U2 played their first live show since Bono's back injury forced them to pull out of a headlining slot at Glastonbury and 16 US shows in Turin, Italy, on Friday.
Most notable was the performance of three new songs, including one about the festival they recently missed. Fans captured performances of 'Glastonbury', 'North Star' and 'Return of the Stingray Guitar', and they can now be viewed via YouTube.
In a new interview with Hotpress, the band's manager Paul McGuinness said he hoped U2 would have "another record pretty soon", and hinted that the follow up to 'No Line On The Horizon' might even be ready before the end of 2010.
"If I was being wildly optimistic, I'd say before the end of the year."
Work on U2's 'Songs of Ascent' project was halted by Bono's injury, and the band will be out on the road until early October, so while a new album could well be finished by Christmas time, an early 2011 release seems more likely.
McGuinness continued, "There's a mixture of material available now. Some of it's been recorded. Some of it is called Songs Of Ascent, then there's Spiderman material, then there's some new stuff. I mean, Bono's always a bit over-optimistic on these occasions, but I heard him telling an Italian journalist that he had four albums ready. That's not quite it! But that's what he was saying."
McGuinness was also very impressed with Bono's performance in Turin.
"It was really superb. No weakness, no mishaps physically. And I thought he sang particularly well. The production performed perfectly. It was kind of a perfect night, really."
