Part I

An epic, shoot-for-the-moon band like U2 — with a lead singer who actually believes that rock ’n’ roll can, if not save the world, then at least change it for the better — deserves a book as dense with detail and insight as Matt McGee’s.

Picking up the story in 1950, when Bono’s parents, Bob Hewson and Iris Rankin, get married, “U2 — A Diary” follows the band from its humble beginnings — including the talent contest the band won even though Doves guitarist Fran Kennedy remembers being “... dumbfounded when they won, because truly, they were awful” — all the way through its ascendance to rock royalty.

No stone is unturned here, as McGee, through his painstaking research — conducted through a blog he set up that allowed fans and others to help him nail down the facts — digs out the truth behind just about every U2-related story ever told. It tells the inside story of U2’s connections to an Evangelical Christian group in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It reveals much about a trip Bono made to Central America and the impact events in his life around that time had on the making of The Joshua Tree.

And that’s just a small taste of what lies in store for anyone who picks up “U2 — A Diary.” The timeline McGee sets up and the way he strings together quotes from U2 insiders makes for an easy, compelling read, and the book is full of superb black-and-white images — some of them rarely seen before — that only serve to enhance McGee’s exhaustive history of a band that still matters.

Calling all Christians - Reprise

Die-hard U2 fans finally have their wish, after waiting five long years since the release of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. U2’s new album, No Line on the Horizon, is a carefully crafted series of songs about being lost, finding the self in God, becoming disoriented and lost again, and becoming re-oriented to God and the world. Musically, the album continues the U2 tradition of vigorous rock tunes, complete with the classic guitar riffs, but with the addition of Middle Eastern overtones in several songs, giving homage to the band’s time recording in the unusual location of Fez, Morocco.

As usual, U2’s lyrics give a combination of scathing critique and encouraging hope to the Western world. More particularly, the band’s political and religious exhortations are addressed to the USA and, it could be argued, equally to the Christian church.

The title track and first song, “No Line on the Horizon,” begins the album’s journey with a feeling of disorientation or lostness, with no distinguishing marks to provide perspective in modern life. This track is followed up with “Magnificent,” whose driving beat, proliferation of biblical imagery and confident, soaring expression of purpose under God – the Magnificent – make it the album’s closest facsimile to a gospel song and reminiscent of their 1987 hit “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” U2 lead singer Bono sings to God, “I was born to be with you in this space and time.” Yet this song is not a blithely upbeat denial of the very real disorientation we all feel in our personal lives in the modern world. He continues, “After that and ever after I haven’t had a clue.” This combination of honest confusion and hope in God is what attracts many to U2.

The next two tracks address God’s call to us but in modern idiom, using technological metaphors. “Moment of Surrender” speaks of a moment of clarity and surrender when one goes down on one’s knees and recognizes “vision over visibility” or, in other words, invisible faith over what is physically seen. Love, often used as a placeholder for God, appears in this song and throughout the album. “Unknown Caller” uses the metaphors of computer and telephone to instruct hearers who are “lost” to listen to God: “cease to speak that I may speak. Shush now.” Both songs employ organ music interludes to allow hearers time to ponder, as if in church after an altar call.

Now that the listener has been called by God and had the chance to be made right with him, the album invites participation in the political and religious realities of the world. “Get on Your Boots” and “Stand Up Comedy” are particularly pointed injunctions for Westerners, Americans and the Church to get ready and begin engaging in the world. If there was any doubt about equating the oft-mentioned “love” with God, it is made explicit in “Stand Up Comedy,” which says baldly, “God is love.”

Those who remain unsure of U2’s Christian content will appreciate “White as Snow.” Sharing its melody with “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” the song is a haunting retelling of the Advent hymn in U2’s vernacular. Bono sings of the great longing for the lamb as white as snow, who brings forgiveness to all – both Westerners and their current arch-enemies, the people of the Middle East, from places like Fez.

