Fancy doing a riff with The Edge? Well you may be able to soon thanks to a new Music App called “WholeWorldBand”.

U2′s The Edge, along with other top Irish and International music names are working on the “WholeWorldBand” app, which will be available for download from iTunes in March.

The idea is the brainchild of former 10CC band member Kevin Godley, and Andy Wood of Cult Motion.

The App will allow Musicians and music fans alike from all over the world will be able to submit their own selection of videos to the “WholeWorldBand” library to create their own favourite band line up, and be given the opportunity to earn money from their performances.

Kevin Godley said: “WholeWorldBand is a revolutionary new online music tool that provides a new platform for distribution while offering the opportunity of new revenue streams for up and coming and established musicians and bands and, in fact, anyone.”

The idea behind the “WholeWorldBand” app is to allows users to choose a track or add themselves to performances of well known acts, or to substitute a famous band member for themselves. Musicians can then record themselves playing or singing with a track, and upload the video to Facebook or Youtube for fellow musicians to watch.

A host of stars Major recording artists including Gavin Friday, The Edge (U2), Ron Wood (Rolling Stones), Gemma Hayes, Cathy Davey, Mik Pyro (Republic of Loose) and Liam O’Maonlai (Hot House Flowers) are already creating performances for the new WholeWorldBand iPhone/iPad app.

The WholeWorldBand app, will be demonstrated at The Music Show on 25 and 26 February, which takes place in the RDS, Dublin.

www.wholeworldband.com

U2′s Bono and The Edge have raised a toast to late theatre producer Tony Adams after the Spider-Man musical smashed Broadway records.

After a shaky start and a string of bad reviews, the stage adaptation of the classic comic has gone on to set the record for the highest ever weekly takings, grossing $2.9 million (£1.8 million) over its nine performances last week.
Bono and The Edge celebrated as Spider-Man broke Broadway records Bono and The Edge celebrated as Spider-Man broke Broadway records

The show is the most expensive to ever have been produced on Broadway and has been years in the making, with Adams approaching Bono and The Edge in 2002 to write the score.

‘For all the problems, there was magic on the stage. Things did get chaotic and messy after our producer Tony Adams died. But this week’s news has us all giddy again and we are raising our glasses to Tony, to our indefatigable cast, crew, creative and production team,’ Bono said.

Reeve Carney currently has the role of Peter Parker, while Patrick Page stars as the Green Goblin and Rebecca Faulkenberry takes the role of Mary Jane.

Wicked has now been relegated to second place, for its $2.2 million gross taken over eight shows in January last year.

Last week proved to be a strong week for many on Broadway, with Wicked taking $2.7 million, the Lion King taking $2.4 million and Hugh Jackman: Back On Broadway pulling in $2 million.

Read more: www.metro.co.uk

It’s part of the promo work for the DVD releases of From The Sky Down. Another video, which we’ve already posted features Bono doing a solo acoustic version of ‘So Cruel’.

Reeve Carney who plays Spider-Man in the musical walks in central New York with other Spider-Men

LARA MARLOWE in Washington

ONE YEAR after Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark began its run as the most expensive and ridiculed Broadway show in history, things are looking up for the musical, which was written by Bono and The Edge of U2.

The first preview on November 28th, 2010 had to be interrupted five times because of technical problems. At the end of the first act, Spider-Man was left dangling over the audience while production assistants tried to reel him in.

And that was just the beginning. The $75 million show was scheduled to have opened officially on December 17th, 2010 but instead went through a record 183 previews. Several actors were injured, including one who fell 20 feet to a basement beneath the stage. The department of labour accused the show of violating workplace safety rules. The director, Julie Taymor – who is now suing the production – was fired last March.

After Ms Taymor was fired, the show was stopped for three weeks as producers transformed its content from dark and sinister to light family fare. Critics had broken the usual embargo to savage the previews. Spider-Man appeared jinxed. Bono and The Edge attended the June 14th premiere, along with the former president Bill Clinton, the actor Robert De Niro, actors Matt Damon and Steve Martin, director Spike Lee and the model Cindy Crawford.

Mr Clinton described the show as “fabulous”, but critics panned it. New York magazine said it had “deteriorated from mind-blowingly misbegotten carnival-of-the-damned to merely embarrassing dud.” The Hollywood Reporter described the score by Bono and The Edge as “mediocre … third rate … shockingly inept.”

