Pete The Chop

U2.com/Fanfire is selling this Chicago 2009 U2 360 Tour lithograph for $100. The product page there says it was taken on September 12, 2009, at the first show of the U.S. tour.

It’s a good concert pic and no doubt makes a cool lithograph. But it’s not from Chicago. One of our forum members, EdgeFest, has posted about this because September 12 was her first show, she wanted a nice souvenir to remember it, and she forked out $100 for this lithograph … only to find out it’s from some other show. “I am seriously ticked off,” she wrote on our forum. “My special lithograph isn’t really that special to me anymore.”

The Evidence

First, here’s the photo being used in the lithograph. You can click to see a larger version. Pay attention to what Edge is wearing and to the signage behind Bono.

Next, consider the photo below of Edge from the September 12th show. He’s wearing a different shirt and different pants. (used courtesy of U2soul)

Then, look at this Edge photo from the next night, September 13th in Chicago. The shirt matches the lithograph, but the pants are different. (used courtesy of Tony Kinlan)

Edge doesn’t change his shirts or pants during a concert, so it’s pretty obvious that this “Chicago” lithograph isn’t actually from either of U2’s Chicago shows. Which begs the obvious question….

Where’s It From?

It’s from the Atlanta show on October 6, 2009. Have a look at this photo below, specifically the background behind the stage. It has the same Miller Lite sign and similar lettering as what’s shown behind the band in the lithograph photo. (used courtesy of borabora_54)

That looks an awful lot like the shot from the lithograph, doesn’t it?

Confirmed…

Actually now, all of the above photographic evidence is overkill. I found the photographer, Brantley Gutierrez, on Twitter and asked him where the photo was taken. He replied earlier this morning:

Final Thoughts

So, U2.com/Fanfire is selling an Atlanta photo as its Chicago lithograph. I’d like to believe this is an honest mistake and that U2.com/Fanfire will remove the lithograph soon, or just correct the listing to say that it’s from Atlanta. If, on the other hand, this is knowingly being sold as the wrong city … well, that’s pretty low.

I’ve shared many emails over the years with some of the folks who run the content side of U2.com, and I know this isn’t the kind of thing they’d do or support. Fanfire on the other hand? Like many fans, I don’t have nearly the same level of faith or trust in them.

In any case, I’ve sent an email to see if we can get this fixed.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

U2.com’s Chicago Lithograph Isn’t From Chicago

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The BBC has admitted coverage of the launch of U2 album No Line On The Horizon last February, went too far – giving “undue prominence” to the band.

Critics said the BBC had given U2 “the sort of publicity money can’t buy”.

The corporation’s editorial complaints unit (ECU) acknowledged that radio coverage of the event, including a rooftop concert, breached guidelines.

The Edge & Bono

It added the use of the slogan U2 = BBC “gave an inappropriate impression of endorsement”.

RadioCentre, the trade body for commercial radio companies, made a formal complaint over the coverage.

Complaints over the free publicity given to the band on BBC TV, radio and online included those of Conservative MP Nigel Evans, who said it was “the sort of publicity money can’t buy”.

“Why should licence fee-payers shoulder the cost of U2’s publicity?”

The ECU admitted that a reference to the BBC being “part of launching this new album”, in an interview between Radio 1 presenter Zane Lowe and U2 singer Bono, was inappropriate.

The body also upheld a complaint that it was inappropriate for the Radio 1 website to contain links to the websites of ticket agents for the band’s concerts.

‘Potentially sensitive’

“The Radio 1 leadership team have reminded executive producers and presenters about the issues to be considered in relation to judgments about undue prominence, and the distinction between the reporting of new artistic work and commercial promotion,” it said, earlier this week.

“The management of BBC Marketing, Communication and Audiences (the Division responsible for the U2 = BBC graphic) has reminded all staff of the need to consult the editorial policy team in a timely manner for advice when potentially sensitive issues such as commercial interests are involved.”

However, complaints about an edition of Jo Whiley’s Radio 1 show, and a BBC News online report of the U2 concert on the roof of Broadcasting House, were not upheld.

A crowd of around 5,000 watched the rooftop show, which capped off a day of promotion for the Irish band’s 12th studio album, with U2 appearing as special guests on Radio 1.

The band performed four tracks during the 20-minute gig, which was broadcast live on DJ Chris Evans’s BBC Radio 2 show.

- BBC

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Elevation Partners, the Silicon Valley private equity firm that counts U2’s Bono among its investors, announced Wednesday that it has committed up to $100 million in funding for reviews site Yelp.

It’s initially investing $25 million in the Series E round, and plans to increase the investment to up to $100 million through the purchase of stock from employees whose stock has vested, as well as other eligible shareholders. Elevation co-founder Marc Bodnick will join Yelp’s board of directors.

The funding round comes just a month after Yelp was reportedly close to a $500 million acquisition by Google, and then is believed to have turned down the deal at the 11th hour. At the time, it was widely believed that Yelp may have made the about-face because a better deal came along.

“We have been able to grow and scale our business quickly, even in the tough economic environment of the last year–a clear indicator that we’ve only begun to realize the potential of local search,” Yelp CEO and co-founder Jeremy Stoppelman said in a release. “This investment in Yelp provides us with even more capital to focus on scaling our already proven business model and we are thrilled to have Elevation as a new partner.”

