A quiet week in the world of U2, Ireland’s greatest rock band had a few things going on. The Edge’s wife Morleigh Steinberg recently spoke about their daughter’s battle with cancer. The U2 guitarists’ better half called ordeal “hell” and revealed that their daughter Sian was treated in both Ireland and America. She went on to stress that Sian has fully recovered and is doing very well. Bono spoke out this week in honor of the Burmese former Noble Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi, who was released from house arrest this past week in Myanmar. U2’s lead singer went on to say that San Suu Kyi was the inspiration for the band’s inspirational All The Things You Can’t Leave Behind track “Walk On” and compared her to Nelson Mandela. George W. Bush popped up also in U2-related news with mention that he confused Bono for Sonny Bono in his memoir. The former President went on in his new book to talk glowingly about Bono.

U2’s hard work touring the world on their 360 Tour was honored this past week at the 2010 Billboard Touring Awards. The band took home the “Top Draw” and “Top Tour” awards for selling the most tickets from October 2009-September 2010. It’s amazing to think that the band was still able to this with all the concerts in America that were canceled due to Bono’s back injury. Other big winners included AC/DC, Taylor Swift, Metallica, Rush, and of course Lady Gaga. U2’s Spiderman musical, Turn Off the Dark, hit another snag with previews pushed back to December due to security measures. U2 is also working a new album reportedly with famed produced Danger Mouse. Bono and the Edge stepped out in New York City to attend a exhibition at old friend and photographer Anton Corbijin’s photo gallery. Make sure you visit My U2 Fan Site soon for more U2 news!

It was announced this week that U2’s final 360′ Tour show in North America next summer will be in Pittsburgh, PA on July 26th, 2011. Tickets go on sale for the band’s show at Heinz Field on October 18th. The home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Heinz Field seats upwards of 65,000 fans not counting general admission. Three days prior to U2’s show in Pittsburgh, Ireland four most successful rock stars will play a show at the newly constructed TCF Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, MN. Bono, The Edge, Larry Mullen Jr., and Adam Clayton finished up their European leg of the 360′ Tour. Following their European finale in Rome last week, U2 will venture south with tour mate Jay-Z to play nine shows in Australia. U2 will also return to Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca in May for a pair of shows inside the 104,000 seat soccer stadium

One of the biggest opening gigs in music is opening for U2. It’s a honor Pearl Jam, The Script, Kings of Leon, and No Doubt have all been distinguished with in the past. U2 announced their opening acts for their 2011 U2 ‘360 Tour today with Interpol, Lenny Kravitz, The Fray, Snow Patrol, and Florence and the Machine splitting the duties. New York city based Indie band Interpol will take on the lion’s share of the tour playing 7 shows with U2. UK alternative rockers Snow Patrol opened a number of dates this summer for the Irish rock kings and will repeat the favor for the band’s epic concert in Mexico City. Art rock group Florence and the Machine will bring their high-energy live show to U2’s shows in East Lansing and Miami, while old U2 pal Lenny Kravitz will rock out three shows on the west coast in Seattle, Anaheim, and Oakland. American pop rockers The Fray will pick up the duties for U2’s string of shows in Salt Lake City, Denver, and Edmonton.

After weeks of not a lot happening in U2 world the headlines are a buzz with Ireland’s greatest rock band. Back on their 360′ Tour, U2 played shows in Helsinki and Moscow this week. The band’s first trip to Russia included a meeting between Bono and Russian president Dmitry Medvedev near the Black Sea, a rainy U2 concert for 50,000+ fans at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow which featured an acapella serenade of “Singing in the Rain” from Bono, an acoustic cover of Bob Dylan’s “Knocking on Heaven’s Door” with Russian musician Yuri Shevchukn and a inspirational encore of “Moment of Surrender” in honor of the victims of Russia’s terrible wildfires. In other news - U2 is being fined by the city of Barcelona for excessive noise for $22,000 during their concert at Camp Nou last year. U2 certainly has the money to fork over that kind of cash, but the fine reeks of a city scrapping for some extra dough. U2 will light up the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna, Austria this coming Monday before targeting the Olympic Stadium in Athens next Friday.

