The Unforgettable Fire?

 

Bono trying to get Ian Gillan to sign his album backstage last tour

U2 were set to discuss their anti-poverty campaign Red with the president of Russia Dmitry Medvedev on a trip recently, when Bono asked at a press conference in August “What kind of music does he like? They say he is a Beatle-maniac … Is that true?” 

One of the journalists explained that Medvedev was actually a Deep Purple fan, to which the U2 front man quipped “That’s it. I’m gone, I’m canceling the meeting.”  The Moscow Times reports that rest of the group then started humming the riff to “Smoke on the Water.” 

“No, we prefer The Beatles,” Bono said. “I think even Deep Purple prefers The Beatles.” Certainly to U2 mate!

We covered the Deep Purple special gig for Dmitry Medvedev in Darker Than Blue magazine Issue 58.