As the U2 publicity juggernaut invades every possible pop culture show on the planet, Bono soundbites are becoming unfortunately more frequent. And about as welcome as a dose of gonorrhea.

The latest is what seems to be a back-handed compliment to Coldplay’s Chris Martin. After initially calling him a wanker, Bono went on to praise Martin’s ‘genius’, saying:

Obviously he is a completely dysfunctional character and a cretin but he happens to be a genius melodist and I think up there with Ray Davies and Noel Gallagher and Paul McCartney.

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U2 will be special guests at BBC Radio on Friday 27 February when listeners can enjoy access to one of the world’s greatest rock bands – including a special Live Lounge session on BBC Radio 1.

The band will be performing three tracks for a Radio 1 Live Lounge session in Jo Whiley’s daytime show from 10.00am.

Later that day on BBC Radio 2, Chris Evans will play host to U2 on his drivetime show at 5.00pm, interviewing all four members of U2 about the secrets of their success, from their formation in Dublin in 1976, to nine number one albums in the UK and 22 Grammy Awards.

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This is totally a storm in a teacup, I know, but since we’ve been chatting about U2 a lot this week, I thought I’d share this post from Taylor Dupree.

Dupree is a musician and designer (among many talents, I believe), and recorded an album back in 2006 with Richard Chartier. The album, specification.fifteen, uses the same Hiroshi Sugimoto photograph as U2 are using on their new album cover. Take a look:

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OK, here’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for – a listen to U2’s new single, Get On Your Boots.

It’s the first single from No Line On The Horizon (which we talked about earlier), and it’s beyond all my expectations. It’s described as a “blazing, fuzzed-out rocker that picks up where "Vertigo" left off.”

More importantly, the lyrics show that Bono can have a laugh at himself, when he sings “I don’t wanna talk about wars between nations”. In fact, the basic thrust of Get On Your Boots is about just having some fun.

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Possibly the most exciting news of the New Year is a new album by U2.

The new album is to be called No Line On The Horizon, and it’s their first studio release in 5 years!

U2 usually undergo some form of musical reinvention every now and again, and that’s probably why it’s so exciting when they release new material.

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Isn’t it funny that Live Nation barely crossed our radar a few years ago, and yet here they are, merrily signing up major artists like they were collecting stamps!

Live Nation’s signing of U2 isn’t nearly as far reaching as their arrangement with Madonna – they’ll merely be looking after “merchandising, digital and branding rights” for the band. So, no ‘tipping the music industry on it’s head’ stories here then…

In reality, this is just a formalising of an ongoing business relationship between U2 and Live Nation – which will see the company manage U2’s online affairs and branding for the next 12 years. In a typically dumb soundbyte, Mr Bono said:

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His Holiness, Pope Bono and the other assorted members of U2 are holed up in their studio in Dublin working on material for a new album.

But don’t expect anything too amazing from them, they’re only trying to “break new sonic ground and deliver a masterpiece“ according to collaborator Daniel Lanois. And no classic U2 album would be complete without Brian Eno behind a curtain somewhere twiddling knobs and helping push things into the right creative direction.

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