Unfinished U2 album disappears

An unfinished copy of U2’s upcoming CD disappeared while the band was posing for the album cover, in a studio outside Nice, France, raising fears it will be pirated on the Internet ahead of its fall release date.

About 20 people who were at Tuesday’s photo shoot were questioned by police, who said later it was unclear whether the CD’s disappearance was accidental or theft.

In a posting on U2’s website, guitarist the Edge said: “A large slice of two years’ work lifted via a piece of round plastic. It doesn’t seem credible but that’s what’s just happened to us ... and it was my CD.”

According to the website, the Irish rock band recently completed much of the new album in Dublin and has been involved in post-production work in France. The CD is the first new studio album from U2 since 2000’s “All That You Can’t Leave Behind.”