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U2 performed a short set in Germany on Thursday, November 5th to mark the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. According to the Associated Press, the band kicked off show at the Brandenburg Gate with the hit song "One." Frontman Bono thanked the crowd "for coming out in the cold" before wishing Berlin a happy birthday. The 30-minute, six-song set also featured "Beautiful Day," "Vertigo," a cover of Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up," as well as a special guest appearance by Jay-Z on "Sunday Bloody Sunday." But the free concert wasn't without controversy for the some...

Achtung, baby: U2 will play a free concert in Berlin to help the city celebrate 20 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Music network MTV said the Irish rockers will perform in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Nov. 5 during the MTV Europe Music Awards U2 manager Paul McGuinness said it would be exciting to be in Berlin, "20 years almost to the day since the wall came down."

In an e-mail blast sent out to fans today, U2 announced that it will stream Sunday night's concert on YouTube. The show begins at 8:30 p.m., Pacific time. - This marks the first time that YouTube is streaming a full length concert live. As previously reported, Sunday's U2 gig will be the largest-ever attendance for a concert at the Rose Bowl. The design of U2's 360 stage allows for a whopping 95,000 people to attend. Typically, Rose Bowl concerts top off at about 65,000 people.

Bono’s appearance in a pre-recorded video message at the Conservative Party Conference caused a bit of an internet uproar. Such was the outpouring of hostile comments on Twitter (with popular taglines including #Bonoisat— and #BonoToryScum) that the social networking site temporarily broke down. So you are a rock superstar for 30 years, a Nobel peace prize nominee and tireless charity proselytiser and what do you have to do to become a trending topic on Twitter? Talk to the Tories. (snip) If Bono speaks to the Labour party (as he did last week, introducing Gordon Brown’s key note speech), or sends...

RALEIGH, N.C. — Not everyone who paid to see Irish rock band U2 perform at Carter-Finley Stadium got to see the Saturday night show due to traffic back-ups. "We were really disappointed,” concertgoer Carrie White said. White spent $250 on U2 360° tour tickets for her husband’s birthday. She said they were stuck in traffic for three hours, and were then told no parking was available. "One of the state troopers told us, ‘Too late. All lots are full. Go home and see you next year,’” White said. The state Highway Patrol said the traffic congestion was not due to...

Bono and The Edge have described their forthcoming Spider-Man musical as "dizzy" and "not a straight take on the myth". Turn Off The Dark, the production the Dublin band has written music and lyrics for, is set to open on Broadway in New York in 2010. They also confirmed American actress Evan Rachel Wood would play the part of MJ and revealed more about the other characters. ...Bono said: "We've got a new villain, it's a girl. It's a very extraordinary role. We've taken it to a much more dizzy place than you'd expect. We've got big tunes. We're very...

’Something I’ve Never Seen Before’ Saturday 8 August 2009, by Corinne/Dead I had to write about this. I simply had to. I hope I’m not speaking out of turn here as this is U2’s site and hallowed ground for all of you but this story needs to be told. The shows so far on this tour have all been amazing and each night the crowd’s reaction to U2 has been loud and joyous and passionate. Last night in Poland though was something else. Hard to explain. Let me try. I have never in my life seen a crowd reaction like...

The big problem with renewable energy is that it just doesn’t renew itself. The sun does not shine enough and the wind doesn’t blow enough to power the towns, cities, factories, hospitals and schools that make our lives so livable. No environmentalist would ever allow their child to be treated in a hospital fully powered by “renewables”. They would not take the risk that the wind might stop whilst their baby was on the operating table. They would insist that the hospital and the life support systems had a fossil fuel powered back-up. And so it is with “sustainable development”....

Five former military personnel have come forward to reveal that they worked at the secretive Area 51 testing facility. While stationed at Area 51 they claimed they worked on top secret CIA and military projects including a supersonic jet that could travel at three times the speed of sound. The appearance and flight performance of the top secret OXCART program led it to being often mistaken as a UFO according to the whistleblowers. A Los Angeles Times article with their testimonies concluded that the UFO mystery has been solved. Before celebrating the solution of the UFO mystery, it’s worth considering...

