SEPTEMBER 18: U2 & Prunes at Project Arts Centre / "A Sort Of Homecoming" and "4th Of July" / explaining 'Running To Stand Still" / Edge sings a verse of "Angel Of Harlem" / the death of a fan in Rome - 'Volare'/ ZOOTV DVD release / 10 Questions for The Edge by Time Magazine / Bono gave Dina Lohan some love on her birthday / Nelson Mandela to become Amnesty International "Ambassador of Conscience"!

"Early Ireland" - september 18, 1978. U2 share the bill with "The Virgin Prunes" at a gig in the Project Arts Centre, then managed by the future filmmaker Jim Sheridan. Bono joins the Virgin Prunes for a few songs. Following a gig at the Project Arts Centre, U2 round off the night with a memorable photo shoot. Photographer Patrick Brocklebank remembers the scene: 'They immediately reached for props that were lying around. The Edge grabbed a rifle, Bono reached for a toy pistol, Larry took a ballcock from a cistern. Adam Clayton put a child's potty on his head. Even back then they were trying to stand out ... using whatever means they could. Check this pic, where Dick Evans appears behind them

"Boy" tour - september 18, 1980 / Totnes, England - Civic Hall.

"The Unforgettable Fire" tour - september 18, 1984. U2 perform in Melbourne, Australia at the Sports And Entertainment Centre. A fifth concert is considered for September 19th, but never occurs. On this night, U2 perform "A Sort of Homecoming" with an acoustical introduction by The Edge, and "4th of July"--both new songs off the new album.

"The Joshua Tree" tour - september 18, 1987. U2 perform in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston Gardens. On the second night, The Edge miscues and plays the wrong notes at the beginning of "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For". "Forgotten how to play this, Edge?" Bono teases, "Well gee, this is my big moment, right? I get to play guitar!" During "Running to Stand Still", Bono explains, "It's a true story about the city I grew up in, about two people so driven by a need to fill their veins with heroin, that they would do anything, risk anything...we're all addicted to something. Me? I'm addicted to being up here!" Bono asks for the house lights during "New Year's Day", recalling the night before: "Well, last night we had the house lights going down, but does it matter?" The crowd reply with a deafening "No!". Support is Little Steven & The Disciples of Soul.

"ZOOTV" tour - september 18, 1992. U2 perform in Chicago, Illinois at the World Music Amphitheater. On this night, "Party Girl" replaces "Angel Of Harlem" with The Edge singing an entire verse of the song. "Slow Dancing" returns to the set and this time, a complete version is performed that stuns the crowd. Knowing that the local media have reported about the previous days events, Bono addresses the crowd: "There's been some people complaining about the noise," to which the crowd roar as loudly as possible, "I don't think they understand that the only thing louder than a U2 gig is the people who come to a U2 gig!" Another cheer erupts from the crowd, just as loud as the first. "One lady said she could hear us from two miles off, turned up the television, but opened the window -- very strange behaviour. Well, I'm very sorry, and we've erected this whole stage here so we can play a little light folk acoustic set for Mrs. Chaka-Boom Chaka-Boom." The band erupt into a deafening performance of "When Love Comes To Town" and the crowd sing just as loudly. Bono phones Mayor Welch to see "if they had any complaints! Hi, I'm in Country Club Hills and I am trying to find out if you had any complaints tonight. I'm here with a few friends, and we just can't get to sleep, you know what I'm saying? There's a rock & roll concert out there, I can't get to sleep!" After the operator hangs up, Bono asks softly, "Can I leave a message? Tell them to open their windows and turn down the television sets!" Support is B.P. Fallon, "Big Audio Dynamite II" and "Public Enemy".

"POPMart" tour - september 18, 1997. U2 perform in Rome, Italy. U2's show in Rome is marred by the death of a 28-year-old fan, caused by a heart attack during the massive crush of fans as U2 enters the stadium. Edge´s karaoke this night is 'Volare.'

ZOOTV DVD release - September 18, 2006 - ZOOTV release today in Europe and tomorrow in US/ Canada.

10 Questions for The Edge by Time Magazine - September 18, 2006 - time.

Bono gave Dina Lohan some love on her birthday - September 18, 2006 - The other night at the Hudson Hotel, where the U2 frontman and his wife, Ali Hewson, celebrated the launch of Hewson-designed T-shirts to benefit the One antipoverty campaign, a buoyant Bono told the crowd: "Happy Birthday to Lindsay Lohan's mom, Dina, who is here!" Hopefully, it boosted Dina's dismal spirits after her public screaming match a night earlier with Lindsay during her birthday bash at Phillipe. The actress told her mom to "go to hell" during that spat, then skipped Bono's bash even though she is modeling his T-shirts in an ad campaign. nypost

Nelson Mandela to become Amnesty International "Ambassador of Conscience" - Amnesty International today announced that Nelson Mandela will be awarded its most prestigious honour -- the "Ambassador of Conscience" Award for 2006. Nobel Literature Laureate Seamus Heaney, whose poem From the Republic of Conscience first inspired the "Ambassador of Conscience" Award, was the first to congratulate Mr. Mandela. "To have written a line about 'hope and history' rhyming for Mr. Mandela in 1990 is one thing," said Seamus Heaney. "To have the man who made them rhyme accept the Award inspired by my poem is something else again." ... Nelson Mandela joins past winners of the distinguished human rights award -- including U2, Vaclav Havel and former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson -- as global "Ambassadors of Conscience”" amnestyusa