New U2 Stamps in October from An Post

Original Story by Aaron J. Sams (2020-02-16)

U2 appear to be getting new stamps this fall from An Post, the Irish postal service. Each year a stamp programme is put together for people to subscribe, and get stamps throughout the year. This covers all of An Post’s special collections, and includes 13 issues. Announcing the 2020 programme in their online magazine The Collector, An Post listed the contents of this subscription for 2020. On October 8th, 2020, list “U2 – A Celebration” which will contain four stamps. No further detail is available at this time. (Thanks to U2Tour for the heads up on these!) As to why they would celebrate U2 in October? It is the 40th anniversary of the Boy album, initially released October 20, 1980.

We spoke with An Post on Friday, and they have few details to provide. Until the stamp is officially announced later in the year they could not confirm design or configurations. They did mention that they would be available online when they are on sale, and that would be through the An Post online shop. Once they are announced, we’ll remind you that they’re available. No images of these new stamps are available at this time.

This will be the third time that An Post have featured U2 on a stamp.


2002 Rock Legends featuring U2 (Click to Enlarge)

In 2002, a series of stamps featuring “Rock Legends” was issued by An Post. U2 was featured on one of the four stamps issued in that set. The photograph used was by Kevin Westerberg, and the stamps were designed by d5 design. The other artists featured in the set were Phil Lynott, Rory Gallagher and Van Morrison.

These “Rock Legend” stamps were issued on October 17, 2002, and are no longer available to purchase. These stamps could be bought in a variety of configurations, and included a €2.00 and a €0.41 versions of the stamp. Also available was a folder that spoke about the collection, and included the different varieties of the stamp.


2019 Great Irish Songs featuring U2 (Click to Enlarge)

The second stamp came last year, part of the “Great Irish Songs” collection of stamps. Here U2’s “With or Without You” was featured along side “On Raglan Road” by Luke Kelly, “Dreams” by The Cranberries, and “Danny Boy” by John McCormack. These stamps included foil accents and were designed by Amp Visual design, featuring a lyric from each song. The U2 stamp is a €2.00 stamp.

The stamps were available in a number of configurations. A collectors pack featured all four stamps on a round paper backing designed to look like a vinyl single. The stamp is in the centre where the label would be, and the entire collection is housed in a sleeve which is cut to display the stamp. This stamp is unique from others in the collection, as instead of the white border you see more of the U2 image in this version.


2019 Great Irish Songs Collector Pack (Click to Enlarge)

A first day cancellation is available, which means the stamps have been cancelled using a stamp which in this case is also special to the collection and includes the song names. Cancellation stamps mark that a stamp has no value and has been used. A single stamp is also available, as is a sheet of stamps containing 16.

Although released last May, these stamps are still available to order through the An Post website.


2019 Great Irish Songs Full U2 Sheet (Click to Enlarge)

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