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U2 Plays Surprise London Rooftop Gig

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by Andre Paine, London and David J. Prince, N.Y.  |   February 27, 2009 2:17 EST

U2 played a surprise London rooftop gig.

U2 capped off a day of promotions for next week's release of "No Line On The Horizon" with a four-song set on the roof of the BBC's London office tower tonight (Feb. 27).

The band performed "Get On Your Boots," "Magnificent," "Vertigo," and "Beautiful Day."

The performance caped off a U2 BBC blitz, with appearances on national top 40 station Radio 1's Jo Whiley show, including a live set broadcast from the 300-capacity BBC Radio Theatre in London this afternoon. It was followed by appearances on Simon Mayo's show on talk radio network Radio 5 Live and Chris Evans' show on AC network Radio 2.

The band is also due to perform on "Tonight With Jonathan Ross" on BBC One tonight ahead of the March 2 release of their long-awaited new album "No Line On The Horizon" (Island/Universal).

Competition winners were able to see U2 in the intimate setting for Whiley's 'Live Lounge' session. Three songs were broadcast including the live debut of "Breathe" from the new album, as well as single "Get On Your Boots" and former hit "Beautiful Day." The new song "Magnificent" was also performed for later broadcast.

Asked about live plans, Bono commented: "We've got something very special planned, it's something we've been working on for many years, a whole way of trying to do shows outdoors and making them very intimate. And also we are trying to work on some cheaper ticket prices because this is the recession."

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