Bono, George Lucas and Cate Blanchett are amongst guests at the Vanity Fair Party in the Eden Roc hotel during the Cannes Film Festival, May 19, 2008. (click for full size)
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Top Story - June 30, 2008
U2 to Mandela: Sorry
Stephen Maguire
U2 were forced to pulled out of a planned trip to help Nelson Mandela celebrate his 90th birthday party -- to concentrate on their latest album.
The supergroup were due to join a host of other stars at London's Hyde Park on Friday for a special concert.
But the group backed out at the last minute -- with Bono and the Edge sending a video message instead.
The millionaire rockers are holed up in their Hanover Quay studios in Dublin putting the final touches to their new album which is expected to be released in October.
A source close to the band said they were bitterly disappointed they couldn't make the party.
"The band have always been supporters of the anti-apartheid movements and became personal friends with Mr. Mandela. They wanted to go but are simply snowed under," said the source.
11 years and counting, the U2 Station has served millions of U2 fans on the net. We are here to constantly improve this website and provide you with world class content on U2. Please email us If you would like to become a contributing writer to this website.
Thanks to the technology of YouTube, watching videos and movie clips online is a
breeze. Here within this section, we have painstakingly put together a list of
over 80 U2 music videos that you can watch instantly for free. Chronologically
ordered (cleverly separated by decade) and featuring video information and unique
commentary from various directors, you now have access to the power of YouTube
right here on the U2 Station. Additional links to films and other videos from U2
will be added below. Please note that the quality of video will vary between
each selection and most are of lower quality (U2Station.com unfortunately has no
control over this).
"The band wanted to make a video about another culture, another world, paying
hommage to Arab culture. With my Egyptian background I was totally into the
idea. I chose Fes, a 1500 year old Moroccan city, for a deeper, authentic
atmosphere. I hoped that everything would unfold while shooting, but as we
started our first day's shooting, as I led crew and band through tiny
labyrinthal streets of the Medina, I started to panic: was bringing U2 to Fes
making any sense? I wanted U2 to merge with the Arab culture, and not have it
look out of place, without making them look stupid, and possibly insulting the
Arab world. All day they patiently followed my directions, but every set-up
seemed touristy. On the second day, to avoid any more stress, I started with
just Bono. I set him up against a beautiful wall and managed, with the help of a
distorted mirror, to suggest the kind of blending of the two worlds that I had
been looking for. A way to take reality out of both the band and the city, to
create a dream, a mysterious place between real world and fantasy. Finally, I
was getting somewhere. Bono looked at the takes and got very excited. I was
hugely relieved and kept shooting the entire day through the distorted mirror,
or any type of glass, that would give that perfect surrealistic layer to every
image." - Stéphane Sednaoui
"What you see in the beginning of the video are circles, U2 stand in a circle
and you see the circle of the lamp. A circle is 'one'. That is one reference to
'ONE'. Some others: "Father, Son and Holy Ghost are 'One'. That explains the
presence of Bob, Bono's father. And then man and wife are "One" so I have played
with that a little bit, each of the band is at some point a woman. There are two
cars, one female and one male. Both painted by me by the way. It's all filmed in
Berlin where the wall had just come down so that city had become 'one'. There
are references to being out of balance when you are on your own although that is
open to interpretation, but you see Bob standing on a see-saw. In one image he
is standing in front of what was left of the wall at the time, with the year
1955 painted on it where it says '1' underneath. That is also a reference to me
but no-one got that I guess. ONE is the video where I have put more time, energy
and emotion into than any other video, and when the band turned the result down,
it was not an easy time for me. I re-edited it for them but to no avail.
Fortunately, they came back on their decision four months later and released it
to the world, and I am very grateful for that as I believe it is their best
video. But that is a subjective view I know. I have since restored it to its
original version but the version on this compilation is the one that was
released to MTV." - Anton Corbijn
This video was filmed in black and white with a grid-like background as a tribute
to Eadweard Muybridge. Muybridge was a photographer who was the first person to
successfully capture fast motion on film, using his device, coincidentally named
the Zoopraxiscope.