These “enemies” are considered thoughtfully in many tracks. The album leaves the listener with this poignant thought: “Choose your enemies carefully…Gonna last with you longer than your friend.”

No Line on the Horizon is satisfying musically for its fusion of rock and Middle Eastern melodies, and lyrically for its astute observations and insistence that political and religious inertia can be overcome. U2’s answer is God. May listeners come to the same conclusion.

Medium Please


Let’s be honest: many of us purchased our U2.com membership with a singular purpose-priority access to the presale code required to get tickets for the band’s 2009 world tour. While the double album of rough drafts called Medium, Rare, and Remastered provides a critical ingredient to any completist cornucopia, for others, the plastic prize (recent released exclusively to fan club members) might serve as a mere memento to comfort and console those hardcores suffering with consumer guilt and additional debt after splurging on seats (or GA access) to multiple shows.

As other fans have already noted, these twenty tracks are hardly rare, since many have circulated on the Interwebs for years. More a random audio collage than a coherent album, it’s challenging to digest it in the way we might devour the band’s studio records. Still, there’s something enduring and endearing about this back catalog of alternate versions that connects with U2’s ultimate vision “to be a band” in the grandest sense of collective greatness, etching its illuminated audio files into the earbuds of popular consciousness.

Folks fond of hindsight might enjoy a game of “what if” when examining the jewels “Always” and “Native Son.” To be forever treasured and debated by the nerdy scholars of Dublin’s most esteemed artistic export, the latter drafts of these sketches ended up as massive hits and stadium anthems. Lyrically, “Beautiful Day” boasts better poetry than the unformed yet uniquely attractive “Always.” Even still and thanks to the Edge, the epic outtake evokes the same shimmering glory of its elder brother.

With “Native Son,” however, the more poignant and passionate words were relegated to the vault while the ferocious frivolity of “Vertigo” found its home on the FM airwaves. When Bono sears our ears with the scorching statements that “my enemy became my country” or that “it’s so hard for a native son to be free,” he returns us to the more defiantly politicized phases of his vocal proclamations found on War, Unforgettable Fire, and Joshua Tree. As a hit single, “Vertigo” better fits the fortysomething Bono and his dangerously delicate blend of corporate realpolitik and compassionate campaigns; yet again, those of us also in middle age and reared on the white-flag brandishing Bono can identify with acute longing with the singer of “Native Son.” In a similar vein dating all the way back to the beginning, “Saturday Night” (which opens the second disc) is a different version of “Fire” from October.

Under did you know ?

What are those lists of numbers and letters in the Elevation Tour ?

Those are latitude and longitude information which give the location of various cities on the globe. For example on the center foldout of the programme, "53.3333N / 06.2500W" is Dublin, "51.4833N / 00.0000W" is London, "42.3500N / 71.0500W" is Boston, and "40.7166N / 74.0000W" is New York City. Most of the co-ordinates matched up with cities that U2 would play on the Elevation tour.

U2 to support MS

U2 will this week support the first global awareness campaign to spotlight multiple sclerosis (MS).

World MS Day, on Wednesday, will involve more than 160 events in 51 countries.

U2 have contributed their song Beautiful Day, which will feature on a global campaign film highlighting different aspects of MS. Meanwhile, eight people will climb six of Ireland's mountains in 72 hours.

The aim is to highlight the plight of people with the disease, raise money for patient charities and research funding, forge links between MS organizations, and urge action from politicians.

What kinds of stories would you like

AS we start the next phase and get ready to launch the fan feedback site. We are looking for your stories. Your ideas, comments and suggestions of what we stories would should find out. Give us your comments.

