U2 – A Diary View RSS

U2-A Diary 2012 Status Update 9 Dec 2012 7:20 AM (12 years ago)

A few people have asked me if the second edition of U2-A Diary is available in the U.S. yet, and it’s not — at least not directly from a U.S. seller like Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble. But their questions have prompted me to write this update on the book for anyone who might be shopping for a gift for a U2 fan.

1.) You can still get the limited hardcover edition!

This copy of U2-A Diary just arrived at Casa McGee last week. I ordered it from Amazon UK in early November, and it took about a month to get to me. So, if you’re ordering now in the U.S., it won’t get to you by Christmas.

But it’s worth the wait! The hardcover edition is a thing of beauty. It has the updated cover (the one that I was told wouldn’t be used) with the additional purple color/lights. It’s exactly 400 pages and includes:

• all of the same text from the first edition of the book, plus additional diary entries through the end of 2010
• an addendum with new material and corrections covering up to 2007 (the timeframe from the first edition)
• an updated Acknowledgments section with a new intro that I wrote for the new material

This hardback edition has been out for a year now, but has only been printed in limited quantities. I haven’t been able to get an exact number from the publisher, but I believe it to be in the hundreds, not thousands, so there may not be many left.

The original hardback version was printed in 2011 with an error on pg. 373: the entries covering December 9 through December 29, 2009 were missing. My publisher fixed the error and asked Amazon and other outlets to remove the misprinted version from their warehouses. The book above that just arrived is correct and not missing any entries. I also ordered the hardback edition back in May from Amazon UK and it was also correct. I trust that you’ll get the correct version if you order now, too, but I suppose there’s a remote chance you may get the misprint.

2.) The hardback version might be available from Amazon Canada. (And maybe Amazon.com.)

My friend Aaron from U2 Wanderer recently ordered from Amazon Canada and was sent the hardback version; not as an “import,” but as a direct purchase from Amazon Canada. I was told that the second edition would not be available at all in North America, so I don’t know how that happened … but it did.

If that happened via Amazon Canada, it might also happen via Amazon.com. But I still think the safest way to get the hardback version is from Amazon UK.

As I look at both Amazon.com and Amazon CA, the hardback version is listed as being available from some 3rd-party sellers. That’s another option, but there may be some risk in terms of book quality when buying from these sources.

3.) What’s up with the paperback version?

I have not seen what the paperback version looks like. It may have the same cover as the hardback; it may not. I’m also not aware of the printing error on pg. 373 that affected the hardback version also affected the paperback version.

I do know that, like the hardback version, it’s not supposed to available in North America — so Amazon UK is your best bet.

BUT … when I look at the paperback listing on Amazon UK, it appears to be the older/original version of the book, not the second edition. It’s also more expensive than the hardback version, so you might want to stick with the hardback.

I hope this helps update what’s going on with the book. Feel free to leave any questions in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer.

The post U2-A Diary 2012 Status Update appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

2nd Edition: Good News and Bad News 9 Oct 2011 4:31 PM (14 years ago)

It’s obvious by now that the 2nd edition of U2-A Diary didn’t come out in July as originally planned. To those of you who pre-ordered early on and have been waiting — I’m very sorry. If there was something I could have done to get the book out on that original schedule, I would’ve done it.

From what I understand (which isn’t much), the book has been delayed because of printing and print-related cost concerns (i.e., higher cost of the heavy paper stock that the publisher used on the 1st edition and things like that). That said, I’m finally able to report some news about the book — some good and some bad.

The Good News

The second edition is back on schedule and should be available sometime in November/December. You’ll note that the Amazon UK page shows the release date as November 30. I don’t know if that’s perfectly reliable, but hopefully it’ll begin to ship around that time.

The Bad News

As of this moment, the second edition has not been picked up outside of the UK. The word from my editor is as follows:

As yet our US distributors have not ordered any copies of the new edition because they have unsold copies of the old edition. This may change but I am not in a position to force them to order it – unfortunately.

So, if you want to get the second edition right away, it seems like you’ll have to order it from Amazon.co.uk or whatever UK-based bookstore you prefer.

I apologize for the inconvenience.

This Is Important, Too

If you click the link above to visit the book’s page on Amazon UK, you’ll see a cover image that looks similar to the original book, but with more purpley designs:

As you see in the text I added, that’s NOT what the second edition is going to look like. Actually, it’s going to look like just like the first edition. It’ll have the same exact cover, but with a sticker (or something similar) that says “2nd Edition” or “Updated Edition” or something along those lines.

