Bono has said that if U2's new album was to unofficially surface online this week the band would stage an immediate official release via iTunes, and rush the release of the actual album so it was in shops within weeks.
Fears that new U2 tracks will appear on P2P networks like Kazaa months prior to the scheduled release of the band's new album follow that previously reported disappearance of a CDR containing new studio tracks during a photo shoot in France last week. It is still not clear if the CDR was deliberately stolen. If so, it might have been taken by a hardline fan looking for a unique souvenir, by someone looking for a quick buck who reckons they can sell it on for a considerable sum, or by someone planning to upload tracks from the album onto the internet.
If the latter were the case then the band would bring forward the official release of the album from mid-Autumn to this month. Bono told reporters this weekend: "If it is on the internet this week, we will release it immediately as a legal download on iTunes, and get hard copies into the shops by the end of the month. It would be a real pity. It would screw up years of work and months of planning, not to mention fucking up our holidays. But once it's out, it's out."
U2's manager Paul McGuiness added: "The recording of this album has been going so well. The band is so excited about its release. It would be a shame if unfinished work fell into the wrong hands."