SEPTEMBER 14: Larry changes the opening song / back of the stadium back of the stadium / Bono buys a Chaplin's item / a problem in Marseille / 'Vertigo' video is filmed / 62nd 'VERTIGO' show: Lanois joins the band on stage to 'Bad' and a fan (Mrs Edge) bellydanced with Bono-Where The Edge Came From / To celebrate the return of football to the Superdome and aid in the city's rebuilding, U2 and Green Day will debut their special new benefit single on Monday Night Football / Music Rising Phase II is announced !

"The Unforgettable Fire" tour - september 14, 1984. U2 perform in Melbourne, Australia at the Sports And Entertainment Centre. A fifth concert is considered for September 19th, but never occurs. On the first night, Larry for some reason starts the concert with "Gloria", but quickly starts the correct song, "Out of Control".

"The Joshua Tree" tour - september 14, 1987. U2 perform in East Rutherford, New Jersey at Giants' Stadium. The performance is memorable, however, the complaints outweigh the performance. Those at the back of the stadium can barely see or make out the band. For the next stadium show in Washington, D.C., on September 20, 1987, U2 have a large video screen behind the stage to aid the view of the people at the back of the stadium. Support is Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul.

'Bono buys a Chaplin collectible' - september 14, 1994 - At a London auction, Bono pays $53,400 for Charlie Chaplin's costume from The Great Dictator.

'From ZOOTV" - september 14, 1997. French courts rule that a promoter of a ZooTV concert must pay $34,000 to a man forced by security to stand in front of speakers at a concert in Marseilles, France. U2 is not held liable, as concert security is not their responsibility.

'U2 shoots 'Vertigo' in Spain' - september 14, 2004. U2 is in Spain today to start a two-day shoot for the "Vertigo" music video. The shoot takes place in a desert-like area of Spain's eastern coast called "Punta del Fangar (Delta de L'Ebre)." Directing are Alex Courtes and Martin Fougerol, filmmakers who also directed the White Stripes' acclaimed video for "Seven Nation Army." Helicopters, quad-bikes, cranes in Spain...must be the video-shoot for "Vertigo." Centre stage was a gigantic circular target ¿- laid out painstakingly in huge concentric circles of black and white granite over the sand -¿ and in the firing zone as usual were U2, their performance of the upcoming single release "Vertigo" blasting across the landscape. If you didn't know you were in Spain, you could easily think you were in the middle of Nevada desert -- somewhere, in fact, where they used to test atomic bombs. "We've had rain, high winds and been sandblasted to bits," reflected Edge, in a break in the shoot. "How come Duran Duran got to go to the Seychelles and hang out with beautiful girls on yachts?" The band met Alex and Martin in France during the summer, having come across their earlier work, particularly the video for the White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army." They loved their proposed treatment for "Vertigo," which Edge describes as a "great rock 'n' roll song which captures the sense of unease in the world that many people feel at the moment." "Videos always take time," says Adam. "But I think of it as a great chance to rehearse the single."

