U2 paid tribute to Michael Jackson at the band’s first date on their 360° Tour in Barcelona, Spain, last night as Bono dedicated “Angel of Harlem” to the Thriller singer. “We wrote this one for Billie Holiday but we are going to play it tonight for Michael Jackson,” Bono told the crowd of over 90,000 at Camp Nou stadium. The Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. also weaved bits of Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Man in the Mirror” into the song, Reuters reports.
Performing on the innovative set dubbed “the Claw” for the first time, the two-hour-and-20-minute gig featured a mix of songs from the band’s latest LP No Line on the Horizon (seven tracks, including “Breathe,” which opened the show), as well as greatest hits like “Sunday Bloody Sunday,” “One” and “Unforgettable Fire.” Still, the band’s amazing new stage threatened to steal the show. The Claw features a 360-degree video screen, an awe-inspiring light show and apparently, a satellite linkup to space.
After the fourth song of the set, Bono rang up the astronauts on the International Space Station via satellite, who appeared live on the Claw’s 360 screen. According to U2’s official site, Bono asked, “Commander, can you see Barcelona?,” to which the astronauts replied, “Right now the most beautiful sight in our cosmos is the blue planet Earth” — a nice segue into “Beautiful Day.”
U2 continue their stint in Barcelona tomorrow, July 2nd, before visiting the other 30 cities on the 360° Tour. Their first North American show is on September 12th at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
Set List:
“Breathe”
“No Line on the Horizon”
“Get On Your Boots”
“Magnificent”
“Beautiful Day”
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”
“Angel of Harlem”
“In A Little While”
“Unknown Caller”
“Unforgettable Fire”
“City of Blinding Lights”
“Vertigo”
“I’ll Go Crazy If I Don’t Go Crazy Tonight”
“Sunday Bloody Sunday”
“Pride (In The Name of Love)”
“MLK”
“Walk On”
“Where The Streets Have No Name”
“One”
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“Ultraviolet”
“With Or Without You”
“Moment of Surrender”

President Barack Obama has commented publicly about the death of Michael Jackson, telling the AP “I grew up on his music — still have all his stuff on my iPod.” Obama added that Jackson “will go down in history as one of our greatest entertainers.” As Rock Daily previously reported, Obama personally sent a letter of condolence to the Jackson family, the contents of which were not revealed.
The sudden death of Michael Jackson introduces an incredibly complex series of financial problems, including publishing ownership questions. Jackson died with hundreds of millions in debt, and endless loans and assets attached. That includes the prized publishing rights to the Beatles catalog, currently half-owned by Sony/ATV.
As the entire world mourns the death of Michael Jackson, many are celebrating the King of Pop’s unparalleled musical legacy. Following the news of Jackson’s sudden passing, Jackson songs and albums immediately begin climbing the sales charts at digital music stores. Over on iTunes, the current top five albums, and seven of the Top 10, are all Jackson releases, with The Essential Michael Jackson, Thriller and Off the Wall all leading the charge. The same goes for the Amazon MP3 store, where Jackson is listed as the service’s top-selling artist of the day.
Michael Jackson may be gone, but his music is definitely living on. A quick look at iTunes’ and Amazon’s best-seller lists reveals a virtual run on the King of Pop’s albums. On the current iTunes Top Ten Albums chart, he’s taken over seven spots, starting with the 2005 five-disc retrospective
(CNN) – Entertainer Michael Jackson died after being taken to a hospital on Thursday having suffered cardiac arrest, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said. He was 50.