[photo] Irish demonstrators have had enough. They’re tired of U2 rocker Bono haranguing world leaders to increase taxes when the hypocritical Hibernian band won’t pay its fair share of taxes. While the band staged an concert on the roof of BBC headquarters, a group of demonstrators staged a protest on the street below. They chastised the band for moving its business to the Netherlands to avoid increased Irish taxes. The protesters’ placards read “Bono: pay your taxes” and “Bono: don’t be a banker” and the poetic “We’ll downl’d it 4 free and give the money to charity.”... ...continued

Bruce Springsteen isn’t the rock ’n’ roll Obama. U2 is. The Boss tried to sell “Working on a Dream” as the flip side to “yes we can,” but Springsteen’s latest is W.-style art - blunt, burgers-and-fries, stay-the-course-through-diminishing-returns rock. It’s U2’s new “No Line on the Horizon” - now streaming for free on U2’s MySpace [website] page and in stores March 3 - that personifies No. 44. U2 was Obama before Obama was: political sloganeers of hope, from “Beautiful Day” to “Pride (In the Name of Love).”

NEW YORK The New York Times will start running Op-Ed columns from rock singer Bono of U2 on Sunday, the paper announced Friday. He will also do a podcast of the piece. Describing him as a "lead singer and anti-poverty activist," the announcement said he has been invited to write a column for the Times beginning this Sunday, and "his columns will appear occasionally on The New York Times Op-Ed page and online at nytimes.com/opinion and will cover a broad range of subjects." “Bono is a great addition to our Op-Ed line-up,” Andrew Rosenthal, Times editorial page editor, said in...

His humanitarian campaigning has earnt him the nickname St Bono. Off duty, however, the U2 singer seems to have been tempted into a spot of hell-raising. Pictures show the 48-year-old with his arm round two bikini-clad girls as they carouse at a beach bar in St Tropez. He also joined his angel-faced companions for more drinking and dancing aboard a private yacht. Bono is usually seen in his role as rock star, family man and anti-poverty campaigner, work for which he earned an honorary knighthood. Only last week, he appeared at a conference to make a call to ‘change the...

3/27/2008 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- In its 50 years of flight, only six women pilots have been at the controls of the U-2 Dragon Lady. Three of those six are currently in the Air Force, and two of those three are currently fighting in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, flying with the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing's 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron, the only U-2 squadron in Southwest Asia. Maj. Merryl Tengesdal and Capt. Heather Fox, both U-2 pilots with the 99th ERS and deployed from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., continue to add to women's and the U-2's history,...

Paul McGuinness, long-time manager of rock band U2, on Monday launched a verbal attack against illegal music downloaders, as well as internet service providers, device makers, Silicon Valley and even hippies in a speech at a conference in France. McGuinness blamed these forces for "destroying the recorded music industry," with illegal downloading through peer-to-peer file-sharing networks the single biggest reason for why the business is in decline. ISPs have for years profited from that illegal downloading, which occurs on their networks, and their arguments that it isn't their job to police the internet are no longer valid, he said. The...

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates was unfased when he met U2 rock star Bono - as he had no idea who he was. The With Or Without You star met the politician at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. on Thursday (24Jan08), as part of his efforts to persuade world leaders to increase aid to developing nations. The U2 frontman and humanitarian has already pressed French president Nicolas Sarkozy to stick to plans to raise development assistance to poorer countries, particularly those in Africa, and he continued his campaign with a low-key meeting with Gates. But the 64-year-old admits he was...

U2 has two big projects for the coming year — a new album and a Broadway musical of "Spider-Man" directed by "The Lion King" guru Julie Taymor. At last week’s Broadway premiere of "Young Frankenstein," sharp-eyed observers noticed U2’s own guru, manager Paul McGuiness, scoping out the Hilton Theater on 42nd Street with an eye toward putting "Spider-Man" in there. The show requires a very high ceiling stage for all the flying that will go on. Alas, McGuiness is said to have commented, "I guess we’re out of luck" when he saw how successful "Young Frankenstein" is going to be.

