02/03/2009 Hanover Quay Studio - Dublin, Ireland
No Line On The Horizon, No Line On The Horizon, No Line On The Horizon, Magnificent, Magnificent, Get on Your Boots, Get on Your Boots, Get on Your Boots, Get on Your Boots
comment: U2 are filmed in their studios for BBC2's The Culture Show in early February. An NME report states that No Line On The Horizon was played "three and a half" times. This listing constitutes the live debut for all three songs. On 24 February 2009, an episode of The Culture Show featured one performance of No Line On The Horizon and one of Get On Your Boots; Magnificent was not included. A lengthier edition of this episode was broadcast on the 27th, also without Magnificent.
02/03/2009 Hanover Quay Studio - Dublin, Ireland
Interview
comment: An interview of U2 by John Wilson is broadcast on BBC Radio 4's Front Row. The interview is at the band's Dublin studios and pre-recorded on the same day as their performance on The Culture Show. It is broadcast on Radio 4 on 24 February 2009. During the interview, Edge strums the Where The Streets Have No Name riff for a few seconds and snippets of the band rehearsing Get On Your Boots and Magnificent are broadcast. No full live songs are played, however.
02/08/2009 Staples Center - Los Angeles, California, USA
Get on Your Boots
comment: U2 open the 51st Grammy Awards with the live debut of Get On Your Boots. At the start, Bono shouts "the future needs a big kiss" and a prerecorded intro leads into the song, sampling both the "let me in the sound" passage and Bono singing the melody of The Star Spangled Banner.
02/18/2009 Earl's Court Arena - London, England
Get on Your Boots
comment: U2 open the Brit Awards. The performance is similar to at the Grammys. The pre-recorded intro is slightly modified; it still samples "let me in the sound" but this time features Bono singing the melody of God Save The Queen.
02/19/2009 BBC Studios - London, England
Interview
comment: Bono and Edge are interviewed by Zane Lowe for BBC Radio 1. This is the date of recording; it was broadcast on 23 February 2009.
02/21/2009 O2 World - Berlin, Germany
Get on Your Boots
comment: U2 open the Echo Awards. The pre-recorded intro features an instrumental sample from the Deutschlandlied as well as John F. Kennedy's famous "Ich bin ein Berliner" quotation from a speech on 26 June 1963.
02/23/2009 Studios Rive Gauche - Paris, France
Get on Your Boots, Interview, Breathe
comment: U2 perform and are interviewed on the programme Le Grand Journal. This is their first live appearance on French TV. For more details, see our news article here. The band had considered taping Magnificent for broadcast at a later date, but in the end had to depart after Breathe in order to make it to a live radio interview on time.
02/23/2009 NRJ Studios - Paris, France
Interview
comment: U2 are interviewed live on French radio station NRJ. It is an in-depth interview with moments of humour and questions that put U2 on the spot. Amongst other information, it is revealed that Fez-Being Born was going to open No Line On The Horizon; the title track was subsequently chosen as the opener instead as they wanted to begin the album with high energy. Bono also says that Magnificent was originally called French Disco.
02/26/2009 BBC Studios - London, England
Breathe, Breathe, Breathe, Get on Your Boots
comment: Taping for U2's performance on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, broadcast the next night. Breathe is known to have been played three times before the band were satisfied.
02/26/2009 One Golden Square - London, England
Interview
comment: Bono and Edge are interviewed by Christian O'Connell for his breakfast show on Absolute Radio (formerly Virgin Radio).
02/26/2009 BBC TV 'Top of the Pops' - London, England
Get on Your Boots
comment: U2 appear on a special one-off edition of Top Of The Pops in aid of Comic Relief on Red Nose Day. The performance was taped after the band played on Jonathan Ross's show and was broadcast on 13 March 2009.
02/27/2009 BBC Radio Theatre - London, England
Get on Your Boots, Magnificent, I Kissed A Girl (snippet) / Beautiful Day / Blackbird (snippet), Breathe
comment: U2 perform a Live Lounge session for BBC Radio 1. Boots, Beautiful Day, and Breathe are broadcast live on radio, while Magnificent is only shown on a website video stream accessible solely to UK viewers - it will be broadcast the next week on Zane Lowe's radio show. The band were going to play a cover but ran out of rehearsal time; Bono nonetheless sarcastically snippeted a line of I Kissed A Girl and asked the audience to imagine they are a U2 cover band before Beautiful Day began. This was Beautiful Day's first live performance since the end of the Vertigo Tour on 9 December 2006. See our full article here.
