The controversy started with the leak of U2's "No Line On The Horizon" last week. The album appeared on file-sharing sites after Universal Music's Australian arm accidentally began selling downloads two weeks early. But on Friday, the technology blog Techcrunch sparked privacy concerns when they posted a rumor claiming that Last.fm, the CBS-owned music streaming and social networking site that allows registered user to keep track over their digital listening habits by "scrobbling" tracks played on computers, MP3s players and other streaming sites, had shared private user data with the RIAA that could identify individuals who had listened to the unreleased U2 tracks.
Daniel Lanois says new U2 album is 'fantastically innovative'
If you ask Canadian record producer Daniel Lanois about how U2's work-in-progress album sounds, he'll say it's "fantastically innovative" and "some of their best work."
But before Lanois gets back to tinkering with the tracks -- the album is one of 2009's most anticipated releases -- he's tackling his real "dream project," touring in support of his own music.
Lanois just finished two weeks of recording work with the Irish mega-band in New York and will now play a handful of shows in Ontario and Boston before flying to London, England, for another 10 days in the studio with U2.
Playing music live is a critical part of being a good producer because it helps reinforce what makes a good song that connects with listeners, Lanois said in a telephone interview.
"By performing live it really helps me to do better work in the studio, because you become aware of what works in the presence of an audience," he said.
"It's a necessary part of one's awareness and education, and you'll make better records if you play live."
Lanois has several albums and dozens of production credits to his name, and has worked with some of the biggest acts in music including Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel and Emmylou Harris.
He helped mould some of U2's classic albums by co-producing The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby. He also co-produced All That You Can't Leave Behind and one song off How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
Got Questions ?
Bono and The Edge will appear on the Christian O'Connell Breakfast Show on Absolute Radio this Thursday at (gasp) 6:00 a.m.
If you'd like to submit a question for them, enter to win a signed copy of No Line on the Horizon, or share your favorite U2 song with the station, follow the link.
New Look, New Site
House cleaning has begun to welcome the new album. If you have not been over to the new site. Now would be a good to stop over. just days ahead of the new album. We've moved the furniture around and given the place a lick of paint. The title of the story is a line from one of the new tracks, Unknown Caller, but it kind of captures what we're doing with U2.Com. We've spent a few months giving the site a complete makeover - and responding to some of the features you said you wanted to improve your U2 online experience.
Whats in the linner notes ?
Linear Film Credits
An ANTON CORBIJN moving image/SEE-SAW FILMS PRODUCTION
Said Taghmaoui
Music by U2 with Brian Eno and Danny Lanois
Line ProducerRosa Romero EditorJames Rose Art DirectorMark Digby Make-Up & HairAaf Corbijn CinematographerMartin Ruhe Executive ProducersBono, Adam Clayton, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr
Story by Anton Corbijn/Bono
Produced by Iain Canning, Emile Sherman
Directed by Anton Corbijn
01. UNKNOWN CALLER
02. BREATHE
03. WINTER
04. WHITE AS SNOW
05. NO LINE ON THE HORIZON
06. FEZ-Being Born
07. MAGNIFICENT
08. STAND UP COMEDY
09. GET ON YOUR BOOTS
10. MOMENT OF SURRENDER
11. CEDARS OF LEBANON
Titles written by U2/Brian Eno/Danny Lanois and published by Universal Music Publishing BV/Opal Music, except in North America by Upala Music Inc/BMI
* "Cedars of Lebanon" includes a sample of the recording "Against The Sky" performed by Harold Budd and Brian Eno from the album "The Pearl" (Virgin/EMI 1984 - ENOCD13). Licensed courtesy of Virgin Records Limited.
The composition "Cedars of Lebanon" contains elements from "Against the Sky" written Harold Budd and Brian Eno and published by Universal Songs of Polygram International Inc / Toyon Music / Opal Music London. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© 2009 U2 Limited. The copyright in this film and artwork is owned by U2 Limited and is under exclusive licence to Mercury Records Limited in the UK, Interscope Records in the US, and Universal Music Group for the rest of the world.
"Late May 2008 - at a band meeting I was introduced to the new songs. The reason for letting me in so early on this sonically and lyrically different U2 record is that the band have this idea for me to make some kind of moving imagery to go with the record. The thinking is that as a lot of people buy music from the internet and are likely to hear this on a computer or mp3 player, their listening pleasure could be heightened by visuals. Instead of just seeing a pack shot of the record sleeve, or a still photograph of the band for 45 plus minutes, as is often the case now, why not have a moving image for the duration of the record? It is not essential to the record, you can either watch it or ignore it. Brilliant! As always, U2 are thinking ahead, not so much having one foot in tomorrow's door, as having built the house to which that door is the entrance.