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- American U2 reconnaissance planes have been flying over the Turkey-Iraq border to observe military movements, said three U.S. military sources Wednesday.Word of the flights comes a day before top-level meetings between U.S. and Turkish government officials and prior to a regional conference aimed at easing tensions between Ankara and Kurdish rebels across Turkey's border with Iraq. Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell confirmed Wednesday that U.S. military and intelligence communities are sharing information with Turkey to help them fight members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, who have made cross-border attacks. "We are assisting by supplying them, the...

Big Paychecks for U2 Millionaires Oct. 26, 2007 The Associated Press U2 Ltd., the Irish band's music publishing company, raked in $30 million-plus last year — and $25.8 million of it went to five unidentified "employees," according to documents obtained Friday by The Associated Press. Those "employees" are suspected to be the band members and their longtime manager, Paul McGuinness. But U2's public relations firms in Dublin and London refused to confirm that. While Bono has won accolades worldwide for raising awareness of Third World poverty, he has been criticized for moving U2's corporate offices out of Ireland to avoid...

Flying at over 70,000 feet above sea level, a lone pilot of an American U-2 spy plane scoured the rugged Afghan mountains near the southern city of Kandahar during a classified mission in mid-September. While the plane's high-tech camera was sending back detailed photographs of the Taliban strongholds below, coalition soldiers operating in the area got embroiled in a firefight with insurgents. The U-2, which flies too high to be heard or seen on the ground, was dispatched to relay images of the battle, locate any targets, and identify possible escape routes—all in close to real time. Soon after, the...

Prime Minister Stephen Harper getting bashed by Bono yesterday dominated the news from the closing day of the G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany. Besides being miffed that Harper -- who claims to be a U2 fan -- couldn't fit a meeting with the international rock star into his schedule earlier in the week, Bono accused Harper of "blocking" a deal on African aid at the G8 summit. The leaders of the world's eight most prosperous democracies pledged $60 billion in aid to the world's least prosperous countries which is largely a reiteration of promises already made. But Bono -- who...

When it comes to attracting celebrity wealth seeking shelter from taxes, the Cayman Islands and other classic Caribbean tax havens are receding in favor like so many waves on the beach, according to tax experts here and overseas. While old-school, offshore tax havens — the warm ones with tropical fish, off-the-shelf holding companies sporting post-office-box addresses, and scant regulation or transparency — still attract money, they are largely patronized, tax lawyers and entertainment bankers say, by hedge funds and private equity firms looking to protect lush trading profits from taxes. But for earnings derived from intellectual property such as royalties,...

For Anglicans who still haven't found what they're looking for, the Church of England is staging its first "U2-charist" communion service -- replacing hymns with hit songs by the Irish supergroup. "Rock music can be a vehicle of immense spirituality," said Bishop of Grantham Timothy Ellis, announcing plans for the unique service in the central English town of Lincoln in May. A live band is to play U2 classics like "Beautiful Day" and "Mysterious Ways" with special singalong lyrics displayed on a giant screen. Seating for the 500-strong congregation is to be re-arranged so everyone can dance and wave their...

My son had been on me for a while to watch this video... I love U2, and loved the song when I first heard it, but I'm not really appreciative of Green Day's message and politics (obviously), so I avoided it for a while. That said, I was pretty blown away by this video, and can't believe Green Day had anything to do with it, unless I'm just retarded and missing something? Watch it here.

British Prime Minister TONY BLAIR has chosen U2's 1987 hit WHERE THE STREETS HAVE NO NAME as his favourite song of all time. Blair called British radio presenter CHRISTIAN O'CONNELL on London station Virgin Radio to choose the song, whose lyrics deal with disillusionment and violence, featuring lines like, "I want to run. I want to hide. I want to tear down the walls that hold me inside." However, Blair's spokesman insists the Prime Minister's choice of song doesn't mean he's depressed, saying, "I think he just liked the song."

