Bits & Bytes

A collection of the latest U2 news and announcements posted by the @U2 staff.

U2 issues Artificial Horizon on vinyl

Chances are good that you've received news of this via email from U2.com: The band has issued its new members-only remix album, Artifical Horizon, in a triple-vinyl set. Only thing is, it's not just for U2.com members. It's available to anyone in the U2.com shop -- members will pay $30, non-members will pay $35. Everyone who orders also gets an immediate MP3 download of an "Unknown Caller" remix done by Snow Patrol. U2.com says the vinyl will only be sold until May 14th, and your members' 25% discount coupon can't be used to order this vinyl set.

The Bono Browser?

When Microsoft unveils a new product, the last thing folks typically think about is U2, but that's not the case with Techradar.com's Gary Marshall. In an article today titled "Why IE9 is the Bono of browsers," Marshall draws countless parallells between the famous front-man and the newest version of the classic browser.

It sounds absurd, but he does make a good point: U2 went from being underdogs to world dominators and fell back just a bit before reclaiming their title. Internet Explorer has endured the same path.

To see if you agree or disagree with the comparison, read the full article here.

More on Bono's Africa trip

Following up on our report last week about Bono being in Ghana: It's actually part of a longer trip to several African countries that The ONE Campaign is calling a "listening and learning tour." Bono (and friends) was in Mozambique on Monday, where he met with the country's president. You can follow along to some degree on One.org, although the recent blog posts don't mention much about Bono, instead focusing on the trip in general. (thx Raul)

U2 Rumor Mill Recap

There are a fair amount of rumors going around about U2's plans for the rest of the year -- these are mostly coming from other U2 sites, so we don't have any direct word or sources able to say how strong the rumors are. Still, if you haven't been keeping up with it all, here's our best attempt at a recap of what's being said.

On U2start.com, a fan posted about an upcoming performance/video shoot (he wasn't sure of the exact plans) on April 13-14 in The Netherlands. He's since removed his original posts about it, though.

The French site U2achtung.com has a list of rumors posted that includes:

• A U2 360 tour DVD to be released on May 21. (We've also heard this from friends/sources. It could be the Pasadena DVD.)
• A new single in June, but no album before the fall at earliest.
• The Achtung Baby remaster out in September. (Which still seems bizarre since next year is the 20th anniversary.)
• U2 may be reworking some old songs for a separate release. (Another Best Of?)

So there you go. You're all caught up on the U2 rumor mill.

Want to see U2 at Glastonbury?

A "limited number" of cancelled tickets for the upcoming Glastonbury Festival will be put on sale next month. According to the Glastonbury Festival web site, the sale will start at 9:00 am (UK time) on April 11th. But, in order to even be eligible, you have to register at glastonburyregistration.co.uk by March 31st. U2 will be the headliner on Friday night, June 25th, in between dates on the U2 360 North American tour. The band has announced that this will be their only UK/Irish concert of the year.