Translation: They think they can get much bigger than $500 million.

- CNET

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The American Ireland Fund’s annual New York spring gala should easily be a sell-out this year, as Bono will be the special guest of honor.

The 35th annual dinner, set for Thursday, May 6, will take place at The Tent at Lincoln Center. Always one of the best nights on the Irish American social calendar, this year’s gala should be extra-special given the presence of Bono, one of the world’s most famous humanitarians . . . and, of course, rock stars.

The desire to provide music education to Irish schoolchildren brought U2 and the AIF together last year. Irish kids don’t learn music as a core subject in school, unlike students in most other parts of the world. In 2009, the worldwide Ireland Funds and U2 committed $10 million to bring music education to Irish schools, and U2 so far have provided $7 million in funding.

The New York dinner will undoubtedly help to provide a healthy chunk of financing for the worthy goal, so mark your calendar! For more information on the dinner, visit www.irlfunds.org.

- IrishCentral.com

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“Who had the best Super Bowl halftime show?” is the poll question at the L.A. Times‘ Fabulous Forum blog. Hard to believe that as I write this,  U2’s thrilling, unforgettable, highly emotional – and classy – 2002 halftime show leads by just 8 votes over J.J. and J.T.’s “mishap.”

But U2 has quite a gap to overcome if the “best band in the world” is to win this matchup against halftime performances from The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band. So go cast your vote.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

U2 in slight lead ahead Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake

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NPR recently had one of its interns — a young guy, but they don’t say exactly how young — listen to The Joshua Tree for the first time.

Yep, for the first time. It sounds strange, but I have to confess that there are a lot of classic rock albums from the ’60s and ’70s that I’ve never heard in their entirety … albums by The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Doors, etc. I wonder how I would’ve reviewed one of those albums as a U2/The Police/The Cars/Van Halen-loving young man in the 1980s?

Well, the NPR intern ends up with a pretty favorable feeling about The Joshua Tree, but he has some interesting things to say along the way: “Streets” sounds like The Arcade Fire; Bono doesn’t sound sincere; “With or Without You” is too “syrupy,” and so forth.

You can read the full review on NPR.org.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Imagine If You’d Never Heard The Joshua Tree…

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A 28-year-old dance instructor in my hometown of Portland, Ore. now teaches a modernized form of square dancing to attract younger participants.

What do they dance to? Michael Jackson, Tag Team and…U2.

Paul Silveria creates a “hoedown mosh pit” from the moves he choreographs, and sometimes teaches in unconventional spaces (warehouses, for example). That’s great for young folks, but purists aren’t apparently happy about it, seeing it as a threat to the classic pastime.

Read more about it (and find out where you can go square-dancing) here.

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Square Dancing May Give Some “Vertigo”

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The Huffington Post has a list of The Stupidest Pop Lyrics of All Time. On the list? “I’ve got no self control/ Been living like a mole now/ Going down, excavation/ I and I in the sky/ You make me feel like I can fly/ So high/ Elevation.”

I can think of some other U2 lyrics that have made me think, WTF? Is that the best you could come up with? I just realized there seems to be an animal theme:

– “Sometimes you can’t stand the sight of a puppy”
– “I wasn’t gonna buy just anyone’s cockatoo”
– An intellectual tortoise (my friend Melodie’s choice for worse)

I do, however, still love “Who’s Going to Ride Your Wild Horses.” Especially the video with the black-and-white Bono!

This is a post from the @U2 blog.

Stupidest Pop Lyric?

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In case you nodded off before they did their superstar thing together early this morning, here’s the ‘Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour)’ song that U2 have recorded with Jay-Z and Rihanna to help Haiti’s earthquake victims.

Premiered in London as part of George Clooney’s Hope For Haiti telethon it will be available for iTunes download here on January 25, with 100% of the money going to the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund, Oxfam America, Partners In Health, Red Cross, UNICEF, United Nations World Food Programme, and Wyclef Jean’s Yéle Haiti Foundation.

“Sitting in the studio and watching Haiti hurting, I knew immediately I had to do something,” says producer Swizz Beatz who’s co-ordinated the ‘Stranded…’ project. “I reached out to my friends Bono and Jay-Z and asked for their help. Jay and Rihanna sent their vocals and that same night Bono and I went into the studio. It’s important we as a global community all come together to help. Haiti needs us right now.”

There will also be a Hope For Haiti download album featuring the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Coldplay, Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson who all participated in the global TV event, which aired in Ireland on MTV.

- Hotpress.com

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The Edge talks about new album progress and reveals it could be premiered before the band begin touring again.

U2’s new album is well underway and could be released this year. At the recent Golden Globe Awards, which U2 were nominated for Best Soundtrack, The Edge told Entertainment Weekly:

‘We are working on a lot of new songs. Some of them are really, really happy. We’re convinced that we have something really special”.

The guitarist also mentioned the album could be released earlier than expected.

‘It’s like deciding whether we are going to release the album before the tour starts or leave it for a while, we don’t really know yet. Literally, within a day of getting off the road, Bono and I were working on new songs’.

The Edge revealed that the album’s sound was also still to be decided.

‘We are experimenting with a lot of different arrangements, and electronic is one of the things we are playing with. But there are other songs that are very traditional, almost folk. In some ways, that’s the thing we haven’t figured out yet, is where this album is going to end up’.

- Music-news.com

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