Bono and the rest of the gang who make up U-2 are working on a bunch of new projects, but don’t expect to see them release a new album anytime soon. Band members say they are just too “gutted” to get a new a set out this year.
The group, made famous by such albums as The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum from the 1980s through the 1990s Achtung Baby and through How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and No Line on the Horizon in the 21st century, have been one of the most prolific and successful in the past 30 years.
The group has completed sessions with producers Danger Mouse and RedOne.
But they appear to be too tapped out by their other projects and heavy touring to get another album out.
“We had to have a meeting and look at the schedule to see if we could pick up any extra time to work on it, and we just realised that we couldn’t,” said bass player Adam Clayton.
“To be honest, everyone was a bit gutted. But it was the only sensible decision.”
The group had originally planned to release new material by the end of their “360 Degree” tour this July.
But their commitments have made it impossible to finish sessions for the record.
Singer Bono and guitarist The Edge are overseeing the launch of and creating the soundtrack for Broadway’s troubled musicial Spiderman: Turn off the Dark.
Bono has mused about writing a “club sounding” record, while Adam thinks they are more likely to focus on their sessions with Danger Mouse, rather than those with Lady Gaga collaborator RedOne.
“We have to focus on what we do best, and the work we did with Danger Mouse came closest to that,” Clayton told Rolling Stone magazine.
“We want to be in the clubs and make pop music as well as the thing U2 does, but in the end, the thing we did with RedOne doesn’t feel like the right fit.”
U2 is looking to release their next album in the second half of 2012.