U2 have revealed the artwork for the physical release of their new album, Songs of Innocence, and it features intensely private drummer Larry Mullen Jr giving his 18-year-old son a protective embrace.
The shot, a return to the band's monochrome eighties look, is a rare act of self-revelation from the media-shy Mullen. U2 say the album cover reflects "the new songs and their inspiration in the early years of U2 as teenagers in Dublin."
According to a statement on U2.com, the artwork by British fashion photographer and film director Glen Luchford, "resonates with the band's iconic 1980 debut album Boy - and the album War, three years later."
Both of those albums featured the face of Peter Rowen, the younger brother of Guggi, Bono's childhood friend growing up on Cedarwood Road in Dublin.
'We've always been about community in U2, about family and friends,' says Bono. 'Songs Of Innocence is the most intimate album we've ever made. With this record we were looking for the raw, naked and personal, to strip everything back.'
He added: "The idea of the unique relationship between a parent and child, the image of a father and son, came from the band. The shoot with Larry and his son was initially an experiment but everyone loved it as a visual metaphor for the record.
"If you know the album, you'll see the themes in the visual language, how 'holding on to your own innocence is a lot harder than holding on to someone else's."
Songs of Innocence will be given a physical release on October 13th and will be available in three formats, with exclusive bonus material including two new studio tracks, two alternative versions, and a 6-song acoustic session.
The formats are: Deluxe, 2 CD Format which comes with 2x16 page booklets, the 11-track album on CD1 plus additional tracks on CD2 including a six-song acoustic session along with Lucifer's Hands, The Crystal Ballroom, The Troubles (Alternative Version) and Sleep Like A Baby Tonight (Alternative Perspective Mix by Tchad Blake).
2 LP 180-gram White Vinyl Format featuring the 11-track album on sides one, two and three with bonus track The Crystal Ballroom 12" Mix on side four.
Single CD Format with a 24-page booklet along with the 11-track album.