Bono's Top Ten Moves - Bone Head and all

1. The Spidey

If Bono were a bit younger, he could audition for the title character in his own Broadway show and get the part. In his never-ending desire to connect with his audience, Bono was notorious for climbing up, climbing down, or swinging from anything he could get his hands on, including light rigging, speaker stacks, fences, sculptures, and at the US Festival in the mid-'80s, the huge banner that hung behind the stage. While Bono insisted on defying gravity, the rest of the band were left to their own devices, continuing to play while no doubt shaking their heads in disbelief. Imagine what they're thinking during the band's Live Aid performance of "Bad," 11 minutes into a six-minute song: "You crazy #*%*#!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHnXOSxka1Q

2. The Hair Whisperer

In the late '80s, Bono got rid of his mullet and cut his hair into a shoulder-length pageboy. At first it was a jarring transition, until it became apparent that this hairstyle was the best bodily prop Bono ever had at his disposal, giving him more options than ever before or since. It started out innocuously enough, pulled back into a ponytail, but then it became a weapon whipping around his head, or sticking to the sweat on his face, causing Bono to compulsively run his fingers through his hair to smooth it away.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdceKu89SxY&NR=1

3. The Shackle

In the video for "With or Without You," Bono throws his arms straight up over his head and crosses them at the wrists for a literal interpretation of the line "My hands are tied/my body bruised..." Bono, I'd like to personally thank you for fueling my rock star fantasies with that particular visual.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdlPjAJFIrw

4. The Rockette

U2 likes to make a big entrance when they come out to play for their fans, and nothing was bigger than the Zoo TV tour. Bono and his mates tossed off every last vestige of their '80s personas and came roaring into the '90s in a blaze of leather and flickering blue light from an enormous wall of television screens. The Edge strikes the first notes of "Zoo Station," and Bono, looking cooler than cool, rises out of the darkness and executes a series of high kicks that rival any of those performed by the famed residents of Radio City Music Hall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5omeaIIcbc

5. The Boxer

How do you top Zoo TV? Why, with PopMart, of course. Another big entrance by the band as the song "Pop Muzik" blares over the loudspeakers, they enter the venue by walking through the crowd, tuxedoed bodyguards and huge entourage in tow. In his white robe, hood pulled over his eyes, Bono does his best "Macho" Comacho or "Boom Boom" Mancini, jabbing and prancing his way to the ring. And while it may take a few minutes for the crowd to notice, no one seems to care once they realize the muscles aren't real.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1c7U-9gyPsw

6. The Bull

This move was worthy enough to be a part of both the PopMart and Elevation tours, for the song "Until the End of the World." Bono's fingers are his props here, representing the horns of a charging bull as Bono and The Edge attempt to slay each other with rock 'n' roll. The fans are the lucky winners in this dramatic fight to the finish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i9OuBJNdbI

7. The Turkey

U2 appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman in support of All That You Can't Leave Behind, shortly after the 9/11 disaster. The band paid homage to the city by playing "New York." True to form, Bono changed the lyrics of the song to fit the occasion, which was touching until, in an effort to become the Statue of Liberty, Bono places his outstretched fingers behind his head to form her crown. Does he evoke the famous symbol of freedom, or poultry in heat? Tough call.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXMSNRDcBMM

8. The Loaded Diaper

This move is most evident in the official "Beautiful Day" video, shot in and around the Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, France. Anyone who's been a parent will recognize it immediately: Your very young child waddles up to you in a sort of half walk, half squat, clearly uncomfortable. With the camera at such a low angle, we get a most unfortunate view as Bono gives new meaning to the phrase "It's been all over you."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6FwEJwwYcQ

9. Crazy Samurai

During the Vertigo tour, Bono and Larry began the song "Love and Peace or Else" at the tip of the b-stage, while Adam and The Edge remained on the main stage. Larry plays the song on a single drum and cymbal, but at some point flees the scene and heads back to the safety of his kit. Bono takes the drumsticks and starts wailing away on that poor thing, doing his damnedest to smash it to bits. He gets so excited, he's also stomping his feet. Look out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEQSVihLdPo

10. The Upper GI

There's a point in every U2 show that makes you wonder if Bono's pre-show burrito was a bad idea. He hunches over, grabbing his middle or pulling his jacket tighter to his body, and he's clearly feeling something, but what? The song, or the burrito? Let's hope, for all of our sakes, that it's the song.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCdHM3i0DWA

Did you know this ?

