30 remarkable years: Why McGuinness has been good for U2

Music
23 Mar 09

He’s been at the helm with U2 since 1979. In the intervening time he’s been involved in every aspect of the career of the biggest rock band in the world. In a rare in-depth interview, Paul McGuinness talks about the highs and lows of managing the fab four and reflects on the State of the Nation and the implosion of the Irish economy.

Eight days after Hot Press’s encounter with U2 manager Paul McGuinness, on the eve of the Irish release of No Line On The Horizon, there was an unusual protest held outside the Department of Finance in Dublin. A campaign group called the Debt and Development Coalition Ireland (DDCI) claimed that by moving part of its business to the Netherlands to avail of a better tax rate on royalty payments, U2 was depriving the Exchequer of revenue which could be spent on overseas aid.