Tag: Bono

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Bono apologizes for infecting your iPhone with U2’s album

U2’s Bono says he’s sorry for Apple automatically downloading his band’s 2014 album Songs of Innocence to every iTunes user’s account.

In an excerpt from his memoir Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story published by The Guardian, the man with no last name says that his “vaunting ambition” was why he approached Apple CEO Tim Cook with the idea.

During a meeting with Cook, Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of services, and Phil Schiller, current Fellow at Apple and former head of the App Store, Bono explained the Cupertino, California tech giant should pay U2 for the album and then “give it away free, as a gift to people.”

“Wouldn’t that be wonderful?,” the Vertigo singer said. Cook, however, wasn’t convinced and explained that he didn’t feel right about giving away the band’s “art” for free. Regardless, the deal eventually happened, prompting the album to appear on everyone’s iPhone like a rampant virus.

“I take full responsibility. Not Guy O, not Edge, not Adam, not Larry, not Tim Cook, not Eddy Cue. I’d thought if we could just put our music within reach of people, they might choose to reach out toward it. Not quite,” writes Bono in an excerpt from the memoir.

Thanks, Bono, what a wonderful gift. At least we now know how one of the strangest big tech moves of the mid-2010s happened.

Back in 2014, I remember spending the better part of an hour trying to find a way to remove Songs of Innocence from my iTunes library. While I eventually was able to ditch the album, the process was far more complicated than it needed to be.

On the bright side, it doesn’t seem like U2 will appear on your iPhone for free again when the band’s next album drops.

Source: The Guardian Via: Variety

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Bono: ‘I almost died’

Bono has revealed that he almost died recently.

The 57-year-old U2 frontman had a near-death experience while making the band’s latest album ‘Songs of Experience’ and finds it difficult to talk about his "extinction event", which he admits influenced the record.

He told Rolling Stone magazine: "It’s just a thing that… people have these extinction events in their lives; it could be psychological, or it could be physical. And, yes, it was physical for me, but I think I have spared myself all that soap opera. Especially with this kind of celebrity obsession with the minutiae of peoples’ lives – I have got out of that. I want to speak about the issue in a way that lets people fill in the blanks of what they have been through, you know?

"This political apocalypse was going on in Europe and in America, and it found a perfect rhyme with what was going on in my own life. And I have had a hail of blows over the years. You get warning signs, and then you see that you are not a tank, as my wife Ali says. Edge has this thing that he says about me, that I look upon my body as an inconvenience."

However, Bono insisted he does not want to dwell on his near-death experience because he has been luckier than other people who did not survive.

He said: "I had a sense of suffocation. I am a singer, and everything I do comes from air. Stamina, it comes from air. And in this process, I felt I was suffocating. That was the most frightening thing that could happen to me because I am in pain. Ask Ali. She said I wouldn’t notice if I had a knife sticking out of my back. I would be like, "Huh, what is that?" But this time last year, I felt very alone and very frightened and not able to speak and not able to even explain my fear because I was kind of…

"But, you know, people have had so much worse to deal with, so that is another reason not to talk about it. You demean all the people who, you know, never made it through that or couldn’t get health care!

"I am the f**king luckiest man on Earth. I didn’t think that I had a fear of a fast exit. I thought it would be inconvenient ’cause I have a few albums to make and kids to see grow up and this beautiful woman and my friends and all of that. But I was not that guy. And then suddenly you are that guy. And you think, "I don’t want to leave here. There’s so much more to do." And I’m blessed. Grace and some really clever people got me through, and my faith is strong.

And Bono briefly spoke about a throat cancer scare 17 years ago, which turned out to be a false alarm.

When the interviewer asked, "In 2000, you had a throat-cancer scare, right?", he said: No, it was a check for it. One of the specialists wanted to biopsy, which would have risked my vocal cords – and it turned out OK."

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Noel Gallagher caught Bob Geldof ‘robbing’ Pink Floyd merchandise

Noel Gallagher saw Bob Geldof stealing Pink Floyd merchandise from the V&A museum because he didn’t want to pay for it.

