San Francisco, Sep 10 (IANS/EFE): Irish rock music group U2 surprised those present at the Apple event in Cupertino, California, with the announcement that their new album "Songs of Innocence" is now available for free download on iTunes.

Bono, the leader and vocalist of U2, announced the new album after performing the song "The Miracle” (of Joey Ramone) on stage at the Flint Centre in Cupertino where Apple Tuesday launched its first smart watch (iWatch) and the two latest iPhone models.

U2's first album in five years includes 11 songs and is available in 119 countries through iTunes, iTunes Radio and Beats Music, a company that Apple acquired in August.

"The music is very involved in Apple's DNA, it is at the centre of all our products," said Apple CEO Tim Cook during his joint appearance with Bono.

"I do believe you have over half a billion subscribers to iTunes, so - could you get this to them," Bono asked Cook, who replied that there was no problem and it could be downloaded for "free".

Five seconds later the album made its debut.

"It's the biggest launch of a record of all times," Cook claimed.

The album will be available exclusively from Apple platforms until Oct 13.

"The album has roots of the first and the strongest influences of the band including the Ramones, Bob Dylan and The Clash," reads a text that accompanies the new album on iTunes.

It also explains how it pays tribute to U2's formative years in Dublin and its transformative pilgrimage to California.

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine that was published Tuesday on its website, Bono said that the band wanted to make a "very personal" album.

"The album is about first travels, first geographic, spiritual, sexual travels. And that is difficult" to address, said Bono, and added that despite the challenges they decided to explore this space.

The band worked on this album for two years with the producer Danger Mouse.

"We wanted to have the discipline of the Beatles or the Stones in the Seventies, when the songs were real. There is no way of hiding in them, the thoughts are clear, the melodies are clear," Bono said.

The album includes a very personal song about Bono's mother, Iris Hewson, who died when he was 14 years old.

"Forty years ago, my mother fell dead at her own father's funeral, and I never spoke with her again," Bono told the Rolling Stone.

"Rage always follows grief, and I had a lot of it, and I still have, but I channeled it into music and I still do. I have very few memories of my mother, and I put a few of them in a song called 'Iris'," explained Bono.

According to Rolling Stone, the happiest song on the album is "California (There is no end to love)" in which the band recalls its first trip to the US state.

At the other extreme is "Raised by Wolves" that tells the story of a bombing in Dublin.

"It was a real incident that happened in our country where three car bombs were set to go off at the same time in Dublin on a Friday evening at 5.30 (p.m.)," said Bono.

The album also includes a song with the name of the street where Bono was born, Cedarwood Road.