The Edge talks to Bill Graham about his soundtrack album "Captive" - and about the hidden reservoirs the band are charting in their search for the follow-up to "The Unforgettable Fire"
Casting a cold eye on 1986, one must be frank that, although it was a good year, the absolute pinnacles that have marked previous years were absent. Perhaps ‘The Unforgettable Fire’ and ‘Born In The USA’, and their respective tours in 1985, not to mention Live Aid, drained a lot of emotion.
"The Joshua Tree" clarifies how U2's vocation has become the revival and renewal of rock and the recovery of its most romantic values. It also highlights the group's new commitment to the song. Review by Bill Graham
They may sport one of the most original sounds in rock’n’roll – but along the way they’ve been influenced by some of the greats.
STUART BAILIE identifies the ten (plus!) key influences on the music of U2
Still making great music after all these years, Van Morrison is an Irish genius worthy of comparison with the most enduring ’60s legends such as Bob Dylan and Neil Young
With the launch of a commemorative series of Irish postage stamps celebrating four of the nation's most important rock legends, we revisit some of the seminal moments in the careers of Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher, Van Morrison and - first - U2
Never ones to be left behind the times, Bono and chums have gone 3D with the release of U2 3D. Director Catherine Owens gives us the inside track on the historic project.
We asked the fans to vote for U2's Greatest Hits and they did - in their thousands. The result is a selection of 20 tracks which, without doubt, would combine to produce a record to rank among the weightiest and most powerful anthologies in the history of rock. The full track listing is not without its controversial selections and omissions, however. Bill Graham and Niall Stokes take us through the fans' vision of the fab four's dream album.
An aristocrat turned rock’n’roll promoter, Lord Henry Mountcharles has been one of the most intriguing figures in Irish public life over the past twenty years. On the eve of Madonna’s hugely anticipated gig at Slane Castle, Mountcharles talks to Hot Press about his priviledged upbringing, studying at Harvard, running for electoral office, experimenting with drugs, meeting U2, Guns n’ Roses and David Bowie, and his encounters with UFO's. Photography Cathal Dawson
Sprawling across four restless, angry and sometimes contradictory sides, "Rattle And Hum" is nothing less than U2's most ambitious album yet. Review by Bill Graham
While the entity that is U2 continues to be the dominant focus in the creative lives of its four members, away from the band, Bono, The Edge, Adam and Larry have all indulged in extra-curricular activities, bringing them – and their music - into contact with such legends as Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, Keith Richards, and Roy Orbison, By Dermot Stokes
Amid rumours and press reports that his career could be at an end, Larry Mullen reveals the truth about the extent of an injury to his hand that is becoming a common problem for rock drummers. Interview: Niall Stokes
Steve Lillywhite, who produced U2's first three albums – and has featured on the production team of almost all of their records – looks back over the band's career and recalls the highs... and the lows
The Saw Doctors, one of Ireland's most enduring acts are back in the frame. Their To Win Just Once, The Best Of The Saw Doctors album has debuted at No.3 in the Irish album charts.
As the founder of Island Records Chris Blackwell can claim a unique role in the evolution of popular music. He pulls up a chair and shoots the breeze about his Jamaican heritage, his relationship with Bob Marley and taking power-lunches with U2.
For many people it is U2's greatest album. Twenty years on, to mark it's re-release, Colm O'Hare talks to Daniel Lanois and reflects on the extraordinary background to a monumental album.
From "Out Of Control" to "All I Want Is You", Neil McCormick presents a major critical retrospective on the complete recorded works of U2, the band who went from being one of the world's worst cover groups to become a leading force in modern Rock'n'Roll
That was the original headline, back in November 1985, when Tony O'Donoghue - now best known as a presenter on RTE radio - spoke to Joe O'Herlihy (sound engineer with U2, we called him) about the torturous life of the roadie for the following year's Hot Press Yearbook. This is what went down . . .
Niall Stokes draws on his best-selling book Into The Heart: The Stories Behind The Songs Of U2 to offer a unique insight into the way in which some of the greatest songs in the history of popular music came into being.
BECKETT ON FILM is one of the most ambitious cinematic projects ever. Nineteen of Samuel Beckett's plays have been made into movies, directed by and starring numerous A-list figures. To mark the occasion, JOE JACKSON talks to Bono, John Hurt and Enda Hughes about one of the 20th century's greatest dramatists
They are one of the most interesting and enigmatic groups in rock. They are also one of the biggest, with a string of multi-million selling albums to their credit. But they don’t like interviews much, making themselves available for only a handful in Europe to coincide with the release of their new album Around The Sun. Once Peter Buck sits down opposite a microphone, however, a different face of REM reveals itself, as he talks eloquently about life, family, downloads, air rage, Iraq, Bush – and The Thrills.
