A Family Business - 30 May 2009



The band were guests of Pat Kenny last night, his final night presenting The Late Late Show. As well as playing Magnificent and presenting Pat with some leaving gifts, they had a revealing conversation which touched on the upcoming production, how they once nearly parted company with Paul McGuinness, what it's like to bring a tour home to Ireland and how U2 is a 'family business' built on disagreement.

Here's a few choice highlights - you can watch the extended interview (when we last looked) here.

The guitar they presented to Pat
'It's a guitar made by Gibson. There's only 300 of them in the world and it's in aid of a charity that I co-founded for New Orleans, for the musicians of New Orleans. So it's very rare.' (Edge)

The new show
'For a long time we said to people within our production team we love it when we have people all around us, which we do sometimes indoors, but we never had it outdoors. Can you help us figure it out?' (Edge)

'People used to say that outside of Ireland the best place to see U2 was Madison Square Gardens and that's where you play in the round up at one end and our audience say that's the best seats... and it feels like you're on stage sort of thing. And so we wanted to see could we apply this outdoors. Of course how do you hang the gear from the sky so to speak? So the engineering is to allow us to do that." (Bono)

'We haven't seen it yet but we've seen some footage of it as it's been built in Belgium and I have to say I looked at it today and thought, 'Oh my God we've actually designed the Eiffel Tower!' It's this huge thing. It's pretty amazing.' (Edge)

Almost parting company with Paul McGuinness
'... there's a story... that we've never told, but there was a serious disagreement early on about his ability to get us a van. And there were negotiations and deals over getting us a van and he said he could get us a van, but maybe we weren't good enough and this kind of thing. So we met in Captain America's and we had a pow wow with the band where we discussed firing him. And we went through the ups and downs of it all and we were there for about an hour and this fella just walked up from the next table and he said look I'm really sorry to say this but I couldn't help but overhearing what you were talking about and I actually know the person you were talking about. And I had that sinking feeling, and he said this is a really, really big mistake. This is exactly the right manager for U2. You should really work it out because this is a great great guy. And I said, 'Who are you?' And he said, 'My name is Louis Walsh.' (Bono)

Playing Croke Park
'Expectations are always high, particularly in your homeland, but you know that's what we do. We fly the flag wherever we can. And nowhere prouder than in our homeland. So you take the pressure on, understanding that your family and your friends are expecting great things. They hear about all the stuff you do around the world and they want you to come home and show that you can do it for them as well.' (Larry)

Bigging Up Ireland
'Larry was saying just a few days ago...I thought it was smart... that we have to, wherever we go, whether it's Barcelona, whether it's Chicago, just tell people about this little gem, this little jewel on the north Atlantic and how extraordinary its people are and how innovative and how smart they are and they'll get their way out of this mess. We're just going to tell them that nightly.' (Bono)

Getting On
'It's like a family business. I mean it's like being in business with your four brothers. So we're four brothers and it gets rough. As Adam has explained there's matters of personal hygiene.' (Bono)

'I think bar the odd gust of wind, hygiene in cramped small places is very important. We�re used to being in small little vans and travelling around the country.' (Adam)

'And then there was the lemon. That was a very cramped place.' (Edge)

Depending on each other
' Just having the loudest voice and the most persuasive tone does not mean it's the best idea, sadly. And that's why we're a band. We very much depend on each other and what we've learned to do is... the individual egos are sort of subservient to a band ego which is pretty big. But that's the way it works, so if the idea is a great idea we soon forget who had it or where it came from, and I would say all four of us win the day on different things.'

Politics
'I think U2 was always interested in politics. I think that's where we came from. In 1976 Dublin was a very different place than it is now. It was in a recession... and when we heard punk music that was an opportunity for us to do something, to get involved and to be part of a thought process that was about changing your world and changing the ideas in your world and that is something we've carried through over the last 30 years. And Bono's activism is something that we all support and we all stand behind him. We might be in the studio finishing a record and he's off doing something else but it's something that he does very much on our behalf as much as his own.' (Adam)

Disagreements
'U2 is built on disagreement. I mean, it's always been like that and it is a democracy, to an extent and you know, you have to be allowed express your views. And I have to. It's my duty to.' (Larry)

source: U2.com

U2 make surprise appearance onstage in London
Band join Baaba Maal at Island Records gig

May 28, 2009



U2 made a surprise appearance onstage in London tonight (May 28).

The band took to the stage at the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire, joining African artist Baaba Maal just after he played his set as part of the Island Life gigs which are taking place at the venue this week to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the acts' label Island Records.

Having played a full set with his band, Maal returned to the stage kicking off his version of Irish band's 'One' before the full U2 line-up joined in acoustically.

Praising Maal's "nobility", Bono declared he was "the spark of Africa", before the pair slipped into a short version of Bob Marley's 'Feel Alright' - another Island Records artist.

The U2 frontman then declared "We've got one more in us", before his band launched into 'Vertigo', thanking their former record label at the songs climax.

Earlier Bono had introduced Maal onstage for his main set, declaring: "I have a friend a brother who really takes care of everything. We share the respect of Nelson Mandela's vision. We need people to understand. We didn't make it yet but we are on the way. As we continue fighting poverty especially on the continent of Africa."

Yusuf Islam/ Cat Stevens, is now set to headline the gig tonight.

nme

U2, Cat Stevens (Yusuf) and Baaba Maal at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, review
Bono irradiates the stage when U2 make a surprise appearance at the Island 50 concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire.

By Adam Sweeting
Last Updated: 10:30AM BST 29 May 2009



Restrained: Bono and the Edge from U2 vanished after their surprise set at the Shepherd's Bush Empire

Even the most ardent genre detective might find it a Himalayan task to get their head around the history of Island Records on parade at Shepherd's Bush this week, as it bounces from Kid Creole to Paul Weller, Grace Jones to Aswad, Steel Pulse to Amy Winehouse.

In the absence of a definitive house style in the vein of a Stax or a Motown, the theme to emerge most strongly is the way the label has been its own global village, generating a private ethos more potent than any single artist. Except perhaps U2, the band who grew so big that they swallowed chunks of the label whole.


Last night's show was headlined by Yusuf, formerly Cat Stevens, but the pre-show buzz was all about U2's none too secret performance. Having been on the receiving end of, frankly, well-deserved abuse for commandeering most of the BBC's bandwidth and technical resources to plug their previous album, the '2 were perhaps wary of looking like the blundering elephant that capsized the family canoe, so they kept their appearance studiously loose and low-key.

They smuggled themselves in under the guise of an encore from Afro-boogieist Baaba Maal, who had already been warming up the stage for over an hour with his polyrhythmic 13-piece band. Did we want more, demanded MC Count Prince Miller (a ringer for the actor Lawrence Fishburn). Speaking for myself, actually no, but having made a commendably brief speech about peace, togetherness and ending conflict in Africa, Maal began to croon the lyrics from U2's most anguished ballad One. Before you knew it, Bono had scampered to the microphone to join him, followed onstage by his band mates.

Lighting up at the sound of applause Bono instantly irradiated the stage with his outsized showmanship. Wrapping his arms around Baaba, he blasted his way through One, which merged seamlessly into Bob Marley's One Love. Then suddenly, Maal was gone and forgotten, leaving U2 to crank out an acoustic version of Vertigo, The Edge scrubbing brutally at his guitar while Larry Mullen battered a set of bongos behind him.

But restraint was the order of the evening and here U2 tactfully vanished before the Empire began to morph into a mini-Nuremberg. We had to wait half an hour – during which veteran hacks, Island employees from several decades and wandering managers and agents gossiped in the bars – before Bono reappeared, and that was only to introduce Yusuf in eulogistic terms (seer, sage, prophet, songwriting genius, etc).

The reborn Yusuf cut a philosophical and sober figure, though his new album Roadsinger is a woefully subdued affair compared to the yearning, poignant music he made in his chart-busting heyday. But as his pre-song announcements were submerged under waves of shrieking and applause, it was obvious that the prodigal singer/songwriter makes the perfect great-uncle to the entire Island family.

telegraph

The A-Z of Island Records at 50

May 29, 2009 - By SIMON COSYNS

IT began 50 years ago in the back streets of Kingston, Jamaica, and became one of the world's best-loved labels.

To mark the anniversary of Island Records, a series of three-CD albums are being released - Island Life (a stunning overview), Meet On The Ledge (concentrating on folk music) and War Ina Babylon (covering the reggae heritage).


There's also a picture book, Keep On Running: The Story Of Island Records.


Here is our ultimate A to Z guide to all things Island, now part of music giant Universal:


A is for All Right Now and Addicted To Love. Free's 1970 anthem was a No1 hit in more than 20 countries - hairy, sweaty, basic, brilliant blues rock. And who could forget suave Robert Palmer and his jaw-dropping formation of glam girls with guitars?


