New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group) - Thirty years after the release of U2's landmark debut album Boy and its enduring single "
I Will Follow" a new book titled U2 FAQ: Anything You?d Ever Want to Know About the Biggest Band in the World?And More is set for a November 2010 release from Backbeat Books. Written by award-winning music journalist John D. Luerssen, the 450+ page tome explores the 35-year history of the revered Irish band.
The latest in Backbeats acclaimed FAQ series (Fab Four FAQ, Fab Four FAQ 2.0, Pink Floyd FAQ), U2 FAQ follows Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. from their start at Dublin's Mount Temple School in the fall of 1976 up to their recent re-emergence following Bonos debilitating back injury earlier this year. U2 FAQ boasts rare artifacts and photos culled from fans and collectors worldwide plus an insightful and heartfelt introduction by John Thomas Griffith, the one-time frontman for Red Rockers, an opening act on U2's 1985 Unforgettable Fire trek.
U2 FAQ explores the creation of Boy, now celebrating its 30th anniversary, in full detail and includes: The March 1978 development and live debut of "Shadows and Tall Trees"; The 1979 EP Three U2 made for CBS Ireland; Signing To Chris Blackwells Island Records; How the suicide of Joy Divisions Ian Curtis impacted the course of the album; A trial run with Siouxsie & the Banshees producer Steve Lillywhite recording "A Day Without Me"; U2's September 1980 "Mondays at The Marquee" London shows in advance of Boy; The early support of Boston DJ Carter Alan; Controversy over the Boy sleeve that led to its alteration for sale in the U.S. market; Breaking bottles and banging bicycle spokes on "I Will Follow"; "Twilight" earns U2 a strong gay following; Why manager Paul McGuinness thought Stories for Boys was about masturbation; and why the NME called the band really quite awful at the same time Melody Maker praised them for playing truly great rock music which inspires the heart.
What makes U2 FAQ different from the other books written about the band, is thataside from all of the information it gathersit explores the bands vulnerabilities, Luerssen says. I think that with U2's enormous popularity, its easy to forget that Bono, The Edge, Larry, and Adam are human beings like the rest of us. And I explore that in chapters like Broken Nose to the Floor: Public Debacles, Dangers, and Embarrassments, and Dont Talk Out of TimeTrue U2 Stories.
From 10 Bands Who Have Opened for U2 (including the BoDeans, Kings of Leon, and Pearl Jam) and U2's odd taste in cover songs. to the story behind Allen Ginsbergs appearance on U2's 1997 television special and why U2 abandoned their plan to record an album with legendary producer Rick Rubin after laying down two tracks with him, U2 FAQ is stuffed with information for casual fans and die-hards alike.
John D. Luerssen is a regular AOL Music/Spinner contributor who has also written for Rolling Stone, Billboard, All Music Guide, and American Songwriter. He penned 2004s highly praised Rivers Edge: The Weezer Story (ECW Press). He lives in Westfield, NJ.
Backbeat Books, founded in 1991, is an imprint of the Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group. Backbeat Books offers publications for performers and fans passionate about music, including music history, biographies and memoirs, books on musical instruments, and reference and instructional books. Recent bestsellers include December 8, 1980: The Day John Lennon Died by Keith Elliot Greenberg, Stevie Ray Vaughan: Day by Day, Night After Night by Craig Hopkins, and Mountains Come Out of the Sky: The Illustrated History of Prog Rock by Will Romano.
U2 FAQ: Anything You'd Ever Want to Know About the Biggest Band in the World And More!
By John D. Luerssen
November 2010
$19.99, 6 x 9, Paperback Original
488 pages, B&W photos throughout
ISBN: 978-0-87930-997-8
Published by Backbeat Books, an imprint of Hal Leonard
