Tag: U2

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U2 named highest grossing touring act

U2 had the highest-earning tour of 2011.
 

The ‘Sweetest Thing’ rockers grossed more than $293 million at 44 concerts, watched by almost three million people, as their record-breaking 360 Degree tour concluded with a string of dates in North America, according to Billboard magazine.
 

During the tour – which lasted three years in total – the band, made up of vocalist Bono, guitarist The Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, beat a record set by The Rolling Stones for having the highest grossing tour ever, taking $763 million in total.
 

Bon Jovi fell from last year’s number one spot to second on the list in 2011 after raking $193 million from 68 shows, while Take That’s summer ‘Progress’ tour – their first time on the road as a five-piece since 1995 – generated $183 million to put the band in third.
 

Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and Taylor Swift made up the top five in the list, which was based on tours that took place between November 1, 2010 and November 8, 2011.
 

Lady Gaga made more than $71 million with over 45 shows in her The Monster Ball tour, which concluded in May, while Dutch violinist Andre Rieu and soul band Sade made surprise entries at the bottom of the top 10.
 

 

Billboard magazine’s Highest Earning Tours of 2011:
 

 

1. U2 – $293.3 million
 

2. Bon Jovi – $193 million
 

3. Take That – $185 million
 

4. Roger Waters – $150 million
 

5. Taylor Swift – $97.3 million
 

6. Kenny Chesney – $84.6 million
 

7. Usher – $75 million
 

8. Lady Gaga – $72 million
 

9. Andre Rieu – $67 million
 

10. Sade – $50 million

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Musique

Bono uncertain of U2’s future

As Irish rockers U2 prepare to launch a massive reissue of their popular 1991 album, Achtung Baby, frontman Bono admits he doesn’t know what lies ahead for the band, if anything, reports Rolling Stone.

"I’m not so sure the future hasn’t dried up," said the singer, who admits his bandmates don’t necessarily agree: "The band are like, ‘Will you shut up about being irrelevant?’"

Bono hopes the band can reinvent themselves as they move forward: "Ironically, being forced to look back at this period reminds me of how we might re-emerge for the next phase," he said. "And that doesn’t mean that you have to wear some mad welder’s goggles or dress up in women’s clothing. Reinvention is much deeper than that."

Still, Bono insists, he’d be all right with ending the legendary band: "We’d be very pleased to end on [2009’s] ‘No Line on the Horizon,’" he said, before immediately admitting it’s not a likely scenario: "I doubt that."

A special reissue of Achtung Baby will be released November 1 in recognition of the album’s 20th anniversary. The album – which includes hit singles Mysterious Ways, One and Even Better than the Real Thing – will be available in five different formats with a wide range of bonus material.

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Adele wins 2 Q Awards

On Monday night (October 24), Q magazine held its annual music awards gala in London, reports Contact Music.

British singer Adele won two major awards, best female artist and best track for Rolling in the Deep.

The 23-year-old singer was unable to attend the awards due to ill health, and producer Paul Epworth accepted the awards on her behalf.

Adele is under doctor’s orders for total vocal rest after suffering a vocal cord hemorrhage, and was forced to cancel her U.S. tour earlier this month.

Other winners included Jessie J who won best video for Do It Like a Dude, while rapper Tinie Tempah picked up the award for best male artist.

Coldplay beat out Muse, Arcade Fire, U2, Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian to win best act in the world today. U2 won as the greatest act of the last 25 years.

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Jack White covers U2’s Love is Blindness

To mark the 20th anniversary of the U2 album Achtung Baby, British music magazine Q has asked a dozen artists to each cover a song from the album, reports Spinner. The compilation, AHK-toong-BAY-bi, will be delivered free in the next issue of the publication.

Among the artists who have agreed to take on the challenge, the singer and multi-instrumentalist Jack White decided to cover the last song on the album, Love is Blindness, and the result is now streaming online.

White’s version is a bluesy, howling take, his voice hoarse as he stretches it to the limit and takes the song far beyond its original level.

Other participating artists include Depeche Mode, Patti Smith, Nine Inch Nails, Garbage, The Killers, and Damien Rice.

AHK-Toong BAY-bi will be distributed with the October 25 issue of Q magazine. U2’s own massive reissue of Achtung Baby arrives on Halloween.

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Bono says U2 taking a break

After the biggest tour in their career, with record-breaking attendance of more than 7 million and grossing more than $700 million, Irish quartet U2 has decided to take a very well-deserved break from the spotlight, reports Gibson.

After 110 shows over 23 months around the world for the U2 360° Tour, the four musicians, ages 49 to 51, needed a break, according to a media interview given by Bono during an evening gala for GQ Men of the Year Awards.

“They say every tour is ten days too long. Not with this one. We genuinely loved every single night and at the end we were so sad.”

Despite the nostalgia, the 51-year-old said they needed a break and wouldn’t be back “for a while.”

Earlier, he told the audience: ‘Growing up is not what is meant to happen to a rock band. It has happened, we are now men.’

Although retreating from the spotlight, U2 will return to the studio to work on their next album, Songs of Ascent, expected out sometime in 2012.

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Tribute album planned for U2’s Achtung Baby

British magazine Q has commissioned a unique project to mark the 20th anniversary of one of the most important albums of U2’s career, 1991’s Achtung Baby.

