U2 return to a live sound

Veteran rockers U2 wanted their new album 'How to dismantle a bomb' to sound like a live band playing in a studio, because they were desperate to capture the sound of youthful energy.

Previously famed for their heavily-produced sound on albums including Zooropa, the Bono-fronted legends wanted to get back to being a band again after listening to records by younger groups The Hives and The Libertines.

Bassist Adam Clayton says: "It was really down to making the songs work with the three or four musical elements. On previous records we tended to do a live take but then there would be overdubs to get something out of the song. So this is raw and that was the intention.

"We were interested in the interest in 'bands' again, the rawness of The Hives was exciting, The Libertines - so it was for us to let the band do what it does best.

"It's just nice knowing that you can get there with the basic elements and it has a weight and a power.

"I don't know what that chemistry is but the molecules work whether you're in a 20,000 seater or the little studio that we have here and it's like a little tiny room with everyone sweating on top of each other."