Bono and The Edge appeared at an event in New York yesterday with Yoko Ono, where a new tapestry artwork depicting John Lennon as the pilot of a 'Yellow Submarine' was unveiled.
With U2 currently on tour in the States - and at the tail-end of a run of gigs at New York's Madison Square Garden - Bono and The Edge joined Lennon's widow for the unveiling of the artwork on Ellis Island.
The tapestry depicts the island of Manhattan as a Yellow Submarine, with Lennon as the pilot waving the peace sign. It was commissioned as a gift for Ono on behalf of Amnesty International, to thank her for her work for the organisation; apparently, they have raised $5 million from royalty fees of Lennon's post-Beatles output since 2004.
The cost of the artwork was covered by Bono and The Edge - which explained their presence at the event - along with record executive Jimmy Iovine.
Bono also "claimed" Lennon as an Irishman. "Let's claim him. In fact, let's claim all the Beatles not as immigrants but as Irish," he said, while Ono discussed the significance of the artwork on Ellis Island, considering her late husband's numerous deportation hearings in the US in the 1970s before he was granted official residency in 1975. "John had to fight to actually be accepted here," she said, as they marked the 40th anniversary of him receiving his Green Card.
U2 complete the North American leg of their 'Innocence + Experience' tour tomorrow, before the European leg kicks off in Turin on September 4th. Irish dates have yet to be announced.
