U2 packing it in?

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Bono could finish what he started years ago with 'American Prayer'. :hmm:

With all the admiration for his sensibility, hope not.
 
the only thing U2 are packing is asses heat reverence for Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
 
Hollow Island said:
the only thing U2 are packing is asses heat reverence for Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
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brain_bleach.jpg
 
They're barely a functioning band anyway, so how much would breaking up really change? If they broke up in 2011, a reunion album in 2015 wouldn't be unreasonable at all
 
I've got faith that they will pull through this. But, it's interesting to consider how the band will eventually end. Will they call it quits during one of these difficult album prep periods or have the foresight to know that they can't do it anymore?

Or will they get two albums in the can, tour one and have a ready-made "final" album in the queue?
 
Hopefully they don't pull an REM and just toss a decent album out there, followed by literally NO PROMOTION and then say 6 months later "ah we're done". U2 would definitely capitalize on their ending with a big final tour, as long as they're physically able to do so.
 
I'd prefer U2 go out the REM way than do a big cheesy farewell tour. That's one of the greatest cliches in rock, and it would be diservice to U2. REM promoted Collapse Into Now, but Stipe didn't do any press. He's taken albums off before. Had they announced that the album was their last one it would have been a lot bigger, but I think that they would have found cashing in on their retirement to be crass, and that's one thing REM never were, and U2 have rarely been.

I think (and hope) that U2 decide to end during the fallow period after a tour and between a new album and don't use it as a marketing tool. It's only slightly less distasteful than the "my drug hell" that has-beens rely on to distract us from the decline in their musical output.

U2 have their flaws and their commercial ambitions seem to be stronger than their artistic ones now, but they're still a pretty classy band.
 
last unicorn said:
So I guess you are also one of the lucky ones having a direct line to Bono. Or how else could you know something like that, unless he personally told you so?
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"I would wake up in bed in the foetal position, and Ali would say: 'What's wrong?' I'd tell her, 'I don't want to get out of bed.' And she'd say, 'You don't want to write is what you mean.' ... Ali was literally kicking me out of bed in the morning, putting the pen in my hand."

—U2 by U2, pg 166
 
Three albums and tours in their contract? They'll have to find a loophole to get out of it because there's no way they'll manage three more albums and tours given how they work. This will be their only album this decade, barring a miracle. I'd be shocked if they were more productive next decade, when they're all in their 60s, than they are now. I think it's more likely that NLOTH is their last album than we get three more albums and tours.

Of course, they could do smaller tours and be a full-time band again, but what are the odds of that happening?
 
The best unexpected thing for them to do would be playing in smaller venues. Get back to the clubs. I think it would inspire them. They wouldn't have to envision every song being sung back to them in a stadium.
 
Hollow Island said:
I'd prefer U2 go out the REM way than do a big cheesy farewell tour. That's one of the greatest cliches in rock, and it would be diservice to U2. REM promoted Collapse Into Now, but Stipe didn't do any press. He's taken albums off before. Had they announced that the album was their last one it would have been a lot bigger, but I think that they would have found cashing in on their retirement to be crass, and that's one thing REM never were, and U2 have rarely been.

I think (and hope) that U2 decide to end during the fallow period after a tour and between a new album and don't use it as a marketing tool. It's only slightly less distasteful than the "my drug hell" that has-beens rely on to distract us from the decline in their musical output.

U2 have their flaws and their commercial ambitions seem to be stronger than their artistic ones now, but they're still a pretty classy band.
Click to expand...

U2 is fundamentally too much of a live band to not tour an album. (provided no health issues or any one of them throwing the towel)
 
ozeeko said:
The best unexpected thing for them to do would be playing in smaller venues. Get back to the clubs. I think it would inspire them. They wouldn't have to envision every song being sung back to them in a stadium.
Click to expand...
Outside of one or a few promo shows a la Irving Plaza or Kunstmuseum, no way they are going back to clubs, nor theaters. Arenas and Stadia or (most likely at this point) retirement.
 
