New York City: Today is World AIDS Day and U2TOURFANS wants to team up with you today and make a donation to the One Campaign. Lets all make a difference today.
Each Mark Peterson Photo Book purchased today a donation will be made on your behalf to "One Campaign" To date (RED) has generated more than $300 million for The Global Fund to support HIV/AIDS grants in Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Rwanda, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia.
What is World AIDS Day?
World AIDS Day is held on the 1st December each year and is an opportunity for people worldwide to unite in the fight against HIV, show their support for people living with HIV and to commemorate people who have died. World AIDS Day was the first ever global health day, held for the first time in 1988.
Why is World AIDS Day important?
Over 100,000 people are living with HIV in the UK. Globally there are an estimated 34 million people who have the virus. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 35 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.
Today, scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment, there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so much more about the condition. Despite this, each year in the UK around 6,000 people are diagnosed with HIV, people do not know the facts about how to protect themselves and others, and stigma and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with the condition.
World AIDS Day is important because it reminds the public and Government that HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money, increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.
* Donations will be made on your behalf for each purchase. You will receive a confirmation of the donation made on your behalf via email. U2TOURFANS is not affiliated or associated with One Campaign nor RED. The donation is simply our way of partnering with you to give back for the greater good of man kind.
I am in the office this morning and I am clearing my desk of most of the noise and around me the sounds of U2 RADIO playing at volumes that a normal office would not allow. However this is not a normal office.
I am reminded that U2's music provides an opportunity to become a believer. A believer in something higher, call it what you will. When the spirit moves you, that's the start of something powerful. Bono once said:"all the best songs are co-written by God." U2's music has always been able to heal and provide some creative flow to be able to see beyond what is in front of me.
I know that U2 fans have thousands of choices to find news, music, videos and more and I am very humbled with the amount of success we have enjoyed. I have faith, I am a believer that does not wear his faith on his sleeve rather in my heart. I allow my actions to speak louder. I have noticed that forgiveness has a way of healing the soul and provides a peace that I enjoy.
“The Lord is in the House tonight” Going to Church that’s what going to a U2 concert felt like for a few of the fans this past tour. Faith, Love and Hope rising beyond the 50 thousand screaming fans; all in one single space in hopes to see something magical beyond the walls that held them inside.
It was last year that we posted an story from Robert Hunt Jr. within we listed 15 of the most moving songs ever written by U2. Faith above all can lead you into a direction of the unknown.
Take a look at the list. What would you define as your top 15 moving songs ?
15. Mothers of the Disappeared
This five-minute gem closes out "The Joshua Tree", U2's biggest and best selling album. It's a brooding, haunting, spooky song that starts with just a faint percussion line and some sporadic guitar feedback. Then it settles into a slow, rhythmic almost dirge-like beauty.
Bono and Edge combine for an achingly gorgeous falsetto chorus while the song gently moves along. The title refers to the Asociación Madres de Plaza de Mayo, a group of Argentine mothers who lost their children, "The Disappeared", during Argentina's Dirty War from 1976 to 1983. As such, this is one of U2's most politically driven songs and it clearly demonstrates the band's interest and commitment to human rights. In a legendary 1989 performance in Buenos Aires, many of the Mothers came out on stage and stood as one holding up posters of their children as the band played this song. Very few rock bands can do that.
14. Mysterious Ways
This song is dedicated to that most beautiful of all creatures ... Women. It's a very loud but sensuous song with another of Edge's superb opening guitar riffs. This song is off their successful 1991 album, "Achtung Baby". Baby was a distinct departure from the band's earlier sound as this disc was their first venture into a new techno-dance sound that they would continue exploring throughout the 90's. During their 90's live shows, a belly dancer would join the band on stage during this song. In a case of life imitating art, Edge even married one of the belly dancers, Morleigh Steinberg. Clearly, she moved in Mysterious Ways.
13. City of Blinding Lights
"Lights" is from the band's 2004 album, "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb", and it opened up most nights of the 2005-06 Vertigo Tour. It has a shimmering "wall of sound" feel to it but it's also a kickass rocker with another of the band's trademark sing-a-long choruses. The song is about New York City in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. U2 has had a long and fascinating love affair with America and felt the loss much the same way Americans did. As the story goes, they were flying in to New York at night some time after the attacks and could see the city lit up from above like it always has been. "Oh, you look so beautiful tonight" was the result.