During the six months of previews, tickets sold mostly on the ghoulish anticipation of disaster. But since last summer, the musical has thrived. Its producers told the New York Times they have clocked up $12 million in advance ticket sales, mainly from tour and school groups, expect to recoup the entire $75 million investment and eventually take the show abroad.

It appears to be a case of lowbrow Americans shunning high-brow critics. Surveys show that about half the audience are from outside New York and are attending their first Broadway musical. The producers are staging a radio campaign in 50 US states, flying listeners to New York so they can publicise the show back home. They have courted journalists from Brazil, Germany and Mexico to lure non-English speaking tourists.

Philip William McKinley, who replaced Taymor, wants to add new scenes and songs every year, similar to new editions of comic books being issued.

www.irishtimes.com

Rick Madonik, Toronto Star
Bono works the crowd outside Roy Thomson Hall during TIFF 2011

U2 singer Bono and guitarist The Edge were supposed to be part of our Friday feature asking about movies they’d recommend to aspiring young talent.

But, like Frank Sinatra, who Bono once sang a duet with, they did things their own way. They didn’t exactly answer our question — What one movie would you recommend an aspiring young actor or director see, and why? – but they spoke with conviction about two favorite albums (Torches and Horses) and one movie (It Might Get Loud).

Bono and The Edge were talking to TIFF’s Thom Powers during the festival last September. It was an on-stage interview to promote Davis Guggenheim’s opening gala film From the Sky Down, a documentary on the difficult creation of U2′s 1991 album, Achtung Baby.

The Star question was posed to them via Twitter. It might have been our fault for confusing them, because we expanded the query slightly to include both albums and films.

But even though their responses didn’t make our feature Friday, we thought you’d like to know what the two albums and one movie are that the U2 gents say rock their world.

Their responses can also be seen and heard in a TIFF video, which is available here, beginning about the 12-minute mark:

Bono, album: “For me, a seminal album for us would have been Patti Smith’s Horses. You talk about brutal honesty: that opening line, ‘Jesus died for somebody’s sins, but not mine.’ When I was 16, I was like, “I do not know what this woman is on about, but I’d better find out.”

Bono, film: “It Might Get Loud. It’s a documentary Davis (Guggenheim) has made on folk music.” (Bono was being both diplomatic — Guggenheim was sitting next to him — and maybe a bit playful. It Might Get Loud isn’t about folk music, as the title hints.)

The Edge (album only, no film mentioned): “I think Torches by Foster the People is a very interesting new album. Very 21st century pop, but it’s beautifully made and thrilling. You see, we’re always interested in the new thing …. As a guitar player, particularly, it seems to me that the guy who has just picked it up for the first time and is learning the instrument might stumble upon some new angle. I’m always fascinated to see where it’s about to go.”

Peter Howell

http://www.toronto.com/

Click on the following link http://news.yahoo.com/decade-difference-concert/

Concert starts in just under four and a half hours. 10 pm EDT / 7 pm PDT.

By Gordon Deegan

Saturday October 15 2011

The Clarence Hotel — co-owned by U2′s Bono and The Edge — returned to profit last year after three successive years of losses.

However, accounts just filed for the hotel in Dublin’s Temple Bar show it reduced its accumulated losses only after Bono and The Edge’s Clarence Partnership waived a lease payment of €737,000 due from the hotel last year.

The abridged accounts lodged by the 49-room hotel show the business reduced its accumulated losses by €11,643 from €2.578m to €2.566m in the 12 months to the end of December last.

The filings do not provide a turnover figure. The hotel’s manager Clinton Attwell said yesterday: “The hotel continues to perform considering the current market conditions.”

Prior to last year, the business had incurred significant losses with pre-tax losses of €1.64m incurred in 2009 and a loss of €1m in 2008.

The boutique hotel was purchased by Bono, The Edge and a consortium of investors in 1992 and the returns show that the hotel’s shareholders have advanced interest-free loans to the business and they were owed €1.069m at the end of December last.

The shareholders are listed as Bono and The Edge along with financier Derek Quinlan and developer Paddy McKillen.

A note attached to the accounts states “the company continues to meet its day-to-day working capital requirements by way of loans from its directors/shareholders which are unsecured and interest free”.