The former Oasis star was speaking about his friendship with Band Aid founder to the Irish Independent newspaper and recalled how they attended the Pink Floyd retrospective exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London together earlier this year and Bob encouraged him to pocket items from the gift shop.

Noel, 50, said: "I love Bob Geldof. He is a dude, man. I’ll tell you a really funny story. We were at the Pink Floyd exhibition at the V&A and I was exiting through the gift shop and Bob Geldof is kind of looking through the memorabilia. I go, ‘Alright, Bob?’ He handed me a load of Pink Floyd badges and said, ‘Put them in your pocket!’, ‘Are you serious?’ ‘Pink Floyd have got enough f***ing money!’ He was robbing Pink Floyd badges!"

The ‘Holy Mountain’ singer also has a great friendship with Bono and he supported U2 this year on ‘The Joshua Tree Tour 2017’.

Noel loved being on the road with his pal but he couldn’t keep up with hard-drinking Bono, and after spending several says as a guest at Bono’s home he called his tour manager to come and pick him up.

He said he thought to himself, "I’m going straight to rehab, this is too much for me."

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Bono feared for his life

Bono had a "major fright" for his life that shaped U2’s new album.

The 57-year-old singer confirmed his bandmate The Edge’s comments last month that the band’s album, ‘Songs of Experience’ had been delayed after the frontman suffered a "brush with mortality" in 2016, and though the ‘One’ singer – whose multiple fractures in a 2014 bike accident also delayed the record – refused to be drawn on the details, he admitted it shook him up.

He said: "Edge wasn’t fibbing when he said we had to stop and take account of what was going on in the world.

"He just didn’t want to mention what was going on in my world.

"I don’t want to get too into the details of it, for fear of the melodramatic reality TV kerfuffle. A lot of people have these moments, I’ve had a few. Not quite at this level."

Edge added: "It was serious enough that he genuinely had a major fright. But where that brought him to as a writer was an amazing place."

But the rocker insists he is now back to good health.

He said: "I’m way better. I’m on top form. I’m singing like a little girl."

Though the record was initially expected to reflect the changing political climate, Bono admitted his experiences made it more personal than they planned.

He told Q magazine: "The personal and political apocalypse came together. But I think, if we’re honest, the personal elbowed the political out of the way."

Instead, the album came together as a series of letters to Bono’s family, friends, and fans.

He said: "It’s just one of those moments when nothing else matters. So what do you have to say for yourself? And what do you want to say to the people that you love?"

While Bono may have had a health scare, he isn’t slowing down his partying.

Responding to Noel Gallagher – who supported the group on their ‘Joshua Tree’ tour this summer – and his admission he couldn’t keep up with Bono’s drinking, the singer said: "I would never have outed him as a lightweight. I’ve too much respect for the man. But when I go out… Yes, I do go out."

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Noel Gallagher was hungover as he met Ireland’s President

Noel Gallagher had lunch with Irish President Michael Higgins while he was still nursing a hangover.

The 50-year-old star was on tour with rock icons U2 in July when Bono, the band’s lead vocalist, arranged for Noel to meet with the Irish politician in Dublin straight after a heavy night of boozing.

Recalling one of the more surreal incidents during The Joshua Tree Tour, Noel said: "We do the gig in Dublin and we go the after show. I’m staying at his house and we leave at half five in the morning.

"The next thing I remember is my phone going and I’m in this place I don’t know. It’s him on the phone, and he says ‘Oh you’re alive, where are you?’ and I was like, ‘Well I’m supposed to be in your house, but I don’t recognise, where am I?’ I was in a guest house at the bottom of his garden right.

"So he says, ‘Oh you’re alive anyway, come on, everybody’s here waiting for you’ and I was kind of going ‘What for?’ He said, ‘For the lunch I’m throwing in your honour, there’s 75 guests have arrived’."

The former Oasis star admitted he wasn’t in a fit state to attend the bash, which was also attended by the Irish President.

What’s more, Noel couldn’t believe how relentless the fun-loving band, and Bono in particular, were in their partying ways throughout their tour.

