U2LogTalk @ Flickr

Every once in a while our readers request a chatbox. We’ve now opened U2LogTalk @ Flickr.com. To join, you’ll have to register, but it’s free and there’s no excessive advertising. Beside’s chatting you can share photos, make groups and network with your friends.

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You’ll find U2LogTalk under ‘Culture and Society’ – ‘Music’. To open the chatbox, click the large pink ‘Launch Flickr’ button on your userpage.

Flickr’s brand new and still beta-testing… and so are we..

Eventually, we think Flickr can be a very useful place for U2 fans to hang out once the band are on tour – Flickrs unique tools and image e-mailing services will prove especially nifty for sharing images after ( and during!) live shows.

Steve Lillywhite to produce U2’s new album

Just as we were beginning to wonder what on earth was going on with U2’s new album and the deafening silence surrounding the project, Billboard comes with the surprising news that Steve Lillywhite will be producing the album.

Such is the power of U2 that they can pull Lillywhite from semi-retirement. Steve will leave his job as Mercury U.K. joint managing director and start work on production next week.

But wait a minute… what about the work U2 had done with producer Chris Thomas? Does this mean Bono wasn’t kidding when he told RTE presenter Pat Kenny “the band had just spent time in London working on three new songs with a lavish fifty piece orchestra, only to find that the songs were ‘shite'”.

At the time, The Edge added that it was merely ‘back to the drawing board’ on the songs in question. Now it seems that was too optimistic an outlook. One might speculate somewhere along the line the project derailed and that Lillywhite’s there to put it back on track.

Lillywhite’s comments in the article (“this will be the first time I’ve really set up the mikes and done everything for a long time”) suggest the band will start a completely new recording session, which is surprising, to say the least.

This is, however, not the first time the band have switched producers during the recording process. U2 initially went into the studio with Nellee Hooper to record what would eventually become their album Pop, but the work was later overseen by Flood and Howie B.

Update: official news at U2.com in which Paul McGuinness states: ‘There are various producers involved in this album. Chris Thomas has done some great work. It’s good to work with Steve again but it’s not as if we’re starting from scratch.’

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Red Rocks footage uncovered

The city of Denver has taken possession of dozens of reels of the original one-inch film used to record U2’s 1983 Red Rocks concert. The boxes of film were found in the basement of an unidentified Denver man, who still owns the reels.

According to a spokesman for the city, they are in talks with a number of parties to find out whether a portion of the tape can be released.

Full story at dailycamera.com.

U2 Exhibit to Close with a Bang

The U2 exhibit “In the Name of Love: Two Decades of U2” at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, is now in its final weeks. If you have not yet seen the exhibit and want to, you have until February 29 to get to Cleveland (take a parka with you).

For the final weekend of the exhibit, fans in the U2-Midwest group and U2 tribute band Elevation USA have organized some special events. Elevation USA will be performing at the Hard Rock Cafe on February 28 and 29, and a fan gathering will take place at the Marriott Residence Inn on February 28. Visit ElevationUSA.com for more details about the events.

Rush to Read

With a long wait ahead for new music, U2 fans will have to satiate their appetites by reading about the band. One new book featuring the band that promises to be a compelling read is Fools Rush In by Bill Carter. The book chronicles Carter’s experience in Sarajevo, where he worked with an aid organization during the Bosnian War and filmed the documentary “Miss Sarajevo.”

In Fools Rush In, Carter describes how he dodged bullets while delivering aid, befriended Sarajevan artists, and convinced a band from Ireland to help communicate to the world about the Bosnian War’s impact on its people. The book may be purchased at Amazon.co.uk.

Bono Opens Art Exhibition

Last night in Dublin, Bono opened a new exhibition of Italian artist Francesco Clemente’s work at the Irish Museum of Modern Art. Bono agreed to open the exhibition because he is a major fan of Clemente’s work, possessing several of the artist’s paintings in his home.

Attending the event were friends Gavin Friday, Guggi, and Paul McGuinness. Photos at ShowBiz Ireland and Recirca.com.

Shining Like Stars

Continuous play on UK radio stations has caused LMC vs U2 “Take Me to the Clouds Above” (which samples “With or Without You”) to go to number one on the charts in the country. But not every radio station has embraced the track. Popular London station XFM has chosen to champion a cover of “With or Without You” by a youth choir instead. Scala is a 60-member choir from Aarschot, Belgium, who have been receiving international attention for its covers of songs by popular artists like Nirvana, Radiohead, and Garbage. Scala’s cover of the U2 song appears on “Scala on the Rocks–Dream On,” which is available for purchase at Proxis.be. An audioclip of the kiddies singing “With or Without You” can be heard at MCM.net.