U2 played their first show since Bono’s emergency back surgery derailed their summer 360 tour plans. Bono, The Edge, Adam Clayton, and Larry Mullen Jr. performed in front of full house inside the Stadio Olimpico di Torino in Turin, Italy last Friday night. To celebrate  The Edge’s 49th birthday the audience serenaded the U2 guitarist with “Happy Birthday”. The Italians also were treated to three new U2 songs during the concert including an ode to the English festival “Glastonbury” that the band missed due to Bono’s injury. The new song has been already posted on YouTube here. Bono showed his appreciation for his fan’s patience, as well as, his own bandmates during the show, and referred to U2 as a “A family business”. U2 debuted a instrumental introduction piece by the name of “Return of the Stingray Guitar” and a acoustic ballad by the name of “North Star”.  German U2 fans will get to take in the 360′ Tour tonight in Frankfurt at Commerzbank Arena.

There’s a long list of U2 songs that largely go unnoticed by casual fans that are truly remarkable in their own right. One of the favorite underrated tracks is “The Ground Beneath Her Feet”. Used only on the UK version of All the Things You Can’t Leave Behind, “The Ground Beneath Her Feet” is a refreshingly simple love song. The Edge’s direct acoustic strumming captures your attention right away even before Bono breaks into the lyrics. You can expect something special right away from the melody. The fact that this song didn’t make the US version of the album is a testament to the level of songwriting the band was at during the All the Things sessions.

From the chord pattern to the lyrics, the song’s beauty is in its simplicity. The song almost sounds lke it could of been a Police hit in the 80’s with its almost reggae styled melody. The song still has Bono’s heart over head lyrical sensibilities with lines like “Black is white, and cold is heat/For what I worshipped stole my love away/It was the ground beneath her feet”. Check out their acoustic performance of the track here.

Time to catch up on all U2-related happenings of the last week or so. Just because Bono is recovering from back surgery doesn’t mean the rock star isn’t staying busy. Bono and his private-equity company Elevation Partners uped their stake in social media giant Facebook to $210 million. The successful businessmen is hoping this investment will prove much more lucrative then the company’s wretched investment in mobile phone manufactor Palm Inc.

The Edge has made use of his newly found free time by rocking out at Glastonbury with emerging rock superstars Muse. Edge joined Matthew Bellamy and company on stage for a rendition of “Where the Streets Have No Names”. U2 was suppose to headline the 40th edition of the UK festival, but Bono’s injury prevented their appearance.

 U2 ranked as #7 on Forbers World’s Most Powerful Celebrities list, making $130 million in the last year. The band had the 11th largest web rank of all celebrities. The year off touring should knock the boys off the list next year, but could see a return to the top after Bono’s recovery.

Turn Off the Dark, the Spiderman musical Bono and the Edge have written songs for looks to be finally getting it’s act together. The production cost already is rumored to be around $50 million dollar for the Broadway show that features Spidey swinging from NYC buildings while belting out rock ‘n roll. Reeve Carney will play the role of Peter Parker has been lauded for his big voice and charisma by Bono and The Edge. While Bono is trying to recover from his emergency back surgery, the show goes on and a October preview date is scheduled. Finiancial difficulties, cast member departures, and production set backs has delayed the mega-musical for some time. The show will play at the Hilton Theater on 42nd Street in New York City. Live Nation chairman Michael Cohl could perhaps be Spiderman’s Broadway savior providing much needed funding into the show at Bono’s request. Theater fans will keep their eye on the preparations for Shut Out the Dark in the coming months.

Reports look promising for record producer Daniel Lanois after his serious motorcycle accident last weekend. The Canadian musician helped U2 produce The Unforgettable Fire, The Joshua Tree, Achtung Baby, All That You Can’t Leave Behind, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb, and No Line on the Horizon. Reports are coming out that Lanois is expected to moved out of intesive care, but it will take a number of months of rehabilitation to recover. Lanois was forced to cancel his scheduled dates with most recent project Black Dub Collective. The 58-year-old Canadian has worked with other artists like Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel, and Sinead O’Connor. We wish Daniel and his family all the best in his recovery.