12. New Year's Day
From 1983's "War", this was U2's first big hit single. Originally a love song, it was reformed as a tribute to Lech Walesa's Polish Solidarity movement. It's about starting over fresh and new and it features Edge on both organ and guitar. He plays both instruments during live shows as well. Adam's bass line is also one of his best and carries much more of the song's texture than he typically does. And Larry's drums are up front and razor sharp too. Instantly recognizable, "Day" is a concert staple and still one of their most popular and well-known songs.
11. The Fly
One of the great "character" songs in the band's catalog, "The Fly" also features one of Edge's most distinctive and agressive "techno" riffs. This "Achtung Baby" song is the definitive break between the band's original sound and their new 90's "industrial" direction. "Fly" still has all the required U2 elements but they're played and mixed in a new way that instantly illustrates two conflicting themes ... Yes, this is U2 and no, we've never heard them like this before. From this point forward, "The Joshua Tree" was history. On stage, Bono assumes the character of "The Fly", a preening, strutting, leather-clad rock star in black wraparound sunglasses. When that phone call from Hell comes, it might as well be "The Fly" answering it. This song is 90's U2. It was their past, present and future.
10. Running To Stand Still
A truly lovely song about a sad subject, drug addiction, and heroin in particular. It's an achingly beautiful song filled with pathos and sympathy. Another one from "The Joshua Tree", "Still" has some of the band's most painful and poignant lyrics and some of their best slow song melodies. When played live, the crowd usually gets quiet and then softly sings along with Bono ... "Singing ha, ah la la la de day, Ah la la la de day, Ah la la de day". This is one of the band's songs that really gets down deep inside you. Very few fans can hear this one and not feel the pain and empty sadness. "She will suffer the needle chill, She's running to stand ........ still."
9. Elevation
This is a loud, raucous, joyous, all-out, infectious number dedicated to either heaven above or just plain old joy and exhiliration down below. During the band's 2001 tour, they took the unusual step of opening each show by casually walking onto the stage with the house lights still on and then ripping into this song driving the crowd into a pogo stick frenzy. With Edge's raging feedback guitar and Bono's kickboxer poses, "Elevation" was the perfect opener for that tour. The band also played this song during a Saturday Night Live gig that year and drove that crowd and the show host, Val Kilmer, wild too. A mole, living in a hole, digging up my soul.
8. Pride (In The Name Of Love)
This is one of the U2's best known songs and it's also one of their best. As most fans know, it's about the Reverend Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Edge plays a fiery guitar on "Pride" while Adam and Larry provide their customary solid backbeat. But this one is Bono's all the way. Yes, there is a mistake in the lyrics. Dr. King was assassinated in the early evening of April 4, not the early morning. But it doesn't matter. This is a song that crosses over racial boundaries as well as the Atlantic Ocean to recognize a true human hero. And Bono makes sure we know that. The band is rarely more urgent or more intense when they kick into this one.
7. "40"
A short and simple song but very powerful, "40" is often played to close down a live show. It's off the band's 1983 album, "War" and the title and lyrics are a reference to Psalm 40 in the Bible. Typically, they play it while the band leaves the stage one at a time. Bono usually exits first leaving the crowd singing the chorus line of "How long to sing this song" over and over. Edge leaves next while Adam and Larry remain. After Adam takes his bow and leaves, Larry and his drums are all that's left. But the crowd is still singing. Then Larry leaves. And we all stay and sing. Over and over. How long to sing this song. How long, how long. Then the lights slowly come on.
6. When I Look At The World
This is an obscure little-known track from U2's 2000 disc, "All That You Can't Leave Behind". It was not released as a single and to date, the band has not played it live in concert. But they should. "World" starts with a simple Edge guitar riff, hesitates for a brief pause and then explodes into a beautiful melody with soaring guitar notes and the usual airtight rhythm. Edge is all over this one moving up and down the scales while Bono sings another gorgeous set of lyrics about faith and spirituality. This song is a reminder of just how good U2 is because any other band would have rushed this one out as a single, shot an expensive video and then featured it at every live gig for the rest of their lives.
5. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
The boys do gospel. Oh yes, they do. "Found" is perhaps their most beautiful song. The melody is unforgettable and the chorus is so easy and so much fun to sing along with that most fans never mind when this one gets stuck in their heads. "Found" is about faith, religion, redemption, salvation, all mixed into one peaceful simple tune. It's the second of the "Big Three" songs off their mega-hit 1987 album "The Joshua Tree". This is the album that exploded U2 onto the world scene and cemented their legend for all time. And this song, among others on this incredible record, helped seal that deal. For an extra treat, watch and listen to "Found" in the band's 1989 movie, "Rattle and Hum". The boys team up with a Harlem church choir to show everyone what gospel can be. Heaven.
4. Sunday Bloody Sunday
"Sunday" is one of U2's first and most famous overtly political songs. It's about the bloody struggle in Northern Ireland and sends a plaintive almost desperate call for peace in that tortured land. Larry's drums provide a tight almost militaristic cadence while Edge uses a simple but powerful guitar riff throughout. This is another song that the band never plays casually. "Sunday" is an intense song meant to force you to wonder just how long this madness, The Troubles, has to go on. U2 opened their Live Aid set with "Sunday" as it was their most well-known song at the time. And they didn't disappoint.
3. Where The Streets Have No Name
The signature song from "The Joshua Tree", "Streets" has one of the band's most mesmerizing openings. It starts with a long church organ solo followed by another classic Edge riff. Then Adam joins in with a pounding bass line followed shortly by Larry's hypnotic drums. Finally, at the 1:45 mark, with the buildup at maxiumum intensity, Bono drops in with the opening line "I wanna run, I want to hide." The video for "Streets" is legendary as well. The boys made an unannounced visit to a rooftop in Los Angeles and started playing. A large crowd quickly gathered and soon the LAPD came and shut it down for fear of traffic and crowd control problems. U2 also played "Streets" during halftime of the 2002 Super Bowl just a few months after 9/11. As they played, the names of each victim scrolled behind the band on an enormous screen. At the end of the song, with millions watching on TV, Bono simply opened his jacket to reveal an American flag inside. Nothing else needed to be said.
2. One
This is the song that "saved" U2. As the story goes, the band was on the verge of breaking up while recording "Achtung Baby" in 1991. Edge and Bono wanted to explore the new techno-dance sound while Adam and Larry didn't. Finally, Edge came up with the arrangements for "One" and it changed everyone's outlook and approach to going forward with renewed optimism. The lyrics to "One" are ambiguous. Some interpret it as a love song although not a pain-free one. Others see it as a song about individuality as in "We're one but we're not the same." Regardless, the song is simply stunning and shows the band at its very finest. It's an encore number at all shows and has been covered by several other artists including Mary J Blige and Johnny Cash. "One" is the band's highest ranked song showing up on numerous "best ever" lists. It is the "One".
1. Bad
The best of the best. This sad but intense song about drug addiction is a huge crowd favorite. It opens with Edge repeating just two simple but unmistakable chiming notes over and over until the rest of the band kicks in and drives it harder and harder. U2 played this song at Live Aid and all but stole the entire show with it. When Bono went down off the Wembley Stadium stage and into the rapturous crowd, the band kept playing past the time they had planned to end the song and so U2 missed out on playing "Pride", the final song of their set. Legend has it Bono brooded over his "mistake" for weeks after the show until finally being convinced that "Bad" was just that good. If you listen to no other U2song, this is the one. You'll be wide awake. You won't be sleeping.
Today is World AIDS Day, a day of particular significance to Bono, whose
(RED) brand launched years ago to help support the Global Fund in
their effort to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in Africa. Since
its beginning, (RED) has garnered the support of major retailers like
Apple, Dell, Starbucks, Gap, and American Eagle (just to name a few).
Around 100,000 are currently living with HIV in the UK and globally
an estimated 34 million people have HIV. More than 25 million people
between 1981 and 2007 have died from the virus, making it one of the
most destructive pandemics in history.
Today, many scientific advances have been made in HIV treatment,
there are laws to protect people living with HIV and we understand so
much more about the condition. But despite this, people do not know the
facts about how to protect themselves and others from HIV, and stigma
and discrimination remain a reality for many people living with HIV.
