U2.COM : 'The Quietest Storm That Ever Blew Into Town...'

While visiting a clinic in Ghana earlier today, Bono heard the news of the death of Seamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate and widely regarded as one of the greatest Irish poets of all time. 

'Seamus was a great, great poet. I know people throw around this phrase a lot, but his poem From the Republic of Conscience, literally changed my life. As an activist he was the quietest storm that ever blew into town. In fact, in so many things he was a gentle genius, whose words challenged us with the grit and beauty of life as much as they gave us solace. He wrote with a brevity that strangely spilled to the brim. 

'We all envied how he made that most complicated of things, the balancing of work and family, appear so simple. In Marie he found his other whole. And it is a joy to be around his kids... Michael, Chris and Catherine Ann. They have all of his humility in their sharpness. 

'I take his poems with me wherever I go. I was in Liberia just a few days ago and I gave his collection 'Electric Light' to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, whose entire country is in darkness. She knew exactly who he was and immediately started reading the poems while standing beside me. A few days after that I gave another collection 'Seeing Things' to President John Mahama of Ghana, whose vision of his country is everything... 

'I am bewildered to think Seamus is no longer with us. Because his words will be around forever, it seemed so would he.'

Lillywhite: new U2 album sounds great

U2 producer Steve Lillywhite teases details

Anton Savage was joined in studio today by Steve Lillywhite, Johnny Logan and Samantha Mumba to talk about the big finale on The Hit.

U2 producer Lillywhite teased details of the new U2 album saying: “I’ve heard some of it, I was round Bono’s house the other day and it sounds very good”. However, he kept Ray D’Arcy Show listeners in suspense as he wouldn’t comment on a release date or on the style of the album.

Lilllywhite is one of the key figures in The Hit, having selected the songs that will be seen showcased by songwriters to acts they hope will turn them into hits.

Tonight, three-time Eurovision winner Johnny Logan will go up against Samantha Mumba, whose debut album Gotta Tell You spent six months on the US Billboard charts in 2000.

Samantha Mumba will be performing ‘Somebody Like Me’ while Johnny Logan will be singing ‘Prayin’’.

source : http://www.todayfm.com/

True??? Leaked U2 Jam Session (2013) [audio]

U2.COM : Utter Propaganda

We're always looking to bring our subscribers rare content on U2.com. Someone reminded us that long before the internet there were these printed artefacts made with ink and paper called 'magazines'. In the mid-1980's the band launched their own magazine, Propaganda. 

Each edition carried interviews, behind-the-scenes action from video-shoots or recording studios, road diaries, classic photography, profiles of acts that the band were into and stories about the latest campaign from Amnesty or Greenpeace. 

Published with a regular irregularity over 16 years until 2002, Propaganda was the official U2 magazine. You got a copy only if you were a member of the fan club and it became a great place to get in touch with U2 afficonados around the world. You could send each other postcards (like extremely slow emails travelling by sack in ship and plane) and arrange to meet at gigs. You could fall in love and spend your life together. 

Some of our more mature subscribers will have back copies clogging up an attic somewhere but most of you may never have seen it. That's why we're aiming to bring a new (old) issue online two or three times a year, just like first time around. (To preserve people's anonymity we've redacted surnames, home addresses and phone numbers from the print editions and occasionally we'll exclude some elements of the original content). 

We're kicking things off with a special issue which marked the release of Achtung Baby in 1991, the only edition to go beyond the fan club. Take a read, play around with the features and tell us what you think in the comments. (If you know Propaganda from way back when, tell us which issue you'd like to see go live next.) 

PROPAGANDA - ACHTUNG BABY SPECIAL EDITION
First Published in 1991 

'To mark the first all-new studio album since The Joshua Tree in 1987, this issue of the band's own magazine charts the creation of the new long-player in places as diverse as Berlin, Germany, North America and Dublin, Ireland.
This edition contains exclusive, largely unpublished, photography from Anton Corbijn, location reports from the making of The Fly video, and background information on how the 'look' of Achtung Baby came together…'

U2.COM : 'Songwriter And Showman'

To mark the 70th birthday of his friend Mick Jagger, Bono spoke to the journalistMartin Scholz for Germany's Welt am Sonntag. 
The pair had a wide-ranging conversation ranging from how Bono got to know Mick to the continuing influence of The Rolling Stones and Martin kindly agreed to translate the interview into English for U2.com. (Add your own thoughts in the comments window below.)