"Bono talked me through the songs and the record as a whole. For the first time he had created characters for this record, and wrote lyrics about their lives or from their perspectives. The record had an essence of time to it, most songs had a number or time references connected to them, as if going through a 24 hour period. Although I didn't want to translate the lyrics visually, I felt that making use of one the characters Bono wrote about would be interesting. It became the Parisian motorcycle cop of northern African descent, who threw it all in to go back to see his girlfriend in Tripoli. I was going to make a silent movie, with a touch of a story to it. We prepped late June-early July, shot late July, edited in August and were ready for the record's November release. Fantastic! However, it was at this point that the band decided to go back into the studio and work on the record a bit more. As U2 never do anything in half measures, the record that emerged from the studio in late December 2008 was a very different one than the one I'd made images for. Not only had the running order changed, now there were completely new songs on the record while another song had gone, new lyrics without the characters had emerged, and different sounds dominated the songs I had worked on. Disaster! Thankfully, we worked on a solution that saw LINEAR keeping its own running order and songs, whilst only changing edits for the 10 songs, those that are also on the new U2 record, to their newly created identities. Thus LINEAR is a very interesting hybrid version of No Line On The Horizon, partly how it was in May 2008 and partly how it is now. Tomorrow is always partly yesterday. Apparently."
Anton Corbijn
January 2009
U2 Music and More
Freshly baked a new U2.com Site
The new U2.com is now live, and with it comes the news that many fans have been waiting for: Yes, U2.com members will have access to a subscriber-only ticket pre-sale. Wisely, there's no mention of "guaranteed tickets" or any of the stuff that led to trouble back in 2005. Other tour-related benefits for members will include things like "exclusive photography," backstage video, and access to Willie Williams' tour diary.
Membership also includes U2:Medium, Rare and Remastered, a 2-CD set of songs that were previously available on The Complete U2 (the iTunes digital box set), on the deluxe editions of recent album remasters, and on the b-sides of various singles released this decade.
The cost of new membership has gone up again -- it's $50/year now, up from $45 last year. Renewals will be $32 until March 2nd. Use the link to learn more about the membership package, and be sure to come back and vote in our poll at the bottom of this page: Do you plan to join U2.com this year?
Where can you fnd bootleg U2
With the explosion of the internet, fans now have an easy means to contact each other to exchange bootleg recordings. There are many U2 mailing lists which allow for the trade of bootlegs, and still other lists which are dedicated to the trading of bootlegs. Many fans also maintain webpages which list the material that they have for trade. Often you do not need to have recordings to trade to make use of these services, as fans often will offer to make copies for blank CDs and postage in return.
Traditional sources of bootlegs for sale still exist. If you are lucky, you may find bootlegs at your local record store. Mail order is another good source for finding recordings for sale, and there are several music stores on the internet that carry live imports
Who started the band ?
Larry Mullen, Jr., was born on October 31, 1961, in Dublin. He was two years behind Bono in high school but both noticed each other. It was Larry who posted an ad on a bulletin board at school looking for musicians to start a band. Paul Hewson (aka Bono) was born on the 10th of May, 1960, in Dublin. He was a very outgoing person in high school who responded to Larry's note saying that he could play guitar and sing. He really couldn't do either. Adam Clayton was born in Oxfordshire, England, on March 13, 1960, and moved to Dublin after his father got a job flying for Aer Lingus. Although he was not a very good student, he was always very polite to everyone. He was the only bassist to respond to Larry's note. Dave Evans (aka The Edge) was born on August 8, 1961, in East London. His family moved to Dublin a year later. He was often known as a loner early in high school. He took piano and guitar lessons and often played with his brother, Dick. Both showed up to "U2's" first little gathering at Larry's house (60 Rosemount Avenue in Dublin). They set up in the Mullens' kitchen and played the Rolling Stones "Brown Sugar" and "Satisfaction." At this point, the entire group of hopefuls for the band included Larry, Dave and Dick Evans, Adam Clayton, Paul Hewson, and Ivan McCormick .
