U2 Premiere "Father Christmas" to Kick Off (RED)WIRE

U2 promised they'd release new music in early 2009, but Christmas has literally come early for their fans. The band has revealed a new video for their cover of Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas." The song is the band's first contribution to Bono's (RED)WIRE, the new download service that will raise money to buy medicine for people living with HIV in Africa. The service also features exclusive tracks from the likes of R.E.M., Coldplay, Bob Dylan and Jenny Lewis. According to iLike, who debuted the "Father Christmas" video, the song was recorded in a London studio. In the meantime, U2 continue to comb through those 50 to 60 songs they recorded for their new album, due out in the first quarter of '09.

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Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

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