U2 and Bob Dylan producer Daniel Lanois has admitted he is lucky to be alive after he was involved in a motorcycle accident last month.

The Quebec-born musician and producer broke six bones, cracked his pelvis and suffered internal bleeding in his right lung following the crash in Los Angeles.

“I was on my bike with a friend of mine on the back and a guy coming the other way decided to turn in front of me into a variety store,” he told Rolling Stone.

“I veered to miss him, but I hit an industrial box on the sidewalk going 35 miles per hour. I blacked out and when I came to I was laying on my back in the parking lot and people were telling me, ‘Don’t move.’ Then they hauled me away to a hospital and I had to lay there like a vegetable for three weeks.”

The producer has been in a wheelchair ever since he was involved in the crash at the beginning of June.

The accident also forced the postponement of a series of tour dates with his new group Black Dub, who were due to play the Jazz Café in London yesterday (July 27).

- NME

Even though U2 topped Forbes’ recently released list of top-earning music acts of last year, the band’s insurance firm isn’t quite so lucky.

Bono (and U2) performs at Croke Park

Insurance broker Robertson Taylor incurred a bill of $17 million in the wake of the back injury Bono sustained during tour rehearsals, according to The Sun.

Bono required emergency surgery, and the band had to subsequently table their US summer tour and cancel their first-ever headlining appearance at the Glastonbury festival.

Along with Bono’s pain and suffering, and the band losing millions in tour revenue, the insurance company also took a hit.

Bono is currently focusing on his recovery and the band’s tour is being rescheduled for 2011.

Who is your favorite member of U2: Bono or The Edge? Who has a cooler name?

—Amy Sciarretto

U2 are reworking two of their classic songs in collaboration with Dave Hollister, a member of the American R&B group Blackstreet.

Hollister revealed his involvement with the Dublin band by posting on his Twitter page: “In the studio working with U2! Man I’m excited! Bono baby!!!!!!!!!!!!”

Apparently, the two tracks being reworked are ‘All I Want Is You’, from the 1988 album “Rattle and Hum”, and ‘Grace,’ from 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.”

U2 will be returning to their tour next month following Bono’s back surgery. The rock star has declared he’s now “fighting fit” after undergoing the procedure.

- IrishCentral.com

Live Nation Entertainment announced today that the U2 360° tour dates in the US, which were recently postponed due to Bono’s emergency back surgery, have all been rescheduled for Spring/Summer 2011 with all tickets being valid at the rescheduled performances.

The 2010 European tour, which has not been affected, begins as scheduled on August 6th in Turin.

U2’s manager Paul McGuinness thanked fans for their ongoing support, “We’re delighted the dates are rescheduled and in all the same venues we originally planned to play. It hasn’t been easy to accomplish this and I’d like to thank the managers of the many venues and sports teams across North America and Live Nation Global Touring for their help and cooperation in making this complex new plan possible. Above all we want to thank the U2 fans for bearing with us. They’re the best and the band wants to get back to where they belong, surrounded by their audience.”

The U2 360° Tour is produced by Live Nation Global Touring and sponsored in 2010 by BlackBerry.

The North American Tour rescheduled dates, are confirmed as follows:

Tickets for the previously scheduled performances will be honoured at the door. Tickets for the rescheduled performances will be available at www.livenation.com and all usual outlets.  Refunds if required available at point of purchase.

Additional dates and cities to be confirmed.

- U2.com

(RTTNews) – U2 frontman Bono and his private equity firm Elevation Partners have reportedly purchased a large stake in social networking giant Facebook. Last November, the firm bought 2.5 million shares in the company and have now added an additional five million shares, says blog TechCrunch.com.

To date, Bono and his crew have invested a whopping $210 million dollars in Facebook. The large purchase comes on the heels of a disastrous investment in failing mobile device maker Palm Inc. last year.

Bono’s big investment in Facebook is not the only business news surrounding the band this week. They were also collectively named number seven on Forbes Magazine’s list of the 100 Most Powerful Celebrities. The list considers each celebrity’s overall standing including income, tv ratings, radio rankings and Internet presence.

by RTT Staff Writer

Muse were joined onstage by U2 guitarist The Edge as they headlined Glastonbury tonight (June 26).

The space-rock trio played the closing Pyramid Stage for the second time in six years, bringing the second day to an epic finish.

The band brought their special brand of bombast, despite a relatively-stripped down show compared to what they are used to, although the biggest surprise was reserved for the encore.

The band left the stage for a lengthy breather after finishing the initial set with ‘Stockholm Syndrome’. When they returned, they were joined by The Edge, who added his trademark guitar to a version of U2′s ‘Where The Streets Have No Name’.

