Win Your Own Copy !

We are in beta testing right now for our brand new forum application. We would like you to sign in and answer the following question.

We want to hear from you. Tell us in 500 words (not less than 300 please) what impact does U2 have on rock music today.

Now is your chance to share you thoughts on U2 and win your very own copy of ‘From the Sky Down” You can include for bonus how U2 has affected your life ?

Our forum is designed to allow you to share your passion of U2 music and the band. Sign in and under promotions you will see the contest for U2 Rock Music Impacts -

Clayton sues Bank of Ireland

Adam Clayton / U2 Adam Clayton is suing the Bank of Ireland Private Banking and an accounting firm, claiming his former personal assistant Carol Hawkins misappropriated €4.8 million of his funds.

According to an article last Thursday in The Irish Independent, Clayton says Hawkins took the money over a five-year period ending in November 2009. The suit names the Bank of Ireland as well as Dublin accounting firm Gaby Smyth & Co.

Follow the conversation on U2 Fans community page

Bono takes a trip to Machu Picchu, Peru

Bono / Peru EVEN in the Lost City of the Incas, Bono is treated like a sun god.

If proof were needed that there is not a corner of the planet where the U2 frontman is not instantly recognised, Bono was cheered by fans high in the mountains of deepest, darkest Peru.

The rockstar is on a week-long holiday to the South American country with his wife, Ali Hewson, and took in a visit to the famed Inca city of Machu Picchu at the weekend. Bono said “I love Machu Picchu is is an impressive place”

He was flanked by local police and security officials as he toured the UNESCO World Heritage site for several hours.

Stunned tourists did a double-take as they saw one of the world’s biggest rock stars walking around the 15th Century ruins and were soon following him up the steep trails with their cameras held aloft.

Dressed all in black, with his trademark glasses, peaked cap and carrying a walking stick, Bono stopped to greet fans and seemed unphased by the fuss his visit was creating. He’d even swapped his favourite Cuban heels for a pair of comfy trainers.

The singer has been mobbed by fans since arriving in the capital Lima last Thursday, where he was also met by a large media presence.

He was reported in local media as saying: “I am here with my family to discover this beautiful country for the first time. I am excited, but I’m here with my family so I hope you understand I cannot say hello to everyone.”

His group spent a night in Lima before taking a one-hour flight by private jet to the popular tourist town of Cuzco, once the capital of the Inca empire, high in the Andes.

Trek

Bono / Peru Many tourists make their way on foot to Machu Picchu from Cuzco, a two- to three-day trek, along the trail built centuries ago by the Incas.

But others, like Bono and his party, take a train to Aguas Calientes, a small town some 80km from Cuzco, which is famed for its natural hot springs. The group would then have travelled the zigzag 6km scenic route up the mountain to the slopes of Machu Picchu.

Bono and his companions were shown around the ruined temples and other structures by a local guide and are understood to have visited some of its best-known attractions, including the Temple of the Three Windows, the Sacred Rock and the Temple of the Sun.

The entire site lay hidden in the mountains for centuries and was only uncovered in 1911.

The rock star’s wife Ali has travelled to Peru on business in the past with her ethical fashion brand Edun and sources materials from the South American country.

The couple are expected to leave the country on Wednesday.

- Breda Heffernan

U2 Fan Giveaway !

U2 fans around the world. We want to hear from you. Tell us in 500 words (not less than 300 please) what impact does U2 have on rock music today. Now is your chance to share you thoughts on U2 and win your very own copy of ‘From the Sky Down” You can include for bonus how U2 has affected your life ?

U2 wrote songs about things that were important and resonated with their audience, now it’s your chance to write your own story on U2.

The details – March 1^st  thru March 14^th we will publish one story per day that we have voted and consider to be a finalist. The story publish will have the facebook voting option setup allowing U2 fans around the world to vote on the story.  On March 14^th we will publish the top 5 stories and allow you to vote on them. You the fan will select the winner! Runners up will be entered into a runner up promotion and recieve a CD of their choice.

All entries must be submitted by February 29^th - U2STORY@u2tourfans.com  

Many will enter only 1 winner and 4 runner ups - See post from 2/20/12 for details

U2TOURFANS March Madness Giveaway !

You claim to be a U2 fan, you say you have been to every U2 tour possible and you feel that you are the #1 U2 fan in the world. If you are not than skip this promotion because it is the U2 documentary DVD “From The Sky Down” give away for the real fans.

U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono (vocals and guitar), The Edge (guitar, keyboards and vocals), Adam Clayton (bass guitar), and Larry Mullen, Jr. (drums and percussion). U2’s early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music. Throughout the group’s musical pursuits, they have maintained a sound built on melodic instrumentals, highlighted by The Edge’s textural guitar playing and Bono’s expressive vocals. Their lyrics, often embellished with spiritual imagery, focus on personal themes and sociopolitical concerns.

