Stirrings in the U2 World --- Are we in for a treat this fall??

[Utoo]

Signs are pointing toward something big coming our way!

There are a whole bunch of rumors and little tidbits in various threads, but if you put them all together, the picture looks fairly promising for a big commercial release coming up:

1. Universal has discussed the likelihood of a ZooTV show being released on DVD this fall. Universal also reportedly claims there will be a Deluxe Edition with tons of bonus features.

2. Folks at the BBC have discussed their intent to try and release some very early U2 shows on DVD, possibly as a box set.

3. The band, according to Brian Williams' interview with Bono, is reportedly heading back to the studio before they resume the tour in November. Practically, it makes sense for them to have some new material before they resume the tour, as it would resume a full 2 years after HTDAAB's release---far too long to 'promote" an album.

4. The book 'U2 by U2' (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/00...103-1893728-2709445?s=books&v=glance&n=283155), written by the band themselves, is scheduled for release this September. Retail price for this is $39.95

And now, the one that makes me think some sort of big extra-stuff release is coming:

5. There will be a Deluxe Edition of 'U2 by U2' (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/00...09445?s=books&v=glance&n=283155/intercomu2-20) to be released this October. Retail price for this one is a whopping $125, a full $85 more than the regular version---three times as much as the regular version!

What on earth could be included in that Deluxe Edition that would warrant it costing over three times as much as the regular version? Bonus DVDs? Bonus CD?

What do you think?

 

[pepokiss]

Bono comes to your house and give it to you...

Then he kicks you with a roundhouse kick just because he's Bo...



no wait... that happens when you buy Chuck Norris by Chuck Norris

 

[LMP]

Bono comes to your house and give it to you...

Then he kicks you with a roundhouse kick just because he's Bo...



no wait... that happens when you buy Chuck Norris by Chuck Norris

There really is a Chuck Norris autobiography called Against All Odds

but I can read it for free in factual form online

Walker.

As for the U2 stuff, Utoo, that's a lot of very interesting information. I need something to kickstart my U2 fandom again, it's been kind of dulled recently.

 

[ntalwar]

The only info I found was

"November 2004
As well as the large format, £30 rrp version of the book, we will also be producing a limited edition deluxe edition which will retail at £100, 500 of which will be signed by all 4 members of the band. This deluxe version will be published to a much higher spec than the £30 edition, and will include selected stills from the Rattle and Hum concert movie which captured U2 - on and off stage - during their triumphant Joshua Tree tour."

Actually, I also found the word CD in a description (from last yr?),
but maybe that's the audio version of the book:

"U2. U2 by U2: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr. HarperEntertainment: HarperCollins. Sept. 2005. 352p. ISBN 0-06-077675-7. $40. CD: HarperAudio. Billed as the definitive history of the band, this is U2 in their own words, together with lyrics, images, and memorabilia."

 

[bono_212]

Is it THEM reading it?

 

[Edgette]

Yeah, something else I'd be willing to shell out the extra money for.

 

[sue4u2]

Is it THEM reading it?

for $100 + there should be wine and soft music..at least with one of them

Yeah, I say that...and yet, I keep on buying..

 

[Thora]

You've got a lot of interesting things there, Utoo! I'm just excited for whatever is imminent. Hearing Bono say that there are 8 new songs being written is very encouraging! And of course the U2 by U2 book sounds fabulous! It's already on my Amazon wishlist. I'm looking forward to whatever's going to happen.

 

[nightninja56]

U2 in fall 2006

 

[INDY500]

I wonder how the autographed copies are going to be distributed?
1) Ebay auction
2) U2.com promo
3) A "Why I love U2" in 100 words or less contest
4) Some dumbass totally random process involving wristbands and scanners.

 

[cypress]

If there is a dvd box set over $100 US , I hope it is available in rental stores cuz there is no way I can afford it. Sorry, but that will be my official first sign that U2 is selling out to the almighty dollar. I don't see it happening however. They've never shown that propensity in the past. I want Zoo TV, Popmart and Red Rocks on dvd but not at an insane price. I have faith in my U2..

