Fergus Black, Independent
Ireland's greatest export U2 have seen their wealth drop by 14pc as the recession bites.
And the fortune of "super hoofer" Michael Flatley has plunged by more than a third, according to the latest millionaires rich list.
But there was better news for singer Enya, golfer Padraig Harrington and footballers Damien Duff and Robbie Keane who also feature among the top millionaires.
Described as the definitive guide to the fortunes of the 250 richest people in Ireland and the 1,000 richest in Britain, the Sunday Times Rich List, will be published this weekend.
The list charts the dramatic falls and some surprising rises in the value of the assets in both countries' wealthiest individuals, but a sneak preview gives some indication of the rise and fall in some of the fortunes of well-known stars.
Despite re-igniting his career co-hosting Superstars of Dance on American TV, Michael Flatley has seen his fortune drop by 34pc in a year.
This year Flatley is ranked 27th in Ireland's richest 250. According to the rich list, his wealth is down from (EU)413m in 2008 to (EU)273m because of the fall in value of his property and investments.
Also seeing a drop in its wealth is the band U2. Its career earnings and the residual value of its back catalogue fell by 14pc to (EU)470m from (EU)548m in 2008, mainly because of the global slump in asset values. The band is currently ranked 12th in Ireland on the list.
However, there was happier news for singer Enya. The success of her latest album, And Winter Came has seen the Donegal singer rise up the Rich List to become one of the 100 richest people in Ireland.
Ranked this year at 85, Enya is now worth (EU)93m, up 5pc on 2008 when her fortune was worth (EU)89m and she was ranked 122. Her career album sales total (EU)72m.
Also making the U.K. top 50 list of music millionaires is Van "The Man" Morrison. While his personal wealth fell 9pc to (EU)56m, the Belfast-born Grammy award winner jumped five places on the Rich List to 39th.
One of the few music millionaires to see a rise in his fortune was X Factor judge Simon Cowell.
Ranked 15th among the top 50 music millionaires his personal fortune rose by 7pc to (EU)133m this year, up (EU)9m on his 2008 earnings.
Former Formula 1 (F1) racing driver Eddie Irvine remains the richest sportsman in Ireland despite the fact that his fortune has dropped by a third.
Earnings
Although he retired from F1 in 2003, the Northern Ireland sportstar invested his earnings in property and is currently worth (EU)89m -- down from (EU)133m in 2008.
His fortune ranks him 88th on the overall rich list but third behind boxer Lennox Lewis and footballer and fashion star David Beckham in the sports millionaires' league. Three-time major winner, Padraig Harrington also makes the Rich List "cut." The 37-year-old golfer, who in 2007 became the first Irishman to win the British Open in 60 years, joins Ireland's richest 250 this year with a fortune of (EU)33m -- ranking him at 239.
Footballers Damien Duff and Robbie Keane also make the U.K.'s top 20 young rich list sports millionaires for those aged 30 and under which lists racing driver Jenson Button in pole position with a personal fortune of (EU)44m.
While his team struggles at the foot of the Premiership, Newcastle star Damien Duff is ranked 11th on the list with a fortune of (EU)16m -- unchanged from the previous year.
His Ireland colleague and Tottenham striker Robbie Keane shares 17th place with five other sportstars with his wealth quoted at (
EU)12m -- up (EU)2m on the previous year.
© 2009 Independent.
I AM in Midtown Manhattan, where drivers still play their car horns as if they were musical instruments and shouting in restaurants is sport.
I am a long way from the warm breeze of voices I heard a week ago on Easter Sunday.
“Glorify your name,” the island women sang, as they swayed in a cut sandstone church. I was overwhelmed by a riot of color, an emotional swell that carried me to sea.
Christianity, it turns out, has a rhythm — and it crescendos this time of year. The rumba of Carnival gives way to the slow march of Lent, then to the staccato hymnals of the Easter parade. From revelry to reverie. After 40 days in the desert, sort of …
Carnival — rock stars are good at that.
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It’s 2009. Do You Know Where Your Soul Is?
U2’s Bono is the latest artist to speak out in favor of the Performance Rights Act, which would call for radio stations to pay roylaties to artists for playing their music. Bono joins other supporters such as Smashing Pumpkins founder Billy Corgan, will.i.am, Sheryl Crow, Herbie Hancock and Emmylou Harris, who have all joined the musicFIRST Coalition on Capitol Hill to lobby in favor of the Performance Rights Act.
Bono released a statement on the matter via musicFIRST, which is an advocacy group for artist rights. “While we have many friends at radio, and appreciate the many things that radio has done for our band over the years, we believe it’s only fair that when radio makes money by playing a recording artist’s music and selling advertising, the recording artist should be compensated just as songwriters are already,” said Bono. ”This is a principle accepted by radio broadcasters in virtually every country in the world. The music business is in a state of freefall at the moment, and while, thankfully, this no longer really affects us - there are many young recording artists out there who can no longer earn a living from the sale of their music, or from touring or selling merchandise… yet they remain a vital part of radio playlists throughout the USA. They should not be denied their fair share. In this time of so much positive change coming from Washington, we hope this bill will be embraced and become the law.”
In response to Bono’s statement, NAB EVP Dennis Wharton commented, “The irony is that it will be the less-established performers who will be hurt most by a performance tax. If radio stations are forced to pay to play music, program directors will be less likely to take a chance playing unknown artists and will instead stick with established musicians like Bono. New artists and niche formats will suffer, and Bono and Britney Spears will become wealthier.”