B is for Bob Marley. The dreadlocked icon who took reggae from Trenchtown, Jamaica, to the world. One Love, Exodus, Is This Love and Redemption Song spread universal messages of love, peace and freedom.


C is for Chris Blackwell. He formed the label in 1959 and, by the Seventies, was the music industry's most influential tastemaker.


D is for Nick Drake. Never a star during his life cut short by an overdose, Drake's stock has risen with each passing year. Gentle, soulful, careworn vocals set to fluid acoustic arrangements made debut album Five Leaves Left a timeless treasure.


E is for Eno. A preening peacock in make-up and sequins during his days as Roxy Music's sound whizz, Brian Eno cut a more demure figure as an Island solo artist, making albums like the serene Another Green World. He went on to produce another Island act... U2.


F is for folk rock. The earnest woolly jumper brigade gave way to cool folkies signed by Island in the late Sixties... Fairport Convention (with future solo stars Sandy Denny and Richard Thompson), John Martyn and Fotheringay.


G is for Grace Jones. One of the most striking, elegant (and scary) figures in contemporary music. Her cool electro-pop hits like Nightclubbing and Slave To The Rhythm evoked sleaze and style in equal doses.


H is for The Harder They Come. The soundtrack to a Jamaican gangster movie starring singer Jimmy Cliff is reggae's defining album. Songs include You Can Get It If You Really Want and Many Rivers To Cross.


I is for The Incredible String Band. Past their peak when they joined the label, the Scots folk-rock oddballs were still incredible on Island record Liquid Acrobat As Regards The Air.


J is for Jamaica. Where it all began in 1959. Blackwell started the label by recording the island's ska music. Three years later, he could be found selling records out of the back of his car to the UK's Jamaican population.


K is for King Crimson and Keane. With due respect to Pink Floyd, Yes and Genesis, 1969's In The Court Of The Crimson King (with its nightmare pink and blue face on the cover) is the daddy of prog-rock albums.


L is for Legend. The Bob Marley compilation is the biggest-selling reggae album of all-time, a fitting tribute to the singer who died in 1981.


M is for Millie and Mika. Island's first big breakthrough was Millie's reggae/ska My Boy Lollipop in 1964. Forty-four years later, pop sensation Mika, one of the label's rising stars, had a hit with Lollipop from debut album Life In Cartoon Motion.


N is for Nirvana. Not Kurt Cobain's grunge outfit but whimsical British psychedelic popsters who were early signings to Island. Their debut album The Story Of Simon Simopath (hated by the other Nirvana's faithful) lays claim to be the first concept album.


O is for The Orb. The chill-out pioneers made Island their home for much of the Nineties, the decade of dance.


P is for Pulp and PJ Harvey. With Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and West Country siren PJ, the label found themselves with two mercurial and marvellous talents. Jarv sang Common People while PJ asked Is This Desire?


Q is for Quintessence. Barmy English prog-rock band who drew on jazz and Indian music to create their trancelike soundscapes. Three albums for Island, a couple more for RCA and then they disappeared in a cloud of sweetly scented smoke.


R is for Roxy Music. The art-rock stylists led by Bryan Ferry gave their clothes designers higher billing than their producers. Beneath the glam veneer were superb musicianship and dazzling songs - Virginia Plain, Street Life and Do The Strand among them.


S is for Sparks and Sugababes. The manic Mael brothers exploded on to the charts in 1974 with This Town Ain't Big Enough For The Both Us. Typically quirky, undeniably imaginative Island signings. The label's pop credentials were enhanced in recent years by the silky skills of girl group Sugababes.


T is for Traffic and Tom Waits. A key early signing, psychedelic rockers Traffic showcased the precocious talents of Steve Winwood. He went on to deliver a No3 album for Island with 1980's Arc Of A Diver.


U is for U2. They told SFTW earlier this year they were just "four chancers from Dublin who got lucky". The biggest band in the world made seminal albums for the label such as The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.


V is for Video Killed The Radio Star. The Island purists probably held up their hands in horror but this insanely ridiculous piece of bubblegum pop gave The Buggles a monster hit.


W is for Amy Winehouse. She may be wayward but Amy delivered one of Island's most successful albums ever - Back To Black. With her sultry, soulful voice and towering beehive, she conjured up a retro-styled classic that won comparisons with Billie Holiday.

X is for X-Clan. One of many hip-hop acts associated with Island through their US subsidiaries. Brooklyn's X-Clan caused controversy in the early Nineties with their militant, supercharged raps.


Y is for Yusuf. The artist formerly known as Cat Stevens was Island's first superstar, the ultimate bedsit troubadour behind albums such as Tea For The Tillerman and Teaser And The Firecat. Now after 30 years away, he's back on Island.


Z is for ZTT. Island hooked up with producer Trevor Horn's label to release the barnstorming Frankie Goes To Hollywood double album Welcome To The Pleasuredome. It included hits Relax, Two Tribes and The Power Of Love.


Further notes from an Island: Aswad (Reggae West London-style), The B52's (space-punk-disco serving of Rock Lobster), Dr Strangely Strange (super-weird Irish folkies), Tom Tom Club (rhythmic brilliance from Talking Heads offshoot), John Cale (post-Velvet Underground solo sorties), Eddie And The Hot Rods (Island's nod to punk).

thesun

U2 manager: 'Ultimately free is the enemy of good'

May 28, 2009 4:00 AM PDT - By Greg Sandoval


U2's manager continues to push ISPs and technologists to take responsibility for protecting digital content. (Credit: U2.com)

Paul McGuinness, manager of the iconic band U2, sees stronger copyright laws in France, the Pirate Bay on trial, U.S.-based Internet service providers doing more to protect music, and still he isn't satisfied.

In January 2008, McGuinness delivered a speech that would become a call to arms on both sides of the free-content debate. During his address to attendees of the Midem music conference, the largest recording industry trade show, McGuinness lashed out at the "hippy values" of technologists, accused ISPs of profiting "on the back" of music creators, called the Digital Millennium Copyright Act a "thieves charter" and criticized the big record companies for a "lack of foresight."

Last year, McGuinness, stuck one of the world's most popular and beloved rock bands almost dead into the center of the debate over piracy, copyright, and the role of Internet service providers in protecting music and movies from illegal file sharing. The fallout and criticism, much of which came from technologists and proponents of free content, hasn't shaken McGuinness from his views. In an interview with CNET News, McGuinness once again was critical of ISPs, calling some of their recent piracy-prevention efforts insincere and "illusory."

A year after McGuinness' speech, France this month adopted a "three strikes law," which calls for ISPs to suspend a subscriber's service if they are accused three times of pirating copyright material. Here in the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America promised in December that a group of ISPs had agreed to help the music industry protect content. Some ISPs already had adopted strict enforcement procedures and others have started testing "graduated responses." Still, six months later, no major broadband provider has publicly acknowledged working with the RIAA.


Paul McGuinness (Credit: U2.com)

Question: What kind of impact did your Midem speech have?
McGuinness: Well, I suppose I had become over the years alarmed by the decline in the traditional music industry and I suppose to some extent that is typical of me or a characteristic of mine that I will freely confess is very much part of my own business thinking that the giant music corporations were there to be infiltrated and worked with rather than against.

Our own record deal with Island Records, which was eventually acquired by Polygram, and then acquired by Universal, gave us the opportunity to break U2 worldwide. Island in the early days had 19 different licensees around the world and we were still able to take the Joshua Tree album in 1987 to No. 1 in many countries, as many as 30. So the record company was not the enemy. It was there to be worked with. These extraordinary marketing and distribution machines were there to be utilized--if they would let you get your hands on their controls. That I suppose is what you try to ensure when you make your deal and improve it over the years. That is certainly what we did with U2. So, we never felt victimized by the industry. I know there have been many casualties along the way and there have been people who made bad deals.

But we never really saw ourselves as victims. We improved our commercial terms with our publishers and record company over the years and we've ended up in a situation where there is no sense of unfairness. In fact, there is a strong sense of partnership, which I know is unusual. U2 owns the masters of every song they ever recorded and copyright of every song they ever wrote. I know U2 is an unusual situation, but it's not impossible to get yourself into that sort of a situation. So, the industry has my support if you like--not in all its manifestations. I think it has made several massive strategic mistakes over the years, certainly with regard to the Internet, but I don't hate them.

Give us an update of where in your view the ISPs have changed?
McGuinness: Some of the progress has been illusory. The ISPs as a group make the noises that they are required to make when it comes to what is politically necessary or when there is a scare, say for instance, something about security or pornography or pedophilia on the Internet. That is when you will see a rapid reaction from the ISPs to defend themselves against any kind of legislation or intervention or monitoring. I'm not sure it's a sincere reaction very often because I think the ISPs, if you take them as a group, have for many years been much more interested in selling broadband subscriptions around the world than they have in doing what is right.

