LONDON – U2 and its frontman Bono, known for their global poverty-fighting efforts, were accused of dodging taxes in Ireland by activists who crashed their performance Friday at England's Glastonbury festival.
LONDON – U2 and its frontman Bono, known for their global poverty-fighting efforts, were accused of dodging taxes in Ireland by activists who crashed their performance Friday at England's Glastonbury festival.
LONDON – U2 and its frontman Bono are known for their global poverty-fighting efforts but activists plan to protest their performance Friday at England's Glastonbury festival, accusing the Irish band of dodging taxes.
LOS ANGELES – Officials for the state agency that oversees coastal development has for a second time recommended denying a controversial development proposal led by U2 guitarist The Edge for a cluster of mansions overlooking Malibu.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — U2 has announced the rescheduled North American dates for their 360° Tour, which were postponed after frontman Bono underwent emergency back surgery in May.
LOS ANGELES — U2 lead singer Bono has been released from Ludwig Maximilians-University (LMU) Hospital in Munich, where he underwent emergency surgery on Friday for a back injury.
"Bono suffered severe compression of the sciatic nerve," Dr. Muller Wohlfahrt said in a statement on the band's official Web site. "On review of his MRI scan, I realized there was a serious tear in the ligament and a herniated disc, and that conservative treatment would not suffice. I recommended Bono have emergency spine surgery with Professor Tonn at Munich's LMU University Hospital on Friday."
"He was already in severe pain with partial paralysis in the lower leg," added Tonn. "The ligament surrounding the disc had an 8mm tear and during surgery we discovered fragments of the disc had traveled into the spinal canal. This surgery was the only course of treatment for full recovery and to avoid further paralysis. Bono is now much better, with complete recovery of his motor deficit. The prognosis is excellent but to obtain a sustainable result, he must now enter a period of rehabilitation."
Bono, 50, will need at least eight weeks of rehab to recuperate.
"While the surgery has gone very well, the coming weeks are crucial for a return to full health," Wohlfahrt said. "In the next days, he will start a light rehabilitation program, with increasing intensity over the next eight weeks. In our experience, this is the minimum time."
On Tuesday, U2 canceled a planned appearance at next month's Glastonbury Festival.
"I'm heartbroken," said Bono, who personally called Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis to share the disappointing news. "We really wanted to be there to do something really special - we even wrote a song especially for the Festival."
U2 also postponed the upcoming leg of its 360° North American tour until 2011 in order to allow Bono sufficient time to recuperate.
"Our biggest and I believe best tour has been interrupted and we're all devastated," said the band's manager, Paul McGuinness. "For a performer who lives to be on stage, this is more than a blow. He feels robbed of the chance to do what he does best and feels like he has badly let down the band and their audience. Which is of course nonsense. His concerns about more than a million ticket buyers whose plans have been turned upside down, we all share, but the most important thing right now is that Bono make a full recovery. We're working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reschedule these dates."
MUNICH — U2 singer Bono underwent an emergency back surgery on Friday for an injury he sustained while preparing for the band's upcoming concert tour run.
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. — U2 will bring its 360° Tour back to North America in 2010, the band announced on the heels of Sunday's Rose Bowl show, which was streamed live on YouTube.
LOS ANGELES — U2 is putting on a free show this weekend.
The Irish rockers will provide a live stream of Sunday's Rose Bowl concert on YouTube, the band announced Monday on its official Web site.
The Pasadena concert is already sold out, with an audience of 96,000 expected.
"The band has wanted to do something like this for a long time," said U2 manager Paul McGuinness. "As we're filming the L.A. show, it's the perfect opportunity to extend the party beyond the stadium. Fans often travel long distances to come to see U2 — this time U2 can go to them, globally."
YouTube will stream the concert across five continents. There will also be replays of the show available on both YouTube and U2's site — U2.com.
