it this week.

Robbie Williams and Oasis are tipped to head a stellar line-up of acts next year that could also include Coldplay and Radiohead. Sir Paul McCartney and Phil Collins, stars of the first Live Aid, may also appear.

The 1985 event, staged simultaneously at Wembley and in Philadelphia, was watched on TV by 1.4billion worldwide.

It was organised by Sir Bob Geldof to aid Ethiopia's starving. The target of the new show - Third World debt - is a cause close to Bono's heart.

The rocker, another veteran of 1985, has got together with Blackadder writer Richard Curtis to organise Live Aid II.

Sir Bob, 52, will be involved with them in a year-long crusade to highlight the debt issue.

It is thought he may be asked to help organise the concert.

The Whitehall insider said: "Everyone is very excited."

The PM next weekend flies to a G8 summit of the world's richest countries where he will urge a £20billion aid boost for poor nations.

Chancellor Gordon Brown will raise the debt issue in a speech at the Vatican where he will be the Pope's guest next month.

The original Live Aid raised £60million. More than 70,000 music fans packed Wembley.

Likely venues for Live Aid II are Hyde Park in London or Knebworth, Hertfordshire.