2002 begins with a bang for U2, as the band collects eight Grammy nominations on January 4th, including two nominations in the Best Rock Song category (for “Elevation” and “Walk On”). More awards roll in the following week when U2 dominates the annual Rolling Stone magazine polls with three wins in the critics’ poll and eight in the readers’ poll. Edge celebrates these triumphs by attending a Stephen Hawking lecture at Cambridge University, saying (in all seriousness, no doubt) “I was there to learn something about quantum physics.” Later in January, Bono makes his first trip of the year to Africa, laying the groundwork for a lengthier and more publicized trip in the spring. And U2 issues a 7-track EP called 7 which is distributed only through the Target department store chain in the U.S.
Bono racks up frequent flyer miles as February begins, jetting back and forth from the World Economic Forum in New York (where he was a featured panelist) to New Orleans where the band rehearses and performs at half time of Super Bowl XXXVI on February 3rd. Their 3-song set ends with “Where the Streets Have No Name,” which includes the names of the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks scrolling behind the band. On Valentine’s Day, Bono is feted by his peers at the first annual “Love Rocks” event in Los Angeles. He joins R.E.M. on stage to sing U2’s “One.” Near the end of the month, Time magazine puts Bono on its cover, asking the semi-rhetorical question “Can Bono Save the World?” Days later, U2 is in Los Angeles to collect four Grammy Awards, including Song of the Year for “Walk On,” which the band performed to open the show.
March begins with U2 sweeping the Irish Music Awards, winning in all six categories the band receives nominations. Things take a turn for the strange in mid-March, when U2 puts an end to rumors and reports of a summer tour and also stops accepting new members into Propaganda, the band’s official fan club. On March 14, Bono is in Washington, DC, where he meets President Bush, who announces a $5 billion aid package to help fight poverty in Africa. Back in Dublin, as rumors continue to swirl after the sudden cancellation of the rumored tour, manager Paul McGuinness posts a statement on U2.com saying that the band is not splitting up.
In May, Bono takes center stage again for his African advocacy efforts. On May 20, he leaves for a 4-nation, 11-day tour of Africa with U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill. During the trip, Bono shows the secretary examples of where U.S. aid is succeeding in improving the lives of Africans. They also see examples of where it has failed. The pair disagree over how best to improve conditions on the continent, but O’Neill ends the trip in apparent agreement with Bono’s goals: “Programs are working. Aid is helping. And standards of living are improving. But more needs to be done. And it needs to be done right. And it needs to be done right now,” O’Neill says.
In June, U2 loses a long-running battle over the future of its Hanover Quay recording studio when Dublin planners rule the studio must be demolished to make way for planned dockland improvements. The ruling is followed quickly by an agreement that will allow U2 to remain in the docklands area at a new studio to be built by the city. On the 18th, Edge marries longtime girlfriend Morleigh Steinberg in a private ceremony at a Dublin registry office. The couple has a public ceremony four days later in the south of France.
August sees the PR machine cranking up in anticipation of U2’s next Best Of album being released. On August 21st, the band shoots a video in the south of France for “Electrical Storm,” one of two new songs recorded for the upcoming compilation. An unfinished version of the song airs on BBC1 radio on August 25th, and within hours the track is available as a downloadable Mp3 on fan sites across the Internet. As radio stations around the world acquire the Mp3 and play it, Interscope Records jumps into action, releasing a finished version to N. American radio stations just three days later on August 28th.
Bono continues to stump for African debt and AIDS relief in September with an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 20th.
In early October, Q magazine names Bono the Most Powerful Man in Music. The 2nd place finisher is Doug Morris, who runs Universal Music Group, the label which distributes U2’s records. On October 17th, Bono and the band are honored by An Post, Ireland’s Post Office, with an official U2 postage stamp — one of four in the Irish Rock Legends stamp set.
U2 releases The Best of 1990-2000 in early November, and sees the album reach No. 1 in several countries, but not the U.K. (where it debuts at No. 2) nor the U.S. (where it debuts at No. 3). Bono picks up honors in November from the American Irish Historical Society and the Simon Wiesenthal Center. The month ends with U2’s Beautiful Day, an hour-long Slane Castle concert special, getting exceptionally low TV ratings for CBS in the U.S.
December starts with Bono back on the debt relief/AIDS campaign trail. The “Heart of America” tour covers 11 cities in a little more than a week, and sees Bono speaking at colleges and community functions in the U.S. midwest, with help from celebrities including Ashley and Wynnona Judd, Lance Armstrong, Chris Tucker and others. At most stops, Bono sings a new song, “American Prayer,” which is formally recorded in New York on December 10th.
© @U2/McGee, 2002.