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U2 Forced To Postpone World Tour

added 06 January 2005 at 12.03

U2 have been forced to postpone the start of their much-anticipated world tour due to family illness, reports are claiming today. The sizeable promotional tour for the album ‘How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb’ was scheduled to kick off on March 1 in Miami.

However, reports from Billboard claim that the band have had to postpone the tour with a source claiming that a family illness has meant that, "All of the plans are in total flux”. Official tour dates were to be announced and go on sale this month, however those plans are reported to have been delayed. It is as yet unclear which member of the band has been affected by the family problems.

The band will, however, fulfil their commitment to play at the 2005 Grammys in February following their three nominations for the single ‘Vertigo’. The band will also attend their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on March 14 in New York.

U2's manager Paul McGuiness had previously announced that the band would be playing a total of 115 shows throughout 2005 with the tour moving from the US to Europe, before returning to the US and concluding in Japan and Australia. Subscribers to the band's website are still expected to be given the opportunity to buy tickets before the general public.

McGuinness had stated that the dates and venues were still being finalized, and insisted that no official announcement have been made as yet. However various unofficial ticket websites have started selling tickets for U2’s as yet unconfirmed UK dates.  

The sites claim the band will be playing City Of Manchester Stadium on June 15 & 16, Glasgow Hampden Park on June 21, Croke Park Stadium, Dublin on June 26 & 27 and London's Twickenham Stadium on July 2, but punters are warned that these have not been officially confirmed and they should not purchase anything from them at this point.

Elswhere, the organisers of The Brit Awards are reportedly begging Bono and Sir Bob Geldof to perform a duet at the ceremony. Geldof is to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony in February, which is rumoured to also include a performance by U2.

The 25th anniversary Brit Awards takes place on February 9 at Earls Court, London and will be hosted by Chris Evans. U2’s new single ‘Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own’ is out on February 7.

Tagged as U2, archive

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