MUMBAI: U2's 12th studio album No Line On The Horizon has shot straight to #1 on the charts across the globe, including: Ireland, Germany, Finland, Czech Republic, Belgium, France, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Austria, Netherlands, Poland, UK, Japan, Australia and India.

The album has already shipped over 3 million copies globally and is platinum in a staggering 20 countries  In U2's homeland, Ireland, No Line On The Horizon is x3 Platinum with Canada, Czech Republic, Italy and Poland going x2 Platinum (information from MI).

U2 also performed a secret rooftop gig in central London on 27th Feb to cap off a day of promotional activity at the UK's national broadcaster, the BBC  Click here to watch the gig.

On March 9th the band announced their up-coming tour 360, which will open at the Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona on 30th June.

The U2 360 tour is the band's first stadium outing since the Vertigo Tour 05/06  360 will visit 14 cities across Europe including dates in Milan, Gothenburg, Amsterdam, Paris, Nice, Dublin, Chorzow, Berlin, Gelsenkirchen, London, Sheffield and Glasgow before finishing at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on 22nd August.

The European tour will be followed by dates in North America beginning at Chicago's Soldier Field on September 12th, 2009.

Long-time U2 Show Director Willie Williams has worked again with architect Mark Fisher (ZooTV, PopMart, Elevation and Vertigo), to create an innovative 360 design which affords an unobstructed view for the audience.

U2 360 also marks the first time a band has toured in stadiums with such a unique and original structure (which can be viewed at U2.com)  "U2 has always been at their best when surrounded by their audience, this staging takes a giant leap forward. With 85 percent of the tickets priced at less than 95 Euro, general admission floor tickets priced at 55 euro and at least 10,000 tickets at every venue priced at around 30 Euro, we have worked very hard to ensure that U2 fans can purchase a great priced ticket with a guaranteed great view" says U2's manager Paul McGuinness.

Arthur Fogel, CEO Global Touring/Chairman - Global Music Live Nation: "Following the overwhelming worldwide success of the Vertigo tour where every available ticket was sold, there is tremendous anticipation for this tour and to experience this revolutionary production. As usual fans will not be disappointed."
"This tour announcement marks the first stage of a relationship and shared vision between Blackberry and U2 that we expect will lead to new and innovative ways to enhance the mobile music experience on the BlackBerry platform for U2 fans," added Paul McGuinness. "We look forward to sharing more details as the relationship unfolds."

In keeping with their long-standing tradition, U2 will welcome a number of different support acts to the tour including Glasvegas, Elbow, Kaiser Chiefs, Snow Patrol and Black Eyed Peas with additional artists to be announced.

Full details of all dates and on-sale information as well as a virtual model of the unique production and seating positions can be found on a dedicated microsite at U2.com,www.U2.com.

European Tour Dates:

30-JUNE  BARCELONA, SP   NOU CAMP

07-JULY  MILAN, IT    SAN SIRO

11-JULY  PARIS, FR    STADE DE FRANCE

15-JULY  NICE, FR    PARC CHARLES EHRMANN

18-JULY  BERLIN, DE    OLYMPIC STADIUM

20-JULY  AMSTERDAM, NL   ArenA

24-JULY  DUBLIN, IE    CROKE PARK

31-JULY  GOTHENBURG, SE   ULLEVI

06-AUG  CHORZOW, PL   SLASKI STADIUM

10-AUG  ZAGREB, HR    MAKSIMIR STADIUM

14-AUG  LONDON, UK    WEMBLEY STADIUM

18-AUG  GLASGOW, UK   HAMPDEN PARK

20-AUG  SHEFFIELD, UK   DON VALLEY STADIUM

22-AUG  CARDIFF, UK    MILLENNIUM STADIUM

North American Tour Dates:

12-SEPT  CHICAGO, IL    SOLDIER FIELD

16-SEPT  TORONTO, ON   THE ROGERS CENTRE

20-SEPT  BOSTON, MA    GILLETTE STADIUM

24-SEPT  NEW YORK, NY   GIANTS STADIUM

In September and October, U2 360 will also visit: Atlanta, GA; Charlottesville, VA; Dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Los Angeles, CA; Norman, OK; Phoenix, AZ; Tampa, FL; Washington, DC and Vancouver, BC.