Month: June 2003

American to Introduce U2 at Special Olympics

katie_meade.jpg
Katie Meade from Des Moines, Iowa will introduce U2’s performance at the opening ceremony for the Special Olympics tomorrow. Katie is an athlete participating in the events of swimming and gymnastics, as well as an international global messenger for the Special Olympics. In her role as a global messenger, Katie hopes to break down barriers that keep people from participating in Special Olympics by educating the public on the benefits of participating in Special Olympics.

Continue reading →

SOS Mandela Concert Rescheduled

The SOS Mandela concert has been rescheduled for November 30. The concert was originally planned for February 2 on Robben Island in South Africa, but was cancelled due to a disagreement between the funders and organizers. According to MTV, Bono and Queen are the only artists confirmed for the event so far.

All The War You Can’t Leave Baby

Long-time U2 fan Ruby shares an amusing discussion she had with Steve Averill at the Rock Hall last weekend:

“I’d heard/read somewhere that Four5One had heard a half dozen tracks of the new [U2] stuff, so I was curious what they thought of the material. I asked Averill at the book signing if it was true that the new stuff was along the sonic lines of All That You Can’t Leave Behind. He initially said, ‘Yes,’ but then followed with, ‘Actually, it sounded more like War but with a harder edge…and with the depth of Achtung Baby.‘ Laughing, I asked him, ‘So you are sure they won’t turn around and give us, say, Pop part two — more techno?’ And he said, very definitely, that this was indeed a guitar-driven album.”

Bono on Jack London Square

BonoOaklandJune62003.jpg

One of our readers, Susan Michael, ran into Bono down the street from her house in Oakland on June 6 and managed to snap a candid of him there.

She tells us:
“Bono hung out at Jack’s Bistro in Jack London Square from lunch and into the afternoon. Reports from my bartender friends are that he was sipping Jameson’s. He was charming and gracious to those of us that approached him after he came out of the restaurant. I apologized for interupting his conversation with his companions, gave him a flower, and he gave me a big hug! This brief encounter just reinforced my opinion of him as a great talent, humanitarian, and a cool person!”

Peter and the Wolf update

Have you pre-ordered the Peter and the Wolf boxed set? No? Well, think again. U2log.com reveals a little more of its contents:

  • The cover you’ve seen is the cover of the box that holds the book and CD.
  • The image on the box is ‘Peter’ ( wearing fly glasses ) and the wolf, drawn by Bono.
  • The book’s cover will be a single picture of Peter, the CD will just have the wolf on it
  • The CD will be a digipack. “Sleeve notes” will be in the book.
  • The CD (described to us as an “E-CD”) will contain the music as recorded by the Friday/Seezer Ensembe and narration by Gavin, bio’s of the musicians, plus video outtakes of Bono painting with his kids and the Friday/Seezer Ensemble recording the music.
  • The enhanced CD is being put together by Sebastian Clayton.
  • Bono’s drawing of the story’s cat is apparently based on his wife. The feline’s wearing a bra. The drawing of Peter’s grandfather’s based on Bono’s own grandfather.
  • The main drawings/paintings were done by Bono, the filigree work is done by his daughters Eve and Jordan.
  • The paintings are quite humourous wherease the music/narration will be a little naughty in typical Friday-fashion. The whole thing is said to be ‘cute and arty’.

We hope to be able to show you some images from the book and cd soon.