"YouTube is thrilled to be able to provide our global audience with a live streaming performance from one of the world's greatest bands," said Chris Maxcy, Director of YouTube Partner Development. "We are always looking for new ways to connect fans around the world with their favorite artists, and this is the perfect opportunity to do just that."
U2 kicked off its 360 Tour in Barcelona in June.
LOS ANGELES — U2 will kick off its 360° Tour at the Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona on June 30, the group announced Monday on their official Web site.
The tour, which is being sponsored by Blackberry and produced by Live Nation Global Touring, will visit 14 cities across Europe, including dates in Milan, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Dublin, Chorzow, Berlin, Gelsenkirchen, London, Sheffield and Glasgow. The European leg is scheduled to end at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Aug. 22.
The band will then kick off their North America run at Chicago's Soldier Field on Sept. 12. Additional stops in the U.S. will include both Boston (Sept. 20) and New York (Sept. 24).
"U2 has always been at their best when surrounded by their audience, this staging takes a giant leap forward," said U2's manager, Paul McGuinness, in a statement. "We have worked very hard to ensure that U2 fans can purchase a great priced ticket with a guaranteed great view."
Tickets for the Milan and Gothenburg shows will go on sale Friday, with tickets for the Amsterdam performance going on sale the following day.
Among the supporting acts lined up for the tour are Glasvegas, Elbow, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol and Black Eyed Peas, with additional artists expected to be announced soon.
The concert trek, the band's first stadium run since 2006's Vertigo Tour, is in support of the band's new album release, "No Line on the Horizon."
Click here to buy concert tickets.
U2 360° Concert Tour Dates:
June 30: Barcelona (Nou Camp)
July 7: Milan (San Siro)
July 11: Paris (Stade de France)
July 15: Nice, France (Parc Charles Ehrmann)
July 18: Berlin (Olympic Stadium)
July 20: Amsterdam (Arena)
July 24 Dublin (Croke Park)
July 31: Gothenburg, Sweden (Ullevi)
Aug 6: Chorzom, PL (Slaski Stadium)
Aug 10: Zagreb, HR (Maksimir Stadium)
Aug 14: London (Wembley Stadium)
Aug 18: Glasgow, UK (Hampden Park)
Aug 20: Sheffield, UK (Don Valey Stadium)
Aug 22: Cardiff, UK (Millennium Stadium)
Sep 12: Chicago (Soldier Field)
Sep 16: Toronto (The Rogers Center)
Sep 20: Foxborough (Gillette Stadium)
Sep 24: New York (Giants Stadium)
LOS ANGELES — U2's new album, "No Line on the Horizon," is drawing rave reviews, with many critics calling it some of the band's best material in years.
The Irish rocker's twelth studio album, which drops in the U.S. on Tuesday, garnered five stars from Rolling Stone. The magazine said the new release is the band's best work "in its textural exploration and tenacious melodic grip since 1991's "Achtung Baby."
Q magazine also referenced "Achtung Baby" in awarding U2's new album five stars.
"Simply, what all of this amounts to is the best U2 album since 'Achtung Baby,' " wrote Q. "With time it may prove to be better still."
"No Line" is U2's first release since 2004's "How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb," which scored the band eight Grammy Awards and has sold more than 9 million copies to date
U2 began production on "No Line" in 2007 in Morocco. The group then continued the process by working at their own studio in Dublin, Ireland before moving to New York's Platinum Sound Recording Studios. The album was finally completed at Olympic Studios in London.
The new 11-track album once again features the contributions of longtime U2 collaborators Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and Steve Lillywhite.
U2 debuted the album's first single, "Get On Your Boots," in March. It has since performed the song on both the Grammy and Brit Awards.
While many have given "No Line" the thumbs up in approval, there are some skeptics who question whether lead singer Bono's political messages will eventually alienate the band's loyal following.
"It's becoming increasingly difficult to hear U2's music without filtering it through your feelings about the other Bono, that strident, sanctimonious swirl of idealism, agenda and ego," wrote J. Freedom du Lac recently in the Washington Post.
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