Hollow Island said:
Three albums and tours in their contract? They'll have to find a loophole to get out of it because there's no way they'll manage three more albums and tours given how they work. This will be their only album this decade, barring a miracle. I'd be shocked if they were more productive next decade, when they're all in their 60s, than they are now. I think it's more likely that NLOTH is their last album than we get three more albums and tours.

Of course, they could do smaller tours and be a full-time band again, but what are the odds of that happening?
Click to expand...

The only thing they owe is promises they've already been paid for.

U2 have not been paid anything for albums they haven't made. So they actually don't owe any albums to their label, it's just IF they do make a new album, they have to release it on Universal (Interscope, Island) until those three (if that's what the contract says) are provided.

This is aside from any guarantees that pertain to music that has already been recorded (Box Sets, Best Of's). I'm talking about new music. Any artist could die tomorrow, so not only will they not be obligated to provide future releases, they won't be paid for it. And vice versa, because they aren't paid anything for it, they aren't obligated to provide it.

This is factoring in the implausibility of a 'shit deal'...some artist out there might very well have a 'shit deal' but certainly not U2. U2 will have every advantage and have all the bases covered. More on that in a moment.

The worst case scenario for U2 (should they retire tomorrow) is that they'd owe money to Live Nation. And we don't know if they received advance money for their Live Nation deal or not. Based on the reporting, it sounds like they may have. As all the reports say it's a similar deal to Madonna's LN deal.

But even so, the Live Nation deal is for a number of years (expires in 2020) and not number of albums. So, for all intents and purposes, their Live Nation deal is for one more tour. Unless someone believes they will actually squeeze in two tours in the next 6 years. Not to mention this LN deal was signed in 2008 and any advance money was likely paid PRIOR to the 360 tour. So who is to say that, even if U2 had received advance money, that they aren't totally square by now? Especially after the biggest selling tour of all time.

And finally, as I alluded to previously, knowing Paul McG's crafty ass and U2's general business savvy, they surely have all bases covered. I wouldn't be surprised if Universal is actually on the hook for that money. In other words, I wouldn't be surprised if U2 didn't owe a future cent to anyone for anything.

Regardless, almost certainly U2 will tour again at some point before 2020. But there is nothing in the world beyond their own personal desires that says they have to make another new album, much less three.
 
The_acrobat said:
Hopefully they don't pull an REM and just toss a decent album out there, followed by literally NO PROMOTION and then say 6 months later "ah we're done". U2 would definitely capitalize on their ending with a big final tour, as long as they're physically able to do so.
Click to expand...

I actually have a lot of respect for the way REM bowed out. They wanted their last album to be received (both commercially and critically) on its own artistic merits, not heaped with undue praise for being their last, and it was. They could have embarked on a big money-spinning farewell tour to feather their pension bed, but they didn't. Kudos to them for not milking their departure at all. Personally, I don't think U2 would consciously try to milk their last album/tour either, but I suspect they would be a little more open to it. Unlike REM, U2 would want to ride off into the sunset to the fanfare of trumpets ringing in their ears, and there's no better way for them to do that now than saying "this is it, folks".
 
lemonfly said:
I actually have a lot of respect for the way REM bowed out. They wanted their last album to be received (both commercially and critically) on its own artistic merits, not heaped with undue praise for being their last, and it was. They could have embarked on a big money-spinning farewell tour to feather their pension bed, but they didn't. Kudos to them for not milking their departure at all. Personally, I don't think U2 would consciously try to milk their last album/tour either, but I suspect they would be a little more open to it. Unlike REM, U2 would want to ride off into the sunset to the fanfare of trumpets ringing in their ears, and there's no better way for them to do that now than saying "this is it, folks".
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I've always wondered how that REM thing went down. The album was critically well-received, but that's about it.

If, somehow, it had caught commercial fire, would they have been re-energized to keep going? I recall them being in the studio again shortly after CIN, saying they were working on another album. But I guess that stuff just turned into the extras added to the last compilation album. But there are clues about the band's dissolution in the lyrics, so who knows...

I would love Peter Buck to write a book.
 
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