Dave Fanning: Why Bono is Ireland's Greatest


Dave Fanning champions U2 singer Bono in RTE’s search for ‘Ireland’s Greatest’. Bono is the only popculture hero left in the competition. He is up against Irish leaders, politicians and historical figures Michael Collins, Mary Robinson, John Hume and James Connolly. Fanning’s portrait was broadcast on the 27th of September. The final decision will be made by public vote.
Fast-talking Fanning has recently published his autobiography entitled ‘The Thing is’ which details the unique story of his role in the launch of U2 and his ongoing friendship with the band, delving into their humble beginnings and rise to fame. Fanning joined Irish DJ (and frontman of Something Happens) Tom Dunne in the Newstalk studios today to talk about his book (U2 content starts 9 minutes into the interview).

U2360 – Estádio Cidade de Coimbra – Coimbra, Portugal (II)


U2 play their second night in Coimbra, Portugal. In celebration of the reception the Portuguese audience gave U2 the first night, the band treat the crowd to the live premiere of “Boy Falls From the Sky”, the song written by Bono and The Edge for the Spider-man musical. Some fans at the show reported that they thought Bono experienced problems during the first half of the show (GOYB and Magnificent), couldn’t sing for a bit and seemed to be in pain. The missing vocals and improvised lyrics were obvious from the show’s live audio feed (as provided by fans), but the rest of the show continued without apparent problems, although Bono didn’t swing on the wheelie microphone at all during Ultra Violet. “Bad” was on the setlist (after Streets), but wasn’t played. With or Without You was dedicated to ‘the Ryan family’, by which we presume Bono meant the relatives of Irish broadcaster Gerry Ryan who died in April this year.
Setlist