U2 is giving way in a battle to save its Dublin recording studios from being pulled to the ground. After submitting written objections Tuesday to the redevelopment of their Hanover Quay site, the band said it would join in talks with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.
“Although they are very happy in their present studio, and would very much like to stay, they appreciate that change is inevitable and often for the best,” the band members said through a statement.
The millionaire rock musicians initially argued that the musical heritage of their Hanover Quay site should be enough to save it from being demolished to transform the area into a major new leisure development.
They cited the multimillion-dollar record sales and musical heritage that have resulted from their use of the Hanover Street premises, in the south of the city, since 1994. They’ve recorded in the docklands area since the early 1980s.
In its written submission to the planning board, the band argued that the studio deserved preservation as an element in the “recognized music-recording heritage of the area.”
“The recording studio of an internationally acclaimed Irish rock band fits this profile and would complement any objective of the Authority to convert the area to an amenity space with leisure and entertainment uses,” U2 added.
