It was 36 years ago today. . . in 1978, that the band U2 opened for the amazing band The Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom outside of Dublin, Ireland. Today that rock and roll icon released thier new album called "Songs of Innocence" and they did it for free.U2 made the unexpected announcement Tuesday at Apple's unveiling event in Cupertino, California. All customers with iTunes accounts could download the 11-song "Songs of Innocence" for free Tuesday afternoon.There was much speculation over whether the band would release an album earlier this year when news leaked about the band potentially postponing the highly anticipated new LP's release to 2015. "The Irish band played at Apple's event and CEO Tim Cook announced the new album would be given to the company's 500 million iTunes users. A news release says the album will be released to everyone else Oct. 14." A news release said: "Songs of Innocence" is an exploration of U2's influences from the 1970s and '80s with themes of "home and family, relationships and discovery." The album is produced by Danger Mouse with Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood."

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