We had an extended debate at the office today....what was the best "MTv Unplugged" performance? Me? Hands down....Alice in Chains! Before any reasons are discussed ..... I was curious as to anyone else's opinions or preferences on the topic?

I heard the audio of this a while ago on Opie & Anthony's XM Sattellite show but I've never actually seen the video to go with it. Someone has taken words from thousands of Bush speeches and mashed them together so he actually sings U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday. Really creative and must have taken forever to create. http://my.break.com/media/view.aspx?ContentID=111184

· Band shifts financial affairs to Netherlands · Bono criticised for deals while calling for debt relief Bono may be celebrated for browbeating world leaders into funding debt relief for developing countries, but his Irish rock band is facing criticism for switching its financial affairs overseas to avoid paying higher taxes. U2's move has been revealed as Bono's California-based venture capital firm, Elevation Partners, confirmed it had invested around $300m (£157m) in Forbes, the US business magazine frequently described as the "bible of capitalism". Irish politicians have expressed surprise at U2's decision to move part of its multi-million pound operation...

Bono Avoids Taxes, Joins with Forbes Breaking from NewsMax.com U2 and its lead singer Bono have been pushing the U.S. and EU countries to fork over more money for Third World nations to relieve debt and fight AIDS. But when it comes to paying their fair share of taxes to help those efforts, U2 wants a free ride. That's the word from Ireland, where the group has been based since it was founded in the early 1980s. The Irish Examiner reports that U2 and Bono are furious that Ireland is doing away with its law exempting artists and authors from...

Reprinted from NewsMax.com Monday, Aug. 7, 2006 10:05 a.m. EDT U2's Bono Buys Stake in Forbes Media The privately held Forbes said Monday it sold a minority stake in its media holdings to private equity firm Elevation Partners, which includes the singer Bono as a partner, for an undisclosed amount. Elevation is buying the stake in a newly formed company, Forbes Media, LLC, the publisher of Forbes magazine, Forbes.com and other media properties. "This investment by Elevation Partners will now accelerate our pursuit of a number of very exciting opportunities for growth," said Forbes Chief Executive Steve Forbes, who is...

The Rolling Stones have paid just 1.6 per cent tax on their earnings of £242million over the past 20 years, it has emerged. Documents published in Holland show that Sir Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards used offshore trusts and companies to ensure tax breaks. Of the fortune they have accumulated since 1986 for royalties, they have paid just £3.9 million in taxes. The revelation emerged after the three set up a will to ensure that their beneficiaries do not end up squabbling over their money when they die. The band appear to have been spurred into action after...

PALMDALE - Command of Air Force Plant 42 passed to a new leader Wednesday, as Lt. Col. Ronald Ortiz ended his three-year tenure and Lt. Col. Ronald Hirtle took over. The morning ceremony took place outside a hangar, against a backdrop of aircraft that claim Air Force Plant 42 as their birthplace: F-117 stealth fighter, B-2 stealth bomber, U-2 and the experimental X-37 spacecraft demonstrator. "If you look around at these airplanes, they speak for themselves. This is where the cutting edge of the Air Force is born," said Col. James A. Godsey , deputy director of the Engineering Directorate,...

The Irish rock star Bono has been unwittingly caught up in a row over a computer game that features a fictionalised invasion of Venezuela to counter a “power-hungry tyrant� who has seized control of the country and its oil. The computer game is played from the perspective of a mercenary who is dispatched to Venezuela with the guidance: “If you see it you can buy it, steal it, or blow the living crap out of it.� Called Mercenaries 2: World in Flames, it is made by Pandemic Studios, based in Los Angeles, in which a private equity firm established by...

NEW YORK Bono promised, and delivered, a list and description of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's ten musical favorites for the Tuesday edition of the London daily The Independent that he has guest-edited. Rice revealed herself as a huge fan of "acid rock."