As the Summer festival season kicks in, our Nostalgia Correspondent recalls the heady, pioneering days of rock in the great Irish outdoors. Keep a hose handy.
The initial rumours were that it was going to be a rock n roll record . Then subsequent whispers hinted at everything from trip-hop to techno to ambient. But U2 s eighth studio album, Pop, is all of these things and more. It s the first album since 1983 that they ve made without the assistance of Brian Eno, it s been a long time in the making roughly a full year, all told and it s selling like the proverbial warm buns. Here, NIALL STOKES talks to BONO and ADAM CLAYTON, as well as co-producers FLOOD, HOWIE B and THE EDGE, about its lengthy genesis and what the band hoped to accomplish in creating it.
Pix: STEPHANE SEDNAOUI .
JJ 72 have been hailed by some critics as the finest thing to come out of Ireland since U2 - and no wonder. With a hugely impressive debut album under their collective belt, the expectations are even higher for the follow-up, I To Sky. They share with their illustrious predecessors a predilection for intense songs of spiritual yearning - and a desire to make music that truly stands the test of time. But is it rock'n'roll?
U2 are about to unleash their new album How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. The world’s media are descending on Dublin. And Bono is back at the punch-bag, getting into fighting shape before the shit storm really explodes. The gloves are off. He’s got work to do. And he’s going to do it. Words Stuart Clark, additional reporting by Niall Stokes.
In the following pages, hear about Bono's top secret solo album; meet The Joshua Trio, the band whose mission is to bring U2's music to a wider audience; thrill to an appreciation of The Fab Four in their native tongue; and, last but not least, discover The Greatest U2 Fan Letter Ever Written! And, remember, don't believe everything you read...
With their biggest dates ever in Ireland looming, LIAM MACKEY dips into voluminous hotpress archives and selects a small sample of what the paper said about U2 over the years
U2 manager Paul McGuinness is among the most powerful players in the music industry. To coincide with the DVD release of U2’s classic ZOO TV Live From Sydney, he talks candidly about his relationship with the band and their controversial decision to move part of their business empire to the Netherlands in order to lower their tax burden.
Are Bono and the boys just a really good rock band or have they succeeded where the priests and politicians have failed and unlocked the neuroses of our colonial past? Joe Jackson indulges in a spot of cultural sparring with John Waters and finds the author of Race of Angels: Ireland and the Genesis of U2 well able to maintain his guard.
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy
Never mind pressies and OD’ing on cranberry sauce, the important thing about Christmas is that it signals the return of the HP-10 Summit. Absolutely no blushes are spared as Ireland’s rock ‘n’ roll elite dissects the musical year that was 2006. Keeping order: Stuart “Paxman” Clark. Taking photos: Graham “Paparazzi” Keogh. Taking the piss: Eyebrowy.
Recorded in Slane Castle in Co. Meath, this was the first U2 album on which the quartet used the studio as brush rather than canvas, with results that were often dense and impressionistic: the majestic title track, the fractious punk-funk of ‘Wire’, the slow motion fireworks of ‘MLK’ and ‘Bad’.
On 25 August 2001 - twenty years after first appearing there in support to Thin Lizzy - U2 play Slane Castle. NIALL STOKES reflects on the extraordinary journey that has led up to this historic, and beautiful, day
"The Joshua Tree" clarifies how U2's vocation has become the revival and renewal of rock and the recovery of its most romantic values. It also highlights the group's new commitment to the song. Review by Bill Graham
An unsatisfying year for albums. In this video age I’m rapidly falling victim to the 'Instant Gratification Syndrome’. Why wade through 45 mins of uneven music for the sake of one or two highlights when it’s so easy to make video and audio recordings of favourite songs.
In a mediocre year, there was one album which offered a complete vindication of our continuing belief in the power of rock’n’roll. Just one – but that one is enough.
Sprawling across four restless, angry and sometimes contradictory sides, "Rattle And Hum" is nothing less than U2's most ambitious album yet. Review by Bill Graham
The opening night of a U2 tour can be fraught with peril. But in the Camp Nou in Barcelona tonight they exorcised the demons of previous tours and started on a winning note. Report: Olaf Tyaransen
Though often overlooked, some of U2’s most exciting and challenging music through the years is to be found hidden away on the flip side of their singles. From U23 to Melon bill graham rides the wild horses of the U2 back catalogue and finds that there’s quite a few thoroughbreds among their many cover versions and experimental remixes.
Neil McCormick, a friend of U2 in their earliest days, who, as a writer, has closely monitored their progress since then, analyses Eamon Dunphy's much-touted 'authorised' biography "Unforgettable Fire" – and can't quite believe what he reads
When we last left U2, at the conclusion of 1997’s Pop, they were marooned on a spaghetti Golgotha, shouting, “Wake up dead man!” at a god who had apparently reneged on his promise to live forever. Well pilgrims, here’s the resurrection shuffle.