02/27/2009 BBC Studios - London, England
Interview
comment: Bono and Adam are interviewed by Simon Mayo live for his show on BBC Radio 5. Some interesting details from this show can be read in an article here that also covers a subsequent interview of the full band and a surprise concert.
02/27/2009 BBC Studios - London, England
Interview
comment: All of U2 are interviewed during the first hour of Chris Evans' drivetime show on BBC Radio 2. Some listeners call in and ask questions live on air; Bono sings a snippet of The Beatles' Michelle to a caller named Michelle. After this interview, they ventured up on top of the roof of the BBC for a surprise gig. Read our full article here.
02/27/2009 Broadcasting House rooftop - London, England
Get on Your Boots, Magnificent, Vertigo / Substitute (snippet) / She Loves You (snippet) / Dig It (snippet), Beautiful Day
comment: U2 play a surprise gig atop the BBC's headquarters at the end of Chris Evans' show on Radio 2. Thousands gather on the street below to watch. The band were originally going to finish with Vertigo (which was last played live in May 2007), but were given the chance to play a fourth song if they were quick. Our full story about this gig and two preceding interviews is located here.
03/02/2009 XFM Studios - London, England
Interview
comment: An interview with The Edge is broadcast on Ian Camfield's afternoon show. The interview is pre-recorded and took place on an unknown date in the last week of February, hence this listing is for the broadcast date. In the interview, Edge says that the leak of No Line On The Horizon was partly a good thing.
03/02/2009 Ed Sullivan Theater - New York, New York, USA
Breathe
comment: U2 make their first of five consecutive appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.
03/02/2009 Ed Sullivan Theater - New York, New York, USA
Get on Your Boots / She Loves You (snippet)
comment: After U2 play for the taping of Monday's episode of the Late Show with David Letterman, the Friday episode is taped and the band play again. This was broadcast on the 6th of March as the band's fifth of five consecutive appearances on the Late Show.
03/03/2009 Ed Sullivan Theater - New York, New York, USA
Magnificent
comment: U2 are set to make their second of five consecutive appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman.
03/04/2009 Ed Sullivan Theater - New York, New York, USA
I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Come On Eileen (snippet)
comment: U2 make their third of five consecutive appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman. This is the live debut of Crazy Tonight.
03/05/2009 Ed Sullivan Theater - New York, New York, USA
Beautiful Day / Rock 'n' Roll High School (snippet) / I Remember You (snippet), Vertigo
comment: U2 make their fourth of five consecutive appearances on the Late Show with David Letterman. Chronologically, this is the last appearance as the fifth episode, Friday's, was taped after the first one on Monday the 2nd of March. Beautiful Day is played for the episode and then the band continue with Vertigo just for the studio audience. Bono dedicates Beautiful Day to Joey Ramone and the rest of the Ramones.
03/06/2009 Keating Hall steps, Fordham University - New York, New York, USA
Get on Your Boots, Magnificent, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight
encores: Beautiful Day, Breathe, Vertigo
comment: U2 appear on Good Morning America. The performance took place at the Rose Hill campus of Fordham University, on the steps of Keating Hall. Between Crazy Tonight and Beautiful Day, the band took a short break.
03/09/2009 Capitol Records Tower - Los Angeles, California, USA
Interview
comment: Shirley Manson of Garbage hosts "An Inside Look At No Line On The Horizon" as part of "U2 3 Nights Live" broadcast by ABC Satellite Services and Westwood One. No songs are performed live on air, but the studio versions of NLOTH's first five tracks are played throughout the interview. Read our summary of the night's proceedings here.
03/10/2009 Smart Bar - Chicago, Illinois, USA
Interview
comment: Shirley Manson of Garbage hosts U2's "Radio Takeover" as part of "U2 3 Nights Live" broadcast by ABC Satellite Services and Westwood One. The band do a DJ set, selecting two songs each. In between songs, Manson prompts them to discuss their selections, and while the songs are broadcast on radio, they answer questions from a small audience of contest winners. Read our full report here.
03/11/2009 Somerville Theatre - Somerville, Massachusetts, USA
Get on Your Boots, Magnificent, Breathe, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight / Come On Eileen (snippet), Vertigo / She Loves You (snippet)
comment: U2 perform live and answer audience questions as part of "U2 3 Nights Live" broadcast by ABC Satellite Services and Westwood One. Audience members are mostly radio contest winners. The location is kept a closely guarded secret and it turns out to be the Somerville Theatre in Somerville, just north of Boston. Full details of the gig and the Q&A session can be found in our article here.
05/29/2009 RTE Studios - Dublin, Ireland
Magnificent
comment: U2 appear on the last edition of the Late Late Show to be hosted by Pat Kenny.
More detailed listings from this tour can be found here.