Joe Pugliese/Courtesy of BillboardAfter scoring its eighth #1 album on the Billboard 200 this past week with Songs of Experience, U2 appears on the cover of the latest issue of the publication. In an accompanying story, the Irish rockers discuss the new record, their recent successful tour celebrating The Joshua Tree‘s 30th anniversary and their upcoming plans.
The release of Songs of Experience was said to have been delayed because the band felt it needed to rework some of its new tunes following the election of Donald Trump and the political upheaval in other parts of the world. Bono confirms that in the story.
“I don’t think [Experience] would have been the same album, strangely, without Trump threatening to blow up the world with a tweet,” Bono tells Billboard.
The singer also says that U2’s new songs display a more inclusive theme: “There’s no ‘them,’ there’s only ‘us.'”
Meanwhile, bassist Adam Clayton says U2’s recent Joshua Tree anniversary trek gave him a new appreciation for the band’s hit 1987 album.
“At the time The Joshua Tree came out, I don’t really remember it, because it was such an amazing year, and [we were] just getting through the days and shows and performing to the maximum of our abilities,” Clayton explains. “I feel like I missed out on how important those songs were for the audience.”
U2 will launch a new tour in support of Songs of Experience in May, but Clayton says after that trek winds down, “I think we will probably take a bit of time out from doing anything in terms of live shows.”
Guitarist The Edge, meanwhile, reveals to Billboard that he’s already “working on some new ideas and compositions,” although he doesn’t know yet whether the songs will be earmarked for a new U2 project.
Copyright © 2017, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