Bono has admitted he suffers from severe stage fright - despite the fact he’s been playing to packed stadiums for 25 years.

The U2 frontman says he still feels "nervous" and "sick" when he wakes up on the morning of a gig, even after quarter of a century.

"The morning before a show I get nervous. I can wake up with a sick feeling," he told Harper’s Bazaar.

The 46-year-old Irish star also worries he might let the crowd down by giving a less than perfect vocal performance.

"I have to hit very high notes and if you hit them wrong you can put your throat out," he said.

"So there’s a ‘Will I? Won’t I?’ aspect to it.

"It used to worry me sick. That sense of, how could I meet the levels of anticipation?

"If you’re a rock star and need 25,000 people telling you they love you, obviously you must be a very insecure person," he joked.

Bono Favors Performance Rights Act

Bono is the latest artist to speak out in favor of the Performance Rights Act, which would call for radio stations to pay roylaties to artists for playing their music. Bono joins other supporters such as Smashing Pumpkins founder Billy Corgan, will.i.am, Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock and Emmylou Harris, who have all joined the musicFIRST Coalition on Capitol Hill to lobby in favor of the Performance Rights Act.

Bono released a statement on the matter via musicFIRST, which is an advocacy group for artist rights. “While we have many friends at radio, and appreciate the many things that radio has done for our band over the years, we believe it’s only fair that when radio makes money by playing a recording artist’s music and selling advertising, the recording artist should be compensated just as songwriters are already,” said Bono. ”This is a principle accepted by radio broadcasters in virtually every country in the world. The music business is in a state of freefall at the moment, and while, thankfully, this no longer really affects us - there are many young recording artists out there who can no longer earn a living from the sale of their music, or from touring or selling merchandise… yet they remain a vital part of radio playlists throughout the USA. They should not be denied their fair share. In this time of so much positive change coming from Washington, we hope this bill will be embraced and become the law.”

In response to Bono’s statement, NAB EVP Dennis Wharton commented, “The irony is that it will be the less-established performers who will be hurt most by a performance tax. If radio stations are forced to pay to play music, program directors will be less likely to take a chance playing unknown artists and will instead stick with established musicians like Bono. New artists and niche formats will suffer, and Bono and Britney Spears will become wealthier.”

The House Judiciary Committee has been holding hearings on the legislation, and numerous broadcasters have testified that radio is facing an extremely difficult time in this economy as it is, and enacting a performance royalty would be devastating to the industry

Blackberry the Smart Choice

WHEN Bono strides onto the stage at the Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona on June 30, Jim Balsillie will be a happy man.

The beginning of U2’s world tour marks the start of a high-profile sponsorship for BlackBerry. This tie-up is designed to speed up the journey of the gadget from the businessman’s briefcase to the pocket of the ordinary consumer.

For Balsillie, the joint chief executive of Research in Motion (RIM), BlackBerry’s parent company, it shows he intends to do more than simply defend his patch in the battle with Apple and Nokia for supremacy in the growing smart-phone market, where the mobile phone has morphed into a handheld computer.

What started life as a portable e-mail device, wrecking family weekends, has become something the younger generation uses to listen to music through applications such as Pandora and Slacker. Pictures of Barack Obama clutching his BlackBerry while on the election trail have only burnished its credentials.

U2 Stage Video

Following on from news that U2 will embark on an extensive worldwide tour, the design for the band’s “ambitious staging” has now been revealed. Bono and co. will play inside a towering structure nicknamed ‘The Claw’, with four legs and speakers mounted on each side.

