U2 announces auction to aid Music Rising

U2's The Edge announced the Icons of Music Auction to benefit Music Rising on Saturday April 21st 2007 at Hard Rock Cafe New York in Times Square at 5 p.m. The auction event will offer one of the most significant collections of music memorabilia from many of music's greatest legends with proceeds benefiting Music Rising (www.musicrising.org ), a campaign co-founded by The Edge, producer Bob Ezrin and Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz in 2005 to aid musicians of the Gulf Coast Region in regaining their livelihood after the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The live and online auction, hosted by Julien's Auctions (www.juliensauctions.com), will be offering approximately 200 pieces of music memorabilia, much of which has been specifically donated for this cause.

Amongst the donations from The Edge is his 1975 Cream Gibson Les Paul (est. $60,000-80,000), an instrument highly significant to his career and U2. "I wanted that Steve Jones 'Never Mind The Bollox' sound, so I got the same guitar right down to the color. I never could get that sound, but I found a bunch of songs in this instrument, and have used it extensively ever since, on tour and in the studio, ' said The Edge.

Included in the unprecedented collection of auction offerings will be John Lennon worn sunglasses (est. $4,000-6,000), Janis Joplin seven-page handwritten love letter to her boyfriend (est. $1,000-2,000), Jimi Hendrix guitar (est. $60,000-80,000), Bruce Springsteen hand written lyrics (est. $2,000-4,000), Elvis Presley early recording contract (est. $3,000-5,000) Kurt Cobain's MTV Video Music Award for Nirvana (est. $4,000-6,000), Paul McCartney hand-painted Epiphone Texan Guitar (est. $6,000-8,000), President Bill Clinton signed saxophone personalized to winning bidder (est. $2,000-4000) and a Rolling Stones' signed Gibson Les Paul Music Rising Guitar (est. $20,000-30,000). U2 highlights donated by band members to support Music Rising include a pair of Emporia Armani (Project Red) concert-worn sunglasses (est. $2,000-4,000) donated by Bono, a Tom Tom drum (est. $8,000-10,000) donated by Larry Mullen and a concert and studio-played bass guitar (est. $20,000-30,000) donated by Adam Clayton. Other memorabilia from Madonna, Ray Charles, KISS, James Brown, Coldplay, Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Lou Reed, The Beatles, Jim Morrison, Cher, The Grateful Dead and much more is also included.

Highlights from the Icon's of Music auction will be previewed in special exhibits at:

Los Angeles: (March 27-29 @ The Beverly Hilton),
Dublin, Ireland: (April 3-6 @ The Clarence Hotel)
London: (April 11-13 @ The Hard Rock Cafe)
New York: (April 16-20 @ The Hard Rock Café)

Catalogs will be available for sale and can be purchased directly from the Julien’s Auctions website. A limited number of tickets will be sold to the Music Rising auction event in New York at Hard Rock Times Square. Details of the ticket sales will be announced by March 30th on various websites including Musicrising.org, U2.com, Gibsonfoundation.org, Gibson.com, Juliensauctions.com and Hardrock.com. In addition to the live auction event, Grammy winner Aaron Neville will perform as a tribute to his native New Orleans. The performance will follow the auction.

The ongoing efforts of Music Rising have thus far aided over 2,400 professional musicians and over 20,000 students and parishioners. After Music Rising received a Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund grant, former President Bill Clinton personally presented a Music Rising Gibson Les Paul to a recipient in Baton Rouge, LA in 2006.

Registering to Bid
Registration is required to bid in this auction and can be done either in person at any one of the exhibitions showing the highlights from the collection or by visiting www.juliensauctions.com any time before the sale, or calling (310) 816-1818.

Placing Bids
There are four ways to bid in this sale:
• Bid through the Internet using real-time and absentee bidding at www.juliensauctions.com or by downloading an absentee bid form from the website. Note that online registration only enables bidding online.
• Place bids in the room by attending the auction .
• Bid over the telephone through an auction house representative, who sits in the room and conveys the bid to the auctioneer.
• Enter Absentee bids. Absentee bid forms are printed in the back of each catalogue, and are available at Julien's Auctions offices and on the website.

About Music Rising:
Music Rising, a campaign launched in 2005 to replace musical instruments lost or destroyed by hurricanes in the Gulf Region. The initiative continues to aid those in need through its consistent efforts to aid professional musicians, churches and schools. Music Rising was formed in late 2005 by U2s The Edge, legendary producer Bob Ezrin, Gibson Guitar Chairman and CEO Henry Juszkiewicz. Partners of the campaign represent the most diverse partnership in the entertainment industry and include MusiCares, Guitar Center, Musician's Friend, Live Nation, Kennedy/Marshall, Ticketmaster, Hard Rock International, VH-1, MTV, Real Networks, ABC News Now, The NFL, Rolling Stone, Mr. Hollands Opus, ACT and the Bush-Clinton Katrina Fund. Former President Bill Clinton has even participated in press coverage for the campaign when he presented a Music Rising Gibson Les Paul guitar to a recipient in Baton Rouge, LA in 2006. Music Rising is the recipient of the prestigious 2005 HALO Award for Cause Marketing and the 2006 Billboard Humanitarian Award and has been recognized around the world by various media organizations. Music Rising is administered by The Gibson Foundation.

About Hard Rock International
With 123 high-energy Hard Rock Cafes, seven Hotel & Casinos (excluding those under construction) and one stand-alone Casino in 46 countries, Hard Rock International is one of the world's most globally-recognized brands. Beginning with an Eric Clapton guitar, Hard Rock owns the world's greatest collection of music memorabilia, which is displayed at its locations around the globe. Hard Rock is also known for its collectible fashion and music-related merchandise, Hard Rock Live performance venues and an award-winning website. Hard Rock International, Inc. is owned by Seminole Hard Rock Entertainment, Inc. For more information on Hard Rock, visit www.hardrock.com.