MERGED-->Bono's stolen notebook returned?!+October lyrics returned

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What a great ending to the story.

I believe he mentioned the lost notebook at the Elevation Portland show in 2001 so very cool that it found its way back to him!
 
Flying FuManchu said:
I say they should rerelease a redone October. That would be the right thing to do.
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i think the closest thing to this ever happening is the band playing the songs live with new lyrics. however i dont think this will even happen because at a concert U2-fan-wanna-be's wouldnt know what the hell was going on. and i think Bono is a cool enough guy to spare all of us knowledgeable 'U2 disciples' the frustration of explaining the origin of the new lyrics to every other person...

wannabe: what's with the different lyrics?
me: ok, you know the album October?
wannabe: no, i thought we were talking about U2
me: no it's a U2 album
wannabe: is it new?
wannabe#2: what another new U2 album?!
wanabe: yeah i thought 'Bowno' and the guys just finished an album?
me: *sigh* take me now, please God, take me now...
 
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Teta040 said:

You also do realize that if he hadn't lost his notebook, than he wouldn't have been so deperately stuck for lyrics so close to the release date, then he wouldn't have needed to pray for inspiration, and the Spirit wouldn't have gotten involved, so to speak. The instant Latin lyrics that became "I try to song this song.." would never have come out. And a whole style of improvisation in thr studio--THE unique studio songwriting style of the band--would not be around today. The course of rock history would thus be different.

Sometimes thivery has its merits.
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GREAT SCOTT! Vertigo has been... erased! Quick , Marty, to the time machine! (a.k.a. the giant rotating lemon)

somebody call Robert Zemeckis
 
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explorer said:


GREAT SCOTT! Vertigo has been... erased! Quick , Marty, to the time machine! (a.k.a. the giant rotating lemon)

somebody call Robert Zemeckis
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:laugh: wow, i have not laughed this hard in a while, it is fantastic to hear a back to the future reference hahahahaha
 
i think it would be absolutely awsoem if the guy released a short hardbound book with the story of the missing lyrics and album and stuff and with the contents of the returned notebook published. That would make for one hell of a christmas girft :wink:
 
"The pages included photographs of the band; Bono's passport with his given name, Paul D. Hewson; and letters between the band and early fans and U2's managers. The notes included ideas for songs, including some that seemed to appear in later records, but they were not "polished," Rheaume said."

I wonder what songs evolved out of his early October lyrics.
 
i'd bet some of the songs from War and Unforgettabel Fire that we've loved so long evolved from some of these ideas.
 
Maybe Bono would take a glance at what he wrote back then and it'll start the wheels in his mind rolling. New songs inspired by a thought in his head twenty years ago but never revisited.
 
Which is a better story?

Finding the Notebook after 23 years or The endless speculation about whether the October album would have been much greater had Bono not lost the lyrics in the first place?

I compare it to JFK. If we ever got an answer, could it possibly compare to the speculation we now enjoy? :shrug:

:macdevil: Anybody wish that this person wasn't a U2 fan and had just posted the lyrics on the internet or otherwise sold it to one of us on Ebay? Who wouldn't want his passport at age 21?
 
starsforu2 said:
:macdevil: Anybody wish that this person wasn't a U2 fan and had just posted the lyrics on the internet or otherwise sold it to one of us on Ebay? Who wouldn't want his passport at age 21?
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The fact that she is a fan makes the story weird. It makes me think she's maybe the one who stole it in the first place. The story says she "found" the briefcase in an attic in 1981, but didn't know it was lost/stolen and was too "busy" to try and return it. Clearly a briefase with Bono's valid passport, personal notes, letters, photos...is lost/stolen. I'm guessing she realized what a shite, stupid thing it was to take it/keep it, but was too afraid and ashamed to return it...or even let anyone now she had it until now. In any case, I'm glad Bono's got it back.
 
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I agree atikat a fan would not have kept that bag for 23 years its been so well documented that it was all stolen for gods sake it had his passport in!!!

I'm not saying she stole it/took it but it would have been so easy to have got it back to Bono in all that time hasnt she heard of Principle Management??!! in New York!!!:rolleyes:
 
This story is great......

I wonder if Bono remembers any of the original melodies for the lyrics, or if the original melodies were the songs that ended up on the album?
 
This must be so exciting for Bono - and for Ali - the article at u2log says that, among many other things, it contained letters from Ali to Bono. Awwww...
 
Bono's October lyrics were returned to him in Portland yesterday

He was in town to give an AIDS speech, as most here know. He got a call from McGuinness at his hotel, whoi said "somebody wants to see you in the lobby, they've got something you want." Turns out they were the lyrics to October, stolen 23 years ago. The person returned them, in the suitcase.

He commented that he's a man who has everything that he wants, but every day, it has eaten at him hat someone stole those lyrics, because he thought they were great, and after they were stolen, he couldn't reproduce them. He suffered from writer's block, and the album suffered for it.

He said that after reading them, "I was right. They were damn good."
 
The story at u2log doesn't specify how long ago she found it...it just says "many years earlier." How can a fan find something like that and forget about it? :scratch: Weird. Still awesome that he's got it back...and that we got a little peek at it.
 
i dont care where its been for how long or why, i reckon the fact thats it resurfaced and been returned absolutely astounding
the story of the missing briefcase was like U2 folklore or something, its incredible!
 
digsy said:
i dont care where its been for how long or why, i reckon the fact thats it resurfaced and been returned absolutely astounding
the story of the missing briefcase was like U2 folklore or something, its incredible!
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I'm sure Bono feels the same way...as would anyone who had something like that returned to them after all these years. I'm sure he's very grateful the contents of the case weren't thrown out, destroyed, sold or published. The contents of the case are no longer missing... the who, when, where and why still remain a mysterious part of U2 folklore. Perhaps something we're better off not knowing.
 
wow those pics are pretty cool. i think i see 'i fall down' on one of those note pads.
 
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Perhaps some day when they re-master and re-release the U2 albums they could include the lyrics, letters, pictures of the item, etc. in the liner notes. You know how they go back and expand on the classic albums when they re-release them. That seems like the most plausible way to address the curiosity of U2 fans...if they do anything at all.

I wonder if the songs he was writing were as overtly Christian in tone as the ones that made it on the albums...
 
BTW...hats off to the folks at u2log for having the personal and journalistic integrity to keep this story under wraps for almost a year, while they verified the facts and waited for the contents of the case to be returned to Bono. There's a great lesson to be learned here...just "Ask the Edge!":D
 
The "Annotated October"?

Which means in 2014 the master tapes for AB will turn up.

And Zig Zag..ROFL:wink:
 
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Bono: "I was right. They were damn good!":lol:

ZigZag: "at least we know in 23 years, someone is gonna find Edge's CD in their attic." :laugh:

Thanks for the levity!

I'm just happy for the B-man that he has his missing items returned - it couldn't have happened to a better man.
:yes:

REJOICE....:love:
 
ZigZag said:
Well, at least we know that in 23 years, someone is gonna find Edge's CD in their attic.
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:lol: that's great.

I too wonder if any of the old lyrics will give birth to new songs, or remade October songs... that could be interesting.
 
Why do people want them to redo October now that he has the lyrics? Why not apply those lyrics to new songs for a new album???????
 
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