What I think is right for them and indeed the content makers, and that would include newspapers, book authors, movie makers, music makers, sports teams, the people who make the free content that ISPs are pumping through their pipes, deserve to be recompensed. Realistically the only way they are going to be recompensed is in partnership with ISPs, who after all, are collecting revenues from their subscribers.

"I think there is a big moral question for civilization. It's not good enough to say that the Internet is free to all and there should be no restrictions on its use." --Paul McGuinness, U2 manager

And I think the tipping point is occurring round about now. Perhaps broadband subscription sales are saturated in many territories and the ISPs are belatedly but realistically now turning to building revenue collection businesses with the content owners. I just hope it's not too late.

Sometimes when we were discussing these matters, we would talk of who in the world could make the greatest change to this environment and the way people think about this. We frequently came back to Rupert Murdoch. He's is, of course, in the sports business. He is in the movie business. He is in the print content business. He's a content maker and distributor of enormous significance. I thought that it was very interesting that he recently predicted that print content would have to be paid for in the future and the advertising-supported model could now be described as a failure. That was a big tipping point as well. I think that speech of his or declaration was of enormous significance.

I suppose I hope it was a warning, a red light for the ISPs because I do not think they've been sincere in their attempts to work with governments or content owners to date. I think they could have done an awful lot more. All they have to do currently is make the right noises and things go on as before. But will it be too late? I know there are legislative events taking place in France and signs of them in other countries.

The Pirate Bay case is of enormous significance, because there you had some very murky individuals hiding behind these sort of hippy types who front Pirate Bay. But the businessmen behind them have a very sort of shady commercial and political background. So, I think I'd love to see it made coherent, but of course the Internet is International.

It's possible to locate a Pirate Bay-type operation in any part of the world. I think if copyright is to continue and to provide one of the basic building blocks of civilization, and I don't think that's putting it too strongly, there will have to be some sort of willing International support for creative people. And I use a very wide description of what creativity is. I include a football team, which used to fund part of their activities by selling their rights in Southeast Asia. The European football leagues are now available on the Internet when they used to sell those rights on TV.

People would tell me stuff over the last couple of years about the level of cynicism that perhaps exists with the ISPs industry. I'm sure you know what (Deep Packet Inspection) is. When it sometimes is said that it's impossible to get under the hood of the Internet, that is not true. It's taking place on a massive scale anyway for other purposes and for it to take place in order to reward creative people I think would be perfectly possible. But will it happen?

Are we doomed to a future of bad demos and reality TV shows? That's the way the graph is descending.

Do you think ISPs are the last hope of copyright protection?
McGuinness: I think so, yes. Well, the ISPs and indeed, their airborne, their satellite equivalents. I think they bear a huge responsibility to put things right. They ought to want content and they ought to be taking responsibility for making sure that it occurs and it is remunerated.

Do you appreciate what Radiohead and Trent Reznor are doing, trying to find a new paradigm?
I admire what Radiohead have done tremendously in seeking a new model. They would take the view, and I would share it, that perhaps price has been a big problem for the music business. The music business has tried to hold onto a price that was unrealistic for a long time now. I think wider distribution of lower priced things is probably the future.

The feeling in the free-music community is that musicians have profited for a long time. What do you say to the person who says U2 has made plenty of money so why are you complaining?
McGuinness: That's true of U2. It's always very difficult for me to make the case for what's right and wrong because people just say: 'Well, U2 don't need any more money.' That's true, but I am talking about the right and wrong of it here because even though we have the biggest touring attraction in the world, that's not true for everyone.

One of the reasons we have a worldwide audience is that we were able, we usually have, the biggest touring attraction, but that's not true for everyone. It's important to remember the traditional worldwide star-making functions of the big record companies. There's nothing on the horizon to replace that.

"Artists are entitled to get paid, whatever kind of art they do, the same way technologists are entitled to get paid." --Paul McGuinness, U2 manager

That was what I was always interested in personally as a businessman and manager. We as a band, U2, were excited about the idea of being big all over the world. We freely admit that. I don't know how people will do that in the future. I think the universality of pop music that we've become used to in the last few decades that's in danger. There is, of course, local repertoires, music in every part of the world. I'm not a mad imperialist.

I'm not trying to get everyone to listen to the same kind of music, but the Beatles caught the imagination of nearly everyone in the world. So did Elvis. There have been a few other examples, like U2. I'd hate to see that stop happening.

What do you see as the role of technology? What would you say to technologists who are interested in digital music?
I would really like them to willingly go to the movie studios and the music companies and say this is how we can collect money from the people who are listening to your stuff and watching your movies. We acknowledge that it's the fair thing to do and we have some responsibility for doing it. Let's do it together and let's make some money. I've heard the estimates that half of traffic across the Internet is technically illegal non-paid-for content. That can't go on. It's such a waste. Future generations of artists will face a vacuum where payment used to be. Artists are entitled to get paid, whatever kind of art they do, the same way technologists are entitled to get paid.

But if the technology you develop prevents artists from being remunerated then there's something wrong with it. I'd like to get a moral tone into the discussion. I think there is a big moral question for civilization. It's not good enough to say that the Internet is free to all and there should be no restrictions on its use. I had the experience last year of making a speech to a group of (Members of European Parliament) in Brussels and they were very hostile to the idea of any kind of monitoring or regulation of the Internet, which they regarded as the precursor to a form of taxation. And of course, as politicians, they were against any kind of increased taxation. But it's not taxation. It's paying for something that people are consuming.

One official in Brussels, a senior Brussels civil servant, came up to me after I made the speech. I was there with a small group of lobbyists and he said to me 'In Brussels there are probably five or six lobbyists representing the content worldwide. There are thousands representing the ISPs, telcos and the technology industries.' He said it's really overwhelming the forces you have against you.

I started to glimpse the politics of it at that stage. I hope that our politicians, our journalists our media gain a sense of how much we stand to lose if free prevails. Ultimately free is the enemy of good.

source: cnet

Be a Part of the 1st World MS Day - May 27, 2009

Wed May 27, 7:00 am ET
To: BUSINESS EDITORS


Contact: Arney Rosenblat, +1-212-476-0436, Arney.rosenblat@nmss.org


The U.S. National MS Society Joins More than 50 Countries Holding Events to Support This Global Initiative to Build Awareness for MS


NEW YORK, May 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The first coordinated global initiative to highlight the proliferation of multiple sclerosis (MS) is being launched on May 27. Organized by the Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (MSIF) with the help of MS Societies in 54 countries, including the United States and Canada, the day will be marked by more than 160 events around the world in a concerted effort to build awareness for MS and enhance collaboration that will bring us closer to a world free of multiple sclerosis.


(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090302/DC77093LOGO )


The focus of World MS Day is on the needs of people with multiple sclerosis, the lack of capacity to diagnose and treat MS in many countries and the urgent need for more research to help eradicate the disease. It encourages people affected by MS worldwide to come together to take positive action in the MS movement by sharing their experiences, by donating time and funds to both support MS programs that will help people with MS move forward with their lives and spur MS research to end the disease, and to persuade legislative representatives to take steps that will ensure that people with MS everywhere can lead a life of possibility, dignity and fulfillment.


MS is found in every country in the world, and is one of the most common neurological diseases amongst people in their 20s and 30s. It is a prime of life disease striking just when people are building their careers and families. MS affects at least twice as many women as men and up to 60% of people diagnosed with MS will experience long-term disability. Though because of continuing medical breakthroughs, MS is now a treatable disease for the majority of people with are diagnosed, there is still no cure.


Some Highlights on World MS Day


Here in the United States:


The U.S. National MS Society will send an email action alert to over 850,000 individuals with affiliations to the Society asking recipients to tell Congress to fix health care now. With just two clicks all recipients can make their voices heard on the Hill.


The U.S. National MS Society will launch an educational partnership with MS Societies in Cuba and India.


Two women with MS -- Lori Schneider and Wendy Booker, have traveled to Mount Everest seeking to be the first individuals with MS to summit. Lori reached the summit on Friday 5/22. See: www.empowermentthroughadventure.com and www.wendybooker.net


World MS Day offers everyone across the nation the opportunity to join the global MS movement and make their voices heard in support of a world free of multiple sclerosis. For easy tips, visit: http://www.nationalmssociety.org/get-involved/events/world-ms-day/index.aspx


A Satellite Media tour will be held with country music star Clay Walker promoting a Society MS Learn Online program on Healthy Living with MS, sponsored by Teva Neuroscience.


A Satellite Media tour will be held introducing the results of the MS Viewpoints Survey on Understanding the Outlook of Emerging Therapies, sponsored by EMD Serono.


MyBrainGames developed by the MS Technology Collaborative, which includes the Society, Bayer HealthCare, and Microsoft, will preview the MyBrainGames created to address cognitive challenges in MS.


A Press Release will be globally distributed by Biogen Idec supporting the goals of World MS Day.


