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"[T]hey failed to see that War was an emotional LP rather than a political one. -- Bono, on Americans' view of the album |
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"[T]hey failed to see that War was an emotional LP rather than a political one. -- Bono, on Americans' view of the album |
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U2 frontman angers with tower project
NEWS.com.au,
November 01, 2007
Rock star Bono's $220 million dream to stamp his mark on the skyline of his home city has hit a wrong note with conservationists.
The U2 frontman and globetrotting anti-poverty preacher plans to build Ireland's tallest tower in Dublin and revamp his band's city centre hotel -- to ensure their legacy lives on long after the music stops. But Bono and the Edge now stand accused of pushing for the destruction of a historic area of Georgian Dublin. The duo have unveiled plans to redevelop the Clarence Hotel on the city's quays, which they bought in 1996. It has become one of the city's favourite celebrity haunts with a guest list that has included Kate Moss and Bill Clinton. But with fewer than 50 bedrooms, its economic success has failed to match its star status. One of the world's great hotels U2 believe their $220 million development -- which will make it Ireland's tallest building boasting 140 rooms -- will create one of the great hotels of the world that will be as synonymous with Dublin as Raffles is with Singapore. "It's going to be an expression of confidence for the city," hotel manager Oliver Sevestre said. The building will be crowned by a "sky catcher" glass dome with a longboat-shaped atrium running up to the roof. The new Clarence will have a spa, gym, swimming pool, creche and music venue. It is hoped that Michelin-starred restaurant the River Cafe will become part of the complex. Heritage destruction 'justified' However, London architect Lord Foster's design includes the demolition of several heritage listed buildings. The designers say the significant contribution the new hotel would make to the economic and social fabric of Dublin justifies the destruction of the protected buildings. Heritage organisation An Taisce spokesman Michael Smith said he would take legal action if city planners give the Clarence go-ahead. U2 are no strangers to legal battles. Five years ago they fought a compulsory purchase order on their recording studio in Dublin's docklands, which was to be demolished as part of a massive urban regeneration scheme in the area. Legal representatives for the band arrived on the first day of public hearings into the development to argue the studio's cultural significance warranted its conservation. "It became a place of pilgrimage for U2 fans so obviously they've got a kind of stake in the area," Irish Times environment editor Frank McDonald said. "It is the new Dublin in a sense and U2 want to be a part of that." Within a matter of days, the band withdrew their objections after they struck a deal with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority to get involved with a project to build Ireland's tallest building on a nearby site, which would house a new recording studio. Bono hypocrisy Some critics have accused Bono of hypocrisy: on the one hand pontificating to the world's richest nations about the needlessness of poverty while on other planning a grand citadel to capitalism. Construction of the U2 Tower is expected to begin next year but other builders who lost out in the competition to develop the tower claim they were unfairly treated and are considering legal action. Planners have yet to decide on the plans to redevelop the Clarence Hotel and it has been reported that Bono and the Edge will sell the hotel if permission is not granted. For the band's legacy in Dublin, it seems U2 may still have not found what they're looking for. © News Limited, 2007.
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