So, please don’t be surprised/angry when the book that you’ve ordered arrives and doesn’t look like what Amazon UK is showing. We’ve tried to get them to change the cover back, but it’s apparently not easy to do.

Needless to say, I’ll post new updates as I get any more information. But for now, the main points are:

1. UK sales only for the second edition.
2. The cover shown on Amazon UK is NOT what you’ll be getting.

The post 2nd Edition: Good News and Bad News appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

U2-A Diary Helping Remember September 11 4 Jul 2011 8:55 PM (14 years ago)

This is quite an honor for me to see:

That photo is from the 4th annual Always Remember Gala hosted last month in New York City by an organization I love called Voices of September 11th. The event included a fund raiser, and I was honored to offer a signed copy of the 2nd edition of U2-A Diary as one of the silent auction items. I don’t know yet who the high bidder was, but when the 2nd edition is available — which should be soon! — I’ll sign a copy and send it to him/her.

BTW, the organization is raising money for a 9/11 “living memorial” and I’ve written more about that on my personal blog, so please check that out for more information about what this amazing group is doing.

The post U2-A Diary Helping Remember September 11 appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

Photo Call Done: 62 in 3 Days 15 Mar 2011 10:48 AM (14 years ago)

I just want to offer a HUGE THANKS to everyone who responded so quickly to the last-minute call for fan photos for the 2nd edition of U2-A Diary. In just 3-4 days, dozens of great photos came in from fans all over the world. If I recall correctly, I heard from fans in North America, South America, Australia/New Zealand, Europe and Asia. And maybe more!

I’ve just posted the photos for Omnibus Press (the publisher) to consider, and the final tally is 60+ photos from 21 fans. That’s pretty darn good for such a short period of time. Best of all, there’s some really great photos in the group and I know we’ve made the photo editor’s job difficult! I certainly wouldn’t want to have to try to decide which photos can or can’t be included.

So, anyway, THANKS AGAIN to all who submitted. I won’t know what photos were selected until the book is printed and published, so we’ll all find out at about the same time. That should be sometime this summer.

The post Photo Call Done: 62 in 3 Days appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

Need Fan Photos (and Fast) 12 Mar 2011 12:10 PM (14 years ago)

It’s time to put out a call for fan photos for the second edition of U2-A Diary. If you’ve taken some great U2-related pictures in the past three years, and don’t mind offering them for possible publication in the book at no charge/payment, here’s what you need to know:

Deadline

Due to my travel schedule, we have only 3-4 days to collect fan photos. I was on the road last week when the publisher’s photo editor contacted me about photos, and today is the first chance I’ve had to post about it.

We need your photos by Tuesday, March 15.

What We’re Looking For

Just about any U2 photo from 2008 through 2010. We’re NOT looking for photos from any other years.

Photos of the band signing autographs outside the studio, photos of them at movie premieres, other bands’ concerts, other appearances, etc. — those are all great.

Concert photos will be great, too, but we have a TON of those already so we’d only be looking for really amazing/unusual concert photos. Since live gigs are not the focus of U2 – A Diary, we may not need a ton of those photos.

Photo Requirements

We need high-resolution photos, 300 dpi or higher. That will give the most flexibility in terms of how big the photo can appear in the book. We may be able to use smaller photos (like 180 dpi), but those will appear smaller in the book. We can’t use any 72 dpi (web-ready) photos, sorry to say.

Since we’re on a tight deadline, we can’t use prints, either. We need digital images.

What about copyright?

You will retain full copyright and ownership of the photo(s) you share for U2 – A Diary. There’s no money to be exchanged and no change of ownership/copyright.

How to Send in Photos

If you’re not sure we’ll want your photo(s), feel free to send me an e-mail giving as much detail about what you have, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

If you just want to send your best shots, my address starts with matt and ends with the domain you’re on right now (u2diary.com).

When You Send…

Please include as much detail as you can about each photo: Date, Location, Explanation (if it’s not obvious). Since this is a date-based book, it will be difficult to use photos that we can’t tie/associate to a particular date.

Also, be sure to include your name so we can give you full credit if a photo is used.

Thanks!

I obviously can’t guarantee we’ll use everything that gets submitted, but whether or not your photo(s) make the book, I appreciate your willingness to help!

Any questions? Email me or use the comments if the answer will benefit other readers, too.