Future

The note goes on: “These parties have confirmed that they will not seek repayment of such loans for the foreseeable future.

The note adds that directors Bono and The Edge “have confirmed their intention to provide the financial support necessary to enable the company to discharge its liabilities as they fall due and continue its operations for the foreseeable future”.

The Clarence has an annual commitment of €770,000 to lease the building from the Clarence Partnership and €737,000 of that was waived last year. A note shows that the Clarence paid €33,000 in lease payments last year to the partnership and the Clarence Partnership paid the company €33,000 in licence fees.

- Gordon Deegan

http://www.independent.ie

Watch it live only on Yahoo! on October 15 at 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET and Go to Yahoo.com for on-demand clips

Yahoo!:

WHO: JUANES, KENNY CHESNEY, K’NAAN, LADY GAGA, USHER, THE EDGE & BONO, and more artists come together to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the William J. Clinton Foundation

WHAT: An all-star group of the most influential and socially responsible artists in music, film, and television will come together to celebrate the work and impact of President Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. “A Decade of Difference: A Concert Celebrating 10 Years of the William J. Clinton Foundation” will feature special performances by Juanes, Kenny Chesney, K’Naan, Lady Gaga, Usher, XX and a rare acoustic performance by The Edge and Bono. The concert will be held at the iconic Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, CA and will be broadcast live only on Yahoo! (http://clintonconcert.yahoo.com).

WHERE: Watch it live only on Yahoo.com; watch clips and highlights on Yahoo.com following the event. www.yahoo.com and on the new Yahoo! Screen video destination: http://screen.yahoo.com

WHEN: Saturday, October 15, 2011. Concert begins at 7:00 pm PT / 10:00 pm ET.

WHY: Through performances and film, “A Decade of Difference” will highlight the Clinton Foundation’s efforts to improve global health, strengthen economies worldwide, promote healthier childhoods, and protect the environment. Over the past 10 years, President Clinton’s vision and leadership have resulted in nearly 4 million people benefiting from lifesaving HIV/AIDS treatment; more than 12,000 U.S. schools building healthier learning environments; more than 26,000 micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, and smallholder farmers improving their livelihoods and communities; and more than 2.2 million tons of greenhouse gases cut or abated in some of the world’s largest cities. And he has redefined the way we think about giving and philanthropy through his Clinton Global Initiative, whose members have more than 2,000 commitments that have already improved the lives of 300 million people in more than 180 countries. In addition to his Foundation work, President Clinton has served as top United Nations envoy for the Indian Ocean tsunami recovery effort and currently serves as the UN Special Envoy to Haiti and the co-chair of the Interim Haiti Recovery Commission.

Read more: http://www.sunherald.com

In its 36 years, the Toronto International Film Festival has rarely opened with a non-Canadian film and never opened with a documentary. On Thursday night that all changed, as North America’s most prestigious film gathering kicked off this year’s edition with Davis Guggenheim’s U2 documentary “From the Sky Down,” trading patriotism for pizzazz.

Bono and The Edge both walked the red carpet and took the stage of the festival’s Roy Thomson Hall before the premiere of the film, which pulls the curtain back on the band’s artistic methods.

The lead singer offered a wry assessment from the stage about why he and the rest of the band had hesitated to cooperate on this kind of film before.

“We are very protective of our privacy and particularly the creative process, not just because we’re precious, which we are, but just because it’s not that pretty,” he said. “[It's] that old adage that if you knew what went into the sausage you wouldn’t eat it. You got some sausages and mash coming up, ladies and gentlemen,” he added, to laughter from the audience.

The film is a rather procedural look at how the band traveled to a studio in post-Communist Berlin to put together the 1991 album “Achtung Baby” at a critical moment in the band’s history. Members argued over how much to experiment with new musical styles in the wake of the disappointment of their previous album, “Rattle & Hum,” and how much to move away from the more straight-ahead ballads of “The Joshua Tree.”

In the end, the impulse toward more experimental music won out, and it resulted in a mega-selling record that yielded hits such as “One” and “Mysterious Ways.”

Bono’s comments in the film were sometimes funny, but much of the movie is abstract, insider stuff about how he and others find inspiration. While some interview moments and new footage throw a genuine light on the creative process, Bono is also prone to offering homilies like: “The best way through writer’s block is to be truthful.”

