DANNY CLINCH
Bruce Springsteen will sing with U2 (minus frontman Bono) in Times Square, tonight.
Well, it’s not a surprise anymore. But it should still be pretty awesome.
Bruce Springsteen and Chris Martin of Coldplay will join U2, minus singer Bono, at a World AIDS Day concert tonight in Times Square. Kanye West and Carrie Underwood will also perform. The event was originally planned as a surprise u2 concert but was revamped after Bono sustained serious injuries in a bicycle accident.
The event will be viewable live on YouTube.com.
According to the online resource Bruce Base, Springsteen has previously performed with U2 (including Bono) four times:
• In 1987, Springsteen played guitar and sang on “Stand By Me” at a U2 concert at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia.
• In 2005, Springsteen played guitar and sang on “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” with U2 at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. U2 was inducted that year, with Springsteen giving their induction speech.
• That same year, Springsteen joined U2 for “People Get Ready” at a U2 concert at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia.
• In 2009, at a concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame at Madison Square Garden in New York, Springsteen joined U2 and Patti Smith for “Because the Night,” and U2 for “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.”
Here is U2’s statement, from U2.com:
Friends have stepped in to save U2’s surprise World AIDS Day (RED) performance which was jeopardised by Bono’s November 16 bike accident in Central Park.
Kanye West and Carrie Underwood will perform at the event – tonight at 7.30pm – and Chris Martin and Bruce Springsteen will join U2 Minus 1, as the singer remains under doctors’ orders to refrain from performing until fully recuperated from his injuries.
The World AIDS Day event in Times Square will begin promptly at 7.30pm and feature performances from special guests Kanye West and Carrie Underwood.
Adam Clayton, The Edge and Larry Mullen Jr. will be joined by Bruce Springsteen and Coldplay’s Chris Martin, each of whom will take a turn as frontman on the U2 songs. Appearing at the personal invitation of U2, Springsteen and Martin have graciously donated their time and talents to save the World AIDS Day event from cancellation.
“This year is a World AIDS Day like no other,” said Bono, speaking from Dublin. “The world reached a tipping point in the fight against AIDS – more people were newly added to life-saving treatment than were newly infected with the virus. A lot of people are calling it the beginning of the end of AIDS.
“We wouldn’t be at this point without American leadership, people from the left and the right. Today, 13 million people have access to life-saving treatment, up from 300,000 just over ten years ago. Americans don’t know the role they’ve played in this fight. Tonight’s event is to inform them and thank them.”
A (RED) Thank you Presented by (Bank of America) Red will be broadcast live on YouTube, radio across the US including iHeart Radio which is becoming iHeart (RED) for World AIDS Day and as part of ESPN’s Monday Night Countdown.
The event starts at 7.30pm EST at Duffy Square in Times Square, on Broadway between 46th & 47th Streets. Attendees should enter at 50th Street and Broadway.
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