(camera image via Shutterstock.com)

The post Need Fan Photos (and Fast) appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

Two New International Versions of U2-A Diary 5 Mar 2011 7:37 PM (14 years ago)

Just passing along some good news from Omnibus Press: When the updated version of U2-A Diary comes out later this year, it will also be released in two new countries!

Translations are planned in both Portugal and Serbia. I don’t know when they’ll be available, though. The English-language book is being targeted for release in July. I don’t know if the translations will be ready at the same time, or some time later in the year. If I find out more, I’ll certainly share the news.

The first edition of U2-A Diary was translated into Japanese and Croatian. (If you missed it before, I explained a couple years ago how international translations work.)

(map image via Shutterstock)

The post Two New International Versions of U2-A Diary appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

Manuscript Done – One Last Question 29 Jan 2011 9:23 AM (14 years ago)

Last night at about 11:00 pm, I finished the manuscript and all associated documents for the 2nd edition of U2-A Diary! I’ll be sending Omnibus a little more than 40,000 words and the new book should be 400 pages total when it comes out this summer.

But I have one last question for U2 fans.

I’ve written a short, three-paragraph Introduction that covers only the new material – 2008 through 2010. The Introduction is sort of a big picture, high-level assessment of the material in the diary. I reviewed these past three years and found the major themes/events to include

• relatively poor album sales compared to past U2 albums
• poor sales/response to U2’s singles
• shut out at all the major awards, even the Meteor Irish Music Awards in their own country
• Bono’s back injury
• the long-running Spider-Man problems
• huge success for the U2 360 tour

The Introduction as I’ve written it basically says that this was a difficult three years for U2 and that there were more negatives than positives.

The question to you: Is that accurate/fair? Or, were the past three years better for U2 than I’ve painted them? Your feedback is appreciated! Please leave a comment below and I’ll process them for posting as quickly as possible.

The post Manuscript Done – One Last Question appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

Unsolved Mysteries, January 2011 18 Jan 2011 7:21 AM (14 years ago)

The manuscript for the second edition of U2 – A Diary is due in two weeks. Yikes! I still have some research and writing left to do, so here’s one last call for help with the remaining list of unsolved mysteries — most of which date back to before the first edition was published.

If you have info about any of these, please leave a comment below or send me an email. Thanks!

1.) Mike Scott visits U2 in Dublin

In the 2007 book, Strange Boat – Mike Scott & The Waterboys, it’s mentioned that Mike Scott visited Bono in Dublin (in 1986, presumably):

It would be cool to at least get a month and year when that meeting happened. (UPDATE: With great thanks to Mike Scott himself (via his Twitter account and email), this has been solved and several other dates and facts have also been added to the 2nd edition. Thx Mike!)

2. STREETS commercial offer

Still don’t have a date for the famous “$23 million offer for ‘Streets'” story that I mentioned in this post. Probably never will get that answer. (original discussion)

3. Bono playing chess

Did Bono and Garry Kasparov ever have the chess match they were supposed to have in 1993? (original discussion)

4. Dick Evans birth

I know Dick Evans was born in 1959, but have no idea where. (UPDATE: Thanks to Cathy S., I’ve narrowed this down to early 1959 in East London, but still don’t have exact date or hospital/location.)

5. Mt. Temple Comprehensive opens

I would love to know the exact date that Mt. Temple opened in 1972. I know it was September of that year, but not even the school has been able to track down the exact date.

6. Clarence Hotel purchase

I would love to know the exact date that Bono and Edge (with Harry Crosbie) purchased the Clarence Hotel? It’s listed in the first edition of the book as November, 1992, but I’d love an exact date. (original discussion) (UPDATE: In a previous post, Anne linked to a story about the purchase from September 1992, so that helps get more accurate. But an exact date would be still be great to know.)

7. Bono, Ali, & Horse Races

Which year did Bono go to Cork with Ali and her family, bet on a horse race, and win big to help a friend pay for his wedding? The story is told in Michka Assayas’ book, but no date is given. (original discussion)

8. Buying Trabants

Pg. 31-32 of U2 At the End of the World (UK hardback edition) talks about Paul McGuinness going to Eastern Europe to buy the Trabants for Zoo TV. This had to be sometime in 1991, but I’d like to at least narrow it down to a specific month if possible.

9. Polygram dinner

Pg. 35 of U2 At the End of the World (UK hardback edition) talks about a dinner meeting they had with Alain Levy, the top dog at Polygram. Would be nice to have a date on this.

