REUTERS/Benjamin J. Myers
For most 50-year-olds who have just undergone major back surgery, taking it easy is a priority. Not for U2’s Bono.
The singer just revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone that the band, who are mid way through a world tour, have written material for nearly three new albums and just don’t know what to do with this plethora of material. The songs range from rock, to dance, to the Spider-Man musical to – look away now – “meditative” psalms. Looks like someone’s been a busy bee then.
The band’s last album, No Line On the Horizon, was a commercial failure and even Bono admits the record was “not very accessible, lyrically or musically.” It sold a third as many copies as their previous effort, How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, released in 2004. U2 also canceled their U.S. tour this summer, as well as a headlining spot at the U.K.’s Glastonbury festival, due to Bono’s bad back, and news of the new material may provide some consolation for fans.
However, the question is, what should they do with the new songs? “Now we have to decide how we go about releasing them?” said Bono. “Do we release them in their groups?” Coldplay’s Chris Martin has even been offering him advice. “He called me and said, ‘I hear you’ve got all these albums going. I have a great idea. Why not just pick the best songs from all of them and put them out now?’ And I’m like, ‘Hmm . . .’” Don’t keep us hanging on, Bono, we simply demand more clarity than that!
— Frances Perraudin