Bono, which is a shortened version of Bono Vox, his original nickname, got the name through a group of friends who were known as the Lypton Village. The name, which means "good voice" in Latin, was taken from the name of a hearing aid shop in Dublin.
Some reports say Edge was named by Bono because Dave was always on the fringe of things. Other stories suggest Bono gave him the name because of the sharp lines and angles of his face when he was a teenager.
In Lypton Village they thought it strange that you should go by a name given to you by your parents, when that name might not really suit you. The nicknames were often associated with a facial thing and it would then also apply to the person's character. So The Edge had this prominent jaw line & was always on the edge of things: like an observer. Bono's first Village name was: Steinhegvanhuysenolegbangbangbangbang. (!) Paul McGuinness became known as "The Goose."
U2 Bootlegges
In 1991, when a bootleg of U2's studio sessions called The New U2 (the first version of what would eventually become the SalomŽ bootleg) was being distributed, Island Records took out a full-page ad in the British publication Music Week warning record stores that the label would "take legal proceedings" against anyone selling the bootlegs. U2 manager Paul McGuinness issued a press statement saying the bootleggers were cheating fans by distributing inferior material.
In a later interview about the incident, Bono said: "The only thing that can piss you off is if people are charging a lot of money for something that isn't very good. It [the Achtung Baby working tapes] got bootlegged in Berlin and it was just like having your notebook read out. That's the bit I didn't like about it. There were no undiscovered works of genius, unfortunately, it was more just gobbledy-gook."
During 2001, several other comments were made by the band regarding the recording of their shows. They made it clear that they were fine with people recording their performances and trading them. They did make it clear that they were opposed to people making money from those recordings. As Bono says, "We invite people to bootleg our shows. We invite people to make copies, we've no problems with that, but if some guy is gonna make money off the back of this, we're gonna find out where he parks his car." Even with those comments being made, those recording cannot openly do so at a show, as security does still take steps to prevent that.
Where did they get their name ?
In the band's very early beginnings, circa 1978, Adam Clayton asked Steve Averill (formerly known as Steve Rapid of the band Radiators From Space) to help the band come up with a good name. Averill was interviewed by Hot Press magazine in 2001 and gave this answer when asked about how he helped U2 choose the band's name:
"When I first met them they didn't really know what they wanted to do, what type of band they really wanted to be. But they had qualified for the final of that band competition in Limerick and they needed to decide on a name. Adam liked names like XTC, which were short and crisp and could mean a lot or mean very little. So I made a list of ten and I put U2 on the bottom. I thought it was strong graphically and it had a variety of connotations without meaning something specific. It was short and stood out from the band names common at the time. After we discussed the list we decided to go for U2 for all those reasons."
There have also been many stories told about how the band's name is taken from the U-2 spy plane, and those stories gained favor with the connection of the famous Francis Gary Powers U-2 incident which occurred on May 1, 1960, and the fact that Bono was born just nine days later. These stories seem to be a stretch at best, and Averill's answer above makes no mention of the spy plane connection.
Averill, it should be noted, didn't stop helping U2 when he helped choose the name. He was also asked to manage U2 but declined, opting instead to handle U2's visual aspects. Averill and his partners at Four 5 One (formerly Works Associates / ABA) in Dublin also design U2 album covers, t-shirts, backstage passes, tour programmes, and even the symbols on Edge's hats during the Zoo TV Tour.
U2 on DVD
Listed by title, year, description, and formats available (LD - laser disc, VCD - video compact disc, DVD - digital versatile disc)
Under a Blood Red Sky: Live at Red Rocks. 1984. Live Concert video. VHS / VCD
The Unforgettable Fire Collection. 1985. Live and documentary footage. VHS
Rattle and Hum. 1989. Home video release of feature film. VHS / LD / VCD / DVD
Achtung Baby: The Videos, the Cameos, and a whole lot of Interference. 1991. VHS / LD
Zoo TV: Live from Sydney. 1994. Live concert. VHS / LD / VCD
Popmart Live from Mexico City. 1998. Live concert. VHS / VCD
The Best of 1980 - 1990. 1998. Video compilation. VHS / VCD
Elevation 2001: U2 Live from Boston. 2001. Live concert. VHS / DVD
The Best of 1990 - 2000. 2002. Video compilation. VHS / DVD
U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle. 2003. Live concert. DVD
Vertigo 2005: U2 Live from Chicago. 2005. Live concert. DVD
Top Ten Facts about the band
1. Is everyone in the band married?
Bono is married to his high school sweetheart, Alison (Stewart), whom he wed on August 21, 1982. Edge married Aislinn O'Sullivan in July, 1983. They separated in the early 90s and divorced in 1996. Edge married Morleigh Steinberg, the second belly dancer from the Zoo TV tour, on June 18, 2002, in Dublin. (A public ceremony was held June 22 in the south of France.) Larry is single, but has a longtime girlfriend in Anne Acheson. Their relationship apparently goes back to the late 70s. Adam is also single, but was briefly engaged to supermodel Naomi Campbell in 1993. He has most recently been spending personal time with longtime Principle Management girl Suzanne Smith.
