Following U2’s can’t miss inaugural shows at Sphere in Las Vegas this past weekend, the band joins Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 as the they gear up for the second weekend of shows. In the conversation, Bono, The Edge, and the group’s creative director Willie Williams break down the origin of the sights, sounds, and spectacles that have taken the Internet by storm. The group also reveal they have 100 songs “in the bag” and tease “some amazing new songs” as they hint at an album coming in the future — adding that new music is the band’s reason to exist.
Bono Calls U2’s Sphere Shows “A Science Project in Service to Art”...
Bono: This can bring you to any time and place and make you feel like you're there. It's a science project in service to art.
Bono on How The Band’s Fans Inspired The Sphere Experiment...
In the end, this is about trying to make a connection with our audience. That's what this is about. Trying to make the worst seat in the house the best seat in the house. Whether it was jumping into the crowd, whether it was climbing speaker stacks, whether it was early forays into video, this was all just an attempt to get closer to our audience.
The Edge on The Benefits and Challenges of The Intimacy of Sphere...
Walking in and actually seeing our stage there… And seeing our instruments and lights and the finished building was quite a moment, to be honest. Because that's when it really got real. Where you're actually...imagining, "There's going to be a person in each one of these seats." And the proximity is incredibly intimate. That's what's so amazing. It's 18,000 people, but everyone is going to get this perfect view of the stage. Unfortunately, with this incredible visual, we're going to have our work cut out to actually…
Bono Speaks To The Opening Moments of U2’s Sphere Shows…
What we wanted to do was create... It should feel like a cave. We want to strip it of all electricity. We want to strip it of all its technology. And we want to start with the very first expression that people had, which was cave painting. You might think, "It's a very science fiction cave you got here." But that's what we're going to do. We're going to bring it right back to that first moment. And that's how we start the show.I sing, as I did on Zoo TV originally. I sing an Irish melody called “Sean-nós”. “Sean-nós” is normally unaccompanied singing. It's the North African influenced Irish. Our music in Ireland has real strong connections with the Southern hemisphere. And I won't have my glasses on. I find my goggles, my fly shades, I put them on. They don't just change the way people see me. They change the way I see the world. The way the band then performs behind that moment is straight out of the future, with a touch of 1990 in Berlin, in Zoo Station.
Bono on U2 Creative Director Willie Williams...
Willie's done a ridiculous job of managing the ridiculousness not just of the building, but what we're trying to do with the building. …this man is really committed. He doesn't do things by halves. And it really is a privilege to get to open it and help, I suppose, in a way with the build.
Bono on the Futuristic Sphere Projections…
…these are ones and zeros. This is not photography, this is not cinema photography, this is from a game engine. But a game engine taken to the next level, a level it's never been at before.
U2 on Having Larry Mullen Jr. Play Drums on “Atomic City” and The Heartbreak of Playing Their Upcoming Sphere Shows Without Him…
Bono: It's really tricky for him. And he came in the night before we recorded it in Sound City. So many stories in that studio. And Edge wanted us to go there. And Larry went the night before to just make sure. He didn't know if he could play for an hour or... he didn't know if he could play for 15 minutes. And he just played up the storm.
The Edge: John was saying (his tech) that he loved the sound of the room so much, he ended up playing for like three hours.
Bono: It was the right place for us. And it took its toll on Larry. We're doing the video and he's like, "Ow." But he's going to get back to fitness. It's a heartbreak for Larry to be here and to see this and know that Bram is standing in for him. And by the way, Bram is a superstar. He was a fan of Larry's and a student of Larry's. And now he'll be here playing instead of Larry, and that's got to hurt as much as some of the injuries. But he gave it all on this song anyway. Drummers are born, not made. And they speak their own language. They're a breed apart. And we're nothing... That's where the rock and roll comes from in our band.
U2 On Where U2 Goes From Here…
The Edge: Well, I think new music, new tunes. There's a lot that we have ready and some that need a little dusting off, but will be ready soon. I tell you, we've got some amazing new songs. Really exciting.
Bono: Edge has about 100 in the bag. I have about 20… but Adam's got something to contribute. Larry will be sitting there going through the bag going, "Yeah, no, that's shite. That's shite. That's shite. Is there anything here that isn't shite?" We'll find 10. And that's all you need.
The Edge: That's all you need.
Bono: 10. And that's your reason to exist. If not, U2 should just f**k off. Go live on an island, or go away and be a nuisance somewhere in the world. Useful somewhere in the world. Either will do. But if we want to continue as a band, it's only about one thing. It's about the text, it's about the tunes, it's about the performance. It's about whether you believe us or not. And we have an extraordinary musical genius in our band. We will try, I will try, to put into words the music he's making. I make it with him. But it's Las Vegas or bust, baby.
Bono and The Edge on U2’s Fight For Their Future…
Bono: The fight is for our future. It's love versus luck. But that's what our band is built around. It's not just friendship. We overuse the word "love" like the Beatles did. And you're either... It's like, "Whoa, back off." Because it's a lazy word to use unless it has meaning. And if it doesn't have meaning within the band, then it's not going to have meaning outside of the band. So this is the time when if people have lost their love, they should f**k off. Including me. You know what I mean? That's what it is, right? And if you're not falling in love with music... Because music pays our bills. And if you don't love music, it's your time to f**k off.
The Edge: The thing we've not forgotten is what a privilege it is to be standing on this stage, playing our songs in front of this audience. We take that hugely importantly. We don't want to mess up. You don't want to waste that opportunity.