According to a cover feature in the US Rolling Stone, the stage set was dreamed up by U2 ‘show director’ Willie Williams. ‘The Claw’ stands at 164 feet tall, which – crucially – is twice as high as the stage set used by that other world’s biggest band The Rolling Stones on their A Bigger Bang tour. “Theirs would fit underneath this one,” Williams bragged to the magazine. It’s unclear yet whether this is a stroke of genius or something of a sci-fi Spinal Tap, but you can’t say U2 aren’t trying.

50 Days to the start of the world tour

So in honor of hitting the official 50 day mark. Here are 50 things you did not know. (well maybe)

BONO, 44

1. Dropped out of school at 16

2. Sleeps four hours a night

3. Is a fan of George Bush (and finds him very funny); also likes Condoleezza Rice and is pro-Tony Blair

4. Wears a replica of a rosary given to him by the pope, who he calls "the funky pontiff"

5. Regrets having a mullet in the '80s

6. Gets in shape by boxing

7. Drives a beat-up Volvo

8. Keeps his beloved trademark bug-eyed "Fly" sunglasses he wore on the 1993 Zoo TV tour in safe storage in Dublin

9. Years before he was born, a psychic told his mother she would have a son who would be famous in whatever profession he chose

10. Got into so much trouble in high school that he was called "the Antichrist"

11. Gets late-night "firing squad" phone calls from the band after jumping into the audience or climbing scaffolding onstage

12. Is working with Brooklyn-based designer Rogan on a new line of blue jeans

13. Says he needs to be told he's loved 12 times a day

14. Has been married to his high school sweetheart Alison Stewart for 22 years, though she once threw him out of the house during a rocky stretch in their marriage

15. Was a character witness for R.E.M.'s Peter Buck when Buck was on trial for an air rage incident

16. Keeps an apartment on Central Park West

17. Has four children, ranging in age from 2 to 13

18. Gave Christy Turlington away at her wedding to Ed Burns

19. Is allergic to red wine

20. Quit dying his hair jet black because he was "starting to look like Roy Orbison"

ADAM CLAYTON, 44

21. Doesn't drive at night since he had Lasik surgery

22. Though he's not married, he was once engaged to Naomi Campbell

23. Served as best man at Bono's wedding

24. As a teenager, was kicked out of two schools for smoking, drinking and streaking

25. Kept the band together in the early '80s, when the three other members wanted to quit and devote their lives to God

26. Was charged with drunk driving in 1984 and marijuana possession in 1993

27. Says he is now completely sober

28. Admits that he hates responsibility

29. Was so wasted on the Zoo TV tour that the band's bass technician was forced to take his place for a whole show

THE EDGE, 43

30. Was the first member of the band to get married, to high school sweetheart Aislinn O'Sullivan, in 1985 (they're now divorced)

31. Now lives in Europe and in L.A., because his current wife, a belly dancer, is an American

32. Doesn't think Bono should allow himself to be photographed with the pope and George Bush, "and he knows it"

33. Wanted to be a doctor or an engineer growing up

34. U2 lore has it that he actually left the band in the early '80s for religious reasons

35. For years was teased about his record collection, which included nothing recorded before 1976

36. Is so proper that he calls Larry Mullen "Lawrence"

LARRY MULLEN, 43

37. He hates cats (he had a bad experience with one as a child)

38. Is called Dorian Gray by Bono because he has yet to age

39. Loves Echo & the Bunnymen

40. Like the Edge, has a son named Aaron

41. Considers Bono his best friend

42. Is teased for being cheap; U2's manager says Mullen "still has his First Communion money"

43. Worships Elvis Presley

44. Loves to hang out in secondhand record shops

45. Like Bono, he's been with his high school sweetheart since they were 13, although they're not married

46. Is a huge Irish football fan

47. Was painfully shy and still is the quietest member of the band

48. Suffers chronic back pain because he was never taught how to sit correctly at the drums

49. He "cannot tell a lie," according to Bono

50. Has been known to shun the tour bus in favor of traveling alone, on his motorcycle

Bono and the King

A POEM Bono wrote about Elvis in 1995, which he read aloud during an interview two years ago, is going to be broadcast on BBC Radio 4 this week. "So what?" you might say, on the grounds that we've often heard slightly nonsensical garbage coming from his mouth in the past, why not a poem which was described by its initial audience of one as being "effective, but bonkers"?