2. How many kids do they each have?
Bono and Ali have two daughters, Memphis Eve and Jordan, and two sons, Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (yes, his real name) and John Abraham. Edge has four daughters and a son: daughters Holly, Arran, and Blue Angel with Aislinn; and daughter Sian and a son named Levi with Morleigh Steinberg. Larry and Anne are the proud parents of a son, Aaron Elvis, and a daughter named Ava. They also have a third child, a boy, but the name is not known as of this FAQ update.
3. When are their birthdays?
Adam is the oldest, born March 13, 1960. Bono was born May 10, 1960. Edge was born on August 8, 1961, and Larry is the youngest, born October 31, 1961.
4. Do they have any pets?
Bono has two German Shepards, their names are Fanny and Angel. Edge had a dog called Fleetwood, but it ran away. He actually showed a picture of the dog on TV during an interview, to try and get the dog back. Larry dog J.J.died, as evidenced by the "J.J. (R.I.P.)" message in the liner notes of Pop. He also has a pet named Missy. Adam has a dog named Colin.
5. How tall is Bono?
He's not.
In previous versions of the FAQS, their heights were listed as: Bono 5'-8, Edge 5'-10, Adam 5'-10, and Larry 5'-7. These were supplied years ago by someone associated with the U2 World Service, making them the closest thing to "official" we have. But each height listed is generally considered to be a couple inches too tall by fans who have stood next to a band member. Bono's friend Gavin Friday has let it slip that Bono is 5'-6-and-a-half.
6. Are U2 Christians?
In a word: yes.
Longer explanation: In the band's early years, it was no secret that Bono, Edge, and Larry were very active in their faith. For a time in the early 80s, the three joined a religious group called Shalom, and struggled for some time to reconcile their beliefs with the rock and roll lifestyle. Songs such as "Gloria", "40", and "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" are very open in their religious and spiritual overtones. In more recent years, Bono has not worn his faith on his sleeve as openly as he did in past years. But to examine things such as Zoo TV, the Mirrorball Man, and MacPhisto, and to take the lyrics of songs such as "Wake Up, Dead Man" and others, and draw the conclusion that Bono (and U2) are no longer believers is to completely miss the point. These things were not U2 embracing the dark side, it was U2 exposing the dark side. As Bono often quoted, "Mock the devil and he will flee from thee." The message has not changed over the years ... but sometimes it's been a little harder to find.
If all that's not enough, various band members have said in recent interviews that they ARE still believers. Here's a quote from Bono during his appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, September 20, 2002:
I'm a believer, but religion is the thing when God, like Elvis, has left the building. But when God is in the house, you get something else. I'm happy in a Catholic cathedral or a tent show down in the South with gospel music.
Here's another quote from Bono, this time in response to a student who asked how Bono's faith informs his activism. It's from a Q&A session during DATA's "Heart of America" tour in late 2002:
"I'm not a very religious person. I'm a need to practice much more Christian. I'm uncomfortable in churches because the Christ I love and read about in the Gospels is often not in the churches. Remember, I come from Ireland and I've seen the damage of religious warfare. I am a believer. I don't wear the badge on the outside but it is on the inside."
And in December, 2002, Hot Press magazine asked Edge about his faith:
Yourself, Larry and Bono were all members of the Shalom Christian prayer group in the early days of U2. Are you still religious?
I still have a spiritual life, but I'm not really a fan of religion per se. You know, what I believe is very much what I ended up coming to. It's not a doctrine that is connected to any church or any religious group. It's very much my own personal thing.
Are you raising your kids as Catholics?
Em . . . technically yes, but again I'm not in favour of presenting something that I think is ultimately very personal in any kind of fundamental way. I think it's really up to everyone, when they reach a certain age, to figure it out for themselves. You know, they are Catholic in terms of their upbringing or whatever, but really they'll decide themselves what they wanna believe, when they get older.
