Watch “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” – 1987 Version

Watch – “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” – Version 2023, Performed at the Sphere in Las Vegas

Interestingly, “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'”was not included in U2’s live/studio album Rattle and Hum, but the band did release a video of their captivating performance of the track from November 1987. Despite not being listed on the official setlist, U2 made sure to rehearse the song during soundcheck before the show, ensuring that their rendition would be flawless and memorable.

The surprise performance of this holiday classic came as U2 extended their residency at the Sphere, adding an impressive 11 extra dates to their already extensive run. With this addition, the band’s total number of shows at the Las Vegas venue now reaches an impressive 40. This residency has allowed U2 to captivate audiences night after night, showcasing their incredible talent and timeless music to fans from all over the world.

Tickets for the FINAL FOUR U2:UV Achtung Baby shows are on sale today, along with @vibeepresents VIP and Hotel packages. Visit https://t.co/KuHopvHH1u for more information. #U2UVSPHERE pic.twitter.com/Ky35gexGPP

— U2 (@U2) December 8, 2023

Listen to U2’s latest single “Atomic City” played at the Sphere, Las Vegas show 2023.

U2’s surprise rendition of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)'”not only delighted their fans but also showcased the band’s versatility and ability to breathe new life into beloved classics. It was a truly special moment for both the band and their dedicated audience, reminding everyone of the enduring power of U2’s music and their ability to create unforgettable live experiences.

NME recently gave U2’s inaugural performance at a lavish venue a glowing five-star review. The review praised the band’s captivating stage presence and musical talent, as well as the venue’s magnificence. The writer also expressed excitement for U2’s ongoing residency in the city, known for its vibrant music scene.

In other U2 news, bassist Adam Clayton revealed in late November that the band’s progress in producing new music relies on the recovery of drummer Larry Mullen Jr, who has temporarily taken a break for the first time in four decades to undergo surgery.

Meanwhile, frontman Bono reassured fans that the band’s upcoming album will be a “unreasonable guitar record” that may not conform to practical expectations. Previously, the singer had described the album as “noisy” and “uncompromising.”

The Sphere in Las Vegas is a 21,500 was first announced in 2018 by the Madison Square Garden Entertainment Group and would have been the largest arena by capacity in the UK. The plans for the venue would have had the Sphere lighting up the Stratford area adjacent to the Westfield Shopping Centre and the Olympic Park.

When plans were originally presented for the London site in 2018 it received the support of London Mayor, Sadiq Khan and then-Culture Secretary, Matt Hancock. Network Rail originally had an objection to the venue, but then withdrew the objection as the plans became clearer in 2019.

Plans were drawn up to include a smaller 1,500 capacity venue inside the sphere to support smaller grassroots. A complex including shops and restaurants were also drawn up within the plans. A 2019 application informed that thousands of jobs would be made available with the new project, however thousands of residents had objected to the venue’s construction and concerns were raised by the London Assembly Environment Committee about light levels.

The project gained planning approval on March 22nd 2022, with the next steps being a review from the Mayor of London as well as a legal planning agreement. However, it has now been revealed that the venue has not passed the review from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.

A spokesperson for Khan said: “London is open to investment from around the world and Sadiq wants to see more world-class, ambitious, innovative entertainment venues in our city. But as part of looking at the planning application for the MSG Sphere, the mayor has seen independent evidence that shows the current proposals would result in an unacceptable negative impact on local residents.”

Full statement from me as local councillor for Stratford Olympic Park as @SadiqKhan has today FINALLY rejected the MSG Sphere in his stage 2 decision. pic.twitter.com/4xGoeuqUeV

— Nate Higgins (@natehiggins) November 20, 2023

Local councillor Nate Higgins, who has been campaigning against the Sphere being built in Stratford said: “Absolutely delighted to share that our campaigning on behalf of residents in Stratford Olympic Park alongside Against the MSG Sphere London has paid off, and Sadiq Khan as Mayor of London has today rejected the MSG Sphere planning application in his stage 2 decision. London’s cultural venues are incredibly important, but this application was always inappropriate for the site and the 25-year advertising consent the applicants demanded shows they were not interested in contributing to our capital’s cultural scene – but bombarding the residents of Stratford with endless advertising,”.

