On June 30 and July 2, 2009, U2 kicked off their huge 360 degree tour at Barcelona’s Camp Nou Stadium. Because they were the first two tour dates, the band wanted to rehearse. Makes sense, right?

Well, Barcelona’s city government wasn’t too pleased that U2 practiced until 2 a.m. and has issued a fine resulting from them rehearsing past the scheduled 12 a.m. quitting time and receiving noise level complaints during the concerts.

In a further attempt to alienate themselves from getting quality acts in Spain, the city is also considering fining Shakira for recording a video in the city A) without a permit, B) dancing in a fountain, and C) riding a motorcycle without a helmet.

Check out the scandalous fountain video and the reckless riding video on Youtube.

All I can say is you better get your U2 tickets for concerts outside of Spain, because I’m pretty sure they’re never going back!

“We’re delighted the dates are rescheduled and in all the same venues we originally planned to play,” U2 manager Paul McGuinness said. “It hasn’t been easy to accomplish this and I’d like to thank the managers of the many venues and sports teams across North America and Live Nation Global Touring for their help and cooperation in making this complex new plan possible. Above all we want to thank the U2 fans for bearing with us. They’re the best and the band wants to get back to where they belong, surrounded by their audience.”

All venues will be honoring the tickets from the previously scheduled performances, or you can get a refund at the original point of purchase. If you still need U2 tickets, consider GreatSeats.com, a national ticket broker who has these tix and for other stadium shows like Paul McCartney and the Dave Matthews Band. According to U2.com, “additional dates and cities to be confirmed.” Sweet!

The revised tour dates are:

5/21/11  Denver, CO: Invesco Field At Mile High

5/24/10  Salt Lake City, UT: Rice-Eccles Stadium

6/1/11  Edmonton, AB: Commonwealth Stadium

6/4/11  Seattle, WA: Qwest Field

6/7/11  Oakland, CA: Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum

6/17-18/11  Anaheim, CA: Angel Stadium of Anaheim

6/26/11  East Lansing, MI: Spartan Stadium

6/29/11  Miami Gardens, FL: Sun Life Stadium

7/5/11  Chicago, IL: Soldier Field

7/8-9/11  Montreal, QC: Hippodrome De Montreal

7/11/11  Toronto, ON: Rogers Centre

7/14/11  Philadelphia, PA: Lincoln Financial Field

7/20/11  East Rutherford, NJ: New Meadowlands Stadium

7/23/11  Minneapolis, MN: TCF Bank Stadium

Check back for more U2 tour news and band updates.

Paul McGuinness, U2’s manager, confirmed the postponements, and Bono and the band’s disappointment, on U2.com, with the following statement:

“Our biggest and I believe best tour has been interrupted and we’re all devastated. For a performer who lives to be on stage, this is more than a blow. He feels robbed of the chance to do what he does best and feels like he has badly let down the band and their audience. Which is of course nonsense. His concerns about more than a million ticket buyers whose plans have been turned upside down, we all share, but the most important thing right now is that Bono make a full recovery. We’re working as fast as we can with Live Nation to reschedule these dates.”

Bono had been experiencing tremendous pain and some paralysis in his lower leg as a result of a nerve compression, ligament tear and a herniated disc, all in his back. The surgery was performed at the Ludwig Maximilians-University Hospital in Munich, Germany.  The frontman has been discharged and his prognosis is good.

While the word is the rescheduled dates will be some time in 2011, the exact details are still forthcoming. U2 tickets can be refunded at designated outlets, or exchanged, pending the final outcome of the new tour schedule.

Stay tuned for more U2 news and updates. For now, best wishes to Bono for a quick recovery.

Over the next five months the men of U2 will make stops in Seattle, Denver, Minneapolis, Toronto, Philadelphia, New York, Italy, Denmark, Russia, Greece, France, Belgium and many more.  Special Guests appearing on the tour for US dates include Lenny Kravitz, The Fray and Interpol.  Interpol will also be joining U2 on the stage overseas, as well as Kasabian, Snow Patrol, Razorlight and One Republic.In other current U2 news, the band will also be releasing next month a 2-DVD Super Deluxe Box Set edition of U2 360 At The Rose Bowl.  The set will include: a 32 page hardback book, limited edition 2-disc DVD and 1 Blue-ray of U2 360 At The Rose Bowl, 1 vinyl 7″, 3 U2 360 guitar picks, the Tour Programme, a limited edition numbered drawing of final stage design and  art prints in an embossed wallet.  Now that is quite the package!

Don’t miss your chance to get U2 tickets this summer!  Keep checking back for more U2 news.

The top five songs are listed below, and you can see the full list here.

1 | Gnarls Barkley — “Crazy”
2 | Jay-Z — “99 Problems”
3 | Beyoncé — “Crazy in Love”
4 | Outkast — “Hey Ya!”
5 | M.I.A. — “Paper Planes”

So, what do you think? What songs should have made the list and didn’t? What should have been number one?

The show will be aired live during the MTV Europe Music Awards, which will take place that day at Berlin’s O2 World arena. 

U2’s album, Achtung Baby, was released in 1991 and was inspired in part by their stay in Berlin almost a decade ago.

The footage was recorded when the band was on tour in Latin America during the Vertigo tour in 2006. Though it was released last year, it had a previous screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May 2007.

More information about show times can be found on the Hall of Fame’s Web site.

The album, recorded at Slane Castle in Ireland, landed the rockers their first two major hits “Pride (In the Name of Love)” and “The Unforgettable Fire.”

The album will include bonus material, such as two unheard tracks from the Slane Castle sessions, “Yoshino Blossom” and “Disappearing Act,” as well as a DVD of music videos and a documentary and unreleased live footage.

The collection will be available in four formats – a Limited Edition Box Set, including 2 CDs, a DVD, a 56-page hardback book with liner notes, and five photographic prints, a Deluxe box set, including the two-CD set and a 36-page booklet with liner notes.

Prior to U2’s concert date change, the New York Jets rescheduled their Sept. 27 game from 4:15 p.m. to 1 p.m. because Yom Kippur begins at sundown.

According to U2’s publicists, the staging installation for the band’s tour requires up to two days disassembling and the new time for the game made it impossible.

The concerts will be held on October 29th and 30th at New York’s Madison Square Garden, and also include performances from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends, Aretha Franklin, Eric Clapton, and a joint performance with Simon and Art Garfunkel.

October 29 concert:
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
Simon & Garfunkel
Crosby, Stills, Nash & Friends
Paul Simon
Stevie Wonder

October 30 concert:
Eric Clapton
Aretha Franklin
Metallica
U2