In Other Parts of the World:

The rock group U2 has lent support to the goals of World MS Day by donating the use of their song "Beautiful Day" as the anthem for the global campaign film which highlights the many different faces of MS.

MS Society of Palestine will open its first office.

In Belgium, Canada, France and Luxembourg, "Roll for MS" cycling and motorcycling events will be held.

In Ireland, eight people will climb six mountains in 72 hours.

In Mumbai and Delhi, India, human chains will be formed.

In Norway, a research conference will occur.

In Greece and Cyprus, concerts will be offered.

To Join the Global Movement to End MS and for further information on World MS Day and the events occurring to mark it, visit www.worldmsday.org

"World MS Day is so important because it reinforces that MS is a global disease, which demands global awareness, a global movement and global action," said Joyce Nelson, President and CEO of the U.S. National MS Society. "There must also be quality and affordable healthcare to ensure that all people with MS can lead a life of possibility, dignity, and fulfillment," she adds.

World MS Day initiatives are occurring in the following countries:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Palestinian Authority, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, UK, Uruguay and USA.

About the National Multiple Sclerosis Society

The National MS Society addresses the challenges of each person affected by MS by funding cutting edge research, driving change through advocacy, facilitating professional education, collaborating with MS organizations around the world, and providing programs and services designed to help people with MS and their families move their lives forward. In 2008 alone, through the national office and 50 state network of chapters, the Society devoted over $136 million to programs that enhanced more than one million lives. The Society also invested nearly $50 million to support 440 research projects around the world. To learn more about MS and the Society visit www.nationalMSsociety.org.

About Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS.

MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.1 million worldwide.


SOURCE The National Multiple Sclerosis Society

yahoo

****

American Woman Becomes First Person With Diagnosed Multiple Sclerosis To Reach The Top Of MT Everest
Main Category: Multiple Sclerosis
Article Date: 27 May 2009 - 0:00 PDT

American climber Lori Schneider of the US State of Wisconsin has become what is believed to be the first person with diagnosed multiple sclerosis to get to the top of Mt Everest. Lori Schneider, aged 52, reached the top of the world in the early hours of Saturday morning London time, carrying with her a banner celebrating the upcoming World MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Day on Wednesday 27 May (http://www.worldmsday.org). The banner reads: "Join the Global Movement. End MS!" (Note to picture editors: photo will be available as soon as Lori Schneider descends).

Lori Schneider has carried the World MS Day banner in her backpack every step of the way. Leaving Base Camp at Everest earlier this week, she said "I am climbing this mountain for all of us with MS, and all those who need to be reminded to live their dreams," she says.

"Climbing a mountain is similar to having MS - you concentrate on taking one step at a time and congratulate yourself with each step. At first I saw my MS diagnosis as devastating. Now I see that it has been a positive catalyst in my life which has moved me closer to living my dreams. My mission is to give hope to others who are living with this condition."

"The MS community around the world is celebrating Lori's achievement," said the CEO of the London-based Multiple Sclerosis International Federation Peer Baneke. "Lori is an inspiration to everyone who has MS or who knows someone with MS. It is a fantastic way to mark our very first World MS Day," he said.

World MS Day aims to be a day of unity, strength and solidarity for people affected by MS across the world. The goal is to mobilise and expand the global MS movement by encouraging people to talk about their MS experiences, donate to MS charities, join MS organisations and encourage politicians to take action. It has been organised by the London-based Multiple Sclerosis International Federation (http://www.msif.org) and by MS Societies in 54 countries around the world.

World MS Day will be marked by the release of a special Global Campaign short film made with support from rock group U2 showing the "1000 faces of Multiple Sclerosis" to the music of U2's "A Beautiful Day". For more details, see below.

Source
World MS Day

medicalnewstoday

Celebrities join online campaign

Wednesday, May 27, 2009 » 11:16pm

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and celebrities including actor George Clooney have added their voices to an online petition calling for the freeing of Burmese democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

The '64 for Aung San Suu Kyi' campaign wants her 64th birthday on June 19 to be the last she spends under house arrest.

The campaign has been launched in Britain as Aung San Suu Kyi is on trial behind closed doors on charges of violating the conditions of her house arrest after a US man, John Yettaw, swam across a lake to her home.

It also comes as her supporters marked on Wednesday the 19th anniversary of the National League for Democracy election win which was annulled by the military regime, leading to party leader Aung San Suu Kyi being placed under house arrest in 2003.

Brown's message, released by his office on Wednesday, says: 'I add my voice to the growing chorus of those demanding your release. For too long the world has failed to act in the face of this intolerable injustice. That is now changing.

'The clamour for your release is growing across Europe, Asia, and the entire world. We must do all we can to make this birthday the last you spend without your freedom.'

The website also includes a letter signed by members of the 'Not on Our Watch' campaign, including Clooney and U2 frontman Bono.

They say: 'Nineteen years ago, the Burmese people chose Aung San Suu Kyi as their next leader.

'For most of those 19 years she has been kept under house arrest by the military junta that runs the country.

'We must not stand by as she is silenced again. Now is the time for the international community to speak with one voice: Free Aung San Suu Kyi.'

Her trial has sparked international outrage, with US President Barack Obama on Tuesday calling on Burma's military rulers to 'immediately and unconditionally' release her.

Aung San Suu Kyi told the trial judges on Tuesday she had not breached the terms of her house arrest, saying that she had only offered 'temporary shelter' to Yettaw.

bgipondnews - skynews

Mutiny Pictures 2nd Quarter Round-up: U2, Eminem, ABC, Selena Gomez, and Drew Seeley

On Wednesday May 27, 2009, 9:00 am EDT

Los Angeles-based Mutiny Pictures reports busy winter and spring with key accounts including Interscope Records, ABC, and Razor & Tie Records' Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley

LOS ANGELES, May 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Mutiny Pictures (www.MutinyPictures.net), a Los Angeles-based film company specializing in online branded entertainment and webisode production, made several company announcements through founder Michael Pierce on recent high-profile projects that showcase their branding capabilities and post-production expertise.

Mutiny Pictures director Kenny Stoff recently teamed up with U2 to document the launch of the band's first album in five years. "3 Nights Live" featured a three day, whirlwind tour from Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston where the band mingled with fans and the media in a Q&A session hosted by Shirley Manson. The Boston stop culminated with an intimate, live performance featuring songs from U2's new record "No Line On The Horizon."

In addition to U2, Kenny Stoff was reunited with Interscope Records' artist Eminem to create a 30 minute program of original content for the making of his new video. "We Made This" is the lead single from his latest LP, Relapse, and is currently appearing on MTV and M2. Stoff and Eminem previously collaborated on the MTV hit "Making the Ass" which featured the puppetry of Crank Yankers and performances by Sarah Silverman and Jimmy Kimmel.

"We know we can rely on Kenny Stoff and the Mutiny Pictures team for great creative with quick post production turnarounds," remarked Michelle An of Interscope Records. "We trust them with our most prominent artists and they continue to impress."

Stoff also directed the music video "New Classic" for Razor & Tie Records' Selena Gomez and Drew Seeley. The track is from the soundtrack of Disney's "Another Cinderella Story" and has, to date, attracted over 500,000 views on YouTube.

Company directors Stephen Brown and Erin Brown also teamed up to direct the music video for The Strange Familiar and their song "Courage Is." The music of The Strange Familiar is currently being featured on the ABC show "Secret Life of An American Teenager." The music video takes a subtle, heartfelt and credible approach to teen pregnancy and the adversity of life.

Added Pierce: "It's exciting to work with such a wonderful group of artists and I'm extremely proud of the work Kenny Stoff, Erin Brown and Stephen Brown have created. I am looking forward to the second half of 2009 and continuing to push the limits of traditional and new media."

About Mutiny Pictures

Mutiny Pictures (www.MutinyPictures.net) is a turnkey production through post-production solution for film, television, commercials and title sequence needs. The company offers a unique pairing of experienced directors and high-end visual effects and post production. Client accounts include J. Walter Thompson, McCann Erickson, ABC, Sony BMG and Universal Music Group, T-Mobile, GM, Lexus, BBDO, Team One, David and Goliath, and DDB.

Contact: Rebekah Iliff/SGC, +1-310-770-8338, Rebekah@SmartGirlsConsulting.com.

This release was issued on behalf of the above organization by Send2Press®, a unit of Neotrope®. http://www.Send2Press.com

yahoo

Dexter student passes on Make-a-Wish donations to the United Nations Foundation to treat patients in Africa
by Jo Mathis | The Ann Arbor News
Tuesday May 26, 2009, 10:52 AM



In the basement of his Scio Township home, Laurence Carolin, 14, plays guitar next to a poster customized with cutout pictures of U2 singer Bono superimposed over the members of Led Zeppelin.

As long as he can remember, Laurence Carolin, 14, has wanted to meet members of his favorite band, U2, and its lead singer, Bono.

For a while last year, for a very sad reason, he thought his dream might come true.

