On March 9th, the band will announce details of where and when they'll be hitting the road this year - but dates and venues are yet to be finalised and fans are advised to steer clear of groups claiming to have tickets available now.

At the BBC on Friday the band talked about their admiration for Coldplay and what a great melodist Chris Martin is. Here's how the conversation went with Jo Whiley.

The band played a surprise set high on the seventh floor balcony of Broadcasting House in London tonight. Nobody knew about it, except the 5,000 fans who showed up and stopped the traffic. Again.

No Line on the Horizon is released in Ireland today... and then worldwide from Monday and Tuesday.

'And now performing Breathe, please welcome U2...' If you're in the UK, Friday is U2 all day.

Edge and Bono were at Absolute Radio in London this morning recording a great interview with Christian O'Connell. They even took a quiz based on their own singles - and did pretty well! So we thought we'd post it here and see how you do.

The reviews of the new album are starting to arrive... pouring off the presses actually. Here's some of the early ones from the UK.

'I'm running down the road like loose electricity / While the band in my head plays a striptease'. Watch the debut of 'Breathe' in Paris last night.

Welcome to a new U2.Com, just days ahead of the new album. We've moved the furniture around and given the place a lick of paint.

It's a big, big week for U2... and here's some of the highlights. After the Echo show in Berlin last night the band went out for dinner with Michael Mittermeier, film director Wim Wenders and musician Herbert Gronemeyer.

In a snowy Berlin, the band performed 'Get On Your Boots' at the Echo Awards on German TV tonight.

The band are set to perform live on Good Morning America a week on Friday.

The band have been in Berlin today, rehearsing at the O2 World Arena ahead of Saturday's ECHO Awards.

Rolling Stone gives the new record five stars and a glowing review. 'Bono knows he was born with a good weapon for making the right kind of trouble: the clean gleam and rocket's arc of that voice...'

'It's good to be back...' said Bono, at the end of a full-throttle performance of 'Get On Your Boots' to open up tonight's 2009 BRIT Awards in London.

Get On Your Boots is officially released. Links here to download the single. In the UK you can even buy it on 7".

As well as Fez, Morocco, the new album was written and recorded in three other cities.

'A search for soul in a brutal, confusing world, all bound together in narcotic melody and space age pop songs.' Neil McCormick of The Daily Telegraph really, really loves the new album.

'The work we did in Fez was the most joyous and liberating part of the whole album process. It was what I had always imagined being in U2 would be about: just playing music for the joy of it with no real end in sight.' Larry speaking to Sean O'Hagan of The Observer in the first, great set piece feature to capture the story behind No Line on the Horizon.

The band are special guests of the BBC at the end of the month, performing for Radio 1's Live Lounge and interviewed on the Radio 2 drivetime show. You might even be able to snag a ticket in their competition.

That's the verdict of Sean O'Hagan of The Observer, describing 'White as Snow' from the new album as 'a hymn to a dying soldier.'

The band are set to perform on the Late Show with David Letterman on Monday March 2nd... and then again on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

With 'Boots' released in the UK on Monday, complete with the title track of the new album on the b-side, the record company have launched a very cool competition - they're giving away 4,000 7" Single Collector's Edition Boxes. Here's how you can get yours.

It's been nearly five years since the release of U2's last studio album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. But that should be no great surprise: over the course of a career spanning three decades, the band have released only 12 studio albums - and four of them within the first five years.

In the early summer of 2007, Brian Eno, Danny Lanois and U2 travelled to the ancient Moroccan city of Fez.