The Edge has found what he's been looking for--a restraining order against an Irish newspaper that he claims invaded his family's privacy.
The U2 guitarist has obtained a temporary injunction preventing the tabloid Sunday World from printing any more stories detailing a relative's illness that forced the world's greatest rock and roll band to postpone the launch of its upcoming world tour.
The order was issued Monday by a High Court judge in Dublin. The Edge, whose real name is David Evans, went to court after the Sunday World published a pixilated photo of the family member and subsequent medical condition in a front-page Jan. 8 article.
Unhappy that such private medical information was made public without consent, the 43-year-old guitarist took the paper to court citing invasion of privacy. The judge agreed and ordered the World to yank the story and picture from later editions and barred other Irish newspapers from running with it, despite their arguments that such details were newsworthy because the illness caused U2 to juggle a series of North American dates in support of the band's latest disc, How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb.
The group was set to pop the cork on its Vertigo 2005 tour in Miami on March 1, but the jaunt was pushed back last week and will now kick off at the San Diego Sports Arena on March 28. When announcing the delay, U2's camp did not disclose details regarding the sick relative, or which band member--the Edge, Bono, Larry Mullen Jr. or Adam Clayton--was affected.
Lawyers for the Edge are planning to ask for a permanent injunction against the paper at a hearing in two weeks.
The World, meanwhile, has filed a motion seeking to have the judge's order overturned, claiming the story is old and was first revealed in a Rolling Stone magazine article.
According to legal observers, the case is significant in that it's one of the first filed by a celebrity that will test privacy rights guaranteed under Ireland's constitution and the European Convention of Human Rights.
Meanwhile, U2 is trying to soothe some ticked-off fans.
The quartet issued an apology on Friday to those who felt stuck in a pre-sale they couldn't get out of. Thousands of U2 faithful had shelled out $40 to join an online fan club to get an early crack at tickets, but wound up empty-handed as the best seats went to ticket brokers and were put up for auction at sky-high rates by scalpers on eBay.
"We are sorry that this has happened and we would like to offer anyone who has a still unused unique access code the opportunity to get their U2.com subscription money back," the band said in a a statement on its Website. "Please note that anyone who takes advantage of this refund offer will not be able to take part in any future U2 ticket presale."
The band chalked up the glitches to "technical difficulties" and also cited heavy demand from subscribers seeking tickets at the same time. U2 said that the problems were now "being ironed out" and asked for patience while they worked with authorities to identify scalpers and cancel their orders. The band also apologized if it "inadvertantly gave the impression" that the $40 fee guaranteed ticket availability.
U2 has already sold out shows in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Boston, Anaheim, Philadelphia and San Diego. Details on how to obtain a refund will be published on U2.com on Feb. 2.
Fans can also wait for the next go-round. After the spring swing in the States, the band will head to Europe for the summer before returning to North America for more dates in the fall and winter.