The Edge told the Toronto crowd that he was aware of the pitfalls. “It’s a subject that in the wrong hands could be really kind of indulgent,” he said before the screening. (Guggenheim, the issue-oriented American filmmaker behind “An Inconvenient Truth” and “Waiting for Superman,” told 24 Frames earlier this week that he believes the film is “for anyone who is interested in how songs get written.”)

At the screening, the audience was clearly enthused, but in a Canadian way; there was a refreshing lack of hysteria when the rock stars took the stage to introduce the movie. Even with all the firsts, some things don’t change.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com

Ian Gavan, Getty Images

In a letter published July 7, reader Simon Moroney chastised Maryland Sen. Benjamin Cardin for supporting Bono and his ONE campaign. Moroney accused U2 of being “major tax evaders” for moving a “portion of their business to a Dutch tax haven.”

He also condemned Bono for owning a $15 million yacht, a mansion in Dublin and financing the “expensive and lavish” broadway show ‘Spider-Man.’ In addition, he blasts the U2 singer’s ONE campaign, calling it a “lobbying group with no mandate or accountability.”

Now, the Edge has written a letter to the Baltimore Sun defending U2 and his bandmate Bono.

“The recent letter to the editor entitled, “Senator Cardin’s affection for Bono’s foundation is indefensible,” (July 7) by Simon Moroney contains so many inaccuracies that it is pointless to attempt to correct them all,” begins the guitarist. “But the most serious inaccuracy is the totally false and possibly libelous accusation that U2 and Bono have, by moving a part of their business activities to Holland, been involved in tax evasion.”

The Edge goes on to explain that the band’s tax practices are completely legitimate and that the group has even “paid many, many millions of dollars in taxes to the United States Internal Revenue Service over the years.”

Your move, Simon Moroney!

http://ultimateclassicrock.com

Photo: Press

U2′s scored Spider-Man musical has proven to be a box office hit despite a series of setbacks and scathing reviews.

The $75 million (£46m) Broadway show generated $1.7 million (£1.06m) in ticket sales over the last week and was the third most popular musical behind Wicked and The Lion King.

According to the show’s producers, Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark needed to raise $1.2 million (£750,000) in order to stay viable, reports the Associated Press.

The move comes following a series of setbacks which included injuries to cast members, financial problems and scathing reviews.

Production on the show also was shut down for three weeks after original director Julie Taymor stepped down in March.

Philip William McKinley took over as director for a revamped version, which put more emphasis on the love story between central characters Peter Parker and Mary Jane, and the battle with villain the Green Goblin.

http://www.nme.com

by: Amy Sciarretto 9 hours ago

Frazer Harrison, Getty Images

Vocalist Bono and guitarist The Edge of U2 fame got caught in the ‘American Idol’ web on tonight’s season finale, performing a song from the beleaguered Broadway musical ‘Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.’ (We won’t even go there and detail all the injuries, permit problems and stops and starts the show has endured over the past few months!)

Reeve Carney, who stars in the Broadway show, joined the rock legends on he stage, which was covered in — what else? — webs. While the trio performed, an actual Spiderman swung from the ceiling and then tried to plant a kiss on the lips of judge Jennifer Lopez a la a recreation of a key scene from the first movie. How sassy.

At first, we were surprised that iconoclasts like members of U2 would actually perform on show like ‘Idol,’ but it was a smart move to help promote the Broadway show for which they wrote music. It’s simple marketing and even the likes of Bono (who didn’t remove his signature shades) realize the value of promotion through a vehicle like ‘American Idol.’

Watch Bono, The Edge, and Reeve Carney Perform a Song from ‘Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark’

http://popcrush.com

Thursday, May 19, 2011 5:55 PM PDT

The owners of U2 rocker David Evans’s proposed development on Sweetwater Mesa Road above Serra Canyon are going public. Documents sent to The Malibu Times by Fiona Hutton, whose public relations firm was retained by the owners about a month ago, identify the owners as Evans, Tim Delaney, Gillian Delaney, Chantal O’Sullivan, Lisa Menichino and Dean McKillen.

