Breaking Waves…podcasts, Gavin Friday, V-U2 merch and more…

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2025-04-04)

Gavin Friday has been in the news lately. He is currently touring for his album Ecce Homo. He is about to play his first show in London in 17 years at the EartH venue on Sunday (tickets), and finishes up with two shows in Ireland next week in Dundalk (tickets) and Dublin (tickets). Bono and The Edge took in the show at Republica da Musica in Lisbon in March. Bram van den Berg, who filled in for an injured Larry Mullen at U2’s performances in the Sphere saw the show in Utrecht last week.

This morning, Gavin appeared on the podcast “Is Breakfast Included” to discuss his new album, new single, and the tour. The podcast included Gavin talking about the story of how he saved “With or Without You” from the cutting room floor when U2 were recording The Joshua Tree and other stories about projects he’s done with Bono. He appears on episode 213.

Gavin’s newest single, “The Church of Love” is out today.

The podcast, “Is Breakfast Included” is co-hosted by Bernie Guerra and Lisa Lederman. Bernie Guerra may be a familiar name to some of you. He worked with Adam Clayton as his bass technician at Sphere in 2023 and 2024.

In Episode 170 of the Podcast he spoke about working with Adam Clayton at Sphere. And earlier this year, Adam Clayton himself appeared on “Is Breakfast Included” on Episode 209. The interview, recorded in late January included Adam discussing the new U2 album progress. Adam shared “We’re going to get back in there in a few weeks and work up to the summer. Once we’ve got our stuff in order, we’ll look at it and decide on a release date in early next year. But I’m not saying there’s a release date yet, because we’re not at that position. If we can do it, that’s what we want. That’s our ambition.”

Although the label seems to expect something a little sooner, it sounds like the band is attempting to get the new album finished up for early next year. We’ve been told the sessions have been going well and everyone is enjoying being back in the studio, playing with Larry.

It will be U2’s first collection of new material since 2017, but they have released two collections of new recordings of older songs, Songs of Surrender in 2023 and How to Re-Assemble an Atomic Bomb in 2024.

We’ve recently published an article looking at other quotes surrounding the progress of the album.

V-U2 continues to play in Las Vegas at Sphere. When the show is on, there is a small merchandise table which features merchandise from the shows. Much of the merchandise is recycled from the Sphere shows themselves, but there is also some unique merchandise for the film.

Unique Film Merchandise:

  • Commemorative V-U2 Photography Book by Ross Stewart
  • V-U2 Dog Tags ($20)
  • V-U2 Button Set ($10)
  • V-U2 Hat (Black with Yellow V) ($40)

Older Merchandise Available:

  • U2:UV Keychain ($25)
  • Limited Pin Collection 1 ($55)
  • Limited Pin Collection 2 ($55)
  • Water Bottle ($30)
  • Sticker Pack ($25)

A variety of old and new clothing is available as well including T-Shirts ($40 – $60), hoodies and jackets. The Photography Book by Ross Stewart is the same as the book sold via U2.com. It is the limited, numbered, first run that is available at Sphere.


IMAGE: Merch Stand V-U2 (April 2025) Photo by Michael Lamuth

Three posters are available as well. All are foiled. The one on the left featuring the flaming flag was made available via U2.com as a non-foiled poster. The one on the right in the photo above was sold via U2.com as the foiled version. The one in the middle has not been made available outside of Sphere.

A big thank you to Michael for sharing some photos of the merchandise with us.

We’re still seeing some questions about the 2024 gift. U2.com has not yet started to ship these to subscribers. There was a delay in the production of the book, but U2.com have said these should ship in April. (More recent emails have still said April, but add “late April”.) Keep your eyes out for shipping notifications to start soon for the 2024 gift. Once they start it usually takes a few months for gifts to reach all subscribers.

The Fountain of Youth film debuts on Apple TV+ on May 23. No confirmation if there’s a U2 song on the soundtrack of the film or not, but there is in the trailer. As we shared on our social media channels earlier this week, a cover of U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” can be heard throughout the trailer. Fitting for a movie that involves a search for the Fountain of Youth…

Bono’s film Stories of Surrender premieres on Apple TV+ on May 30. If you are checking out a free trial at that time, maybe there’s a couple of items on there worth your look.

Apple TV+ is a streaming subscription service available in over 100 countries. You do not need an Apple device to access the service, and it is available via Google Play, Amazon Prime and most smart TVs. If you have recently purchased a new Apple device you may be eligible for a free three month trial, but Apple does offer a free seven-day trial as well via their website.

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