World AIDS Day is important as it reminds the public and Government that
HIV has not gone away – there is still a vital need to raise money,
increase awareness, fight prejudice and improve education.
Bono will appeal to Democrats and Republicans
during a visit to Washington this week to spare U.S. development
assistance programs from cuts as Congress tries to avert the looming
"fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending reductions early next year.
he U2 lead singer's visit comes as the Obama
administration and congressional leaders try to forge a deal in coming
weeks to avoid the economy hitting the "fiscal cliff" - tax increases and spending cuts worth $600 billion starting in January if Congress does not act.
Analysts say the absence of a deal could shock the United States, the world's biggest economy, back into recession.
Kathy
McKiernan, spokeswoman for the ONE Campaign, said Bono will hold talks
with congressional lawmakers and senior Obama administration officials
during the November 12-14 visit.
During
meetings he will stress the effectiveness of U.S. foreign assistance
programs and the need to preserve them to avoid putting at risk progress
made in fighting HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria, she said.
Bono,
a long-time advocate for the poor, will argue that U.S.
government-funded schemes that support life-saving treatments for
HIV/AIDS sufferers, nutrition programs for malnourished children, and
emergency food aid make up just 1 percent of the U.S. government budget
but are helping to save tens of millions of lives in impoverished
nations.
The One Campaign would not elaborate which lawmakers and senior Obama administration officials Bono will meet.
(RTTNews) - Mary J. Blige performed at Thursday night's Democraticnationalconvention. She performed a cover of U2's classic track "One."
She followed this up with her own hit "Family Affair," leading into the song by asking the crowd to "get it crunk for PresidentObama!"
"One" is featured on U2's album Achtung Baby. "Family Affair" appears on Blige's fifth studio effort, No More Drama.
Thursday was the final night of the Democratic convention. It closed with President Barack Obama accepting the nomination for another term in the White House. He will face off against Republican nominee Mitt Romney in November.
BONO stunned housemates on the African version of Big
Brother – when he appeared on video screen to address them. The legendary rocker was beamed to the house live from Dublin, which contains housemates from 14 different African nations.
“This is your Irish rock star fan, Bono. You are my big brothers and little sisters”, he said.
The U2 front man spoke to the housemates about the garden which they
have to cultivate over the course of the series, as part of the new
campaign being run by his ONE charity.
“I hear you’re growing and farming the future, and that the fruit is the
hope and change that we’re all hungry for”, he told them. The star finished up by telling the stunned housemates: “Big love, big
respect from Dublin Ireland and everyone in the ONE campaign”. The housemates were elated by the appearance of the Irish rocker. One
said: “I feel like I’m a star”. While another added: “This is so
surreal, I cannot believe it”.
The African version of big brother is one of the most popular shows on
the continent, attracting participants from 14 different countries and
being broadcast in 47 countries.
“One” is a song by Irish rock band U2. It is the third track from their 1991 album Achtung Baby, and it was released as the record’s third single in March 1992. It was recorded at three recording studios, Hansa Ton Studios, Elsinore, and Windmill Lane Studios. During the album’s recording, conflict arose between the band members over the direction of U2’s sound and the quality of their material. Tensions almost prompted the band to break up, until guitarist The Edge composed a chord progression that inspired the group to improvise the song, which was written as a ballad. The band worked on the mix for “One” throughout the remainder of the album’s sessions. The lyrics, written by lead singer Bono, describe fracturing interpersonal relationships, but they have been interpreted in other ways.
“One” was released as a benefit single, with proceeds going towards AIDS research. The song reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart and number ten on the Billboard Hot 100, and it topped the US Billboard Album Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. In promotion of the song, the band had several music videos filmed, although they were not pleased until the third video was created.
The song has since been acclaimed as one of the greatest songs of all time, and it is consistently featured in listener and critic polls. The song has been played by U2 at every one of their tour concerts since the song’s live debut in 1992, and it has appeared in many of the band’s concert films. In a live setting, “One” is often used by the band to promote human rights or social justice causes, and the song lends its namesake to Bono’s charitable organization, the ONE Campaign. In 2006, U2 re-recorded the song as part of a duet with contemporary R&B singer Mary J. Blige.