Speaking to Christian O’Connell on the Absolute Radio Breakfast Show, Noel recalled: "I said ‘I’ve only just got out of bed’. He said ‘Look the President of Ireland’s just arrived and you’re sitting next to him, so hurry up’. So I had to get showered, get up there ‘whey, ey’ and all that.

"The lunch started at three. Do you know what time it finished? Ten past four in the morning."

Noel also admitted Bono is more resilient to the effects of alcohol these days, despite being seven years older than he is.

Remembering another of their shows in Paris that followed a boozy night out, he said: "I’m sweating pure lager, and he gets up and sings like a 24 year old."

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Adam Clayton and wife welcome baby girl

Adam Clayton and his wife have become proud parents to a baby girl.

The U2 bassist and his spouse Mariana de Carvalho took out a personal advert in the Irish Times newspaper on Tuesday (07.25.17) to share their happy news with the world.

The notice simply read: "Adam and Mariana Clayton are delighted to announce the birth of their beautiful baby girl Alba."

Adam’s U2 bandmate Bono revealed the couple were having a child together when the ‘Beautiful Day’ hitmakers brought their ‘Joshua Tree Tour’ to Twickenham Stadium in London on July 8, telling the sold-out crowd that the pair were expecting a baby.

Adam, 57, and Brazilian Mariana married in a registry office in Dublin, Ireland, in 2013, holding a second ceremony days later on the French Riviera at the 14th-century château in Mandelieu-la-Napoule near Cannes.

Although she did work as a human rights lawyer, Mariana now works as a director at a leading contemporary art gallery, Michael Werner, in London and New York.

Clayton was previously engaged to supermodel Naomi Campbell but had never married before meeting Mariana.

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Bono says Where the Streets Have No Name is ‘unfinished’

U2’s hit single ‘Where the Streets Have No Name’ is "unfinished", according to Bono.

The 57-year-old rock star has revealed his lyrics to the 1987 song are incomplete, even though it’s one of the most popular tracks on U2’s best-known album ‘The Joshua Tree’.

Bono – who stars in the band alongside Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen Jr. and The Edge – explained: "Musically it’s great and the band deserve credit for that, but lyrically it’s just a sketch and I was going to go back and write it out.

"Half of it is an invocation, where you say to a crowd of people ‘Do you want to go to that place? That place of imagination, that place of soul? Do you want to go there, because right now we can go there?’

"To this day when I say those words you get hairs on the back of your neck stand up because you’re going to that place."

By contrast, the band’s producer Brian Eno has never felt like the song is incomplete.

Recalling his conversations with Brian, Bono shared: "Brian said, ‘Incomplete thoughts are generous because they allow the listener to finish them.’ As a songwriter I have to realise that the greatest invitation is an invocation."

Meanwhile, The Edge – whose real name is David Evans – disagrees with Bono’s assessment of the song, saying his bandmate is too harsh on himself.

He told Beats 1: "I love the track, myself. I disagree with Bono. He’s very hard on himself."

Asked what he would like to change about the single, Bono said: "’Where The Streets Have No Name’ is not a great lyric.

"I just wouldn’t have rhymed ‘hide’ with ‘inside’. I knew I could write that better."

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Liam Gallagher blasts Noel’s friends U2 as ‘beige’

Liam Gallagher has blasted U2 as a "bunch of beige f***s".

The 44-year-old rock ‘n’ roll star is not a fan of Bono and co, and his dislike of their music seems to have increased since his estranged older brother Noel Gallagher became their support act for their ‘Joshua Tree Tour’ this summer.

When asked by a fan on Twitter if he would be heading to Twickenham Stadium in London this weekend to watch U2 and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds in action, Liam launched into one of his trademark tirades.

The fan tweeted: "Are you going to see U2 at the weekend? If you are, catch the support act, I’m hearing good things about them."

To which Liam replied: "I’d rather eat my own s**t than listen to them bunch of beige f***s as you were."

The ‘Wall of Glass’ hitmaker then described U2’s brand of music as "toff rock".