LONDON -- The Irish band U2 has given Britain its favorite song lyric, according to a survey released Monday. The line "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers" from the 1992 song "One" topped a poll conducted by music channel VH1. Runner-up was the downbeat "So you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die" from The Smiths' "How Soon is Now." A line from Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" -- "I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us" --...

He warned them to protect their hearing. "If the sound's an issue, we do have earplugs available," he said. Ushers handed out earplugs and fluorescent glow sticks for the "U2 Eucharist," a communion service punctuated by the Irish rock band's music. Episcopal parishes from California to Maine have hosted similar events, weaving U2's tunes -- laced with biblical references -- into the liturgy. Streamers flew over worshippers' heads at the recent gathering in Providence. Children danced by the altar. Plasma-screen TVs illuminated the gothic sanctuary. Some people sang and clapped, while a few looked puzzled. Brooks said the evening was...

Episcopal Churches Turn to U2 to Pack Pews By RAY HENRY, Associated Press Writer Fri Apr 14, 9:14 AM ET PROVIDENCE, R.I. - As the electric guitar in the U2 anthem "Pride (In the Name of Love)" faded from four speakers, the Rev. Robert Brooks welcomed worshippers to Grace Episcopal Church with an unusual suggestion: He warned them to protect their hearing. "If the sound's an issue, we do have earplugs available," he said. Ushers handed out earplugs and fluorescent glow sticks for the "U2 Eucharist," a communion service punctuated by the Irish rock band's music. Episcopal parishes from California...

The gospel according to U2 and Bono http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=509842006 STEPHEN MCGINTY * US church uses U2's songs to attract young worshippers * U2 lyrics are being used by Episcopal Churches from California to Maine * The U2 Eucharist was devised by the Rev Paige Blair "I waited patiently for the Lord. He inclined and heard my cry." - Bono, U2 Lyric BONO has declared that he is not a man of the cloth, "unless that cloth is leather". But the words of the charismatic U2 front man are nevertheless ringing out from pulpits across the United States. The Irish rock band's...

Churches in the United States are weaving music from the Irish rock band U2 with their more formal traditional liturgy. Episcopal parishes from California to Maine are holding “U2 Eucharists” in an effort to make their services more attractive to young people interested in rock music and social activism. At the Grace Episcopal Church in Providence, Rhode Island, the Reverend Robert Brooks welcomed worshippers and then added some unusual advice – he warned them to protect their hearing. “If the sound’s an issue, we do have earplugs available,” he said. Ushers handed out complementary ear plugs and fluorescent glow sticks...

3/27/2006 - SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) -- In the world of sports, there have been some incredible streaks. Cal Ripken Jr. played in 2,632 consecutive major league baseball games. Lance Armstrong was victorious in seven Tour de France races. Football great Johnny Unitas threw at least one touchdown pass in 47 straight games. But none of these streaks compare to the impact that one unit is having on the war on terrorism. The 99th Aircraft Maintenance Unit is working on a streak of more than 155 consecutive launches without a maintenance-related cancel to meet the air tasking order for the U-2...

WASHINGTON, February 10, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The lead singer of the famous rock band U2 which just this week claimed an incredible five Grammy awards, has praised President George W. Bush and Americans for their generosity, especially post 9-11. His remarks came at the February 2 National Prayer Breakfast. [...] Bono offered some personal remarks about his struggle with faith and journey with God, and how he was led to be an advocate for the poor and those afflicted with AIDS. But unlike his colleagues in the entertainment field he did not condemn President Bush for efforts at poverty and...

1962: Russia frees US spy plane pilot American spy plane pilot Captain Francis "Gary" Powers has been freed from prison in the Soviet Union in exchange for a Russian spy jailed in the US. Gary Powers was sentenced to 10 years in a Soviet prison after his U-2 plane was shot down over Russia in May 1960. But on Saturday Captain Powers, 32, walked into West Berlin across a bridge separating the city's east and western sectors. At the same time Russian spy Colonel Rudolph Abel crossed in the opposite direction. Colonel Abel had served five years of a 30-year...

