u2 is Like "Pollution"?

November 30, 2015

LOUIS Walsh yesterday let rip at homegrown talent, giving both barrels to Bressie, Ronan Keating and The Voice of Ireland.

The angry former X Factor judge even compared rockers U2 to "pollution" a day after their spectacular homecoming gigs.

Walsh said of Bono and Co: "They're like pollution, they're everywhere."

Holding nothing back, the 63-year-old Mayo-born music mogul admitted the easiest person he's had to manage - and the person who has made him the most cash - is himself.

Delivering a tongue lashing to Life Is A Rollercoaster singer Keating, Walsh put his success down to his expert managing skills. He said: "Is he talented? I don't know. Since I stopped picking his songs for him, he hasn't had a hit."

But in Louis' eyes, ambition can go a long way towards success.

He said: "Ambition and attitude is almost as important as talent, maybe more important.

"Ronan Keating was selling shoes in Korky's. I put him into Boyzone.

"I picked every single song he ever had when he was having hits. Ronan believes he's Gary Barlow and Ed Sheeran. I have to hand it to him for ambition."

Bressie also came under Louis' harsh criticism as the ex-judge branded him "deluded".

He said: "I like him, but he's deluded about his place in the music business. He hasn't had a hit." And the Voice of Ireland wasn't spared his ire either - he branded the RTE show "bad karaoke". He added: "The Voice of Ireland? They've never even had a minor hit from that programme."

Walsh also offered his opinion on this year's X Factor, the first in 11 years where he hasn't taken a seat at the judging panel.

And with viewing figures down, Louis said the change of judges as well as presenters this year could be to blame.

Louis said: "The ratings are down. If I'm honest, I think people are missing me and Dermot.

"We were part of the show for 11 years, Dermot was a very safe pair of hands."

Although claiming the X Factor is "the most powerful show in the world for music", Louis said boss Simon Cowell needs to keep things fresh. He even served up his honest opinion about former and current contestants of the show, with Cher Lloyd one of the more prominent in Louis' mind.

Louis said Cher was his least favourite of all contestants throughout his 11 years as a judge.

He said: "I didn't like her attitude. I liked her the least in the whole 11 years. I think it's over for her now."

Currently managing boyband HomeTown and Shane Filan, Louis also admitted to turning down a huge pay packet when he opted out of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here!

Refuse to Hate

18 Years Since the Last Belfast Concert

A lot has changed since U2 last played Belfast, in 1997.

Heck, a lot has happened since U2 last played a gig.

The Irish rock legends had just completed two nights of a four-night run in Paris last week when Islamic State terrorists struck the French capital.

The band's shows on Saturday and Sunday were dramatically called off, with frontman Bono lamenting, "This is the first direct hit on music that we've had in this so-called 'war on terror' or whatever it's called." 

And on Wednesday night, the band returned to live action in a city that has witnessed its own share of bloodshed over the years.

The SSE Arena must be amongst the smallest venues the supergroup has played in years.

And they were determined to create an intimate atmosphere for their fans.

Bono entered from the back of the hall, striding along a walkway and holding his fist aloft triumphantly, before joining guitarist the Edge, bassist Adam Clayton and drummer Larry Mullen, Jr, on stage.

"We're a band from the northside of Dublin called the U2, formerly the Hype," the sunglasses-sporting vocalist announced.

The foursome were welcomed like heroes, and the feeling was mutual.

Read more 

U2 Belfast: Bono and the gang rock SSE Arena with Innocence & Experience gig  

"You are heroes to us," Bono told the sold-out crowd.

"It's great to be here in the heart of Belfast."

Opening track The Miracle (Of Joey Ramone) harked back to the days before U2 had ventured outside Dublin.

But even then, they were tuned into the news coming from the north.

"What was happening up here made a big impact in our teenage years," Bono said.

The first few numbers were played punk-style, four guys in a row, blasting it out.

The jolting riffs of Vertigo had the whole arena bouncing, while a massive I Will Follow got everyone singing along.

And Iris (Hold Me Close) was a deeply personal tribute to Bono's late mother.

But it wouldn't be a U2 show without some grand spectacle, and the video screens were soon sparking into life.

