I’ve just posted the photos for Omnibus Press (the publisher) to consider, and the final tally is 60+ photos from 21 fans. That’s pretty darn good for such a short period of time. Best of all, there’s some really great photos in the group and I know we’ve made the photo editor’s job difficult! I certainly wouldn’t want to have to try to decide which photos can or can’t be included.

So, anyway, THANKS AGAIN to all who submitted. I won’t know what photos were selected until the book is printed and published, so we’ll all find out at about the same time. That should be sometime this summer.

Deadline

Due to my travel schedule, we have only 3-4 days to collect fan photos. I was on the road last week when the publisher’s photo editor contacted me about photos, and today is the first chance I’ve had to post about it.

We need your photos by Tuesday, March 15.

What We’re Looking For

Just about any U2 photo from 2008 through 2010. We’re NOT looking for photos from any other years.

Photos of the band signing autographs outside the studio, photos of them at movie premieres, other bands’ concerts, other appearances, etc. — those are all great.

Concert photos will be great, too, but we have a TON of those already so we’d only be looking for really amazing/unusual concert photos. Since live gigs are not the focus of U2 – A Diary, we may not need a ton of those photos.

Photo Requirements

We need high-resolution photos, 300 dpi or higher. That will give the most flexibility in terms of how big the photo can appear in the book. We may be able to use smaller photos (like 180 dpi), but those will appear smaller in the book. We can’t use any 72 dpi (web-ready) photos, sorry to say.

Since we’re on a tight deadline, we can’t use prints, either. We need digital images.

What about copyright?

You will retain full copyright and ownership of the photo(s) you share for U2 – A Diary. There’s no money to be exchanged and no change of ownership/copyright.

How to Send in Photos

If you’re not sure we’ll want your photo(s), feel free to send me an e-mail giving as much detail about what you have, and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

If you just want to send your best shots, my address starts with matt and ends with the domain you’re on right now (u2diary.com).

When You Send…

Please include as much detail as you can about each photo: Date, Location, Explanation (if it’s not obvious). Since this is a date-based book, it will be difficult to use photos that we can’t tie/associate to a particular date.

Also, be sure to include your name so we can give you full credit if a photo is used.

Thanks!

I obviously can’t guarantee we’ll use everything that gets submitted, but whether or not your photo(s) make the book, I appreciate your willingness to help!

Any questions? Email me or use the comments if the answer will benefit other readers, too.

(camera image via Shutterstock.com)

But I have one last question for U2 fans.

I’ve written a short, three-paragraph Introduction that covers only the new material – 2008 through 2010. The Introduction is sort of a big picture, high-level assessment of the material in the diary. I reviewed these past three years and found the major themes/events to include

• relatively poor album sales compared to past U2 albums
• poor sales/response to U2′s singles
• shut out at all the major awards, even the Meteor Irish Music Awards in their own country
• Bono’s back injury
• the long-running Spider-Man problems
• huge success for the U2 360 tour

The Introduction as I’ve written it basically says that this was a difficult three years for U2 and that there were more negatives than positives.

The question to you: Is that accurate/fair? Or, were the past three years better for U2 than I’ve painted them? Your feedback is appreciated! Please leave a comment below and I’ll process them for posting as quickly as possible.

So … anyone know anything about this?

The reason this matters is that, according to Fanning, Bono came to the studio to meet Plant and listen to the interview in person.

Would love to find an exact date on this. Otherwise, I’ll have to add it to the current list of unsolved mysteries.

Thanks in advance for any help!

As you can read in the comments of that post, Bono sang the song for Spanish music critic/radio host Julian Ruiz in the halls of Dodger Stadium. I’ve already updated my text with this information.

U2 fans are the best! Thanks to Merrin and Raul for being so helpful!

Tim thinks this clip is from a Mexican radio station appearance when the band made its first visit to Mexico City in November, 1992. But I can’t find any evidence to support that.

Here’s the audio. If you know anything about this, please leave a comment below. Thanks!

Update: I understand some people are unable to listen to the audio clip. I’ll try to figure out why. It may be a problem with the upload/hosting service.

That appendix will also include corrections of what was published in the first book. And I’m hoping to find some U2 fans to help make sure any and all mistakes are corrected.

My idea: a group reading project!

I don’t think I’ll have time between now and the end of January to re-read all 336 pages of the first book. But if there’s a group of us re-reading the book, it’s a more doable project.

What I Need

- about 10-20 people who will volunteer to re-read a portion of the first book

- you’ll be looking for mistakes, misspellings, typos, and anything else that needs to be corrected

- you’ll make a list of what you find and send me that list via email when you’re done

- your deadline will be December 31, 2010

What You Need

- a copy of the first edition of U2 – A Diary — the primary, English-language version

- a good grasp of the English language

- a good/deep knowledge of U2 facts and information

How to Help

- to volunteer, use the Contact Page to send me your name and email address (so I can reply)

- if there’s a specific section of the book you want to help with, like “1980 and 1981″, let me know when you send the email and I’ll do my best to assign you that section (but no promises)

After That…

- I’ll collect emails for a couple days and then send you an email with your assignment (if I somehow get a TON of replies on this, I might send you a “thanks, but I have enough volunteers” message)

- I’ll add the corrections to the book update, be eternally grateful, and list your name in the new “Acknowledgments” section

———

Sound good? If you have any questions, leave a comment below. But don’t leave a comment to volunteer for the group reading — I need you to contact me via email if you want to help. Thanks in advance!

I’m sure most (if not all( of you are familiar with that video of the Dalton Brothers accepting three awards on behalf of U2. But I have no idea what date it happened, what awards show it’s from, nor where U2 are.

On the last question, there’s a poster on the wall behind them that references U2′s Lovetown shows in Melbourne in early October, 1989. And if they’re accepting awards for “Song of the Decade,” “Album of the Decade,” etc., then that timing would make sense. I’m willing to bet they’re in Melbourne at this time.

But what awards show is it? It looks like the “trophy” in front of Dan Lanois is a pair of copper boots. And I can’t quite read the graphic on-screen in the lower left; it seems to say “New Music …” something. ??

Anyone have more details on this?