UPDATE - AUGUST 16 - THIS DAY - U2'S HISTORY: Elvis Presley passes away / 1st time in Slane Castle / The Kitchen / 'Suspicious Minds' for Elvis / ONE campaign and EDUN, new shirt to benefit Lesotho: 'The Power In Your Pocket' / A Day In The Life Of Edge (by Bono) / Irish folk singer Ronnie Drew dies at 73 !


Elvis Aaron Presley - august 16, 1977. The King of Rock 'N' Roll, Elvis Aaron Presley passes away.

"Boy" tour - august 16, 1981. U2 perform in Dublin, Ireland at Slane Castle, supporting "Thin Lizzy". U2 plays its first show ever at Slane Castle outside Dublin, and its only Irish show of 1981. They are on the supporting bill for the annual Slane Festival, which is headlined this year by Thin Lizzy. The band performs five tracks from the forthcoming October album, but none have lyrics that match what will eventually be released on the record. During the encore, the band sings "Happy Birthday" for The Edge's girlfriend Aislinn.

"ZOOTV" tour - august 16, 1992. U2 perform in Washington, D.C. at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium. On this second night, Bono asks for George Bush, and when unable to get through to him Bono asks to leave a message: "Could you just tell the President to watch more TV?" A full version of "Can't Help Falling In Love" is played at the end of the show, which features the crowd singing along. Over these two dates, U2 perform in front of over 97,000 fans. Support is B.P. Fallon, "Primus" and "Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy".

"Clarence Hotel fire forces The Kitchen evacuation" - august 16, 1995. More than 100 people are evacuated from The Kitchen, the basement nightclub below the U2-owned Clarence Hotel in Dublin, when a fire is spotted on the hotel's roof. No one is inside the hotel itself, which was undergoing renovations at the time.

"POPMart" tour - august 16, 1997. Wiener Neustadt, Austria - Airfield - Paradise Now. On the 20th anniversary of the death of Elvis Presley, U2's PopMart show in Vienna, Austria is filled with tributes and references to the King. After performing an acoustic version of "His Latest Flame," Bono jokingly tells the audience, "We ain't gonna kill him a second time!" Before "Last Night on Earth," Bono speaks at some length about Presley while images of pills appear on the video screen. Edge's karaoke is Elvis' "Suspicious Minds." And after the closing song, "One," Bono sings "Can't Help Falling In Love" and just as he did during the Zoo TV tour, tells the audience "Elvis is still in the building."

ONE campaign and EDUN, new shirt to benefit Lesotho: 'The Power In Your Pocket' - August 16, 2006 - EDUN, the socially conscious clothing brand created by Ali Hewson, Bono and New York clothing designer Rogan Gregory, has partnered with ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History to launch a new ONE T-shirt made by EDUN at Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com ($40 retail). The project will help fight global AIDS and extreme poverty, and bring fair trade and AIDS treatment to factory workers and their families in Lesotho, Africa. The ONE T-shirt made by EDUN, will be available at Nordstrom on September 11, 2006. The tee will be sold exclusively at Nordstrom (USA),Harvey Nichols (UK), Printemps (France) and Isetan (Japan) as well as online at one.org, edun.ie, nordstrom.com.

A Day In The Life Of Edge (by Bono) - August 16, 2007 - A remarkable new film, shot and directed by Bono, in which the man they call The Edge takes us on a tour of one ordinary day in his life. (more) In this ground-breaking, high-quality (hand-held) documentary, discover for the first time what life is really like for the guitarist in a legendary rock'n'roll band: see how he responds when he is awoken by the singer two hours before he intended being awoken; learn about his choice of caffeine intake and his strenuous fitness regime; see how he dramatically turns the table on the 'pavarotti' who stalk the lives of the celebrated with their long lenses - and then how he chases them down the beach; discover who has the most clothes backstage and find out just how much earlobe a U2 crew member should reveal. 'I don't want to be in the news,' Edge complains from under his pillow, as Bono rouses him at the crack of dawn. But for one day in Miami, in the middle of a a rock'n'roll tour, Edge is the news. Edge unexpurgated and uncut - you've never seen anything quite like it. View A Day In The Life of Edge in three parts. 'I like to exercise regularly, maybe once or twice every four to six weeks.' - View Part 1: 'Three chords and the trout' - View Part 2: 'Chasing The Pavarotti' - 'Notice how many clothes the singer has compared to how many I have...' - View Part 3: 'Follow The Yellow Tape Road'
U2.com

Irish folk singer Drew dies at 73 - August 16, 2008 - Ronnie Drew, the legendary Irish folk singer and musician, has died at the age of 73, his family has announced. Drew, the founder of The Dubliners, had been battling ill health for some time. In a brief statement, his family confirmed he passed away at St Vincent's Private Hospital in Dublin at 1400 BST on Saturday. ... Earlier this year, members of U2 joined fellow Irish musicians Sinead O'Connor, Shane MacGowan, Christy Moore and others to record a tribute song The Ballad Of Ronnie Drew. All profits from the release of the single went to the Irish Cancer Society. Speaking at the time of the recording, U2 frontman Bono said: "Ronnie is like the King of Ireland, and we are his subjects. "This is a big fight for him. But like any fighter, it's easier if there's a crowd cheering." ... full article - bbc - Ronnie Drew, 1934- 2008 - 'Ronnie has left his earthly tour for one of the heavens...' Bono has paid tribute to the great Ronnie Drew, who has died aged 73, after a long illness. 'Weddings, funerals, bar mitzvahs... that's what I loved about Ronnie Drew's voice and spirit. Music to inspire, to console... an optimism that was contagious... that's what U2 took from The Dubliners. 'Ronnie has left his earthly tour for one of the heavens... they need him up there... it's a little too quiet and pious. God is lonely for a voice louder than His own... then the bad weather will break...' Born in Dublin in 1934, Ronnie Drew founded the group that became The Dubliners and became one of the country's great musical voices. Earlier this year some of Ireland's finest musicians collaborated on 'The Ballad of Ronnie Drew', a track raising funds for The Irish Cancer Society at Ronnie's request. Take another look here - source: U2.com