Elvis: American David is the title of the U2 front man's ode to The King, and aside from its iambic pentameter which, to use a term from classical literary theory, is off the hook, the poem makes several claims that not only rhyme but are also enlightening, even to the most ardent Elvis fan. "Elvis grew sideburns as a protest against Tom Jones' hairy chest," Bono states at one point in the poem, which is all written in lowercase, prompting some suggestion that it may have been composed on a mobile phone.
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Now playing: Goo Goo Dolls - Here Is Gone
via FoxyTunes

Happy Birthday Bono -

Happy Birthday Bono. U2 Fans we welcome your greetings below. Post a note to the man the changed the face of music.

As the lead singer of U2, one of the most popular and influential rock bands of the last 30 years, Bono is a figure adored and admired both within and outside of the music industry. As a rock star, his music with U2 has earned him legions of devoted fans across the world, whilst as a humanitarian and crusader for the world's poor, co-founder of organisations such as DATA and the ONE Campaign, he has gained deep respect from politicians and global statesmen as well as music fans. His rare ability to effectively straddle the spheres of both entertainment and politics remains rivaled by few in the realm of popular culture, and his determination to change the world for the better continues to inspire millions on both sides of the political divide.

It's perhaps unsurprising that Bono's unusual adult existence was preceded by a less-than-ordinary upbringing. Born in the north Dublin suburb of Ballymun, Paul Hewson was the second child of Catholic father Brendan Robert Hewson (always called Bobby), and Protestant mother Iris Elizabeth Rankin – a highly unusual arrangement in then deeply sectarian Ireland. As a child Paul Hewson was a precocious, outspoken and thoughtful boy whose early experiences did much to shape his later life as one of the most important figures in Irish history.

As a child, his education started at The Inkwell, a small Protestant Church of Ireland junior school, before eventually continuing on to St. Patrick's Cathedral Choir School. But his time there was unsuccessful; as Bono put it, "I spent a year at St. Patrick's, not being happy, and basically they asked me to leave." This was largely a result of the young Paul throwing dog feces at his Spanish teacher, which subsequently led to his enrollment in 1972 at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, a controversial establishment that was Ireland's first co-educational, non-denominational high school. Paul settled in very quickly and soon became well-adjusted and happy in his new environment.

But at the age of 14, he suffered a tragic and devastating loss when his mother died of a brain hemorrhage whilst attending the funeral of her own father.

From this point onwards, Paul's home life became considerably traumatic. Despite his father's attempts to hold the family together, Bono claims that he and Bob Hewson "didn't get on very well." As a result, father and son never enjoyed a particularly close relationship. In fact, Bono would later claim that the inarticulate Bob Hewson's unspoken message to his children was "to dream is to be disappointed." The singer has often cited this as a key reason for his forming such big ambitions and becoming even more determined to follow his dreams.

It was not long after his mother's death that Paul also got his new name. Originally 'Steinhegvanhuysenolegbangbangbang,' it evolved to 'Bonavox of O'Connell Street' after a hearing aid store in the centre of Dublin, before eventually being shortened to 'Bonavox,' 'Bono Vox' – cockeyed Latin for 'good voice' – and finally 'Bono.' Credit for this goes to his mate Guggi (real name Derek Rowan), a childhood friend, who along with Bono was a member of the group Lypton Village. This was a gang of disaffected-but-creative youths that included Gavin Friday (real name Fionan Hanvey), the man who would eventually go on to form the avant-garde rock band the Virgin Prunes. Bono has often cited Lypton Village as a key source of inspiration and support both before and during his time with U2.