62nd 'VERTIGO' show - september 14, 2005 - Toronto ON, Canada - Air Canada Center - Dashboard Confessional. Lanois joins the band on stage to 'Bad' and a fan (Mrs Edge) bellydanced with Bono / Where The Edge Came From! September 14, 2005 / Toronto ON, Canada - Air Canada Center - Dashboard Confessional. - Vertigo, The Electric Co., Elevation, Beautiful Day, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For, City of Blinding Lights, Miracle Drug, Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, Love and Peace or Else, Sunday Bloody Sunday, Bullet the Blue Sky, Miss Sarajevo, Pride, Where the Streets Have No Name, One. Encore: The Fly, With or Without You, All Because of You, Yahweh, Bad-40. U2 are rumoured to have rehearsed Mofo and Discotheque during the soundcheck. Daniel Lanois joins U2 on stage for Bad, playing guitar. At the end of 'Sometimes', Bono mimics carrying a coffin to the grave. There's a snippet of Dirty Old Town too, or (according to U2.com) perhaps Black hills of Dakota. A belly dancer gets up on stage during 'Bad' (though he admits to the crowd it's the 'wrong song') '40' is a snippet. **** Where The Edge Came From: Just one of the exclusive details we learned tonight in a blistering second show in Toronto, which climaxed with Daniel Lanois joining the band on stage. 'We were saying on Monday that The Edge is from the future,' explained Bono, as the one from the future picked out the opening lines of Miracle Drug. 'But he's not from the future on earth but from a completely different planet. Myself, Adam and Larry were at school on the northside of Dublin and we saw this spaceship and it was playing this sound, even back then, and the spaceship landed and The Edge got out. And we said, 'Where are you from ?' / And The Edge said, 'I'm from the future.' / And Larry said, 'What's it like ?' / And Edge said, 'It's better!' And so we discovered the supernatural origins of U2 and, for good measure, we also got a show which was up a gear from Monday, itself pretty hot for an opening night. 'Monday was only a warm-up for Wednesday,' confirmed Bono...And with the familiar opening groove of Elevation, came another revelation. 'We're a band from Jamaica called U2.' There is no time to discuss this bombshell here, that will need to be left to future pop-culture theorists, everyone was far too busy getting 'High, higher than the sun'....'...is for my father Bob.' And Bob Hewson's Dublin became the Black Hills of Dakota as Larry, to a huge reception, wandered down the catwalk to lead Love and Peace from the tip of the ellipse. If this is one song that never requires an energy boost, tonight it too seemed even more pumped up, with Adam in particular throwing some great shapes in front of the drum kit....the arrival of Miss Sarajevo into the set which illustrates how a wonderful song can become a nightly spine-tingler of the order of 'Bad' or even 'Streets'. Strange to think that the band wrote it with Luciano Pavarotti in mind - tonight it seemed written for them and them alone....'Is there a time for human rights?' sang Bono. 'Hope so!' he added...'On Monday we turned this place into a Christmas tree, tonight we're going to be the Milky Way!'...To top off a great evening, not only did we get a performance of Bad, but towards its end Daniel Lanois walked on stage to a great ovation and strapped on a guitar on. 'I'm not a stranger, in the eyes of the Maker,' extemporised Bono, referencing a Lanois staple, before a snatch of 40 brought a great night to a great close. look for the fantastic crowd here / look for bellydancer? here / look for Yahweh here. ****Elevation: U2 takes Toronto higher: By JEFF MIERS...This is U2's gift as a band, and also its gift to us; it makes us believe that life can be better, that faith, hope and love are real, that we can become better people if we try, and that sometimes, the music can point us in the right direction....The Edge's patented digital delay-fueled guitar figure hopped and skipped and swayed all over the tune, as rhythm section Larry Mullen Jr. and Adam Clayton laid down the groove that introduced U2 to the world 25 years ago. ..."Miracle Drug" followed, and by this point, it became crystal clear that there was a subtext to all the grandeur; U2 can write beautiful love songs, pop songs with big hooks, tunes that sound great on the radio, but the band is always flush with a sense of spiritual yearning....The set's theme? The clear and present need for coexistence and acceptance, and the band's unyielding belief that things can indeed change for the better. (buffalonews) ****Edge came down in a spaceship: "...they didn't play "In A Little While" or "Fast Cars" tonight. Instead, we got a super-extended version of "Bad", featuring guest guitars by none other than Daniel Lanois!!! Not a bad 'substitute' song at all! It absolutely ROCKED....Bono was less chatty tonight, too; no talk about the Toronto Film Festival, no talk about Hurricane Katrina. He did retell the story about The Edge being "from the future", but he added to it tonight by saying the Edge came down in a spaceship when they were in high school, and when Larry asked him what the future was like, he said, "better." :) (This was just before "Miracle Drug", which I think likely has special significance for Edge -- Bono sort of alluded to that when he thanked us for being patient because this tour "nearly didn't happen".) Anyway, "Miracle Drug" was especially sad and beautiful tonight. Speaking of sad and beautiful, anyone who has lost a parent can't help but be moved when Bono sings the "don't leave me here alone" line in "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own" (dedicated to his father, naturally). I didn't notice on Monday night, but tonight, he mimed carrying his father's coffin back along the catwalk at the end of the song. It was heartbreaking! From sadness to joy -- the coolest part of the night, I think, was when Bono pulled a real, live belly dancer up on stage from the audience! He was looking for her during "With or Without You" but couldn't find her (he kept asking "where's the girl who is dressed up?"). Then during "Bad", he spotted her, and knelt down to sing to her, holding her hand. As if that weren't enough, he came back to her later in the song, and said "It's the wrong song, but ..." and pulled her up on stage with him. To her credit, she was an awesome dancer, and looked fantastic in her costume, and wasn't shy at all! She grooved along beside him like she was born to do it, and the crowd cheered and clapped the whole time. Again, "Streets" was dazzling, with yet another minutes-long thunderous ovation and screaming to close it out. There's just something about that song live in particular that really strikes a chord with fans (awesome Joshua Tree tour memories for me, personally!), and it's really a highlight of any show, as was "Miss Sarajevo" tonight. Great stuff...." **** Edge showed us not only how he can play..."...Great to see Larry and Andy getting more animated and involved in the theatre, and quite frankly this is a Guitar players tour and the Edge showed us not only how he can play...but how any following in their coat-tails SHOULD play..." **** Mrs Edge bellydanced 'Bad' with Bono: ...Unenthusiastically and in a state of shock, I watched them do ABOY, and I held up my sign over and over again to see if he would see it. It seemed like he did, but he didn't come over. Then they did Yaweh from the middle of the tip and I thought for SURE he would come over and wave at me or something. Edge gave me the most GORGEOUS smile when he saw the sign..."****some photos on: U2-Vertigo-tour