The Irish quartet took to the stage for a surprise show in front of the Plaza Hotel in Las Vegas on Saturday 16th September. During the show, the band played a brand new Vegas-themed song, “Atomic City”, and filmed a music video. The band, fronted by Bono, played through the song repeatedly in a downtown area of the Nevada city.

“Atomic City,” is the song, all about #VegasVille … A first look @U2#Vegas#RJNow@reviewjournalpic.twitter.com/OVkPyHNn65

— John Katsilometes (@johnnykats) September 17, 2023

“Atomic City” is set to be released before U2 embark on their upcoming residency at the new MSG Sphere in Las Vegas. The band are scheduled to start their shows at the Sphere, which will be the first shows ever played at the venue, on Friday 29th September.

The upcoming shows are titled “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere”, and will see four-piece perform their 1991 album Achtung Baby in full.

Despite being present at the surprise Las Vegas show and music video recording, drummer Larry Mullen Jr is not performing with the band for the first few shows of the residency while he recovers from surgery.

In an interview with the Irish Mirror, bassist Adam Clayton said “The whole band and I’m sure the audience are going to be very sad and miss Larry. He wants to come back, he wants to be able to have a long career and continue his drumming so he’s taking care of those injuries.”

Clayton also explained that whilst the U2 drummer is recovering, Krezip drummer Bram van den Berg will be filling in throughout the first portion of the “U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere” tour. A decision the band came to together after having Larry Mullen Jr’s blessing.

In addition to the Las Vegas Residency tour, U2 have announced an immersive experience for fans ahead of their upcoming shows.

‘Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience,’ the immersive fan portal, opens at The Venetian in Las Vegas on September 28.

Explore ‘Achtung Baby’ through interactive experiences – Zoo TV Cinema (curated by The Edge), the Anton Corbijn Gallery, limited-edition merchandise, VIP lounges,… pic.twitter.com/35GlOxw81n

— U2 (@U2) August 30, 2023

Opening on September 28th, “Zoo Station: A U2:UV Experience” is an immersive fan portal designed to help U2 fans to gain a deeper understanding of the Irish rocker’s 7th LP, 1991 acclaimed album Achtung Baby.

When We Were Young Fest

Register now for Presale that starts Friday, January 21st, 10 AM PT. All tickets start at $19.99 down https://t.co/KUp7CwEQEV pic.twitter.com/mG5jQPsBm8

— When We Were Young (@WWWYFest) January 18, 2022

Set to hit the sands of Las Vegas’ Nevada desert on October 22^nd, the festival boasts an impressive level of pop-punk throwbacks I wasn’t even aware were still together. Boys Like Girls, Sleeping with Sirens, Pierce the Veil and 3OH!3 stick out as artists just waiting for their time back in the sun. While Bring Me the Horizon fit into the line-up like they were born for it, all while maintaining a level of relevance that not many other artists on the roster have. The group have moulded their sound over the years to keep up with the ever-changing musical climate without just collapsing into obscurity, their most recent output “DiE4u” sums up just how malleable the group can be if needed. This appearance, alongside their Reading and Leeds Festival headlining slots, confirms the staying power of the band.

Not long after the announcement that Wolf Alice will be postponing their UK and EU tour, the group have also announced their involvement in WWWY Festival. With the festival taking place in October, I feel like most touring artists are going into the festival season with a whole lot of hope. My Chemical Romance, for instance, has only played one show since their split in 2012; and their reunion tour dates in the UK have already been rearranged 3 times. These shows are currently set to go ahead this May with an appearance at the Eden Project on May 16^th, 3 nights at Milton Keynes’ Stadium MK on the 19^th, 21^st and 22^nd, and a few other days around the UK in the following weeks. See here for more details.