The Dexter Middle School eighth-grader was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor in December 2007 and was given the chance to make a wish through the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Could he meet Bono? he wondered.

When he learned that a meeting could not be arranged, Laurence quickly came up with Plan B.

He asked Make-a-Wish to give the money it would have spent on him to the United Nations Foundation to treat AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria patients in Africa. That happens to be a charity that Bono supports.

Who knows? Now, maybe Bono will want to meet Laurence.

"I was dealt these cards, and I have to play them out, the best I can," said Laurence, sitting in his Scio Township home wearing one of his many soccer jerseys. "What keeps me going are my great friends, and music, and the hope that more people would be aware of what's happening in Africa and what can be de done. I believe extreme poverty in Africa is a totally doable thing to overcome."

It's unusual for a child's wish to be so altruistic, said Susan Lerch, president and CEO of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Michigan.

"The fact that a teenager would come up with something like this is extraordinarily beautiful," she said, "and tremendously generous that his wish is to make a positive difference in the lives of others who are facing tremendous hardship and difficulties."

His prognosis isn't good. He has glioblastoma multiforme, the most aggressive type of brain cancer. Few patients survive longer than three years.

Laurence is 5-foot-7 and 104 pounds. Even after two operations, intensive radiation therapy and chemotherapy, he learned through a recent MRI that his tumor has was growing again. After shrinking last year from the size of a baseball, it doubled in three months to the size of plum.

Laurence has decided he's going for quality of life over quantity. He's vowed not to spend the time he has left feeling sick from treatment if he doesn't see progress.

Laurence's doctor recently presented him with the choice of trying a different combination of chemotherapy drugs or not doing anything. The teenager said he'd be willing to try the new drugs for three months. He starts the new treatment this week.

His mother, Lisa, said that's because he was feeling fairly well. Feeling wiped out has become the norm.

Korean-born, Laurence Carolin was adopted when he was 5 months old. His adoptive father now lives in Tennessee. Lisa Carolin is a reporter for the Livingston Community News, a publication of The Ann Arbor News.

"I could be living a much less fortunate life," Laurence said. "If I was living in a poorer country that's not developed, I'd be dead by now."

As it is, he's hanging in there, making the most of every day he has left.

"I'm a balding 14-year-old," he said, joking about the results of chemotherapy. "How often does that happen?

Last year a Community Service and Leadership class at Mill Creek Middle School wanted to ask for donations for Laurence. He asked the class to do a food drive for the nonprofit Faith in Action instead.

"There's been a wonderful outpouring of support from the Dexter community," said Lisa Carolin.

Regular homemade meals arrived at the house for six months until the grateful Carolins asked for them to stop. "People just want to be able to do something," Lisa Carolin said.

Dexter Community Schools provide a tutor who visits a couple times a week. While Laurence doesn't often make it to school now, he's played soccer for the Dexter Soccer Club. He plays his guitar for hours, and enjoys cooking healthy meals for his mom and friends even when he doesn't have an appetite himself.

It was during his depression that Laurence did a lot of research on hunger.

"This cancer's knocked me off my feet, of course, but it's let me discover suffering in another perspective, especially in Asia and South Africa," Laurence said. "Before cancer came my way, I was living life on a highway. It was really predictable life. I was almost blinded to what happens outside the United States.

"Death isn't a big deal to me. It's just another part of life. Some people die earlier than others. ... I can accept dying, but I don't want to die before there's an end to extreme poverty in Africa."

Anyone wishing to make a contribution in Laurence Carolin's name to the United Nations Foundation may call Make-a-Wish at 734-994-8620 and ask for Sharon Ceci. Jo Mathis can be reached at jmathis@annarbornews.com or 734-994-6849.

source: mlive

Eno artwork lights up opera house

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 12:57 UK


Eno's 77 Million Paintings was also shown at the 2006 Venice Biennale

The artwork of music producer Brian Eno is illuminating the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House as part of a sound and light festival in the city.

They have become a canvas for audio-visual work 77 Million Paintings which uses "self-generating software" to manipulate 300 of Eno's drawings.

He says it aims to provoke "visual ecstasy" and "heightened calm".

The inaugural Luminous festival, curated by the ex-Roxy Music man, runs from Tuesday until 14 June.


By allowing ourselves to let go of the world that we have to be part of every day, and to surrender to another kind of world, we're allowing imaginative processes to take place

Brian Eno

The festival was launched earlier with the first display of 77 Million Paintings, which will be shown from 1700 local time each night during the festival.

Eno said the constantly evolving display of colour, shape and form - already shown in the US and countries across Europe - would help people to "surrender to another kind of world".

"All the things that humans do, including imagining, are the way we deal with emergencies including the global financial crisis," the 61-year-old told BBC News.

"So to imply, 'oh God, there's a crisis, no time for imagining any more' - it's not true.

"This is the time for imagining and the way we learn to imagine, one of the ways we learn to imagine, is through the experience of art."

The human ability to imagine made people "capable of surviving," he added.

"By allowing ourselves to let go of the world that we have to be part of every day, and to surrender to another kind of world, we're allowing imaginative processes to take place."

'Meditative experience'

Sydney Opera House chief executive Richard Evans said giving permission to project the work onto the sails was "not done lightly".

We're not colouring in the opera house, we're actually kind of taking the art of the opera house and raising it to a different level

Sydney Opera House chief executive Richard Evans

"It's a number of colours which kind of meld into one another and move around, sometimes quickly, sometimes very, very slowly, most times quite slowly," he added.

"As you watch it, it's a very meditative experience.

"We're not colouring in the opera house, we're actually kind of taking the art of the opera house and raising it to a different level."

Musical highlights of the Luminous festival include performances from dub star Lee "Scratch" Perry and electro-pop outfit Ladytron.

Festival organisers say Eno was chosen as curator because of "his great sophistication and inventiveness".

Educated in fine arts, Brian Eno leapt to fame in the 1970s band Roxy Music which he co-founded with Brian Ferry.

He has since produced records for the likes of Talking Heads, Ultravox, U2 and Coldplay.

source: bbc

Lucinda Breeding: Spidey learns to sing

01:15 AM CDT on Sunday, May 24, 2009
By Lucinda Breeding

She’s put The Lion King on Broadway, and she put Juan Darien and Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus at the Lincoln Center. Now, Academy Award nominee Julie Taymor is hoping to take Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark to Broadway, as a musical.

The project looks to be no small feat. Taymor shares writing credits with Glen Burger (Underneath the Lintel) and the composers are none other that U2’s Bono and the Edge. That means the music will be pop-opera with guts and the lyrics will be sheer poetry.

Taymor’s production staff will be in Austin from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Dougherty Arts Center. The producers are looking for three performers: Peter Parker, also known as Spider-Man; Mary Jane, Peter’s love interest and literally the beautiful girl next door; and the lead female villain. The casting agents are also looking for understudies for the principal roles.

The casting call prompts a quick survey of Denton talent, and we could think of a few performers who could line up behind other hopefuls for juicy roles in a Spider-Man that web-slings through Broadway.

Peter Parker: The casting directors of Telsey + Company (Rent, Across the Universe, Wicked) are looking for a guy, in his late teens or 20s, who has a great rock tenor voice. They note: “Can be nerdy with understated sex appeal and a good sense of humor.”

Denton folks who came to mind? Justin Harmon, a perennial favorite on the Denton stage. He has a tenor voice, and, if he’ll forgive us, can do “nerdy” with understated sex appeal. Another performer with Denton roots is Nando Betancur, a graduate of the Denton public school fine arts programs who made Pippin look easy a few years back. His disposition could put him in line to play Peter Parker.

The casting directors’ note for Mary Jane: female, late teens or 20s, with a strong pop/rock singing voice. Recent Ryan High School graduate Kaci Carpenter showed off her rock-pop chops in the school’s staging of Nunsense. And a list of young women from Guyer High School developed pop-rock vocals in Cats — especially Caroline Dubberly and Nicole Luft. Baylie Brown, the fledgling country singer from Krum, could take on the score, even if she’d have to tone down the twang.

The casting agency has a narrower opening for the female villain. She can be between 25 and 35 years old and “must have an amazing rock voice. Think Sinead O’Connor with a Middle Eastern-Bulgarian-Greek twist.”

Yemenite singer Ofra Haza is no longer with us, and we’re not sure if Denton has a rock singer with that particular ethnic twist, though the voices of Denton singers Denise Stephens, Darnyelle Jones or Treva McFadden could give a casting agent pause. If the villain were male, Denton High graduate Arjun Chandrasekaran could have handled the rock vocals with Middle Eastern vocal effects. The kid could handle Les Miserables, and he could sing in his native style.

When Taymor leads a theatrical project, you know it’s going to be ambitious at the very least. Taymor has made a name for herself not just as a director, but as a costume designer and a high-ranking concept woman for puppetry. Her puppets have been small and delicate, and they’ve been two stories tall.