The House Judiciary Committee has been holding hearings on the legislation, and numerous broadcasters have testified that radio is facing an extremely difficult time in this economy as it is, and enacting a performance royalty would be devastating to the industry.
- FMQB
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Bono Favors Performance Rights Act
More than 400 mourners including U2 frontman BONO and funnyman STEPHEN FRY turned out to pay their respects to late writer/broadcaster SIR CLEMENT FREUD at his funeral on Friday (24Apr09).
The former politician, whose grandfather was legendary psychiatrist Sigmund Freud and his brother artist Lucien Freud, died earlier this month (15Apr09) at the age of 84.
Freud was laid to rest with a memorial service in London on Friday afternoon, which would have been his 85th birthday, with members of the entertainment industry mixing with politicians and journalists to pay tribute to the veteran star.
British prime minister Gordon Brown read an address during the service.
Freud is survived by his wife of 59 years, Jill, five children - including PR guru Matthew and successful broadcaster Emma - and 17 grandchildren.
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I don’t know how I missed this when it was first published, but back in early December Goldmine magazine posted their full review of U2-A Diary, and it’s probably the best review of all. Check this out:
The timeline McGee sets up and the way he strings together quotes from U2 insiders makes for an easy, compelling read, and the book is full of superb black-and-white images — some of them rarely seen before — that only serve to enhance McGee’s exhaustive history of a band that still matters.
How cool is that?!? And the review also includes the short Q&A that we did via email. I wish I’d seen this when it was first published, but I’m glad to have found it at all.
Here’s a look at two cover versions of Magnificent that have been uploaded to YouTube and are making the rounds. One is acoustic and one is on piano:
And … for good measure, here’s U2’s version live from Somerville Theatre in Massachusetts.
The Magnificent single will officially be released on May 4. The band recently shot an as yet unseen video for the song in Fez, with Alex Courtes. (Related: U2.com - Magnificent Morocco)
I can’t wait to see where U2 decides to place this song in the setlist for the live shows.
-This post brought to you by Scatter O’ Light.
This is a post from the @U2 blog.
Scattered Thoughts: Magnificent Covers
I said a month or two in an OTR column that this “Edge vs. Malibu” story wasn’t gonna go away anytime soon, and that Edge would have to start giving his side of the story. Seems that’s exactly what he’s doing. CNN was reporting the news today….
This is a post from the @U2 blog.
Look what arrived in the mail this weekend:
It’s the Japanese translation of U2 - A Diary! The book is smaller than the original, but also came out at exactly 336 pages. Oh, and unlike the original, this one is a hardcover. I like it!
Seeing your name on any book is cool beyond words, but to then get to see your name on a book that’s been translated into another language? Are you kidding? Totally cool and surreal.
I hope the U2 fans in Japan, and any Japanese speakers/readers around the world who might order this version, enjoy the book. I’m told that the publisher who bought the rights and did the translation has a very good reputation for quality work. Sure looks like it from what I can tell … then again, I can’t understand a word of what’s inside.
Josh Grossberg, E! Online
Los Angeles (E! Online) – You might say The Edge is having boundary issues.
The U2 guitarist's plans to build five mountaintop mansions in Malibu with fantastic oceanside views is facing fierce opposition from some famous NIMBYs concerned the homes will be an environmental catastrophe.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the proposed project would be built above homes belonging to the likes of Dick Van Dyke, Kelsey Grammer and James Cameron and would require some extensive and tricky engineering, including extension of a road down a rugged elevation, grading 70,000 cubic yards of hillside and installing water lines.
"The downside of this is a permanently scarred mountainside for the benefit of a very few that for many years all will view," Jefferson Wagner, a Malibu councilman, told the newspaper.
"For somebody so revered even to be orchestrating this type of development in such a sensitive area is hypocritical."
The Edge, whose real name is David Evans, promises development on the properties will address those concerns with care.
"My family and I love Malibu, having maintained a residence here for more than a decade," he told the Times. "These homes will be some of the most environmentally sensitive ever designed in Malibu—or anywhere in the world. I'm disappointed that certain critics either don't have the facts or have ulterior motives."
The Grammy-winning Rock and Roll Hall of Famer has "certificates of compliance" from Los Angeles County establishing that the land he owns meets all legal requirements.
Edge added that he and Irish real estate investor Derek Quinlan plan to take up residence in two of the homes and most likely flip the other three, which has rankled some neighbors whose peace and quiet will be rattled by all the building.
The California Coastal Commission is expected to review the environmental impact of the project in June.
This is not the first fight Evans has found himself in with neighbors.
He and the rest of U2 came under fire in their hometown of Dublin for now defunct plans to build the so-called U2 Tower, a proposed skyscraper in the heart of the city that would've been the tallest in Ireland. Preservationists claimed the $220 million project would have resulted in the tearing down of four adjacent historic buildings.
Copyright © 2009 E! Entertainment Television, Inc..
… filling Dublin’s Croke Park underneath U2’s 360 Tour stage. Here’s what it might look like:
This is from a U2tour.de article (in German) that talks about the stage design and shows several different versions, including how it evolved from original ideas started years ago.
If you click through to visit U2tour.de, you’ll find this image and can click it to see an even larger — and very cool — version of what the stage might look like inside Dublin’s cavernous Croke Park.
This is a post from the @U2 blog.