U2 frontman Bono made the announcement at a press conference at the Toronto International Film Festival where the band’s documentary From the Sky Down was making its debut. Directed by Davis Guggenheim, he had previously collaborated with The Edge for the documentary It Might Get Loud in 2008.

From the Sky Down documents the album’s difficult recording period, the band members’ relationships, and U2’s creative process. Archival footage and stills from the recording sessions appear in the film, along with unreleased scenes from Rattle and Hum.

The album Achtung Baby will be reissued in five formats on October 31. Rarities and B-sides will be included with most formats. Premium editions will contain six CDs and four DVDs of bonus material; among these extras are the group’s 1994 concert film Zoo TV: Live from Sydney, the new documentary, unreleased and rare tracks, remixes, and more.

Jack White (Love is Blindness), Depeche Mode (So Cruel), Patti Smith (Until the End of the World) and Damien Rice (One) are among the artists covering songs on the album.

“It’s strange,” noted Bono, “because when I hear the album, when U2 do it, all I hear is what’s wrong with it. But when I heard all these artists doing it, I thought, ‘It’s really good’."

The album will be distributed free with the October 25 issue of Q magazine .

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Musique

U2 re-releases Achtung Baby

To mark the 20th anniversary of one of the most notable albums of their career, U2 will re-release Achtung Baby in five different collector formats, reports Rolling Stone.

For ultimate U2 fans, the Uber Deluxe Edition seems the clear choice, comprising a mother lode of exclusive material including six CDs, four DVDs and five clear vinyl 7-inch singles. An 84-page book, 16 art prints, U2 badges – and even a replica pair of sunglasses made famous by Bono sweeten the pot.

The Super Deluxe Edition will also contain the six CDs and four DVDs, plus a 92-page book and 16 art prints, while the limited Vinyl Box Set offers four LPs – two of which are pressed on translucent blue vinyl – containing special remixes and B-sides.

The Deluxe Edition compiles two CDs containing B-sides and rarities in addition to the original disc and lastly, a Standard Edition coupling the original Achtung Baby with the newly remastered version rounds out the selection.

The remastered album, in all five of its editions, will be available as of November 1.

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K’naan and U2 perform in honor of Somalia

Hip hop artist K’naan visited Minneapolis last Saturday (July 23) to speak with Bono – and wound up onstage with U2 at the TCF Bank Stadium.

K’naan and other members of Somali-based organizations arranged a meeting with the U2 frontman to discuss how his ONE anti-poverty charity could provide towards the famine relief in the African nation.

He was later invited to join the Irish icons on stage that evening.

At the show, Bono introduced his guest to thousands of U2 fans by saying, "I want to introduce you to a very special spirit, a wise man, showing great leadership on behalf of his country, Somalia," reported atu2.com.

As Canadian-born K’naan entered the stage, Bono continued, "Get used to his name because you’re going to hear it a lot."

The pair performed the Ben. E. King classic Stand by Me and finished with a heartfelt embrace. Their performance is now available on YouTube.

"Just got off stage with U2," K’naan wrote afterwards via Twitter. "What an honor to be introduced by Bono in such a humbling way. Look out for new music soon #Somalia."

U2 will soon bring their massive 360 world tour full circle when they make their final stop in Moncton, New Brunswick on July 30.

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U2 sings Happy Birthday to Nelson Mandela

Irish rockers U2 took a moment during their ongoing 360 degree world tour to pay homage to former South African president and Nobel peace prizewinner Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his 93rd birthday, reports Gibson.

The band was performing in Philadelphia last Thursday (July 14) when they took a break from their own tunes in order to lead the crowd in an a cappella version of Happy Birthday for the anti-apartheid activist who had spent 27 birthdays in prison from 1962 to 1989.

Yesterday (July 18), on his actual birthday, Mandela watched a video of the performance during a party in his honor at the Four Seasons in New York City.

The event was hosted by actor Morgan Freeman who had portrayed the former President in the movie Invictus (2009). Other guests in attendance included Brian Williams, Billie Jean King, Charlie Rose and Star Jones.

U2, meanwhile, continue with their world tour, which has now surpassed the Rolling Stones’ A Bigger Bang tour to become the most successful concert series in history. By the time the Irish band wraps up in New Brunswick on July 30, experts estimate they will have grossed over $700 million in ticket sales.

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U2 announces stage sale once tour wraps up

On July 30th in Moncton, New Brunswick, when the U2 360 Tour stage is dismantled for the final time, the most successful concert tour of all time will have been seen by over 7 million fans.

Designed by Bono, Willie Williams and Mark Fisher, the band hopes to recycle three of the massive claw-like stage structures into either permanent or portable pavilions.

Tour director Craig Evans told Billboard, "It’s certainly our intention to see these things recycled into permanent and usable ventures. They’re something you can put up on a waterfront and become an instant skyline icon.”

"It represents too great an engineering feat to just use for [the tour] and put away in a warehouse somewhere." He added that they are in “discussions to send them into different places around the world and have them installed as permanent venues."

While on tour, ‘the claw’ carried a cylindrical video screen able to open to a size of 14,000 square feet and designed to provide fans with the best possible concert viewing experience.

Tried and tested at over 110 concerts in 78 cities in 30 countries, the in-the-round transportable structure was designed to support up to 185 tonnes and engineered to withstand high winds while sustaining seismic loads.