U2 fans rejoice – the band will hit the road in 2015 in support of their new album Songs of Innocence. Bono and The Edge acknowledged that they’re not looking to mount a massive stadium show this time around, at least not initially – good news for fans who prefer to see the foursome in a more intimate setting.

"We're gonna be touring. We're gonna start next year. We're gonna try and play the O2 and places like that, more indoors than outdoors this time, but we'll see where it takes us,” Bono told an interviewer in London last week.

Edge agreed that smaller just might be better. "The tour is still in the planning stage so it's too early to describe what it will be like. I think we will start small. We certainly can't get any bigger than the last tour,” he told Rolling Stone.

Ain’t that the truth. The band’s last tour, U2360 which rolled from 2009-11, grossed more than $736 million and featured a massive claw stage structure that could only be accommodated in outdoor stadiums. The two-year road stint was a roaring success for the band, but it must have been a headache to create and stage.

A U2 tour, Bono says, is a big event not only for the band but also those close to them.

“Only if the songs are great can you bear leaving home. We all have families and mates and... so you know, you're looking for 11 great reasons to leave home and I think we've got them.

"You know what it's like now, it's like a whole city goes on the road with us. Our kids go out on the road, they get excited about it. It's like . . . yeah, it's kind of a whole . . . Dublin goes on the road."

Bono and his wife Ali took their own mini road-trip last weekend to attend the star-studded nuptials of George Clooney in Venice. The seemingly never-ending wedding for the previously publicity shy Cooney was a “great” party, Bono told People magazine.

“It was very emotional and lovely,” he added.