February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
In an e-mail message to all registered members of U2.com, Mullen admitted that there had been “a mess up in the way tickets were distributed” through the site for the Vertigo pre-sale.
“Some of it was beyond our control, but some of it wasn’t,” he wrote. “I am now in the process of figuring out a way of distributing the tickets for our intended return to Noth America in the fall.”
The band will give preference to paid members, based on the order in which they joined, when tickets go on sale for the next leg of the tour. And they’re working on a strategy to keep profiteering to a minimum.
“The idea that our long-time U2 fans and scalpers competed for U2 tickets through our own website is appalling to me,” wrote Larry. “I want to apologize to you who have suffered that.
In a further effort to soothe ruffled feathers, the band is offering a full refund to any U2.com member whose personal ID code was not used to purchase tickets. Members have until Feb. 16 to submit a request; in return for the return of the site fee, they’ll have to give up access privileges, including U2 email.
In a postscript, Larry had a little message for the more cynical fans, “who are quick to accuse U2” of unseemly behavior.
“I’ve got only two words for you . . .” he wrote, leaving it at that.
Which begs the question: what could those two words possibly be? Merry Christmas? Pogue mahone? Remember Skibbereen? (Sigh.) These rock and rollers can be so confusing.
How much Life do the Westies have left?
You know how it goes with these pop groups: one of the little darlings jumps ship and soon, Bam! Everyone’s scampering off to work on a solo project. Then comes the Greatest Hits collection, and the inevitable rumors of a split, then the inevitable denials, the sniping in the press, yadda, yadda, yadda.
Need proof? Hmmm . . . remember the Spice Girls? Boyzone? Take That? Bellefire? B*Witched? Churchmouse? The life span of these bands seems to be about six years. You can practically set your watch by it.
Which is why we’re watching for further cracks in the Westlife lineup. The Irish boy band, who bid sl_n agus beannacht to Brian McFadden last year, is the bookies’ favorite to split this year. Which means they’ll want to leave the price tags on any new stage costumes, if you know what I mean.
Hot Press reports that Boyle Sport is laying odds at 2-1 that the remaining Westies — Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan and Nicky Byrne — will go their separate ways before the year is over. The bookmaker is also taking bets on the possible splits of groups like Sugababes (4-1), and Oasis (5-1). Though it’s a good bet (get it?) that those odds fluctuate with every Gallagher family fistfight. Also on the fast track to reality TV stardom or jobs that involve asking if you’d like fries with that — according to Boyle’s — are the members of Girls Aloud (5-1), and the members of the Cranberries (6-1). That last one strikes me as a little strange, since I was under the impression that they’d already broken up, but I gues there’s no need to argue.
Briefings
Fans of Irish trad rock will be thrilled to hear that the genre’s seminal band, Horslips, have reunited for a new album, “Roll Back,” plus a TV documentary, and a possible tour. The five original members, Eamonn Carr, Barry Devlin, Jom Lockhart, Johnny Fean and Charles O’Connor, are all on board — this time, with a little less facial hair but the same kick-arse rock and roll attitude. Stay tuned . . .
As if Nicole Kidman didn’t already have enough awards to fill a moderately sized stadium, along comes some Hollywood dermatologist to give her another. The red-haired Aussie actress recently copped the coveted Skinny Award for Lifetime Achievement — not in dieting, as one would assume, but for, um, exemplary skin care.
But it takes more than just regular use of moisturizer and sunscreen to cop this kind of prize. According to the organization’s founder, Dr. Vail Reese, Nicole has been a veritable general in the battle against yucky skin stuff.
“For a long time, Nicole has been a role model for the fair-skinned,” Reese told Ireland Online. “She’s pale and suffers apparent hand eczema, and yet she’s one of the most attractive women.”
Reese also acknowledges the contribution of up-and-coming epidermal crusader Lindsay Lohan. The teen actress, who’s been baring plenty of skin lately as well as canoodling with the likes of Colin Farrell, has been cited for her efforts to promote evenness of skin tone. Or, in English: she’s been covering up her freckles.
“If you look at Lindsay in ‘The Parent Trap’ in 1998 and now, she has gone from playing a freckly adolescent to a beautiful woman,” said the doctor.
Also basking in the glow of her Skinny is rock star-turned-actress Gewn Stefani. The No Doubt singer grabbed the prize for Best Lesion — thanks to the beauty mark she sported when she played Jean Harlow in “The Aviator.”
You’ve got to be pretty “out there” if Shirley MacLaine thinks you’re weird.
REM front man Michael Stipe gave the veteran actress the willies recently when he confessed that he’d had a dream about her.
According to news reports, the star-struck singer made his admission during a visit to the set of her new movie “Bewitched.” The 70-year-old actress didn’t see the humor in his story, and immediately called for security guards.
Stipe beat a hasty retreat, but said later that Shirley’s reaction left him “heartbroken.” But then, as Michael well knows, everybody hurts, sometimes.
In yet another stunning example of people in glass houses heaving boulders at one another, directors Michael Moore and Mel Gibson have been annoying one another of late. First, the “Passion of the Christ” director pulled promised financing from Moore’s film “Fahrenheit 9/11.” Then Gibson backed out of an interview with Time magazine that was to have featured him and Moore as men of the Year.
Now, Moore is sniping back, through the pages of Vanity Fair magazine.
Of Gibson’s “Passion,” Moore opined that he was disturbed at “How easily [people] can be manipulated, twisted by images on the screen.” Seems like an odd choice of words for a guy whose entire career has been built on documentaries that espouse an admittedly partisan point of view.
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If you’re planning an exclusive rock star gathering in the near future, be sure not to sit singer Jim Kerr anywhere near U2 front man Bono. Or don’t blame us if the shrimp hits the fan, so to speak.
The Simple Minds warbler told Ireland Online that he is disgusted with the oral compromises that the Irish star has made in order to advance his agenda of drawing international aid to Africa.
“How can Bono, having graced concert stages for over two decades, draped in the white flag of peace and screaming ‘No More War’ at the top of his lungs, contemplate praising and back-slapping Tony Blair?” demanded Kerr.
And it’s not just Bono’s relationship with the British Prime Minister that’s causing Kerr to froth at the mouth. Though it’s a no-brainer to guess that he opposes President Bush’s policy in Iraq, the singer is no fan of his predecessor, either.
“Did Clinton’s government not provide more for military spending than any previous American government?” he asked rhetorically.