Bono and Edge interviews - U2 to play Germany in May 2015?
The interviews have been happening thick and fast. Two of the highest profile were with KROQ and with Jo Whiley, which we reported earlier, and Adam Clayton gave a very interesting interview on Argentinian radio. This article covers one with Edge and two more interviews with Bono.
The biggest news comes from Bono's interview with German radio station SWR3, which you can stream here. At the 7:10 mark, the interviewers asked Bono when U2 would return to Germany. He finally gets around to answering at 8:03: "we'll be back with you next May". After Adam was vague on Argentinian radio, this is remarkably specific. So by the sounds of that, U2 will be touring Europe in May 2015. Bono was also asked about Songs of Experience; he emphasised that "I am the least reliable member of U2" but "about sixty percent [of Experience] is there".
Bono also spoke to Marty Lennartz of Chicago's 93XRT; you can listen here. This interview had no real tour tidbits. Bono did, however, emphasise that U2 are ready to tour: "we've got the tunes and we can play 'em. We can play 'em in a stadium, we can play 'em in a pub, we can play them in a bus station - we've got the tunes." He also dropped some information about the bonus tracks on the deluxe version of Songs of Innocence. "Lucifer's Hands" and "The Crystal Ballroom" are, in Bono's words, a couple of "important songs". He then went on to describe three of the acoustic versions: "Every Breaking Waves" will "really kill ya"; "California" has a "big brass, big soul section like a Van Morrison song"; and there is a version of "Raised By Wolves" that "sounds like African music, Fela Kuti or something".
Meanwhile, The Edge spoke with The Edge. No, he hasn't been admitted to an asylum; he was interviewed by Alan Cross for Toronto station 102.1 The Edge and you can listen here. At the 10:41 mark, Cross asked when U2 would next be on the road. Edge was not as specific as Bono was to the Germans. "We don't have dates that we can announce today" but "next year for sure you will hear about U2 shows" including in Toronto. This led into a discussion with Cross about how U2 would follow a tour as massive as the 360 Tour. Edge expressed distaste for the idea of needing to "top" what had previously been done. Rather, he felt that "when it comes to music, it's really about what's right for that moment". What U2 did on 360 is "no longer fresh, no longer a new thing", and when they go on the road next year the presentation needs to be "something fresh and different and inspiring to us and hopefully to the people that come along and see the show". What could that be? "We're not sure exactly, but we want to do something different."
There was also some additional information about Songs of Experience slightly earlier in the interview, in response to a question at 10:13. Like Bono, Edge did not want to build unreasonable expectations. He emphasised that "it's too early to say for sure" but the band's intention is to get Experience out "in fairly short order".
The biggest news comes from Bono's interview with German radio station SWR3, which you can stream here. At the 7:10 mark, the interviewers asked Bono when U2 would return to Germany. He finally gets around to answering at 8:03: "we'll be back with you next May". After Adam was vague on Argentinian radio, this is remarkably specific. So by the sounds of that, U2 will be touring Europe in May 2015. Bono was also asked about Songs of Experience; he emphasised that "I am the least reliable member of U2" but "about sixty percent [of Experience] is there".
Bono also spoke to Marty Lennartz of Chicago's 93XRT; you can listen here. This interview had no real tour tidbits. Bono did, however, emphasise that U2 are ready to tour: "we've got the tunes and we can play 'em. We can play 'em in a stadium, we can play 'em in a pub, we can play them in a bus station - we've got the tunes." He also dropped some information about the bonus tracks on the deluxe version of Songs of Innocence. "Lucifer's Hands" and "The Crystal Ballroom" are, in Bono's words, a couple of "important songs". He then went on to describe three of the acoustic versions: "Every Breaking Waves" will "really kill ya"; "California" has a "big brass, big soul section like a Van Morrison song"; and there is a version of "Raised By Wolves" that "sounds like African music, Fela Kuti or something".
Meanwhile, The Edge spoke with The Edge. No, he hasn't been admitted to an asylum; he was interviewed by Alan Cross for Toronto station 102.1 The Edge and you can listen here. At the 10:41 mark, Cross asked when U2 would next be on the road. Edge was not as specific as Bono was to the Germans. "We don't have dates that we can announce today" but "next year for sure you will hear about U2 shows" including in Toronto. This led into a discussion with Cross about how U2 would follow a tour as massive as the 360 Tour. Edge expressed distaste for the idea of needing to "top" what had previously been done. Rather, he felt that "when it comes to music, it's really about what's right for that moment". What U2 did on 360 is "no longer fresh, no longer a new thing", and when they go on the road next year the presentation needs to be "something fresh and different and inspiring to us and hopefully to the people that come along and see the show". What could that be? "We're not sure exactly, but we want to do something different."
There was also some additional information about Songs of Experience slightly earlier in the interview, in response to a question at 10:13. Like Bono, Edge did not want to build unreasonable expectations. He emphasised that "it's too early to say for sure" but the band's intention is to get Experience out "in fairly short order".
Posted on by Axver