Taymor further established her reputation as a designer when she revived the movie musical in Across the Universe, a love story that used 30 songs by the Beatles.

Sure, the movie was a feast for the eyes and celery for the soul, but no one paints a stage picture like Julie Taymor.

All indications are that the famous director is looking for fresh faces for this stage version of a superhero story.

“Regardless of experience, anyone who thinks they might be qualified is encouraged to audition,” the press release said.

Trying to mount a Marvel comic book character on the Broadway stage is more possible today than it’s ever been, and this effort is bound to attract critics and indignant purists. But given the credentials of the directorial team, this Spider-Man might just fly. It would be very American Idol for some talented young locals to try out.


LUCINDA BREEDING can be reached at 940-566-6877. Her e-mail address is cbreeding@dentonrc.com.

source: dentonrc

The label that launched U2 and Marley

21 May 2009 10:20 UK

By Ian Youngs - Music reporter, BBC News


Blackwell positioned Bob Marley and the Wailers as a black rock group

Bob Marley, U2, Roxy Music and Nick Drake are among the artists who have called the Island Records label home over the last 50 years.

As the label celebrates its 50th birthday, founder Chris Blackwell reveals how he built one of music's most celebrated and enduring stables.

The bill for a series of anniversary concerts, which start in London next week, gives an idea of the idiosyncratic and often impeccable Island line-up over the last half century.

Reggae stars Sly & Robbie will be joined by Grace Jones and recent chart-topper Tinchy Stryder. Yusuf Islam, who signed to the label as Cat Stevens, is supported by Senegalese icon Baaba Maal.

There is "Modfather" Paul Weller with ska pioneer Ernest Ranglin, a night headlined by indie floorfillers The Fratellis, and a final show that sees Amy Winehouse supported by Jamaican heroes Toots and the Maytals and one of the label's brightest new hopes, I Blame Coco.

The Island story started in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in 1959, when 22-year-old jazz fanatic Blackwell fell in love with the music of a jazz pianist called Lance Hayward, who had been performing in his hotel.

So Blackwell took him into a recording studio. "I just loved the band," Blackwell says. "It was purely driven by being a fan.

"It wasn't driven by thinking, 'This is a great business to go into'. I was teaching waterskiing which was great fun. A great way to meet girls."


Blackwell saw his first U2 show on the same day as Marley's last London gig

But he continued to take local talent in to the studio and Island was soon enjoying a string of number one hits in Jamaica.

By 1962, Jamaica had gained its independence from the UK and Blackwell decided that his white skin meant he "would be viewed more as part of yesterday than tomorrow".

So he moved to London and set about peddling his repertoire to record shops and stalls, tearing around in his Mini Cooper with stacks of records in the back.

"I loved all that. I was happy as could be. I wasn't hoping that something would happen and I'd get pulled out of it."

But Blackwell changed from being a car boot wheeler dealer to a bona fide music mogul in 1964, when he brought 14-year-old Millie Small from Jamaica to London to record a song called My Boy Lollipop.

"I knew it was a hit when I left the studio," Blackwell says. "It just was irresistible. It sold six million, it gave me a launchpad, and suddenly I was in the mainstream record business."

Millie, on the other hand, was unable to take advantage of the launchpad, and swiftly disappeared.


I tried to pick people who were not going to be a flash in the pan because I was always a bit scarred by Millie

"I was very proud of myself initially when she had this hit and was doing so well, and then I felt rather differently when it all sort of evaporated. I felt a responsibility."

From that point on, Blackwell looked for artists who were likely to have long careers.

"I tried to pick people who were not going to be a flash in the pan because I was always a bit scarred by Millie," he says.

By the early 1970s, Island was one of the hottest labels in the country, home to rock and folk acts like Free, Traffic, Cat Stevens, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and King Crimson.

During his Mini Cooper days, Blackwell had released the first single by one Robert Marley. But he had never met the reggae singer until Marley walked into his London office in 1972, and asked for a record deal.

Blackwell was warned off Marley and his band The Wailers, who had gained a reputation for being difficult to work with. But the label boss took a chance.


Blackwell, pictured with Marley's widow Rita, helped bring reggae to the masses

"When I saw them, I was just really impressed with them," he says. "I just felt that the best thing I could do to work with them, was to show them some trust.

"I drew a cheque to them and said 'Go make me a record'. Everybody said 'You're crazy, they'll never do that, these guys are the worst guys'. But it was a good decision because it formed the basis of our relationship because it was a really great working relationship."

The result was Catch A Fire, their first album for the label and the first step in bringing reggae to the masses. That had been the intention all along, says Blackwell, who tried to "tickle the ear" of rock fans in order to break out of the reggae niche.

The album was credited to The Wailers, Blackwell says, because "Bob Marley and the Wailers" did not sound very rock 'n' roll. "I wanted to position them like a black rock group," he says.

"I really changed it and put in synthesisers and rock guitar and stuff like that. And I got slagged for it by the purists, but what I was trying to do, was to break an artist and I wasn't doing it without his OK."


U2 were signed after playing for Blackwell in a south London pub

Another landmark day came in June 1980, when Marley played his last London concert at Crystal Palace Bowl. Straight afterwards, Blackwell checked out a new Irish band at a nearby pub.

"I don't remember there being many people in the audience at all," he recalls. "It seemed like there were about half a dozen to a dozen, but it was a long time ago.

"Although the music wasn't particularly to my personal taste, I just loved the band. I believed in them. They had an aura, they had a passion. I just thought they were going to make it for sure."

That new band was U2, and make it they surely did.

"I had no advice for them. Really, all I did for them was to give them a platform, which was Island Records."

They were another group who benefitted from Blackwell's long-term view. Intriguingly, when asked about the ones that got away, he says he wished he had signed another Irish band.

"I wish we'd got the Hothouse Flowers," he says. "I think they'd have done very well with us. Much better than they did. We were never a singles label. They were a band that could have had a long term career, as U2 did, but I think they were more driven into having hits."


Amy Winehouse is one of Island's current stars

The music industry now, he says, has "crashed" - not in terms of sales, but in the way artists are allowed to develop. Everyone is in too much of a hurry, he believes, which has repercussions for finding a new U2 or Bob Marley.

"There are very few artists who I feel are going to be big stars 20 years from now," he says. "I can't think of many. There may be, but I can't think of them.

"Because they're overexposed too early. They don't get the chance for word of mouth and [developing] a natural organic following, rather than being force fed like a new product."

Blackwell sold Island in 1989, and stepped down as its boss in 1997. Since then, the label's biggest star has been Amy Winehouse, who Blackwell describes as "an extraordinary artist".

"I'm very proud that she's on Island records. She does have the talent and ability to really last a long time. The problem is if she can survive this constant spotlight. I really hope she does."

Despite the drawbacks and turmoil in the music industry, Blackwell says it is a great time for artists and entrepreneurs to take control of their own destinies, as he did five decades ago.

"I think it's a very exciting time for music. If I was the age when I started here in 1962, I'd be there in a second. Absolutely in a second. With my virtual Mini Cooper."

source: bbc

****


Audio slideshow: The Island story
The record label that brought Bob Marley, Roxy Music and U2 to the world's attention has turned 50 - and as part of the celebrations a month-long exhibition, Island Life, is opening in London on Friday 22 May.

Here - with the help of archive interviews with Island Records' founder Chris Blackwell, and artists including Bryan Ferry, Jimmy Cliff and Bono - we have dug through the label's back catalogue to tell the Island story.

Music by Bob Marley and the Wailers, Lord Creator, Millie, Jimmy Cliff, The Spencer Davis Group,
Cat Stevens, Free, Roxy Music, Grace Jones, U2 and The Killers.

Most photos courtesy PA and Getty Images.
Slideshow by Paul Kerley. Publication date 22 May 2009.

source: bbc

Flu-hit Mexico City calls on Bono, Shakira for help
Wed May 20, 2009 9:47am

MEXICO CITY, May 20 (Reuters Life!) - Mexico City's mayor wants to deploy pop stars Bono and Shakira to help put the Mexican capital back on the map as a tourist destination after the H1N1 flu outbreak scared away visitors.

Marcelo Ebrard, a leftist with presidential aspirations, said he has written to the U2 frontman, the Colombian singer and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates to ask them to endorse a publicity campaign to restore the city's image.

The swine flu epidemic emptied Mexico City's normally chaotic streets for days on end, and the city is still haunted by images of face masks and shuttered bars and restaurants.

"We are facing the worst economic emergency in the recent history of Mexico City. Its results may be tragic for thousands of families whose incomes, jobs and investments are at risk," Ebrard said in the letters.

The celebrities, all known for their efforts to combat poverty and disease around the world, are being asked to put their face behind Ebrard's campaign with a visit to Mexico City.

The new flu, which has killed 74 people in Mexico and sparked fears of a pandemic, prompted authorities to shut chunks of the economy for five days and close schools for two weeks to curb contagion, in a huge blow to businesses.

