"...it's the best record they (U2) have ever done.."

Sunday Mirror, July 06, 2008U2’s legendary producer, Steve Lillywhite, claims the band’s eagerly-awaited new album will be their BEST ever. He has worked with the band since their first album, Boy, was released in 1981, and now he is back in the studio with them as they put the finishing touches to their latest album prior to its October release.

Veteran DJ Tony Fenton said he met Steve and was struck by how the told how the famous producer was ranting about the new album. Tony said: “I met Steve recently and we got talking about the band’s new album. He is so excited about the record and claims it’s the best record they have ever done.

“I know people think he might say that — but that’s not the kind of thing somebody like Steve Lillywhite says easily. Like the rest of people who love music I’m so looking forward to it.”

U2 even missed the recent Nelson Mandela Tribute Concert in London because they were so caught up in putting the final touches to the album at their Hanover Quay Studios in Dublin’s Docklands.

The group recorded initially recorded a lot of new material in Morocco — but then scrapped a lot of it and started again because they didn’t think it was up to their high standards.

A source said: “U2 have never put out a dud record and they don’t want to start now. In fact it’s got to the stage with them that they want to put out a classic but still make it fresh and new. They know they are coming very close but they still have a bit of work to do yet.”

The album is the first studio work the band will released since their smash hit How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in 2004.