Breaking Waves: Elephants, Macphisto, High Fidelity Sound and More…

Original Stories by Aaron J. Sams (2023-08-09)

In the Curious Creatures podcast, hosts Lol Tolhurst and Budgie speak with Jacknife Lee on the two recent episodes. Budgie met Jacknife Lee in Berlin at one of the Bono “Stories of Surrender” tour, and they discuss that meeting, as well as Bono’s show. Lee shares that one part of the “Stories of Surrender” show, eventually cut, included Bono telling a story about meeting Rupert Murdock, and an impersonation of Murdock. Jacknife said there was a horrifying musical underscore and mentions Bono planned to show up as Macphisto, doing a very glam transition from “Streets” into “Desire”.

Listen to it in Part One of the discussion with Jacknife Lee, “The Stroke of True Genius”. Later in the episode when talking about the dynamics of a band, and the interpersonal problems within a band, he speaks about U2, “they have a crazy amount of respect for each other and they’ve gotten past all those difficulties.”

Jacknife, Tolhurst and Budgie have an album coming out this fall called California and it features The Edge on a couple of tracks. You can find our discography entry for the album here.

A recent filing for the use of the name U2, saw U2 extending the range of products that the name is trademarked for. The extension included “equipment for recording, or reproduction of sound, high fidelity audio sound equipment, in-car audio apparatus, DVD players, compact disc players, and many other similar items”. Could there be some U2 sound equipment coming our way in the future? Or is it a preemptive measure to make sure others do not use their name in these areas?

The Hollywood actors and writers are on strike, and the 75th Emmy Awards have now been postponed because of those strikes. The ceremony which had been planned for September 18 has not been rescheduled at this time, but is expected to be moved to early 2024. The special Bono & The Edge: A Sort of Homecoming with Dave Letterman has been nominated for an award in the category “Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special”. Guess we’ll have to wait a little while longer to see if they win that award.

The “Elephant in the Room” is a mental health initiative in Ireland. In an effort to get a conversation going about mental health, the elephant in the room, an art initiative was founded, where elephant sculptures are being provided to Irish artists to decorate, which will be displayed throughout Ireland to help stimulate conversation. More information about the initiative can be found here.

Adam Clayton has been involved in the campaign, and a recent story in Evoke mentioned he had “been connected with top Irish artists to design the statues.” Adam Clayton is working with Irish Artist Debbie Chapman on one of the elephants, which will be on view at various venues around Ireland, before being auctioned in September 2023.

All At Sea from Debbie Chapman on Vimeo.

The elephant that Adam worked with Chapman on is called “All at Sea”. “The effects of war and climate change on population displacement are embodied in this artwork, with rising sea levels and the loss of plant and wildlife, including the habitat of the elephant itself.” The elephant can be seen in the video above.

Adam Clayton shares, “I am so pleased to have been invited to participate alongside Debbie Chapman in this wonderful project initiated by Brent. Stigma is acknowledged as the greatest barrier towards acknowledging a problem and seeking help. I have spoken many times about my own struggle with addiction and depression. I know from experience that the most difficult step towards a life of recovery is the very first one… That first conversation with a friend or loved one, a doctor or counsellor is so important, the one that recognizes the ‘elephant in the room’.”

“For me personally, art – in all its forms – brings both comfort and joy and I can think of no better way to raise awareness for the vital conversation around mental health and well-being. I am proud to be an ambassador for Elephant In The Room and their work to help reframe the conversation about mental health in Ireland.”

A showcase is planned for the end of August where all 24 elephants will be on display

A book arriving this November may be of interest to those who are fans of U2’s live shows. An Atlas of Es Devlin is being released in hardcover on November 21, 2023. The book is being published in conjunction with a exhibit at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonion Design Museum in New York.

Devlin worked on U2’s Innocence + Experience tour, designing the stage set up alongside Ric Lipson of Stufish, a process on which she worked for two years. She returned to help craft the later Experience + Innocence tour as well.

The book will include Devlin’s own commentary on the stage designs she has designed. The book will include interviews with her collaborators, and Bono is mentioned as being one of those interviews included in the book. Bono is shared as a review of the book, “Es takes our inchoate aspirations and sculpts them into a stage.”

The book will be edited by Andrea Lipps, and is being published by Thames & Hudson.

Finally, have you heard “Stories” on U2 X-Radio? If not, subscribers to U2.com can listen into an Xtract of the show hosted by Tassoula Kokkoris. (You must be logged in to view the story)

While you are there, give some thought about your own U2 Story, and maybe you’ll have one that would be appropriate for the broadcast. The team are currently working on a second season of shows and information on how to submit your own ideas are located in the link above.

And if you do have a subscription to SiriusXM, check out Gavin Friday’s “Summer Loving Playlist”. There’s a lot of love for Zooropa this time out in Gavin’s mix…

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