Win your very own copy of “From the Sky Down”. Tell us in 500 words the impact of U2 on rock music.  Do you think U2 is the face of modern Christian music? How did U2’s music affect your life?  

U2 wrote songs about things that were important and resonated with their audience, now it’s your chance to write your own story on U2.

The details – March 1^st  thru March 14^th we will publish one story per day that we have voted and consider to be a finalist. The story publish will have the facebook voting option setup allowing U2 fans around the world to vote on the story.  On March 14^th we will publish the top 5 stories and allow you to vote on them. You the fan will select the winner! Runners up will be entered into a runner up promotion and recieve a CD of their choice.

All entries must be submitted by February 29^th - U2STORY@u2tourfans.com  

Disclaimer: All submissions become the property of U2TOURFANS and will not be returned. The Editor-in-Chief has the final approval on all submission prior to publishing. Fans will vote on the submissions via facebook voting. Stories published will include the by line of the writer and must be orginal work. No cash will be exchanged for prizes.  All prizes are shipped direct to the winner.

Tour grosses over $703 million

The Edge / Adam / Bono / U2 360 Tour Denver 2011NEW FIGURES show that U2’s 360° Tour has grossed more than $703 million (€534 million) after seven million rock fans paid to see the band over the past three years.

According to figures published by music industry journal Pollstar, the tour grossed $231.9 million last year after 2.38 million music fans paid to see the band at 34 gigs across 26 cities.

The US-based publisher shows that the tour grossed the highest amount of any rock band last year and on average grossed $8.9 million per gig with an average attendance of 91,828.

The figures show that U2’s three-gig stint at the Morumbi Stadium in São Paolo, Brazil, alone earned $32 million.

The $703 million is a gross figure and does not take into account the significant costs of staging the tour, which involved 110 gigs in 79 cities around the world over three years.

Hundreds of people were employed in transporting and constructing the 360° “Claw” stage, while the concerts provided a major economic boost in the cities where they took place.

The profits from the tour are shared between the four members of the band – Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen and Adam Clayton – their manager Paul McGuinness, their promoter Live Nation, and the local venue operator.

The 360° production increased the capacity of venues by up to 25%, resulting in record attendances.

The Pollstar figures show that one of the top-earning stints over the three years was the band’s sold-out three-night run at Dublin’s Croke Park, where the tour grossed $28.5 million.

A breakdown of the annual figures shows that the tour grossed $231.9 million in 2011; $160.9 million in 2010; and $311 million in 2009, when three million people paid on average $101 to see the band play.

The year 2009 was the largest grossing year of the tour, when the average gross per concert was $10 million.

The drop-off in revenue in 2010 came as a result of the band postponing a North American leg of the tour after Bono sustained a back injury in Munich.

The latest figures for U2’s main Irish company, U2 Ltd, for the 12 months to the end of 2010 show that its cash pile increased almost fivefold to €4 million.

The principal activity of the company is the creation, protection and licensing of intellectual property.

Thanks Bono

Thanks to Bono and Jolie, Pitt knew how to respond when Hurricane Katrina ran its way through New Orleans in 2005. “There was a responsibility to make it right, which was not being answered wholly, so I decided to make that a focal point and help families return home, and in the process we started discovering the inadequacies of low-income housing,” he said.

Turning to Bono, he asked for some humanitarian advice. “I sat down with him a few times and got involved in some of the stuff he was doing,” Pitt said.

Paul McGuinness lashes out at Google

Paul Paul slammed Google calling them a “monopoly” and is speaking out against the way it displays illegal download sites in search results.

Why has Paul been so vocal? Google may have poked a nerve with its campaign against proposed legislation aimed to stop this type of online piracy.

Paul said: “Never underestimate the ability of a monopoly to defend itself.” While speaking at MIDEM, in Cannes.

“It amazes me that Google has not done the right thing.

The experience of people when they go on Google and look for U2 music, or PJ Harvey music, is a shopping list of illegal opportunities to get their music. They have done nothing meaningful to discourage it,” said Paul.

What he wants is easy to do. Block all Internet sites that offer illegal downloads of anything that has a copyright. Music, Books and Films should all be considered protected.

He said that companies such as Google were “incredibly clever people with enormous resources”.

“Why are they not trying to solve the future in a more generous way? Ultimately it is in their interest that the flow of content will continue, and that won’t happen unless it’s paid for.”

SpotifyThe U2 manager said he would be more likely to give previews of U2’s next album to traditional radio than an online service like Spotify.

“At the moment I’m inclined to treat it (Spotify) as a promotional medium. If we have to choose where to put records on their debut we’re unlikely to give it to Spotify.

“We have arrangements like that around the world with people we’ve worked with over the years.

Spotify has yet to become popular with artists because artists don’t see the financial benefit of working with Spotify.”