2007 is back! So if you want to convince your parents that it really wasn’t a phase you can find ticket information here.

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The Grammy award winning singer’s concert series entitled Weekends With Adele will see the singer perform twice every weekend. Adele will take the stage at the 41,100-seat theatre for over three months, her residency will start on 21st January 2022 and will end on 16th April 2022.

Since the release of her new album 30, the 33-year-old songstress has dominated the music news with rave reviews and record-breaking statistics. The album was released on 19th November 2021 via Columbia Records and Melted Stone. The singer’s fourth studio album was released to huge acclaim and debuted at number one within the charts. The album’s two singles, “Easy On Me” and “Oh My God” have also achieved great chart success.

Adele will join the ranks of many highly acclaimed artists who have taken up residencies in Las Vegas. The Caesars Palace’s theatre has hosted residencies from Sir Elton John, Celine Dion, Sir Rod Stewart and Usher. The Colosseum is situated within the heart of the Las Vegas strip and is often called the Home Of The Greatest Entertainers in the world.

Sir John has enjoyed two residencies in Las Vegas, both held at The Colosseum. His first concert residency was entitled The Red Piano and began on 13th February 2004. The iconic pianist’s residency was originally scheduled for 75 shows performed over three years; due to its popularity the residency was extended to 247 shows over six years. The residency came to close on 22nd April 2009 and was replaced by two other shows, Cher at the Colosseum and Bette Midler’s residency The Showgirl Must Go On.

The “Tiny Dancer” singer began a second residency at The Colosseum on 28th September 2011. The concert series entitled The Million Dollar Piano was recorded during a sell-out show in February 2012, the show was released via DVD and also featured a behind the scenes documentary. The residency came to a close on 17th May 2018 after over 197 performances.

Adele’s Las Vegas residency comes ahead of the singer’s performances at next year’s BST Summertime series. Adele is set to perform at the London Hyde Park festival on 1st and 2nd July 2022. The Summer performances will mark her first UK live show since 2017 and will be her only UK performances for 2022. The singer will also be joined by fellow Las Vegas performer, Sir John will be performing with special guests on 24th June 2022.

Registration for presale tickets for Weekends With Adele went live on 30th November 2021. The initial emails to pre-register were sent to Ticketmaster Verified Fan users. The lucky fans with the special codes will be able to purchase tickets. Once demand has exceeded pre-sale, tickets will be removed to buy publicly.

The band’s remix of “I Owe You Nothing” released in June 1988 reached the UK Singles Chart at number one and is their only UK number one to date. The band achieved UK success which was dubbed “Brosmania”. Logan announced his departure from the band in 1999 due to illness. The Goss brothers remained as a Duo and announced their split in 1992.

Goss embarked on a solo career in 1995 and released his debut single “The Key” which reached number 40 in the UK Singles Chart. Goss has released 4 solo albums to date, “The Key” (1995), “Early Side of Later” (2004), “Gossy” (2009) and “Life You Imagine” (2013).

Goss held a successful residency in Las Vegas for 10 years and toured in the UK notably at both the Royal Albert Hall and Wembley Arena. The musician reunited with his brother Luke for their 2018 documentary “After The Screaming Stops”.

The documentary was credited by GQ Magazine as the best documentary of all time. The documentary charted at number one on the  UK’s Official Music Video Chart. UK Tour dates were announced as a result of the documentaries success.

The best music documentary of all time. #Bros https://t.co/11wfUxY7p8

— British GQ (@BritishGQ) January 14, 2019

Goss has not released solo material for eight years and has recently shared cryptic teasers that seemingly announced the release of solo material. Goss further teased an August 20th release stating in a tweet “I don’t want to lie but sometimes I have to”.

 

 

 

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The clues provided by Goss seem to suggest that new solo material will be released this month. Goss has promised to explain his cryptic clues soon.