Sunday Bloody Sunday saw a procession of murals from both loyalist and republican areas, alternating with the slogan, 'Remember the victims'.

And despite the events of the past week, the band didn't flinch from using explosive sound effects and a striking car bomb graphic to introduce Raised by Wolves.

Nor did they drop the controversial video footage they have been using during the song itself.

A roll call of notorious Northern Ireland terrorist atrocities played out on screen, from the Miami Showband Massacre to the Omagh bombing, ending with a dedication to all the victims of the Troubles, with an emphasis made on 'all'.

There was no explicit commentary about Paris during the set, though the iconic Eiffel Tower peace logo was shown alongside the message, 'Stronger than fear'.

The Syrian Civil War was also referenced in powerful images during a brooding Bullet the Blue Sky.

If things could get a bit heavy at times, the quartet also knew when to switch gears into big, roof-raising hits.

An Italian fan was hauled on stage to dance with Bono for Mysterious Ways, while With or without You closed the main set in epic fashion.

It may have been a difficult few days for U2 - for the world - but last night proved you can't keep a good band - or their audience - down.

Belfast Goes Off without a Hitch

U2 urged their fans to remember all victims of terror as they played their first concert since cancelling two gigs in Paris in the wake of last Friday's atrocity. 

There had been fears that last night's concert would focus only on victims of loyalist terrorism after guitarist The Edge vowed the band would play Raised By Wolves.

U2 Refuses to Change Set List in Belfast

November 12, 2015

U2 have said they will not leave out a song paying tribute to victims of the 1974 Dublin and Monaghan bombings when they play in Belfast next week.

Guitarist The Edge remains adamant that the song Raised By Wolves - which is accompanied by onstage visuals of the 34 victims and the sound of explosions going off - will stay in the setlist.

Father Abraham, Speak to Your Sons

(CNN) -- On the morning of July 7, 2005, Islamic extremists detonated three bombs on trains and a bus across London, killing 52 people and wounding hundreds.

That night, U2 performed at a stadium in Berlin, where during "Sunday Bloody Sunday," frontman Bono donned a headband bearing the word "Coexist," designed to incorporate a Christian cross, a star of David and an Islamic crescent.

"Jesus, Jew, Mohammad, it's true. All sons of Abraham," he chanted, pointing to the symbols to plead for religious tolerance during a time of war -- a gesture Bono repeated throughout the tour. 

U2 was Rehearsing Near Paris Concert Hall

U2 were rehearsing at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris Friday night, less than three miles away from the Bataclan concert hall where the Eagles of Death Metal were playing, when they got word of the terrorist attack on the city.

"Our security locked it down pretty quickly and we got our team and our crew out of there safely," Bono told Irish DJ Dave Fanning in a radio interview Saturday. "We came to the back door of the hotel. Everyone congregated and watched the TV like everybody else in disbelief with what was happening."

Religion So We Can Love and Hate

Imagine No Relgion

Father Abraham . . . What have you Done?

Some graphitti was written up on a wall not too far from here
It says coexist
Jesus, Jew, Mohammed, it's true
Jesus, Jew, Mohammed, it's true
All sons of Abraham
Father Abraham, Father Abraham
Where are you now
Father Abraham, look what you've done
You've pitted your son against your son
Father, Father Abraham
No more, no more, no more
No more, no more, no more
No more, no more, no more
No more, no more

Just Wishing to be Blinded

Bop Bop

U2 & Springsteen: The Holy Union

u2 and Springsteen -- What a Heavenly Combo

Glasgow Band Honors U2 with "Alison Stewart"

For Lou

The Shit Goes down In Berlin

Little Big Song (or is it one of the bigger of the little songs?)

The Corrs are Back

Feted by U2, riding high with Breathless, they were the Irish sensations who simply vanished. Now they've emerged from ten years in the wilderness, with tales of burn-out, bickering and blowing millions... 

Am I buggin' You?

Concerns over Belfast Gig Overblown?

The sometimes pompous and overbearing Bono can be accused of many things but the U2singer has been anything but one-sided in his condemnation of the perpetrators of violence here - no matter which side they're on.