At Mount Temple, Bono describes himself as being "a bit wide-awake, a bit bright, a bit experimental." Although he was far from exceptional as a student, he had a flair for history and art, and became a keen and expert chess player. However, he was perhaps the most adept at navigating the field of romance, entertaining many girlfriends. In 1976, he started dating Alison Stewart (b. March 23, 1961), commonly known as Ali, with the two eventually marrying on August 21, 1982. They went on to have four children: Jordan (b. May 10, 1989), Memphis Eve (b. July 7, 1991), Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q (b. August 17, 1999), and John Abraham (b. May 20, 2001). To this day, the family continues to make their home in Dublin.

Despite his initial ambition to be an actor, it was arguably Bono's tendency to be, in his own words, "promiscuous with my ambitions, flirting with all kinds of things" which led him to respond to a notice posted on the Mount Temple bulletin board appealing for musicians. Those interested were told to assemble at 60 Rosemount Avenue, Artane, the house of 14-year-old drummer Larry Mullen Jnr.

As well as Bono, the other boys who made it to that first session were 15-year-old guitarist David Evans (later nicknamed The Edge), 16-year-old Adam Clayton, who couldn't actually play bass guitar but certainly knew how to talk as though he did, Larry's friend Peter Martin, Ivan McCormick, and David Evans' brother Dick. Ivan and Peter were, to quote Adam, "weeded out" early on, whilst Dick eventually left the band to study engineering at Trinity College Dublin. The four remaining boys were initially named Feedback (supposedly after the ear-splitting wailing that always seemed to emanate from the guitar amps), before becoming the Hype, and then eventually U2.

Shortly after the band's formation, Bono, Edge and Larry became involved in the Dublin-based Christian group Shalom. From an early age, the controversy caused by the marriage between his Protestant mother and Catholic father had made Bono extremely suspicious of organised religion, with him later describing it as having "cut my people in two." Therefore, the non-denominational nature of the Shalom group provided Bono and the two other believing members of U2 with solace, harmony and strength.

However, Bono, Edge and Larry's involvement with Shalom later caused friction within U2, as the non-believing Adam felt that the latter three's more devout friends were trying to make them prioritise their faith over the band. The three believers did eventually leave Shalom, as they felt that the group was trying to force upon them the false assertion that a commitment to rock n' roll and a commitment to God were mutually excludable principles. Since then, Bono's Christian faith has played a big role in his life, but in a way that has largely been free from the influence of the mainstream church

One the tour kicks off we will be waiting to here from our Fans around the world. Yes you will have a chance to share your photos,videos and comments as we awake back here in US. Weneed some fans to be reporting in. Set Lists Photos and really share the details. Best photo or story of the week will win a FRESH new TEE from U2TOURFANS.COM

Oh BTW - U2 still not on Twitter yet. As we wait


Sam Ash Quikship Corp.

Magnificent - Official video - U2

Magnificent is the second single to be released from No Line On The Horizon, 24hrs later and I have had a chance to really think about the video and take it all in. Fes, Morocco what a happening place. Check out the video and post your comments within our blog.

Major call outs to all persons attending the first concert June 30th We want to hear from you! Yes, we want to get your story here first. Yea we are a small little site with about 10,000 views a day so give us your storie and support us. We would post your photos, videos, sounds and event better we will take your live twitters and re-cast them to the world. So step up and let us know. We have only a limited amount people we can use. This is your chance to share with the world your love for U2.

Peace

Support the Cause and watch your effect

Well folks ever now and then I get an idea to really turn this around and try to move the blog forward in the right direction. Sure I can beg you to clink on our sponsors or drop a couple of coins on Paypal. However thats's only as good if you know that I am doing my part. We all are in this together. Lets take a stand and raise up the awareness level to new levels. -Peace

i/denti/tee - music tees for music lovers