Hopefully these quotes answer the question adequately.
7. Didn't Adam get arrested for doing drugs?
In August, 1989, Adam was arrested near his Dublin home and charged with possession of marijuana and with intent to supply marijuana to another person. Less than a month later, he appeared in court and admitted to possessing 19 grams of marijuana. The intent-to-supply charge had already been dropped by the State. Under Irish law, the prosecution agreed to apply the Probation of Offenders Act, which allows defenders to make contributions to charity in return for a dismissal of charges without conviction. Adam agreed to pay £25,000 to the Women's Aid Refuge Centre and there is no mention of this incident on his record. [M2]
8. Is it true that Larry almost had to quit the band because of a hand injury?
In late 1986, Radio 2 in Dublin picked up a story from the Daily Mirror that Larry Mullen was in a New York hospital having emergency surgery on his hands, and that if the surgery didn't work it would be the end of Larry's career as a drummer. The story was picked up by other news sources reporting that Larry was indeed in a New York hospital and that it might be the end of his career.
The U2 office was quick to respond when they were actually called for comment. The spokesperson at the time responded "No, it's not true. Yes, he does have a problem with his hand. It's not piano hand. And it's not going to impinge on his career." Larry at the time was actually working in the studio on The Joshua Tree album and not in a hospital room in New York.
In a later interview with Hot Press, Larry spoke extensively of his problems with his hands. He admitted to having to wear a cast which could be removed for live performances during the Amnesty International Tour. He's had cortisone injections which didn't cure the ailment, and he was taking anti-inflammatory pills for the problem at the time of the interview, which were helping him deal with the problem.
As recently as the Elevation Tour, Larry was wearing compression bandages on his wrists as he performed. This is likely a sign that the problem continues to bother him, but to my knowledge he's never had to undergo surgery for the problem, nor has it affected his career some 17 years after it was first announced.
9. What about the story about Larry taking injections of bulls' blood -- is that true?
According to Bill Flanagan's book, U2 At the End of the World, it is true. (Or at least it was in the early 90s during the time period chronicled in the book.)
"Bono says Larry tried different doctors without success until he went to a German who brought in a holistic healer who started giving Larry shots of bull's blood. That did the trick! Larry's Irish doctor refuses to accept it - he looks at X rays of Larry's crooked spine and says it's impossible, but Larry feels fine. He flies to Germany for shots of bull's blood regularly."
10. Is it true that Bono has had his chest shaved?
Yes. Bono had to have an exam for his insurance company. He had too much chest hair for the doctor to be able to hear his heartbeat so they shaved part of it off. That's where the story comes from.
The new U2.com
The new U2.com is now live, and with it comes the news that many fans have been waiting for: Yes, U2.com members will have access to a subscriber-only ticket pre-sale. Wisely, there's no mention of "guaranteed tickets" or any of the stuff that led to trouble back in 2005. Other tour-related benefits for members will include things like "exclusive photography," backstage video, and access to Willie Williams' tour diary.Membership also includes U2:Medium, Rare and Remastered, a 2-CD set of songs that were previously available on The Complete U2 (the iTunes digital box set), on the deluxe editions of recent album remasters, and on the b-sides of various singles released this decade.The cost of new membership has gone up again -- it's $50/year now, up from $45 last year. Renewals will be $32 until March 2nd. Use the link to learn more about the membership package, and be sure to come back and vote in our poll at the bottom of this page: Do you plan to join U2.com this year?
Its a big U2 Week - Ahead
It's a big, big week for U2.... and here's some of the highlights.After the Echo show in Berlin last night the band went out for dinner with Michael Mittermeier, film director Wim Wenders and musician Herbert Gronemeyer. Today the band arrived in Paris ahead of some French promotional work, including a live performance for Le Grand Journal on Canal Plus on Monday night.They then head for London where there's lots going on in the next few days. If you're in the UK open your calendars.First up Monday when new tracks from the album will be aired on Jo Whiley's Radio 1 show (10am-12.45pm) and on Edith Bowman's show (1-4pm).On Tuesday tune in to Zane Lowe (7pm) when his guests include Bono and Edge.Then switch off the radio and turn on the TV - at 10pm BBC2's The Culture Show has a special focus the new album - and later in the week, on Friday, there's an extended version of the show, with even more U2, starting at 11.30pm.Friday also sees a special Radio 1 'Live Lounge' with U2 broadcasting from the BBC Theatre at Broadcasting House. Tune in between 10am and 12.45pm. That same afternoon check out Chris Evans's drivetime show on Radio 2 - the band are in the studio with him.And then finish the week with the TV again - they'll be performing two songs on the Jonathan Ross show which goes out on BBC1 at 10.30pm (That's just before the extended edition of The Culture Show (id we mention that ?) at 11.30pm - over on BBC2.Got all that ?Like we said - it's a big week!