“This is our friend The Edge,” Muse frontman Matt Bellamy said simply at the end of the mass sing-along.

U2 had been due to headline Glastonbury last night, but were forced to pull out after Bono seriously injured his back. They were replaced by Gorillaz.

Muse appeared relaxed onstage throughout the gig, with Bellamy, dressed in white trousers and a red T-shirt, telling the audience; “I can’t believe it’s not fucking raining. I’ve been waiting 15 years for it to be sunny at Glastonbury. Shout out to Michael Eavis! And his daughter [Emily]!”

Muse’s return to Glastonbury was heavy on material from current album ‘The Resistance’, but they threw in curveballs such as ‘Nishe’, the B-side to 2000 single ‘Unintended’, and their traditional cover of ‘Feeling Good’, the song made famous by Nina Simone.

Muse played:

‘Uprising’
‘Supermassive Black Hole’
‘New Born’
‘Map Of The Problematique’
‘Guiding Light’
‘Citizen Erased’
‘Nishe’
‘United States Of Eurasia’
‘Feeling Good’
‘Undisclosed Desires’
‘Resistance’
‘Hysteria’
‘Time Is Running Out’
‘Starlight’
‘Stockholm Syndrome’
‘Where The Streets Have No Name’
‘Plug In Baby’
‘Knights Of Cydonia’

- NME

Another year, another Glastonbury — and another fresh round of what-ifs and maybes for the festival rumour mill.

This year the most-whispered tale involves two of the 2010 festival’s headliners – or, rather, one of the headliners and a band who were supposed to be topping the bill on the Pyramid Stage.

Saturday’s headliners Muse had hinted they were planning something special for their headline slot. On Friday, BBC 6 Music reported that the band might be joined by U2′s guitarist the Edge for their slot.

U2, of course, were supposed to be headlining the festival on Friday night but had to pull out after Bono underwent surgery, leading them to pull a series of dates on their world tour.

Festival organiser Michael Eavis had been asked by the station if the rumours were true, and did not deny the story – though he did not confirm it either.

Whether Matt Bellamy and company are joined by the veteran guitar great, only a time machine or patience will tell. Stay tuned.

- Spinner

Australia’s Triple M Radio is reporting that U2 will bring the 360 Tour down under this December.

Says the report:

Sources have revealed that U2 will bring their 360° tour to Australia in December. The Music Network said the band will officially confirm the news we’ve all been waiting for when they announce new dates of their cancelled US tour.

We’re still hoping for some news about when those postponed (not cancelled) dates will be re-announced, but our contacts are not saying anything at the moment. Consider the above a rumor until there’s some official confirmation.

Via U2tours.com

Irish rockers U2 could lose £100million after pulling out of 17 shows of their US tour.

Bono could cost U2 £100 million.

The lead singer of U2 has been told by doctors to rest for two months following emergency back surgery and will now miss out on the start of the group’s US leg of their 360 Degree tour.

Bono was said to be “heartbroken” after pulling out of 17 US dates and Glastonbury festival in the UK, and now the problem may hit his bank balance too.

A source told The Sun newspaper: “Bono and the band are covered by insurance but the cost of overheads and missed revenue could easily reach £100 million by the time he’s fit enough to perform again.”

Paul McGuinness, the manager of the Irish group – made up of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. – said: “If we play or not, touring still costs us £500,000 a day.”

Earlier this month bassist Adam Clayton admitted he and his band mates would have been happy to put on a simpler tour, but Bono had other plans.

He said: “It was Bono’s vision. He’s that kind of performer. I think the rest of us would be happy to stand on an old beer crate but he’s the person working the stage.”

New tour dates are expected to be released later this week.

- ContactMusic

Bono may be stuck in a moment that he’d like to get out of, but he can take heart. ESPN struck a deal with his band U2 to use their music exclusively for their World Cup coverage.

Along with using the Irish supergroup’s music, the South African Soweto Gospel Choir also recorded versions of some U2 songs for the network to use, and ESPN took footage from the band’s 2009 concert at the Rose Bowl for some of their ads.

So even though they’ll be away from our shores for a few months, they’ll be inescapable here and all over the world.

- BUZZ BRADY,Irishcentral.com Showbiz Writer

Bono and U2 on stage

The festival spokesperson for Britain’s most famous music festival, Glastonbury, has said that the Irish legends U2 are likely to play in 2011.

A spokesperson for the festival said “They’ve never played here before and we’re very disappointed they can’t perform…but they could well be back next year.”

U2 were to play the headline slot on June 25 until Bono, the front man, was rushed to hospital for emergency back surgery due to a disease which could have left him paralyzed.