Mexico City receives 12 million tourists every year, 25 percent of them foreigners loaded up with foreign currency.

Ebrard, who has made his mark with popular leisure schemes such as bicycle lanes, city water parks and an end-year ice rink, has already launched a television campaign to lure back Mexican tourists to the capital, featuring good-looking actors shopping and riding double-decker city tour buses. (Reporting by Cyntia Barrera Diaz and Anahi Rama; editing by Patricia Reaney)

reuters

Music Memories: My Time With U2
by Ian Sawyer
Back in 1987, when I was 15 years old, my father took me to see U2 at, what was then, Foxboro Stadium. It was the Joshua Tree Tour, in support of their Grammy winning album that would go on to catapult them to the top of the rock ‘n roll food chain. I was old enough to appreciate the vibrant synergy of the audience and the incredible hold the band had over so many people. But I was too young to fully commit to each song, and took away more of the awe of being amongst 50,000 people than the awe of being in the presence of Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., and Adam Clayton. I remember squinting to see Bono, in a cowboy hat and an arm sling (he had separated his shoulder the night before in New York) because he was so far away. For days after the show, I wore my concert t-shirt with pride even though it was too big for me and hung lifelessly off my bony frame. My friends, and even some strangers, would praise me in the hallway, impressed that I had actually seen U2 live. One year later, the t-shirt would be worn through and reduced to a dust rag.

When U2 returned to Foxboro in August of 1992, supporting Achtung Baby!, I had just turned 20. Things had certainly changed. While I wasn’t technically of drinking age, I will admit that the pre-show tailgating before the concert was one of the most glorious times I’d ever had in a parking lotuntil then, at least. The show itself, featuring an immense stage, inspired set list, and compelling onstage antics, would go down in the history books as one the most over-the-top and impressive live concert events ever. To say that the crowd was into it is like saying a starving man is into filet mignon. It was awesome. Highlights of the Zoo TV Tour included a stage so tall that blinking air-traffic lights were required, a gorgeous belly dancer seducing Bono during “Mysterious Ways,” and Bono phoning the White House to talk to President Bush between songs. In retrospect, the entire production was one long highlight.

Five years would go by before U2 returned to Foxboro, and I made sure I was there. The Popmart Tour, supporting a combination of POP and Zooropa came to town in July of 1997, and I was 25-a pretty good year all around. I was newly single, had a good job, and was living in the Boston area. I had already seen the band in Philadelphia on the same tour and was as big a fan as you could find back then. While many people consider POP and Zooropa to be less than stellar albums, at least by U2 standards, I’ve always found them quite enjoyable. Similarly, the Popmart Tour was considered, by some, to be weird and self-indulgent-a far cry from the successes of Zoo TV. The infamous giant lemon-shaped disco mirror ball, and the enormous yellow arch (suggesting half of the McDonald’s golden arches) were meant to reflect the album’s themes regarding pop culture and commercialism-elements that were lost on many concertgoers. However, I was a big fan of the set list and the techno-heavy nuances they brought to their songs, new and old.

4 years between Zooropa and U2’s next studio album, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, the band shrugged off the flawed character-driven cultural study of the Popmart era and embraced their more personal lyric writing roots. Songs like “Beautiful Day” and “Walk On” were inspiring and uplifting. Appropriately named the Elevation Tour, U2 took the opportunity to leave outdoor stadiums behind, playing strictly arenas. Inside, U2’s heart-shaped stage and cutting edge surround sound system were a welcome departure from the overwhelming grandeur of past tours. The Elevation Tour was more intimate, and more accessible for fans. I caught a couple shows at Boston’s Fleet Center in June of 2001. Having an Irish-based affection for Boston, U2 pulls out all the stops when in town, and I am always proud to be present at a U2 concert in my hometown.

Nothing changed from the Elevation Tour to U2’s next tour. Again taking place in arenas, the Vertigo Tour came to Boston’s Fleet Center in December of 2005 in support of How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. The heart-shaped stage was now a giant circle, and a vast curtain of high-tech light bulbs surrounded the stage, making a floor-to-ceiling see-through screen. The stage was nearly centered in the arena and fans enjoyed seating pretty much all around the stage, upping the intimacy factor. The show I attended was one of the best sounding concerts I have ever been to and, as usual, the crowd was hanging on every guitar riff and vocal chorus.

U2 recently released No Line On The Horizon and is in the midst of warming up for their next world tour. On September 20, I’ll be attending U2 360 in Foxboro. Early stage design research suggests that U2 will be playing in the middle of stadiums on a huge, circular, rotating stage. Reports claim that every seat in the place will afford fans a totally immersive experience. While ticket prices border on outrageous for high quality seats, I feel I owe it to myself to be as close to the band as possible since I’ve supported them on every tour since 1987. For almost 30 years U2 have provided me with a lifelong soundtrack that’s gotten me though the best and worst of days. It’s likely that this will be the last time I’ll have this opportunity to enjoy the tailgating, the crowd, the stage, the lights, and, above all, the music. Hopefully it will feel more like a thank you than a goodbye.

About the Author:
Ian Sawyer is a Freelance Writer for YouMusic.com, The Social Networking Site for Musicians, Featuring a vibrant Music Community has Music Chat Rooms, Music Forums, Music Blogs, Instant Messaging, Music Groups and Concert Tickets such as U2 Concert Tickets

source: kelseypub

FRANCE: LVMH invests in Bono eco brand Edun
14 May 2009 | Source: just-style.com

Luxury goods firm LVMH has completed a minority investment in Edun, an ethical fashion company jointly owned by U2 frontman Bono.

Edun, founded in 2005, aims to do sustainable trade with partners in the developing world.

"We started Edun so people could have a choice to choose beautiful clothes with a great story behind them," explained Ali Hewson, co-owner and Bono's wife.

"LVMH's investment is a vote of confidence in Edun and its mission and an important step in Edun's journey to reach its full potential.

Bono added: "Edun is a small brand with a loud voice. With LVMH, we can grow bigger and faster than we could on our own and bring greater and longer-term stability to our manufacturers and the communities they support."

Edun will continue to be based in Dublin and New York.

Mark Weber, CEO of LVMH and chairman and CEO of Donna Karan International, will oversee the equity investment for LVMH.

source: just-style

New U2 DVD characterized by hero worship of Bono

By Sydney Smith

Special to The Post and Courier

Thursday, May 14, 2009


I'm crazy about Bono and U2. I'm not talking about a little baby fan either: I had a poster of Bono in my college dorm room, I have an extra dessert for Bono's birthday every year (he turned 49 Sunday) and I won't stop talking about them once I start.

That said, I jumped for joy when I heard a new U2 DVD was being released this week. With the title "U2: A Rock Crusade," I envisioned something cutting recent performances with older shows, or perhaps something on the past few years while the band worked on its 2009 CD, "No Line on the Horizon." Whatever it would be, I was excited for anything U2 related to digest.

But it wasn't what I expected. It's a documentary, and a short one at that, coming in about 48 minutes long. A rock crusade, it is not. It would be more appropriately titled "Bono: A Philanthropic Crusade," or maybe something a little catchier.

After the opening few minutes, the other band members disappear from the screen, and Bono, lead singer, is the only U2 member mentioned.

The documentary, produced by Los Angeles-based Infinity Entertainment Group and unauthorized by the band, could pass for a BBC production stylistically. It is not about the band, but rather its frontman, and it's not about the music, but how the frontman uses his celebrity status to bring awareness to humanitarian causes he sees as important.

Old clips, interviews and narration mixed together illustrate many of the global causes Bono has involved himself in from relieving African debt to providing AIDS medications to poor countries. Regardless of personal opinions of Bono, it's hard to deny that he doesn't at least try to do good after seeing this. The documentary will hit you over the head in its praise for Bono. But most impressively, it provides a more subtle look at how Bono works with global leaders, uses his charisma and personal celebrity, and turns his ideas and goals into action. Bono has had enormous success getting support for his causes from leaders in the United States and the European Union.

The story is interesting, but the DVD is flawed. At times, it seemed not flashy enough, especially for Bono. U2 and Bono have used modern technology and advancing media to keep the band, their causes and their personal endeavors relevant over the years — just think about U2's graphically stimulating "Get on your Boots" video and marketing for the RED campaign as a few examples. Why would a DVD focusing on this savvy rock star come across like Musak at times?

For me though, the biggest hang-up wasn't the use of mostly older interviews, but the title and presentation. Going into this, I expected U2. Rock. Music. A little biography. I got Bono. Bono is good. Bono does good. Bono does well at doing good.

But, hey, did you know Bono has been nominated for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and the Nobel Peace Prize? Maybe you should check out a tribute of sorts to the only person to pull that off.