March 3rd
The new U2.com is now live, and with it comes the news that many fans have been waiting for: Yes, U2.com members will have access to a subscriber-only ticket pre-sale. Wisely, there's no mention of "guaranteed tickets" or any of the stuff that led to trouble back in 2005. Other tour-related benefits for members will include things like "exclusive photography," backstage video, and access to Willie Williams' tour diary.Membership also includes U2:Medium, Rare and Remastered, a 2-CD set of songs that were previously available on The Complete U2 (the iTunes digital box set), on the deluxe editions of recent album remasters, and on the b-sides of various singles released this decade.The cost of new membership has gone up again -- it's $50/year now, up from $45 last year. Renewals will be $32 until March 2nd. Use the link to learn more about the membership package, and be sure to come back and vote in our poll at the bottom of this page: Do you plan to join U2.com this year?
Central American Fans get a private show
Three Central American U2 fans who delivered a 60,000-name petition pleading for the band to play in El Salvador were rewarded last week with a private concert. The planet’s biggest rock group played a short impromptu gig for the trio in Dublin last Thursday evening.
Frankie Rivas, a DJ and exile from El Salvador during the country’s civil war of the 1980s, said: “We were meeting on Thursday with U2’s publicist in Dublin, Lindsey Holmes, when she turned around and said, ‘Would you like to go and see the band’s studio?’ We didn’t think for one moment that we were actually going to meet the guys.
“When we got there Bono and the lads said hello and all of us were stunned. Then they played [new songs] No Line on the Horizon and Breathe for us. I couldn’t believe it.” He said the band had refused to give an answer as to the possibility of playing El Salvador on the world tour but would think about it.
Rivas described having a private audience with U2 as “a truly amazing experience”. He co-runs a campaign back in El Salvador called “U2 Veni” or “U2, come here”.
U2 are adored in El Salvador because they dedicated a song - Bullet the Blue Sky - to the country and the plight of its people during its bloody civil war on their 1987 album The Joshua Tree.
“Back home at present ‘U2 Veni’ is a national campaign. The slogan is all over billboards, taxis and newspapers. We are currently aiming to get one million online signatures to petition U2 to come over to El Salvador,” Rivas added.
ready jump into a new project at T and its just as fun as the old one. Gosh when is spring break again? I'm ready!
saying super Dad is off and running with super Twins that have entered the Tween zone, God help me my girls wear makeup now ! Ugh am I old?
U2 BIGGEST TOUR EVER 2009 - North America in the Summer
THE secret is out! Today we reveal the inside details of U2's biggest ever world tour.
The rockers are set to return with a bang by with a European stadium tour this summer.
And they will enjoy a huge homecoming celebration with three nights at Croke Park.
We have learned the band has provisionally booked the GAA ground for July 24, 25 and 26.
All tickets are expected to sell out in record time when details are announced next month.
With the album No Line On The Horizon released next month and their single Get On Your Boots No1 in Ireland, U2 kick off their most ambitious tour at the end of June with two shows at Barcelona's Nou Camp stadium.
Then they head to Paris for mammoth shows at the Stade France on July 10 and 11.
Bono can crash at his home in St Tropez as he plays a week of live shows in sun-drenched Nice.
Berlin and Amsterdam have also been booked in with capacities of 70,000 for each gig.
Next up it's Wembley in London, Millennium Stadium Cardiff and City Of Manchester arena in August.
Then Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jnr head to America where they will play a full stadium programme for the first time in 12 years.
In September they go to New York, Boston and Chicago before heading to Miami, California and San Francisco over the winter.
A source close to the band revealed last night: "They have avoided US stadiums for the past two tours as they were worried they wouldn't sell out.
"They obviously think demand is there and want to reclaim their spot as the world's No1 band."
The Edge Interview 2008 #4/4
This is a really good way to finish up Video Clip segment. Enjoy it and let us know what you think