The British band, Gorillaz, fronted by Damon Albarn, has agreed to replace U2 as the headline act on June 25 while Muse and Stevie Wonder are also set to play the headline slots at the sold out festival.

- IrishCentral.com

Daniel Lanois has suffered a motorcycle crash and is intensive care.

The Quebec-born musician/producer, best known for his work on U2′s 1987 album ‘The Joshua Tree’, suffered the accident recently in Los Angeles.

His London show with his Daniel Lanois Black Dub collective, which had been set for the Jazz Café venue on July 27, has been cancelled.

Ticket holders can get refunds from points of purchase.

- NME

Bono and his wife Ali Hewson may be at risk of losing million as their ethical clothing change, Edun, continues to lose money.

At the end of last year Bono, and his wife of 28 years, Ali, moved their family from Dublin to New York to help launch the ethical clothing line based in Tribeca, Manhattan.

Ali has now revealed that the business has so far failed to make a profit.

“It hasn’t made money — it hasn’t made a profit yet,” said Ali. “But it’s growing. It’s growing.

“The first five years of the company is about putting money in and building the trade. So of course we had to support it. We’re still here supporting it now, because we believe in it.”

In fact the Hewson family believed so entirely in the project that they all moved to New York to be closer to the day to day running of the business.

“I’ve been seeing how the operation was being upgraded on a daily, weekly basis,” she said.

“It’s been amazing to see how far it has come in six months.

In 2005 Bono, Ali and fashion designer Rogan Gregory founded the fashion line. However, Ali says that the mission to increase employment in developing regions of Africa has overshadowed the company itself.

Over the years Bono has endured some criticism for his constant involvement in charity campaigns. His critics feel that his methods are a little preachy and that he’s over exposed in the media. However Ali defends his ongoing charity activism.

“He’s always known, if you want to get anything done you’ve got to stand in the firing line sometimes…He doesn’t do it for the warm fuzzy feelings. He does it to actually bring some change about, and highlight issues that were being pushed under the carpet. And he does it very effectively.

“Bono will say to you, ‘I’m sick of Bono, and I am Bono’.”

Just three years ago Edun had $3.6 million in bank loans and owes it’s three shareholders $7.9 million.

Ali feels that the situation for the company can only get better as the Hewson’s partnered up with LVMH, who owns Givenchy, Moet & Chandon, Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Christian Dior.

Edun’s plans to have a line of clothing ready for the soccer World Cup this summer designed but children in the slums in Nairobi.

- BUZZ BRADY, Irishcentral.com

U2′s summer tour in the USA provided an added headache for Major League Baseball’s schedulers. Bono and the boys were set to perform at several major league venues this spring and summer, forcing some long road trips for teams in the middle of summer.

But Bono underwent emergency back surgery last week, and U2′s North American tour has been postponed until 2011.

Here are the concert dates at major league parks that have been affected:

• June 6 and 7, Angel Stadium, Anaheim, Calif.
• June 16, Oakland Coliseum
• July 3, Rogers Centre, Toronto
• July 9, Sun Life Stadium, Miami

According to Katy Feeney, a Major League Baseball senior vice president of scheduling and club relations, U2 requires 10 days to set up a concert and break it down. Here are the long road trips that scheduling to accommodate U2 has helped create:

• Angels: 14-game road trip (May 31-June 13)
• A’s: Nine-game, 10-day trip (June 11-20)
• Blue Jays: Seven-game, eight-day trip (June 28-July 5)
• Marlins: 10-game road trip leading into the All-Star break. After June 30, their next home game isn’t until July 16.

It will be interesting to see if teams subject themselves to this scenario again next year, when the tour resumes, or whether they have any control over the matter.

By Gabe Lacques and Stephen Borelli

Concert promoter Evenko says people who bought tickets to this summer’s performances by U2 will be offered refunds, but only when exact dates are announced for replacement shows.

U2 has been forced to postpone the North American leg of its upcoming tour, including two shows that were scheduled for the Montreal Hippodrome in July.

Those concerts will now be rescheduled for 2011, and Montreal promoter Evenko says tickets for the 2010 shows will be honoured.

Last week the band announced that frontman Bono had emergency back surgery after suffering an injury during rehearsal. Bono was released Tuesday from a hospital in Munich but doctors say he needs at least eight weeks of recovery time.

U2 tour producer/promoter Arthur Fogel is quoted on the band website: “Although we understand the disappointment to U2 fans, first and foremost comes the recovery of Bono.”

A temporary stadium was going to be built at the Hippodrome site in Montreal to accommodate 80,000 people.

- CTV