Looking for some new inspiration, the guys wrapped up their tour, spent several months at home and headed to Berlin in October 1990, flying into town the day Germany officially reunited.
The city was joyous. While the Wall between East and West Berlin was falling down, though, new barriers were being built between U2’s four members. Bono and the Edge wanted to explore new sounds, with hip-hop, Madchester and club music serving as good places to start. Adam Clayton, the only one with any real nightclub experience, told the others they didn’t know the first thing about dance music. Meanwhile, Mullen balked at the drum machines that producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois had pulled into the studio. Wasn’t he supposed to be the band’s percussionist?
With U2’s future in doubt, “One” literally brought the band back together. Working one evening at Hansa Studios – ground zero for David Bowie’s groundbreaking work with Eno in the 1970s – the Edge began composing a bridge for the song that later became “Ultraviolet (Light My Way).” He banged out some minor chords on piano, then came up with a major-key resolution. When he switched over to acoustic guitar and starting playing the sections back-to-back, a new song was born. The other bandmates joined in, with Bono improvising some lyrics inspired by a recent invitation from the Dalai Lama, who’d invited the group to attend a festival called Oneness. Within minutes, the framework for “One” was complete.
On an album filled with irony, sex and self-deprecation, “One” cuts through to the heart of a relationship. Each verse poses new questions – Is it getting better? Did I disappoint you? Have you come here for forgiveness? – without offering any answers in return. Keeping things deliberately vague, Bono lobs his inquiries into thin air, aiming them at his band, his spouse, the Edge’s estranged wife, or maybe even none of the above. The addressees don’t matter. “One” isn’t about love, after all; it’s about resignation.
“The song is a bit twisted,” Bono explained in Neil McCormick’s U2 By U2, “which is why I could never figure out why people want it at their weddings. I have certainly met a hundred people who’ve had it at their weddings. I tell them, ‘Are you mad? It’s about splitting up!’”
But U2 didn’t split up. They tied up some loose ends in Berlin, flew back to Dublin and finished Achtung Baby, which reinvented the band’s sound, image and audience. The God-fearing boys who’d appeared so earnest, so unapologetically self-righteous during the Rattle And Hum days had grown into clever, comfortable men who could laugh at their own success. Bono even began hamming it up onstage in leather jackets and oversized sunglasses, finally embracing the “rockstar” persona that his job afforded. The rest of the band followed suit.
Still, “One” is Achtung Baby’s most vulnerable moment, the human heart that beats between the glitzy, industrial gloss of “Even Better Than The Real Thing” and “Until The End Of The World.” Bono sings the lyrics in a half-broken voice, sounding worn out and dejected until the last 30 seconds, where he flips into a gorgeous falsetto. The Edge, who ended “With Or Without You” with a simple guitar pattern instead of a traditional solo, does the same thing here, chiming his way around Bono’s vocals with ringing, slightly delayed quarter notes. The two parts support one another, perhaps taking their cues from the song’s own words (“We’re one, but we’re not the same / We get to carry each other”).
It may have been cooked up in a frenzied half-hour of inspiration, but “One” has enjoyed a long shelf life. Every U2 concert since 1992 has featured the song. Johnny Cash covered it on 2000’s American III: Solitary Man, and Mary J. Blige scored a hit six years later with her own version, which turned the tune’s fragility into an anthem of unity. Recently, “One” has also been linked to Bono’s work as a social activist, even lending its name to the ONE Campaign.
People tend to attribute U2’s success to an ability to adapt, change and reinvent, often one step ahead of the mainstream. “One” was the group’s first major transformation, the song that blasted through a decade’s worth of self-serious rock and roll and signaled something different. Other transformations followed, including an eventual return to the anthems that kicked off U2’s career. But without “One,” there’d be no Achtung Baby … and without Achtung Baby, there’d be no U2.
This months Slate magazine has a story U2 The Paradox, which takes a deeper look into the band and the history behind the band. One the interesting comments was the selection of the best 15 songs. Its seems to be a hit list with all of the songs making the charts. However we are sure that U2 has a deeper list to select from. The question, do you agree with the list or can you remove and add a few more songs that define U2 beyond a hit chart? Post your thoughts and comments on facebook or twitter.