 

[Utoo]

The only info I found was

"November 2004
As well as the large format, £30 rrp version of the book, we will also be producing a limited edition deluxe edition which will retail at £100, 500 of which will be signed by all 4 members of the band. This deluxe version will be published to a much higher spec than the £30 edition, and will include selected stills from the Rattle and Hum concert movie which captured U2 - on and off stage - during their triumphant Joshua Tree tour."

Actually, I also found the word CD in a description (from last yr?),
but maybe that's the audio version of the book:

"U2. U2 by U2: Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, Larry Mullen, Jr. HarperEntertainment: HarperCollins. Sept. 2005. 352p. ISBN 0-06-077675-7. $40. CD: HarperAudio. Billed as the definitive history of the band, this is U2 in their own words, together with lyrics, images, and memorabilia."

Hmmmm.....that could be all there is to explain the higher price of the deluxe version (the autographs & R&H stills). Like INDY, I wonder how those 500 autographed copies will be distributed. It would suck to pay three times as much for the book and only get the stills & not the autographs!

ntalwar, I also remember seeing 'CD' in a description about a year ago, and I remember thinking that it wasn't just the Audio Book. However, I can't find that description/item anymore, so who knows?

 

[SunBloc]

No word on the Red Ipod yet, but with the big launch of the other brands - you would think it would be sometime relatively soon to cash in on momentum...

U2's been in the public eye too much lately for them to be only planning to skate through the rest of the tour dates.

 

[JCOSTER]

I would love to see POPMart, Redrocks, and ZOOTV on CD that would be amazing.

I saw the tidbit of Bono saying they wrote 8 new songs!!! I need some new U2!!!

I have read recently that the info about the BBC and the box set maybe a difficult one considering there is some kinda lawsuit going on with some old U2 footage that someone shot during Redrocks.

 

[Utoo]

I have read recently that the info about the BBC and the box set maybe a difficult one considering there is some kinda lawsuit going on with some old U2 footage that someone shot during Redrocks.

Yeah, I've read the same about the Red Rocks stuff. That may affect a box set that would include that, but I don't think it should affect the BBC stuff. From what I'd read, the BBC material is all BBC property & consists of very early U2 performances (pre-War, I believe). I wonder if they'd do their own box set..?

 

[Hornbag]

When did the news about 8 New songs come out? Perhaps they'll release an EP or do another Zooropa like incident where an EP became a full new album.

Well i can always dream

 

[ntalwar]

I think the 8 new songs was mentioned during the NBC interview when Bono stated he wrote lyrics for 8 new songs. But I think some of those songs/lyrics will be eventually be discarded, and it still takes a while for the song idea to turn into an actual final version of a song. I personally don't think they'll rush out any new songs, EP, etc. because that doesn't fit in with their current successful formula and the music industry has changed a lot in the last 10-15 years.

 

[BonoIsMyMuse]

Zoo TV on DVD would make me incredibly happy. I was watching the bonus disc for the Elevation Boston DVD the other day, and watching the Zoo-era performance on there made me have flashbacks to being 14 and seeing the Sydney show for the first time. I used to come home from school, pop in the video, and blast it.

 

[Utoo]

I think the 8 new songs was mentioned during the NBC interview when Bono stated he wrote lyrics for 8 new songs. But I think some of those songs/lyrics will be eventually be discarded

The lyrics he read on the NBC interview were not all that awe-inspiring....when I first heard them, I thought two things: 1). sounds like it'd be the same musical genre as Yahweh, and 2). Those lyrics are going to be thrown out & we'll never see them again. "There's no midnight please/you're down on your knees?" not gonna make it!

 

[schnumi]

Im sorry but i can only say one thing: FINALLY!

ZooTV and POPmart should have been released on DVD years ago already.

We have had teasers on the 1990 - 2000 dvd with Gone already on it plus the Live from Boston dvd where there was a short clip of MOFO on it.

Really now bring those shows on DVD this year PLEASE!

And i don't care if they cost over 100 dollars each. I just want those shows on DVD!

 

[zepher25]

i heard an interview of bono by Larry Elliot at the end of his africa trip on U2.com in which he says that hes been taking piano lessons and writes a song at the end of each lesson....me thinks i detect the seeds of the next album

 

[tommycharles]

I might be the only one who thinks this, but I'd really rather not see any new material before the end of the Vertigo shows... because there's a fairly high chance that then, they'll release an album, do these last 10 dates, and.... go back on vacation. I'd much rather wait a little longer and get another full tour.