Feeling pleased with his online put downs, Liam tweeted: "It’s good to be back never went away you clowns just got the tools now to shine a light on you FAKES (sic)"

Ending his angry tweet spree, Liam posted: "Not scared of bingo and his naff band you can’t bull shit a bullshitter ain’t that the edge … Beware of bongos farts ha ha (sic)"

Noel, 50, was announced back in January to be the main support act for U2 for their special tour marking the 30th anniversary of their seminal 1987 album.

And back then the news didn’t sit well with Liam who accused his sibling – whom he has barely spoken to since Noel quit Oasis in 2009 – of "brown nosing" Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. to get the gig.

Logging onto Twitter, he wrote: "I see all that brown nosing is finally starting to pay off NO SHAME LG x (sic)"

The outspoken rocker’s comments came after Noel admitted how thrilled he is to get to open for his idols.

He said: "It will be both a pleasure and an honor to play my part in what still remains the greatest show on earth."

Liam regularly mocks Noel on the social networking website, frequently comparing pictures of him to a "potato".

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Adam Clayton thanks U2 bandmates

Adam Clayton has thanked his U2 bandmates for their support in helping him overcome alcoholism.

The 57-year-old bassist – who checked into rehab in the early 1990s to get help for his drink problem – is grateful Bono, The Edge, and Larry Mullen Jr. have always stuck by him and kept their policy that it was all of them or none of them as they moved forward with their careers.

He said: "We have a pact with each other. In our band, no one will be a casualty. We all come home, or none of us come home. No one will be left behind. Thank you for honouring that promise, and letting me be in your band."

Despite his problems, Adam doesn’t think he would have the "wonderful life" he does now if he hadn’t had his difficulties.

Speaking as he picked up the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his support of the MusiCares MAP Fund, which offers musicians access to addiction recovery treatment, he told the audience at the Playstation Theater in New York: "I’m not used to achieving anything on my own.

"I’m an alcoholic, addict, but in some ways that devastating disease is what drove me towards this wonderful life I now have. It’s just that I couldn’t take my friend alcohol. At some point I had to leave it behind and claim my full potential."

The ‘One’ hitmaker recalled how he was persuaded to seek help by Eric Clapton – who has battled drug and alcohol addiction himself – in a frank chat, and also thanked The Who’s Pete Townshend for his support while he was in rehab.

And Adam went on to admit he will always be "unreservedly grateful" for the constant support he received from his bandmates.

He said: "I was lucky because I had three friends who could see what was going on and who loved me enough to take up the slack of my failing. Bono, The Edge, and Larry (Mullen) truly supported me before and after I entered recovery, and I am unreservedly grateful for their friendship, understanding and support."

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Liam Gallagher sends birthday message to Noel

Liam Gallagher wished his older brother a happy birthday on Twitter.

The 44-year-old rocker has a strained relationship with Noel Gallagher – who turned 50 on Monday (05.29.17) – and they have barely spoken since their band Oasis split in 2009, but Liam put the bad feeling between them behind him to send him a message via social media.

He simply posted: "Happy 50th rkid stay young LG x (sic)"

However, Liam was not in attendance at his brother’s lavish birthday party on Saturday (05.27.17), which was themed around drug smuggling TV show ‘Narcos’.

Social media posts from the event showed a star-studded guest list at the bash, including Madonna, U2 frontman Bono, actor Michael Fassbender and his actress girlfriend Alicia Vikander, fashion designer Stella McCartney, and Noel’s former Britpop rival Damon Albarn.

Liam previously blasted his brother – who he frequently compares to a potato – for not inviting any of their family to his birthday party.

He fumed on Twitter: "Re potatoes 50th he’s not invited none of his family not even his own mother says a lot about the man and his part planner pair of w***ers (sic)"

And the former Beady Eye frontman recently vowed never to stop mocking the ‘If I Had a Gun’ singer on Twitter.

He said: "I’ll always do it ‘cos it’s fun. I f***ing find it funny anyway. A lot of people tell me to grow up, but I’m not growing up, mate. People go, ‘Behave, 44, behaving like a f**king…’ and all that nonsense, but just because you’ve turned 40 or 50 doesn’t mean you have to start behaving. I don’t f**king think so. Over my dead body."