10. Song called “This I’ve Got To Stop”

U2 by Mark Taylor says Bono wrote two songs in October, 1985, when he was doing the Sun City stuff — “Silver and Gold” and a tune called “This I’ve Got To Stop.” I’ve found no other info on the second song.

11. Edge’s cooking classes

On pg. 105 of The U2 Reader by Hank Bordowitz, Howie B makes a comment about Edge attending cooking classes “every Monday at 4 o’clock.” This would’ve been in August, 1996, during the Pop recording sessions. I’d love to know if Edge really took cooking classes, or was Howie B just making a flip comment?

12. Driving To Midnight Mass

I’ve never been able to find out when Bono recorded the “Driving to Midnight Mass” poem. In an old OTR column on @U2, I wrote that it was recorded around 1983/1984 for a Chicago radio station, but at the moment I have no idea where I figured that out. (UPDATE: Thanks to Connie P.’s help, and contact with the man who produced the clip for WXRT-FM in Chicago, I’ve been able to confirm the exact date of this recording. Awesome!)

13. Island Records party

Here’s a photoset on Wire Image of an Island Records party for U2 that has a date of September 9, 1980 — but U2 was on tour in the UK on that date, so I have no idea when it was.

14. Early unknown gig

In this old article, a guy named Charlie Rafferty mentions seeing a U2/Virgin Prunes gig at St. Brigid’s Hall in Finglas. There’s no record of that show anywhere from what I can tell. (UPDATE: I’ve been able to confirm that a gig did happen at this venue, likely in late 1979, but don’t have anything more specific than that.)

15. Adam visits Goldeneye

Sometime in 1993, Adam went to Chris Blackwell’s “Goldeneye” property with Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and Kate Moss. I can’t link to the article that mentions this because it’s behind a subscribers-only wall. But no date is given, and no mention of how long they were there. Could be anytime. (UPDATE: With great thanks to John O., this has been confirmed as happening in December 1993. They went to Blackwell’s estate to celebrate the new year.)

16. Early unknown gig

At an early U2 gig, a group of punks called the “Black Catholics” attacked U2 while the band was performing. There are different versions of the story. In Bill Flanagan’s book, it happened during a gig at the Project Arts Centre. In Bill Graham’s book, it happened at the Baggot Inn. Neither one gives anything close to a date, not even a year. Maybe it happened at both gigs and they’re both correct…. (UPDATE: Yes, both are correct. I understand that this happened on more than one occasion with the most serious happening at the Baggott Inn. Do not have a date.)

17. Jesse Jackson for President

According to this interview, which took place in January 1989, U2/Bono was asked to endorse Jesse Jackson at some point in 1988. I can’t find anything more on that.

Replies are welcome in the comments if you know anything about these unsolved mysteries!

The post Unsolved Mysteries, January 2011 appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

Bono – A Near Miss in Negril, Jamaica 16 Jan 2011 8:39 AM (14 years ago)

Did you know that Bono nearly died 15 years ago today? Not exactly the cheeriest of episodes to bring up, but it’s true. Here’s the U2-A Diary entry for January 16, 1996:

January 16

Bono and his family are on the receiving end of police gunfire as their plane lands in Negril, Jamaica, where they plan to meet up with Adam. Local police had been tipped that a plane loaded with drugs would be landing in Negril around the same time and open fire – but not until after the Hewsons, Chris Blackwell and Jimmy Buffett had all gotten off the plane. The police apologize for firing at the wrong plane.

Scary stuff. Can you imagine? Wow………

The post Bono – A Near Miss in Negril, Jamaica appeared first on U2 - A Diary.

Bono on Les Enfants du Rock in 1987 10 Jan 2011 7:51 AM (14 years ago)

Here’s an interview that I’ve never seen before. I discovered it over the weekend while researching the book. It’s from the French TV show, Les Enfants du Rock.

The YouTube page says this aired in 1987. I can tell you that it was recorded on June 4, 1986. Bono and the band were in San Francisco on the Amnesty tour and they visited painter Rene Castro that day. Castro took them out for a walk to see one of his murals on Balmy Alley, which is where this was taped.

I do have the Castro visit in the first edition of U2-A Diary, but the TV interview is new to me … so that’ll be added to the second edition via the addendum we’re including. Cool. Happy to find this.

The post Bono on Les Enfants du Rock in 1987 appeared first on U2 - A Diary.