U2 front man Bono said Thursday that his band mates had feared his activism would "wipe out" their music and have bristled at his meetings with "uncool" politicians. In an interview with The Associated Press, the 45-year-old Irish rock star and global activist also said the band was looking closely at hip-hop in its search for new avenues for experimentation — and dismissed the idea of a solo album. "I hope not, God!" he said. "More work!" Bono's work on Thursday brought him to the Swiss ski resort of Davos, where his celebrity was enlisted in promoting a new program...

How To Dismantle An Idolized Bono I’m pretty sure I won’t get much opposition if I say that U2 is the greatest rock band of all time. When I scored two great seats to one of the shows at Madison Square Garden last month, I thought my life had reached its pinnacle. It was a euphoric experience. During the first few songs, I stood, along with the rest of the stadium, as we pumped our fists into the air and sang along with every word. The energy in the air was emotionally overwhelming. And if you’ve never been to a...

Excerpt - American Express, Converse, Gap and Giorgio Armani are joining with Bono, the rock star, to sell products under a new brand, called “Red”, which will dedicate some of its revenues to fight Aids in Africa. The effort will include the creation of an AmexCo Red credit card that will be marketed first in the UK, targeting an estimated 1.5m British “conscience consumers” who are seen as more likely to buy products associated with a social benefit. AmexCo believes this figure will rise to 4m within three years. Other Red products available this spring will include Converse sports shoes...

Electric Hurricanes Three of the most powerful hurricanes of 2005 were filled with mysterious lightning. January 9, 2006: The boom of thunder and crackle of lightning generally mean one thing: a storm is coming. Curiously, though, the biggest storms of all, hurricanes, are notoriously lacking in lightning. Hurricanes blow, they rain, they flood, but seldom do they crackle. Surprise: During the record-setting hurricane season of 2005 three of the most powerful storms--Rita, Katrina, and Emily--did have lightning, lots of it. And researchers would like to know why.Right: The eye of hurricane Emily photographed from the International Space Station. [More]Richard Blakeslee...

Salty dogma Bono gives an explicit confession of being saved by Grace, not Karma | by Gene Edward Veith Is Bono, the lead singer and songwriter for the rock group U2, a Christian? He says he is and writes about Christianity in his lyrics. Yet many people question whether Bono is "really" a Christian, due to his notoriously bad language, liberal politics, and rock star antics (though he has been faithfully married for 23 years). But in a new book of interviews, Bono in Conversation by Michka Assayas, Bono, though using some salty language, makes an explicit confession of faith....

U2 'tension' over Bono campaigns U2 frontman Bono has revealed that his campaigning against global poverty has caused tensions within the group. He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that at one stage he was worried his commitment to the cause might force him to leave the hugely successful band. The singer was a figurehead for the Make Poverty History campaign and Live 8 concert alongside Bob Geldof. He said his campaigning activities had "raised eyebrows" among his fellow band-members. Poverty campaign 'big step' Bono, Mullen, guitarist The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton have been in the group since they...

LONDON: Pink Floyd have been voted the world's greatest rock act of all time in a new poll by Planet Rock radio station. The band, which has sold 200 million albums worldwide since its formation in 1965, beat Led Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones to top the spot. "They are one of the greatest bands in the history of rock and roll," The Sun quoted Planet Rock presenter Nicky Horne as saying. Listeners named the 1970s the golden decade of rock, followed by the 1960s, 1980s and the 1990s. The 10 greatest rock acts ever per the poll: 1. Pink...

Traitors of Record: The Record of the New York TimesBy Fedora “. . .the most untrustworthy paper in the United States. . .” --President Dwight Eisenhower, referring to the New York TimesIntroductionLast week Senator John Cornyn criticized the New York Times for endangering national security with a James Risen story on NSA surveillance timed to coincide with a vote on the Patriot Act and, incidentally, with the release of a book by Risen. A review of the record illustrates that endangering national security through irresponsible leaks is nothing new for the New York Times. Some particularly outrageous examples are worth...