T

 

[BANZAI]

I might be the only one who thinks this, but I'd really rather not see any new material before the end of the Vertigo shows... because there's a fairly high chance that then, they'll release an album, do these last 10 dates, and.... go back on vacation. I'd much rather wait a little longer and get another full tour.

T

I think I'd rather like U2 making two albums, doing one tour, making two albums, doing one tour....

Don't see it happen though.

 

[silvrlvr]

Honestly, I think it's going to cost more than 100 pounds (which for us Yanks is closer to $200 these days) given that these will be snapped up and appear on Ebay in no time flat. Seems like there would be a Red tie-in and maybe a Music Rising tie-in somehow...

But just imagine a U2 book tour -- book signings at Borders, appearances on Fresh Air and Charlie Rose (if he ever is back on TV), on stage at the New Yorker Festival -- I'd love to see them do it!

 

[silvrlvr]

Amazon says the release date for the book is Oct. 6.

 

[cobl04]

All I care about is the DVD's. I want some ZooTV exposure, dammit!

 

[WhiteWolf]

The information being thrown around in this thread has me very excited.

Very, VERY excited. I don't know if any of it's true or not, but just the speculation alone is enough to make my head spin.

Maybe it's just me, but lyrics for 8 songs isn't enough for a whole ablum. It may be more of the creative process from the old days, like when they went into the studio with only some ideas and came out a few months later with the brilliant ZOOROPA album. And I also know that when they record just about anything, they always end up with a surplus of songs that don't make the final cut, so you'd have to figure that ideas for 8 songs is only a beginning, and not necessarily a promise of a full-fledged 12-track record.

And about the "deluxe" version of the book, I have no idea. But it could include a Melon-like disc of remixes that are only available with the book, and maybe some live stuff or "official" interview discs. But like i said, I have no idea.

 

[An Cat Gav]

We've all been here before, waiting waiting waiting for a new U2 album, first small rumours start, small snippets in the press, then bono will say something, or Eno or Gavin Bloody Friday! and then we hear the glorious news that a new album will be released in 6 months, then another 6 months, then another.......
What I'm trying to say is that, as a seasoned U2 veteran, I really feel that SOMETHING new will come out, probably a 10 track album along the lines of Zooropa. I really hope so, I think the band know that there in good form at the moment so they have to put out as much quality material as they can. I think Bono knows that he has been neglecting his day job a bit too much and will want to put that right, sooner rather than later. He knows that his patient fans have put up witha lot....
I also am pretty sure that Zoo Tv will come out on DVD before Christmas.

 

[WhiteWolf]

I'm rather fond of the Sydney Zooropa VHS tape I have, and still think it's a superior concert to the Slane Castle and Chicago DVDs, so I would really like it if I could get a DVD version of that Sydney concert.

But a good Zoo TV DVD would be a treat for any reason under any circumstances. I wouldn't mind getting a live CD/DVD combo the way Dave Matthews Band often does.

I totally understand what you are saying about expectations for the next album, but I think we all just can't help it. If we can't speculate, then what fun would the waiting be? None, I imagine. And when the album finally does arrive, it wouldn't be as sweet if we were all pleasantly surprised that it passes any expectations we have had (which it always has, for me).

 

[Earnie Shavers]

3. The band, according to Brian Williams' interview with Bono, is reportedly heading back to the studio before they resume the tour in November. Practically, it makes sense for them to have some new material before they resume the tour, as it would resume a full 2 years after HTDAAB's release---far too long to 'promote" an album.

I don't know about that. I mean, it could be true, but I don't know that they 'need' new material to finish off these dates. They are all sell outs in countries that haven't seen U2 for nearly a decade, and once the new dates are announced and the option for cashing back your tickets is put in place, I'd bet it's only a small % who do, and that they'll be picked up again by others just as quickly. Not saying U2 wouldn't want something out there, but I doubt there's any strong commercial/promotional need. Think of it in another way as well - why would they release something for a dozen dates when they could hold it back for the next round of 100+ dates?