To celebrate the return of football to the Superdome and aid in the city's rebuilding, U2 and Green Day will debut their special new benefit single on Monday Night Football - September 14, 2006 - Hunkered down in a London studio as they start to work on — albeit tentatively — a new album, U2 has recorded a special duet with Green Day that both bands will debut live in New Orleans on the Sept. 18th edition of Monday Night Football, when the Superdome reopens for the first time since Hurricane Katrina. The song they've chosen for their first—ever collaboration is "The Saints Are Coming" by The Skids. "It really is a slice of pure post—punk rock," U2 guitarist The Edge says via phone from the band's studio during a break in recording. "It's pure 1978, a song that was a big inspiration to us at the time and couldn't be more in the sweet spot of what Green Day are about. It perfectly intersects our mutual interests in musical terms. It's been great fun to play that tune with Green Day, who are great players and have the right stuff." Both bands hope to release "The Saints Are Coming" as a single, with proceeds going to Music Rising, the fund started by The Edge and others to provide relief to New Orleans' musicians. So far Music Rising has provided more than 2,000 people with instruments and aid, and has designs on helping churches and schools replace thousands more lost and damaged instruments. If the song seems an esoteric choice for two multi-platinum acts, it is. The Skids had a brief but glorious run in the late 70s, but in the U.S. singer Stuart Adamson, who died in 2001, is better known as the leader of Big Country, the band he started after The Skids broke up. But while not many people know "The Saints Are Coming", the song fits the occasion. (Sample lyric: A drowning sorrow floods the deepest grief/ How long now, until a weather change condemns belief.) "It's a bit of mournful sentiment," says the Edge, "but we play it pretty fast, definitely under three minutes. This is playing with intent. We want to get to the point." And who plays lead guitar? "That's the great thing about punk rock," laughs the Edge. "It's anti the concept of lead guitar." Meanwhile The Edge adds that U2 is working with producer Rick Rubin on their new album. "We are really enjoying the chemistry," he says. "It's too early to say where it's going to lead—we're nowhere near any kind of timetable or anything—but we're having a good time." Rubin has produced albums by everyone from Run DMC, Beastie Boys, and Red Hot Chili Peppers, to Dixie Chicks and Johnny Cash, but this is his first time working with U2. "I have a feeling that because of Rick's presence and some other things as well that it's going to sound very different," continues the Edge. "When people spend time with it, they'll pick up on a different spirit, and I think it is a departure. We don't want to spend a whole lot of time on this album, so hopefully we'll get on a roll and get it out there. But really, it's early days." by time

Music Rising Phase II is announced - September 14, 2006 - Music Rising Phase II will be administered by The Gibson Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Gibson Guitar along with The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation for schools and All Congregations Together for churches. Instructions for making donations and FAQS concerning applications for support can be found by visiting the Music Rising or Gibson Foundation websites at www.musicrising.org and www.gibsonfoundation.org. All donations are tax deductible with 100% of support going directly to the Gulf Coast Region. A limited edition Music Rising Epiphone guitar with the exclusive Music Rising artwork featured on the t-shirt worn by The Edge at this year’s Grammys will also be available for purchase exclusively through Musician’s Friend. All proceeds from the guitar sales will also benefit the Music Rising campaign. To order the Epiphone Music Rising guitar or inquire go to www.musiciansfriend.com. On the day of the performance a special toll free number will be set up to take donations.