Bits & Bytes

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

Bono and Edge Kick off New Season of Spectacle

The second year of the critically acclaimed Spectacle: Elvis Costello with... will begin next month with a program featuring Bono and The Edge. The show, which features a mixture of discussion and music performances, was taped a few months ago at The Masonic Temple in Toronto. The U.S. premiere will be December 9th on the Sundance Channel, and in Canada the show will air on December 11 on CTV. Visit the Sundance Channel site for additional details about the U.S. premiere, and here's more about the Canadian premiere.

U2 adds show in San Sebastian

U2 has confirmed a concert next year in San Sebastian, Spain. It'll happen on September 26, 2010, at Anoeta Stadium. U2.com presales begin tomorrow (November 25) and public ticket sales begin on December 1st.

Vintage U2

With over 5,700 items in our news database, it's a safe bet you haven't read all of them! Here are three circa early '90s articles about Achtung Baby, one of which was done before recording had begun.

"Songwriting By Accident," Propaganda, 1990

As preparations for the recording of a new U2 record gather momentum, Bono takes time out to talk to Propaganda about the Irish in the World Cup, Edge as "a maniac" on their "abstract" latest recordings, songwriting by accident and the importance of Air India sick bags in the creation of new material. Oh, and, er, a new number presently called "Sick Puppy."

"Soul-searching for a '90s Sound," Newsday, 1992

"We have been shouting at each other for 10 years and we do kill each other over the music," Bono said. "We fistfight over the music. We don't speak over the music. Remember, we were 14, 15, 16 when we met and we didn't even have any [musical] vocabulary. Now we are learning to communicate to each other without throwing the drum kit into the audience or gagging the singer. There has been improvement, but in Berlin, it got very heavy again."

"A Chastened U2 Comes Down to Earth," New York Times, 1992

"You go through the thing where you get the big house and the cars and all that stuff," Bono said. "We had all that when we were 23. So you get to 30, and not much is going to put you off what you're doing. We hit the jackpot, so there is no other reason for us to be together other than the music. We have to make music that interests us if we are to survive, so what we've done is to put people off the scent. We've made a heavy, screwed-up record disguised as trash."

U2 confirmed for Glastonbury

The weekend rumors are confirmed: U2 will headline next year's Glastonbury Festival with a performance on Friday, June 25th. Tickets went on sale last month and sold out quickly. U2.com says, "It will be the only date the band play in the UK and Ireland next year," which means a lot of paid U2.com members will probably be left holding unused ticket codes. The Glastonbury performance will happen while U2 is on its North American U2 360 tour next year; they play Edmonton on June 23 and Minneapolis on June 27.

U2 adds second show in Montreal

U2 has added a second concert in Montreal: July 17, 2010, also at the Hippodrome. That's a day after the original show. Public ticket sales for the second concert will begin on November 30.

HBO gives details about U2 on Rock Hall TV show

Almost all of U2's performance from last month's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary concerts will be included when HBO airs them on November 29th. According to a news release today from HBO (found on Futon Critic), the show will include this as U2's segment:

• "Vertigo" - U2
• "Magnificent" - U2
• "Because the Night" - U2, Patti Smith, Bruce Springsteen
• "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" - U2, Bruce Springsteen
• "Gimme Shelter" - U2, Mick Jagger, Black Eyed Peas
• "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of" - U2, Mick Jagger
• "Beautiful Day" - U2

When you compare that to the actual setlist from U2tours.com, seems the only thing missing is the "Mysterious Ways - Where Is The Love" performance with Black Eyed Peas.

The program premiers on HBO (in the U.S.) on Sunday, November 29, from 8 pm to Midnight. It'll re-air several times throughout December on both HBO and HBO2. There will also be separate two-hour versions airing during December. Check your local HBO listings for air dates and times in your country.