Hutton said in a telephone interview with The Malibu Times that Derek Quinlan, who according to the L.A. Times was a former owner with Evans, has sold his share to a man named Anthony Kilduff.

The owners propose to build five large estates on separate parcels on the 156-acre property, which according to previous reports was purchased by Evans in 2006 with his wife. The project calls for five houses to be built–three exceeding 12,000 square feet, and two smaller ones of approximately 8,000 and 7,000 square feet–along with a 1,600-square-foot access road. Local residents and environmental activists are opposed to the project because significant grading would be required to complete the construction. The residents have expressed concerns over landslides, while environmental activists say the construction would harm the property’s fragile ecosystem.

Previously, only the names of companies, Delaware limited liability limited partnerships (LLLPs), had been known to the public, but Hutton said the owners had revealed themselves to the coastal commission in fall 2010. While the documents were not posted with the staff report for the project on the commission’s website, Hutton said public concerns over secrecy were misplaced because the information is part of the public record and could have been obtained upon request.

Affidavits were sent by the owners to the commission in October and November of 2010 revealing themselves. Morleigh Properties LLLCP is co-owned by Chantal O’Sullivan and Lisa Menichino. Mulryan Properties LLLP is co-owned by Tim and Gillian Delaney. Dean McKellen identifies himself as a co-owner of Ronan Properties LLLP. According to Hutton, Evans and Kilduff own the fourth and fifth shares.

The project has been scheduled several times in the past few years to go before the coastal commission for approval, but has been withdrawn each time. It has received both local and international media attention, due to the celebrity of Evans–who goes by “The Edge”–and also because the coastal commission has branded the project a “coordinated development scheme,” rather than five separate properties by distinct owners.

Further controversy ensued recently when the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy voted to drop its opposition to the project in April in exchange for a $1 million in donations and consulting work and a slew of conservations and development restrictions around the homes that would allow for the construction of a trail through the property in the future.

Critics of the deal, which is contingent on the coastal commission approving the project, charged that the owners of the project had effectively bought off the SMMC, while SMMC head Joe Edmiston countered that the donations would be valuable and beneficial for future users of the trail.

http://www.malibutimes.com

9:19 PM 5/7/2011 by Annie Yuan

Scott Gries/Getty Images

“You’re gonna fly your freak flags forever,” the ousted MTV exec tells a crowd of colleagues and friends.

Former MTV Networks chairman and CEO Judy McGrath bid adieu to 30 years with the company in style.

A star-studded crowd of about 50 that included Stephen Colbert and U2′s Bono and The Edge gathered to see McGrath off at an impromptu party following the announcement of her resignation on Thursday.

According to the NY Post’s Page Six, the beloved exec showed up wearing a laminate around her neck that read “Backstage for Life” and told her friend and colleagues, “I know you know how I feel … I’ll send you an elaborate letter on Gmail … You’re gonna fly your freak flags forever. I love you badly, and you know where I live.”

McGrath, an industry veteran who saw the Viacom-owned MTV Networks through multiple reinventions and helped develop hit shows such as “Unplugged” and “Jersey Shore,” recently announced that she was stepping down from her position after 30 years with the company.

When asked about whispers at the party that Executive Vice President David Janollari would take on McGrath’s responsibilities, an MTV rep told Page Six, “Judy chose to leave now because of the health of all of the networks. MTV is doing incredibly well, so we won’t be making changes. David Janollari will continue his role running programming.”

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com

Friday, 29 April 2011

U2 star The Edge has been bidding to create five homes on a ridge overlooking Malibu since 2006

U2 star The Edge is a step closer in his long-running battle to build a group of mansion homes in a California beauty spot.

He has been bidding to create five homes on a ridge overlooking Malibu since 2006 but there had been concerns over the environmental impact.

However officials at the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy board have now agreed that they will not oppose the plan after being given assurances to allay their concerns and open up the area for greater public access.

The musician and his partners will pay £452,000 to help pay for work on public trails and up to £150,000 for consulting services.

However the project must still get final approval, and there are still some concerns from neighbouring residents.

Don Schmitz, who represents the owners of the Sweetwater Mesa estate, said they had carefully considered concerns about the impact

He added: “The programme that the property owners and the conservancy developed in collaboration will ensure significantly greater public access to natural areas through the linking and development of new coastal hiking trails.”

Read more: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk