Bits & Bytes

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

U2 are nominated to Billboard Live Music Awards 2018

Billboard has announced the full list of nominees for the Billboard Live Music Awards, which honor the top tours, festivals, venues, executives and touring artists in music.

U2 are nominated in the "Top Boxscore" category for their four shows at Estádio do Morumbi in São Paulo, Brazil, on Oct. 19-25, 2017.

They’re nominated along with Ed Sheeran at Wembley Stadium (four shows), and Taylor Swift at MetLife Stadium (two shows).

Comedian Roy Wood Jr. will host the awards. The event will take place on Nov. 13 at the Montage in Beverly Hills.

Bono presents Q Award to Noel Gallagher

Bono was in London Wednesday night to present Noel Gallagher with a Q Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. He gave Gallagher one of those patented poetic Bono introductions, which you can hear in the video clip below. Gallagher and Bono have been close mates back to the 1990s; Gallagher and his band, the High Flying Birds, opened 21 shows for U2 on last year's Joshua Tree Tour 2017.

U2 Set List: Milan, Oct. 16, 2018

U2 played its fourth and final show in Milan tonight. "Gloria" returned to the setlist like the rotation song. For the second night in a row, the band included "The Fly" to end the first act. And, "Landlady" was played again at the beginning of the encore. That was its second performance live, and it was offered to U2 members partners: Ali, Morleigh, Ann and Mariana.

Bono mentioned the missing journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and praised his profession. He called journalists "real heroes" for speaking the truth.

The show was dedicated to Paul Allen, Microsoft co-founder who died yesterday.

See full Milan 4 setlist.

Next: Manchester, UK, on Friday.

Bono & Edge guitars being auctioned by Julien's next month

A pair of Bono's guitars and one from The Edge are up for auction next month at "Icons and Idols," a New York City event being hosted by Julien's Auctions. The auction will include:

• one of Edge's Gibson Explorers that he's been using since the original Joshua Tree tour in 1987 (pictured above center)
• one of Bono's autographed Gretsch Irish Falcon guitars that he began using in 2005 (pictured above right)
• a black Gretsch Falcon guitar that Bono used in concert in 2003 at the Pavarotti & Friends charity concert in Modena, Italy (pictured above left)
• two autographed photos of Bono

The auction happens on November 10 at the Hard Rock Cafe in Times Square. There are multiple sessions -- the U2 items will be auctioned in the 1:00 pm session. If you're in the area, everything will be on display from November 5-9. Want to bid? You can do that in person on the 10th, or online anytime before then by visiting JuliensAuctions.com. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Musicares.

U2 Set List: Milan, Oct. 15, 2018

U2 played its third of four shows in Milan on Monday night, and the setlist adjustments continued. Tonight, the band gave "The Fly" its tour premiere as the final song of the opening set. It's the first time "The Fly has been played since the final show of the 360 tour on July 30, 2011, in Moncton, NB, Canada. Later in the show, during "One," Bono namechecked pastor Eugene Peterson and sang the "Hear us coming, Lord" coda for the first time on the E+I tour. Peterson, a longtime friend and collaborator of Bono's, was recently revealed to be entering hospice care.

Here's the full Milan 3 setlist.

Next up is the fourth and final Milan show on Tuesday.

U2 Set List: Milan, Oct. 11-12, 2018

The Experience + Innocence Tour 2018 arrived in Milan, Italy, for four shows. Over two nights, fans enjoyed two different setlists.

The first show had no surprises. The first act still included "Zoo Station," "Stay" and "Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses." Bono talked about the love the country is sharing with refugees. The "Women Of The World Take Over" featured Emma Marrone, a pop-rock Italian singer.

The second show incuded a new song: "Landlady" was performed for the first time. It was a beautiful moment to start the encore, and U2 dedicated it to the women of their lives.

See full Milan 1 set list.

See full Milan 2 set list.

Next: Another two shows in Milan, on Monday and Tuesday.

Willie Williams: U2 to record final show of E+I tour

U2 is planning to record its concert in Berlin on November 13 -- the final show this year of the Experience + Innocence tour. That's according to Willie Williams, who revealed the news to TPi Magazine as part of a lengthy feature on the production and tech specs that power the E+I tour.

