U2 offer prayer for peace

U2 played to a capacity crowd in Manchester

Rock veterans U2 made a plea to save the Northern Ireland peace process as they kicked off the UK leg of their tour.

Lead singer Bono opened the Elevation gig at the Manchester Evening News Arena with a political message to the capacity crowd.

Compromise is not such a bad word after all

Bono

He said: "Our prayer is that this week brave people make brave decisions and this little island across the little channel does not go back to war.

"Compromise is not such a bad word after all."

Bono has never been one to shy away from politics.

He has been a spokesman for the Drop the Debt campaign, encouraging rich countries to write off loans to developing countries because of the exorbitant interest rates.

Classic hits

The two hour gig in Manchester saw the veteran band play a mixture of songs from their new album, All That I Can't Leave Behind, and classic hits such as Sunday Bloody Sunday and Where the Streets Have No Name.

The Elevation tour has seen U2 visit 32 American and Canadian cities followed by 16 European dates.

While in the UK, they will be also be playing in Birmingham and Manchester.

It is estimated they will have been seen by two million people when the tour ends at Slane Caste, outside Dublin, on 25 August.

U2 first played at Slane as support to Thin Lizzy 20 years ago.