The song became an invitation for Wim Wenders for his film "Faraway, So Close", and Wenders also
directed the video which was shot in October 1993 in Berlin. It shows U2 as guardian angels who
climb down from the sky, a young band while playing their own songs to help. "There is a unique
connection between Rock'n Roll and film," Wenders says, "It's great that these energies unite
because the two media are best to investigate the spirit of the times and places. I think Bono feels
the same way. If one has seen ZOO TV or PopMart, it becomes clear, how much both are connected with
reflection about media, language and the future of the pictures. Something happens in U2's music,
and in Bono's way of thinking, which is very closely connected with my work." At the scene of the
"angel hits the ground" Wenders says in the video: "I was easily shocked when I saw Bono
fall on the ground, but he had not injured himself - he was protected." - Martin Wroe
From the soundtrack to the movie Batman Forever. Bono battles between two of his
alter-egos from the Zoo TV Tour: The Fly and Mr. MacPhisto. This was intended to
parallel the conflict between Bruce Wayne's ordinary playboy persona and his
crime-fighting Batman persona.
Filmed in Parco Novi Sad, Modena, Italy, and Sarajevo, Bosnia, this video is a
montage of three different events: the beauty contest described in the song, the
original performance from the 'Pavarotti and Friends' concert, and a tour
through the streets of war-torn Sarajevo, under gunfire from the nearby troops.
Shot in London, December 1997, this unique music video captures dozens of musicians
in support of BBC's charity fund for "Children in Need".
Artists included in the video are:
00:25 Lou Reed
00:35 Bono (of U2)
00:39 Sky (of Morcheeba)
00:47 David Bowie
00:51 Suzanne Vega
00:56 Elton John
01:06 Boyzone
01:10 Lesley Garrett (opera singer)
01:17 Burning Spear (reggae singer)
01:21 Bono (of U2)
01:25 Thomas Allen (opera singer)
01:29 Brodsky Quartet
01:33 Heather Small (of M People)
01:39 Emmylou Harris (country singer)
01:44 Tammy Wynette (country singer)
01:48 Shane McGowan (of The Pogues)
01:52 Sheona White (young musician of the year, 1997)
01:55 Dr John (R&B singer)
02:00 David Bowie
02:05 Robert Cray (blues singer)
02:09 Huey (of Fun Lovin' Criminas)
02:15 Ian Brodie (of Lightning Seeds)
02:18 Gabrielle
02:24 Dr John (R&B singer)
02:28 Evan Dando (of The Lemonheads)
02:34 Emmylou Harris (country singer)
02:39 Courtney Pine (jazz saxophonist) & BBC Symphony Orch
02:55 Brett Anderson (of Suede)
03:03 Visual Ministery Choir
03:05 Joan Armatrading
03:08 Laurie Anderson
03:16 Heather Small (of M People)
03:25 Tom Jones
03:58 Lou Reed
Filmed in Dublin, September 1998. Bono apologizes to his wife Ali (seen at the beginning
of the video) because he forgot her birthday. Featuring Boyzone and Bono's brother
Norman (the cook).
Dublin - phonecall: "We want to shoot something simple and low key in a barber's shop"
was the brief. First thoughts... All U2's hairstyles From BOY to POP. Each of the band
getting new haircuts on camera. An exchange of haircuts, Adam with Edge's, Bono with
Larry's, blah blah etc etc. CUT TO:
Dublin video meeting: The barber's shop concept is dead. We're now staging Bono's
apology to Ali for forgetting her birthday and we're not talking chocolates and a bunch
of flowers. Producer Ned O'Hanlon, who arrived thinking scissors and wigs, is turning a
funny colour as we're planning to shoot one, continuous tracking shot featuring half the
population of Dublin and an elephant.
Dublin - shoot: We're losing the light. Bono, plus hand puppet, has delivered 11 takes
of Buster Keaton magic but the diva bitch elephant from hell (Belgium actually) hasn't,
as yet, deigned to appear in a single shot.
Dublin - post: Thank fuck for take 12.
- Kevin Godley
Proceeds from the sale of the single went to Net Aid, an organization set up by
Cisco Systems and the United Nations to help the poorest nations in the world, as
well as Wyclef's foundation which aids refugees.