Williams also reveals that plans are already afoot for U2's next tour in this exchange that ends the article:

"As we intend to film the last show in Berlin [13 November 2018], we don't want anything that was in the 2015 show," Williams revealed. "So the band have been shaping up alternative numbers while we're programming. Most bands would do that during their production rehearsal period whereas these guys are happy to carry on."

Not for the first time, one ponders on how U2 could possibly follow this latest tour. Does Williams have anything up his sleeve yet? "Of course... it would be rude not to!" he said, flashing a knowing smile. "There are 3 ideas in the bag. They are now off the tracks in terms of what a band should be doing and that is immensely liberating for all of us."

The article is really heavy on technical details like what microphones, lights, audio/visual and other gear the crew is using. It includes some interesting bits for the general fan, too -- revealing at one point, for example, that after every show, each band member is given a copy of the show on an SD card "to review at their convenience."

It's part of the magazine's October 2018 issue, and you can read the full article online. (Thx to Oliver/U2tour.de for the tip.)

Memory Lane: See Rattle and Hum Movie Ad Collection from 1988

The album Rattle and Hum turns 30 today. The film of the same name has its anniversary Oct. 28 (Ireland) and Nov. 4 (North America/U.K.), respectively. 

To commemorate the film premiere, our staffer Ross Perry has compiled an archive of over 100 original newspaper ads that promoted the film. We've created a special Flickr album so you can view them all and perhaps find the city/town/theater where you first experienced it.

View that album here. 

Rattle and Hum at 30: Special Coverage

With the 30th anniversary of Rattle and Hum approaching, our team is preparing articles, interviews and essays to commemorate both the album and the film. That special coverage will begin tomorrow (30 years after the release date of the album).

For a look back at how we honored the 25th anniversary in 2013, click on these links:

• Column: OTR by Matt McGee
• Rattle and Hum at 25: An Interview with Dennis Bell by Matt McGee
• Rattle and Reminisce: Critics Revisit Their Reviews 25 Years Later by Tassoula E. Kokkoris
• Like a Song: Hawkmoon 269 by Sherry Lawrence
• Like a Video: Angel of Harlem by Christopher Endrinal
• U2 Lists: Top 8 Rattle and Hum Movie Quotes by Marylinn Maione
• Rattle and Hum at 25: Staff Memories

U2 releasing 'Hold Me, Thrill Me...' vinyl for RSD Black Friday 2018

U2 will again participate in RSD Black Friday, the annual post-Thanksgiving sales event aimed at helping independent record stores. This year's special release is a limited vinyl edition of "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" with different versions of the song on both sides. One side features the "Gotham Experience Remix," which is the version that's heard during intermission on the Experience + Innocence tour. It features vocals from Gavin Friday and Arcade Fire's Regine Chassagne. The other side features "a new remaster of the original song."

The RSD Black Friday website lists this is a limited edition release of only 7,000 copies. But it's also a "RSD First" release, which means it might be available at other outlets/retailers at some point in the future.

RSD Black Friday happens this year on Friday, November 23. You can see a list of participating stores on the RSD website.

UPDATE, October 10: U2 is also participating in a new event/holiday in the UK called National Album Day. The band will release a special gold-colored vinyl version of The Joshua Tree and a blue vinyl version of Zooropa. National Album Day is this Saturday, October 13, but you can pre-order both albums now through U2.com.

Free: #U2eiTour wallpapers for your smartphone

UPDATE, September 3, 2018: With the addition of a Berlin concert on November 13, we've updated the "Leg 2: November 2018" wallpaper below. If you downloaded it earlier, please download the newer version!

The Experience + Innocence tour is just a week away, and we have a special gift to help you keep track: free wallpapers for your smartphone!

Below you'll find links to five images with all of the dates and cities that U2 is scheduled to visit on the E+I tour this year. There are two wallpapers for leg one, and three for the second leg. You're welcome to save any/all to your phone and use them as your home/lock screen as the tour progresses.

Links to see/save the wallpaper images are below -- enjoy!

Leg 1: May 2018

Click to view

Leg 1: June/July 2018

Click to view

Leg 2: August/September 2018

Click to view

Leg 2: October 2018

Click to view

Leg 2: November 2018 - UPDATED!

Click to view

(Note: We've tested the images on a number of different Apple and Android-based smartphones and are happy with the appearance, but the size of your phone's screen might mean that the fit isn't quite perfect.)