U2 talk to Hot Press about their new album, the recession, politics and more

In the new Hot Press, Olaf Tyaransen talks to Bono, Edge, Larry & Adam.

In four separate interviews, the band cover a wide range of issues, revealing their thoughts on the current state of the music scene, and giving us the low down on where the band are at, as they prepare for the international release of their eagerly-awaited new album.

Over 12 pages, the band share their thoughts on the current economic crisis, and criticism about their tax situation.

As The Edge says: "We’re living in Ireland, we’re paying tax in Ireland. We’re totally tax compliant and we always have been. Our business structures and arrangements are there because we operate in every country around the world. We play concerts all over the world, we work all over the world and we pay tax all over the world... in the end, I don’t think most people think that we’re squirreling money in tax havens. We’re not!"

But Larry admits that although the group aren't being hit in the same way by the economic downturn, they're still aware of the effects it's having on people: "[The recession] doesn’t particularly affect me the way it’s affecting other people. I’m a rich rock star. There’s a lot of people really hurting out there and I’m not in that position... There is a certain amount of discomfort. I haven’t felt that before... but I’m definitely feeling it now. There’s a different mood."

Meanwhile, Bono talks about taking on characters to write the songs on No Line On The Horizon: "I’d just kind of worn out my own biography or autobiography. The last two albums were very personal. And I’m not sure if I could bear it any more, let alone anyone else. The irony is, of course, as Oscar Wilde taught us, the mask reveals the man. So you end up in fancy dress revealing your true self. You end up in these very emotional places which you shouldn’t understand, but somehow do."

Plus, The Edge says that the new material is "as good as anything we’ve written", and speaks out on Radiohead's Honesty Box experiment ("I do not like the concept of giving music away free"); Bono and Larry on their political differences of opinion ("We’ve been disagreeing on everything except music for more than 30 years"); and Adam on the media's insatiable appetite for new about Bono ("I don’t know who reads it, but there’s gotta be a point where they say, ‘Okay, enough!’").

Read the full 12-page interview in the new Hot Press, out now, available nationwide or online here