IRISH rockers U2 have delivered a late Christmas present to their loyal fans this weekend by promising to release a new album by June. Speaking exclusively to the Sunday Independent at Leopardstown Races yesterday, U2 frontman Bono revealed the band had been working hard on new material in the run-up to Christmas and are hoping to have a new chart-topping album on shelves before the summer. Speaking about the upcoming release, Bono described how the band had been putting in the hard work in the studio in recent weeks.

"We are working away and we have a couple of yearlings in the stables that could really turn out to be thoroughbreds in the future," he said.