He sounds interesting.

source: postandcourier

Bono-fied Friends Helena Christensen and Ali Hewson - They were supermodel and campaigning supermom, respectively, and then Helena Christensen and Ali Hewson inspired each other to even greater things

April 30, 2009

By: Kevin Conley | Photograph by Matt Jones


Helena Christensen, left, and Ali Hewson in Edun

Helena Christensen was vacationing with her father in the south of France when Ali Hewson first invited them to stay at her place. It was the summer of 1991. Hewson had just had her second child, and her husband, Paul (whom she and nearly everyone else refer to by his stage name, Bono), was taking a break from recording “Achtung Baby” in Berlin. “I used to do my homework to loud U2 music,” Christensen says. “But Ali meant as much to me as Bono did because I already knew he must be inspired by a woman.”

Things have changed since then — Christensen has turned from supermodel to photographer, Bono has become nearly as famous for his diplomacy as for his music, and Hewson has started tinkering with her approach to the family’s second business — global relief. Through it all (including the births of Hewson’s third and fourth children and Christensen’s first), the two women have remained close, and their collaboration on the Hewsons’ latest project, the eco-fashion line Edun, has seen Christensen acting as unofficial brand ambassador, photographer and model. But perhaps most important of all, Edun is a new outlet for the two of them to inspire each other.

At first glance, the business plan for Edun, an organic-cotton fashion line connected to a beautifully photographed celebrity-ad campaign, looks suspiciously like the mission statement of a charitable operation. The business, with manufacturing operations in a constellation of developing nations that currently include Kenya, Mauritius, Peru, Tunisia and India, did grow directly out of Bono’s agitation on behalf of Africa. But the whole point of the Edun endeavor, Hewson says, is to make a profit — not because the executive board needs the money but to demonstrate to other entrepreneurs that it’s possible to do so in developing countries, paying fair wages and relying on local raw material entirely processed and manufactured by local labor, from start to finish. “We’re a tiny company, but we punch above our weight,” Hewson says. “And we don’t let Bono near the clothes.”


Designer Ali Hewson and husband, singer Bono of U2

Hewson has been throwing herself into relief efforts around the world for years — she has been especially active in the Chernobyl Children’s Project International. She also is a founder and partner with Bryan Meehan in an organic skin-care line based on community-trade principles. (Even the brand name, Nude‚ has something in common with Edun.) At Edun Hewson finds herself arranging presentations of the collections one day and meeting with sub-Saharan NGOs the next. The schedule astounds Christensen, who is no stranger to such shuttling. She’s been very active in her friend’s relief efforts — running a charitable auction in New York or donating the proceeds from her recent photo exhibit at the Dactyl gallery, in SoHo, to the Chernobyl project; appearing in Edun fashion shows in Dublin and Cork; and modeling the line in Harper’s Bazaar. But to a great extent, she’s proudest to simply offer an oasis in Hewson’s schedule, inviting her over whenever she’s in town.

At 20, Christensen’s high cheekbones and wide-set, unearthly blue eyes helped her become one of the original “supermodels”; at 40, the features have mellowed into a distinctive wryness. She’s a talker first, funny, opinionated; her high-ceilinged West Village apartment, with its long dinner table and tall stools arranged around a kitchen island, seems designed as a series of stages for casual conversation. But lately, she has turned to photography in earnest, and it was her photos of actors such as Sean Penn, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck that launched Edun’s “One” campaign, a sale of T-shirts funding AIDS relief to Lesotho, Africa.

Designer Ali Hewson and husband, singer Bono of U2Hewson has been throwing herself into relief efforts around the world for years — she has been especially active in the Chernobyl Children’s Project International. She also is a founder and partner with Bryan Meehan in an organic skin-care line based on community-trade principles. (Even the brand name, Nude‚ has something in common with Edun.) At Edun Hewson finds herself arranging presentations of the collections one day and meeting with sub-Saharan NGOs the next. The schedule astounds Christensen, who is no stranger to such shuttling. She’s been very active in her friend’s relief efforts — running a charitable auction in New York or donating the proceeds from her recent photo exhibit at the Dactyl gallery, in SoHo, to the Chernobyl project; appearing in Edun fashion shows in Dublin and Cork; and modeling the line in Harper’s Bazaar. But to a great extent, she’s proudest to simply offer an oasis in Hewson’s schedule, inviting her over whenever she’s in town.

At 20, Christensen’s high cheekbones and wide-set, unearthly blue eyes helped her become one of the original “supermodels”; at 40, the features have mellowed into a distinctive wryness. She’s a talker first, funny, opinionated; her high-ceilinged West Village apartment, with its long dinner table and tall stools arranged around a kitchen island, seems designed as a series of stages for casual conversation. But lately, she has turned to photography in earnest, and it was her photos of actors such as Sean Penn, Gwyneth Paltrow and Ben Affleck that launched Edun’s “One” campaign, a sale of T-shirts funding AIDS relief to Lesotho, Africa.

Ali Hewson
The “One” campaign — that was a complicated shoot — with so many celebrities to fit in on a single day, one after the other. But it turned out to be a breeze, because Helena makes it all so easy. That’s what friendship is about in many ways. You become friends with someone because you see something in them that you admire. Apart from the fact that she’s just a 10 anyway, what’s great about Helena is her sense of style. Anytime you see her dressed, even casually, she’s got her own great understanding of fashion. And so when she wears Edun, it’s like a double compliment, because she wouldn’t wear it unless she liked it, and because with her strong sense of aesthetic, that approval has real value.

One of the reasons I like coming to New York is because I get to come to Helena’s after work at 6 o’clock, and I get a cup of tea, I get fed, I get talked to. She’s a one-woman show. She doesn’t even have a nanny. She’s able to organize her child, her private life, her business life — I think in the last week, she went to Frankfurt, she went to Milan.

She’ll always hit the funny side of any situation, and you can’t put her off. She just has unbelievable stamina. That’s Viking energy. You watch her, and you realize why the Vikings were so successful and how they conquered Ireland.

source: magazine.wsj

LEAVES IN THE WIND - WELCOME * EDGE * BACKGROUND * PROJECT * TEAM * MYTH * CONTACT

from the edge


Welcome


How to build homes responsibly in an area of natural beauty
like the Santa Monica Mountains?

This has been the prevailing question in the minds of all involved in every stage and aspect of planning the project at Sweetwater Mesa. The result is that the five homes designed for these 156 acres will be built on just over 1 acre of the total land, leaving most of the land untouched and in its natural state.


The homes being planned for Sweetwater Mesa will be some of the most environmentally sensitive buildings ever conceived of in Malibu.


These homes are designed to some of today's highest environmental standards. Solar energy will power the homes and heat the water. Water collection and treatment systems will enable re-use and extreme efficiency.

The innovative sustainability plans have the goal of attaining a LEED™(Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold standard that very few homes today meet.

Wallace Cunningham, the homes' award-winning designer, has nestled each of the unique homes as carefully as possible into the natural landscape, minimizing their profile while maximizing the creative usefulness of interior and exterior spaces. The organic designs of the homes will make use of the soil and colors of the land, blending them into their surroundings to the greatest extent possible.

Award-winning landscape architect Pamela Burton completes the marriage of home and surroundings through her innovative planning and her strong commitment to sustainable landscape design.

Among the homes’ many environmentally friendly features are:

*California native landscaping
*Rainwater catchment system
*High-efficiency and low-flow water fixtures
*Onsite wastewater treatment
*Onsite electric vehicle charging
*Radiant floor heating system
*Passive cooling, natural ventilation, and daylighting
*Solar panels to heat water and provide electricity
*Recycled and renewable materials
*In bringing together the very best environmental, architectural and design principles, the owners have sought to create homes that will both set new standards and withstand the test of time.

We invite you to explore the website to learn more and to read a statement from The Edge, one of the homes' owners.

source: leaves in the wind


From the Edge


Dear friends,

Thanks for taking the time to look over the information on this website. I never thought I would have to resort to this form of communication, but because of recent inaccurate media coverage, I felt compelled to set the record straight.

I hope you will agree that my partners and I have worked diligently to design homes that meet the highest environmental standards; that fit appropriately and aesthetically into this beautiful part of Southern California; and that are truly remarkable examples of the best architecture and design.

Why did we go to so much effort? Because my family and I love Malibu. We’ve maintained a residence here for more than a decade, and once our new home is finished we expect to spend much of our time here. We want to create something that we can be proud of.

We all acknowledge and understand the concerns arising from our immediate neighbors and neighborhood about the disruption that any building project causes on daily lives. We take this into consideration and are doing our utmost at looking for ways to minimize this disruption.

I hope the facts and background we’ve included on this site will reassure anyone who may have concerns about our project. I know how quickly rumors can spread and misinformation can multiply. We’ve tried to address those as fully as possible.

The California coast is a true natural treasure, and I believe in responsible design that honors such a unique location. I am confident we have done just that.

Thank you again for visiting.


The Edge

source: leavesinthewind