The China Mail - U2 at 50: Irish rockers reveal anniversary album

Speaking on a podcast, lead singer Bono confirmed long-standing rumours that they were preparing to release their 15th album, thrilling fans who are set to attend commemorative events this weekend in the Irish capital.

"I can't say it. I'm going to say it," Bono teased on an Irish Times podcast which looked back on their career.

"The new album is called Carnaval de Luz ... it's strong stuff," Bono added while reminiscing about the four-piece band's formation in the kitchen of drummer Larry Mullen.

That seminal moment in rock history on September 25, 1976, is set to be celebrated during a U250 event organised by fans in Dublin this weekend, as well as with a new two euro coin issued by the Central Bank of Ireland on Friday.

The new album and the half-century anniversary underline the longevity of one of Ireland's biggest musical exports.

The landmark also begs questions about the secret of their success which has seen the band outlast their peers, avoid messy break-ups, and continue to fill stadiums.

- Reinvention -

While they could barely play their instruments at their first teenage rehearsal and nearly lost their record contract after a disappointing reception for second album "October", they went on to produce some of the biggest hits of the 1980s and 90s.

In total, they are estimated to have sold 175 million albums and count more than 23 million monthly listeners on Spotify today.

"Every album, they keep pushing creative boundaries," Alex Conyngham, owner of Slane Castle in Ireland, where the band have performed and recorded at several times over their career, told AFP.

"That's always been in their DNA. They've never been a band that have just rested on the hits."

The new album -- the first since 2017's "Songs of Experience" -- follows the release of new music this year including "Street of Dreams" in July.

Aidan Alcock, director of Dublin's famous Windmill Lane recording studios, where U2 recorded their debut album "Boy" and its two successors, also paid tribute to their ability to keep moving.

"They're always full of surprises. And I think that's what keeps them going as well," he told AFP.

Bono told the Irish Times that a drive for perfection served as his motivation, as well as the pleasure of hanging out with the band.

"I suppose it's always the thought that just around the corner lies the perfect song or the perfect performance ... it's mad to say but that's still the drug of choice in our band," he told the paper.

- 'Soft power' -

Composed of Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen, U2 have become symbols of Ireland's rich musical culture and history, but also some of the best-known faces of the country overseas.

At an exhibition celebrating their 50 years together in Paris on Tuesday, the Irish ambassador to France, Alison Milton, paid tribute to them as "part of our reputation, our 'soft power' in international relations."

Exhibition curator Clement Mathieu, a journalist at Paris Match celebrity magazine, put U2's broad international appeal down to a hit-making record which rivals Michael Jackson or Madonna.

But also their character.

"There's something of the Irish soul in them: there's passion, there's love, there's anger. U2's music isn't particularly marked by an Irish sound, it's more marked by the Irish soul and the Irish heart," he told AFP.

With a new album, U2 will almost certainly hit the road again for a string of stadium concerts, another key part of their enduring appeal.

"They're one of the great performing bands," Conyngham told AFP.

"If you go to a U2 gig, you're never going to be disappointed in terms of the energy and commitment that they show up with. They're really hardworking."

D.Pan--ThChM