Where Poets Speak Their Heart
Chilean Chancellor Soledad Alvear has announced activities to celebrate the centenary of poet Pablo Neruda. The activities include a wide range of cultural activities, such as lectures and meetings, around the world. Also, with the purpose of recognizing the influence of Pablo Neruda’s life and work in the artistic world, the Chilean Government will deliver 100 medals to the most relevant personalities in the cultural scene. Bono will receive a medal and a diploma signed by the Chilean President Ricardo Lagos on July 12th. Other medals are destined to Ernesto Sabato, Arthur Miller, Mario Vargas Llosa, Jose Saramago, and Mario Benedetti among others.
U2′s new album vertigo reality?
Digital:CC, the Dublin based design company co-owned by Sebastian Clayton, have recently registered two domain names: U2vertigo.com and U2vertigo.net.
This suggests ‘Vertigo’ is the new title, or is one of the titles currently being considered for U2′s new album.
Bono in Bill’s Book
Reader Dave W. sent in these quotes from Bill Clinton’s book My Life. Bono gets three mentions, which – as Dave notes – is three more than Oprah, who got cut from the manuscript.
U2 For Glasto 2005?
The NME is reporting that U2 is #1 on Glastonbury organizer Michael Eavis’ wish-list for Glastonbury 2005:
He told Virtual Festivals: “I know they like to do their own thing but, then again, so does Paul McCartney, and they don’t come much bigger than him.”
McCartney, Oasis, and Muse are headlining this year’s festival, which takes place this weekend in England. Eavis also mentions a desire to re-court Prince, who has come close to headlining the festival twice in the last two years but has pulled out before the lineup was announced.
From Nancy to Bono, with love
Nancy Sinatra talks to Stuart Clark in the latest issue of Hot Press magazine. Clark asks her about U2′s ‘Two shots of, one shot of sad’, which she’s recorded on her new album ‘To Nancy, with love’. She says it was quite emotional to sing and that she changed some of the lyrics to reflect her perspective on her father Frank. Nancy also recounts meeting Bono:
Mute Records announce Virgin Prunes re-release
Mute Records have announced the release of 5 remastered Virgin Prunes CDs.
Formed from ‘Lypton Village’ the same creative gang that spawned U2) in Dublin in mid-1977, for a time the Virgin Prunes were “the most overtly subversive rock group ever to come out of the genre”.
The 2004 Mute re-releases are the first Virgin Prunes CDs to be remastered under the careful guidance of by the band’s former frontman Gavin Friday.
Virginprunes.com will be previewing the new CD artwork and expanded tracklisting over the coming months starting today, with the cover of ‘A New Form of Beauty’.
Featuring Guggi in war paint, this whacked out Hunky Dory-type headshot may well remind you of a certain Boy… It’s all in the eyes.
The release date for the 5 CDs is set for September 27th.
Bono breaks Irish smoking laws
Swearing in the USA, drinking in the day and smoking in The Clarence. When will those rock stars behave like ordinary decent folk, eh? According to Irish news rag ‘The Star’, Bono breached his country’s radical new smoking laws last week when he lit up in his own gaff.
The paper claims Clarence hotel staff reminded their ‘boss’ that smoking isn’t allowed on the premises. Bono had been entertaining the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the hotel’s Tea Rooms.
Steve Lillywhite says “U2 single finished”
Here’s the Edge pictured by Aaron Govern outside Hanover studios on Wednesday. Aaron writes: “Speaking to Edge he confirmed that the band would complete the album ‘by the end of June – first week of July at latest’. [ ... ] When I asked Edge if this would be the last album they would record there, he said that it may not be because ‘it wasn’t expected to be knocked down for another two or three years yet.’”
Let’s Talk Africa
In his continuing efforts to educate people about the AIDS crisis in Africa, Bono has contributed to an HIV/AIDS awareness film titled “Positive Youth.” Developed by Concern and the Dublin AIDS Alliance, the film seeks to teach Irish teenagers about the global pandemic and sexual health. The film premieres in Dublin today.
Bono also speaks about AIDS in Africa in an interview in the new issue of Dazed & Confused, available on newstands this week. The special issue of the magazine focuses on South African news and culture.
Bono does Wilde for Amnesty
Bono will be contributing to a charity video for Art for Amnesty.
Art for Amnesty (in collaboration with Channel 4 and PBS) are releasing the video in October, on the 150th anniversary Oscar Wilde’s birthday. Artists participating will be reading 150 of Wilde’s witticisms on various themed subjects.
David Bowie, Colin Farrell and Stephen Fry are also said to be among the artists approached for the project. Bono will be reading his piece together with Gavin Friday.
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- Column: off the record…, vol. 12-500 February 6, 2012If you missed it last week, please stop reading this OTR and check out Aaron Sams' overview of the 22 tracks that made the final cut for U22, the next U2.com members-only release. It's a super look into how the U2.com audience voted, […]
- @U2 Question of the Month: February 2012 February 6, 2012Welcome to @U2's Question of the Month for February 2012: What are your favorite one or two lines from a U2 lyric? What personal meaning does it have for you? Please send your responses to atu2.com@gmail.com by February 18. We'll post your answers -- and a new question -- on March 7. Want to see what QOM is all about? Check out the responses to pre […]
- @U2 QOM January 2012: Unexpected Meeting February 6, 2012You run into the band somewhere unexpected. Where are you and what happens? (Each month, @U2 puts a spotlight on U2 fans with our "Question of the Month." We pose a question to our readers and invite answers of 200 words or less. If you're interested in taking part, check our home page to see if the current question is still open. If not, chec […]
- 'The Heart Is A Bloom...' February 5, 2012Beautiful Day is one of the tracks you voted for on 'U22'. This is what it was like on U2360°. […]
- U2 manager Paul McGuinness's firm files pretax losses of €1.8m February 4, 2012Pretax losses at the artist management company controlled by U2's manager Paul McGuinness last year increased seven-fold to €1.8 million, writes Gordon Deegan. Accounts filed by Principle Management Ltd show the firm's revenues decreased from €4.8 million to €3.1 million in the year to the end of March 2011. Mr. McGuinness, his long-time associate […]