Referring to their respective involvements in the iPod marketing campaign, Smith says: “I’m fine with getting our music out to people but I don’t want to be on a TV commercial. There’s no artistic credibility. I’d feel like a jerk if we did that. Black Eyed Peas look like a bunch of idiots.
“The U2 song on the iPod (‘Vertigo’) when it came out was weird and it was longer and had more parts. It’s dangerous to tie yourself in with a product and also the visuals that go along with it.
“I think young people, not old guys like myself, think it’s normal now to have Led Zeppelin on jeans commercials. That’s not normal to me.”
The tirade is unlikely to upset Bono who previously told Hot Press: “Selling-out? Try using that word on 50 Cent or Jay Z or Russell Simmons. This is such a white bread concept. Selling-out means doing something naff – or that you don’t believe in – for money. It’s embarrassing your fans for cash – and I hope we never do that. How cool is the iPOD? It’s a beautiful piece of technology. How cool is the commercial we’ve made with Apple?
Meanwhile, U2 have confirmed that their Zoo TV Live From Sydney tour film will receive a long overdue DVD release in September.
Along with the whole of their November 1993 visit to the Sydney Football Stadium, fans will be able to feast on a bonus disc that includes additional live renditions of ‘Tryin’ To Throw Your Arms Around The World’, ‘Desire’, ‘The Fly’ and ‘Even Better Than The Real Thing’ and three documentaries, A Fistful Of Zoo TV, Zoo TV – The Inside Story and Trabantland.
On the extracurricular front, Bono joins the likes of Sting, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, k.d. lang and George Michael in duetting with Tony Bennett on his new album, which is due in October. The Hewson-assisted track is called ‘I Wanna Be Around’.