Former U2 manager Paul McGuinness admits relief at no longer having to promote the band as he reveals inspiration for hit Sky drama Riviera
FORMER U2 manager Paul McGuinness has spoken of the relief he felt upon hearing the latest U2 album — and remembering it was no longer his job to promote it.
Paul told the Irish Sun: “The album was really good. I just didn’t have the responsibility of putting it out to the world, and making it successful which I was used to.”
Having quit as manager of the band in 2013, the 67-year-old added: “It was a bit of a relief because I was so used to putting shows on sale and having them sell out.
“It wasn’t that I was weary of that. I had managed U2 for 35 years and we had a lot of success.
“I wanted to stop doing that and do something else.”
That something else is acting as producer on the high-end Cote d’Azur-based drama Riviera, season two of which was launched by Sky in Dublin yesterday.
Set in the south of France, the hit drama looks at the homes of the filthy rich along with the problems and deceit that comes with their luxuries.
It is not cheap either, with Paul revealing it costs around €40million per season.
He told us: “It’s definitely at the upper end of a TV budget.
“Sky underwrote the cost from the very beginning, and they took world rights, and sell it in territories where they don’t have a platform.”
Paul revealed it was being resident in the south of France alongside the members of U2 that gave him the idea for the show, which stars Hollywood actress Julia Stiles.
He said: “I’d been living there for 20 years. It’s a place where U2 did a lot of their work.
“We used to base our tours out of Nice because it had a 24-hour airport. I got to know the area well and you would hear rumours about murky stuff going on behind the tall walls of the big houses.
“That’s the ingredients that started the show, rich people in the sun in the south of France on yachts, murder and adultery.
“Those are some pretty good ingredients to start off with.”
The first series of the glossy drama went on to become one of the biggest shows on TV last year, outperforming international hit series Billions and Big Little Lies.
Paul also told how U2 are regulars on the set of Riviera.
He said: “I haven’t asked them to do cameos or anything but they sometimes come for lunch on set because we are shooting in an area where all four of them have houses.
“We see a lot of each other nowadays. Certainly Bono and Adam have been to lunch on set.
“I haven’t asked them if we can film in their houses.”
Asked if U2 help with storylines, Paul joked: “There’s always a lot of gossip about what’s happening on the Riviera.”
He revealed he would be meeting up with the band again when he returned to France, but has no idea when they plan to tour again.
Paul said: “They did (tour) for three years and then they stopped last December. I would say they will take a break now.
“I don’t know what the plan is. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just none of my business. It’s up to them.”
Meanwhile, U2’s manager of 35 years spoke with pride about his and his wife Kathy Gilfillan’s daughter, director Alexandra McGuinness.
Her new thriller She’s Missing opens at the Virgin Media Dublin International Film Festival on March 1.
Paul said: “Alexandra grew up in a house with actors, musicians and writers coming and going, it’s not surprising it rubbed off on her.
“She went to film school in London and now lives in America where she’s married to an actor and they live in a society where to do that kind of work isn’t unusual.”
Meanwhile, McGuinness’ other child, Max is a US-based journalist.
Paul revealed: “Max is the New York theatre critic for the Financial Times, you’ll see a review by Max McGuinness in the paper about twice a week.”
Other top Irish talent at the Sky 2019 Content Showcase included Irish actress Jessie Buckley — recently nominated for a BAFTA Rising Star Award for her role in Beast — and she stars in Sky Atlantic series Chernobyl.
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