U2 Pay Tribute To Burma Politician

Irish group U2 have paid tribute to the jailed Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi at a massive concert in Wembley last night.

U2 are no strangers to political activism. The group have earned a reputation as one of the most forthright liberal rockers on the planet, with singer Bono in particular becoming a well known figure on the political arena.

The band recently launched their new tour '360 Degrees' with a series of spectacular shows. The group have stunned fans with a lavish new stage show which features U2 playing in the centre of an enormous claw.

U2 played a sensational set on August 15th in London's Wembley Arena, rolling out the hits before a huge crowd. Earlier Scottish group Glasvegas warmed up fans with a set drawing on their celebrated debut album.

The Irish rock legends took the stage and launched into a salvo of tracks from their new album 'No Line On The Horizon'. U2 performed their comeback single 'Get On Your Boots' before singer Bono paused to pay tribute to the jailed Burmese leader.

Suu Kyi won the democratic elections in the former British colony in 1990, but was never allowed to take power. Placed under house arrest, Suu Kyi's party the National League for Democracy has been heavily censored.

The leader was due to be freed this year, but a further 18 months were added to her sentence after she let a US national, John Yettaw, into her lakeside home after he swam there uninvited.

U2 have been constant supporters of the politician, with their 2000 track 'Walk On' being written in her honour.

"An extradordinary woman has spent 20 years under house arrest. Her only crime is if she had run for election she would won have that election."

"Her name is Aung San Suu Kyi. I send a prayer from London to Burma for her safety."

The band then launched into 'Walk On' with the crowd donning pro-democracy masks distributed before the show. U2 played a number of old favourites along with their latest album, with the likes of Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page, Hollywood actor Kevin Spacey and Mel C looking on.

Bono was on lively form, interspersing his political exhortations with snatches of material from the likes of The Rolling Stones, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and Black Grape.

However the band have faced much criticism of late. Their tour was held up after residents in Dublin's Croke Park area protested against the impact the group's show was having, while guitarist The Edge was recently forced to defend the cost of the tour.

"I think anybody that's touring is going to have a carbon footprint" he told BBC 6Music.

"I think it's probably unfair to single out rock 'n' roll. There's many other things that are in the same category but as it happens we have a programme to offset whatever carbon footprint we have."