It’s ‘Achtung’ and Mum From U2

The title of U2’s upcoming album--”Achtung Baby”--might sound loud, but the Irish group is going to keep quiet when the package comes out Nov. 18. Detecting ripples of backlash after all the media exposure that accompanied the 1989 release of the “Rattle and Hum” album and concert film, Bono and the boys won’t be doing any interviews this year--and only a few before embarking on a short U.S. arena tour in February, which will be followed next summer by a more ambitious series of dates.

“Even though their press activity was limited last time, it was too much,” said Paul Wasserman, the band’s L.A.-based publicist. “And a lot of it wasn’t interviews, but (articles) about the band. The media loves to discover things, tell the world about whom they’ve discovered and then next year say, ‘We made a mistake.’ ”

The idea this time seems to be that if the rock media wants to once again declare U2 the greatest band in the world, as it did with the 1987 “The Joshua Tree” album and tour, it will have to do so on the strength of the music.

Adds Wasserman: “The overall feeling in the group is that the album is so strong and so different than the last few that it stands on its own.”