Grain of Salt as Usual: U2 News

Here's the Sydney Sun- Herald article all U2 fans would be keen to see happen!!
In my experience if the article is anywhere near accurate you can expect U2 anytime in the 12 months from when this predicts.... they'll either be on time or will get exhausted and postpone the Australasian leg for a few months and come back then!! Either way this is good news for those who understand the missional, inherently Christian but just struggling with 'church', about important things and yet understandably taste driven so therefore not everyones bag.... that is the music of U2!!

U2 ready to tour Australia
By Christine Sams
July 26, 2004 The Sun-Herald

It is the news U2's Australian fans have been waiting for. The Irish supergroup is set to include Australia in its next world tour and will most likely perform concerts in December next year.
That's the word from a source close to the band, who revealed that plans are in place for a global U2 tour after the release of their new album (believed to be titled Vertigo).
Thousands of Australian fans were left disappointed during U2's last tour, Elevation, when the band did not perform in Australia. (Much of the blame for their absence was attributed to the ailing Australian dollar.)
Until that tour, Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen jnr and Adam Clayton were regular visitors to Sydney. (They even performed an impromptu acoustic gig at the Mercantile Hotel in The Rocks, under the name of the Dalton Bros.)
Their last official visit was for the PopMart tour in 1998.
The band's new album, which is due for release later this year, has been at the centre of controversy in Europe after a CD of nearly-completed tracks was stolen from U2's recording studio in the south of France. Fears that some of the fresh tracks would be posted on the internet appear to be unfounded so far, but if the music is released early it could cost the band (and their record company) millions of dollars in lost sales.

A spokesman for Bono in Dublin confirmed the singer was still overseas last week.
As with most U2 tours, the band is likely to perform its new music in the US, UK and Europe first, before finishing up in countries including Australia.
Although few details have been leaked about the new songs on Vertigo, Bono has revealed to some reporters the CD will have a hard, punk-rock sound.

http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/07/26/1090693879804.html