MUMBAI:  The veteran Irish rock band U2 revealed that they partnered with Apple for the release of their latest album. Titled Songs of Innocence, the album is available for free on iTunes till it’s officially released on 14 October this year.

The surprise announcement was made at a California event where Apple CEO Tim Cook unveiled the firm's latest iPhone and a new smartwatch. This is the first album in five years an U2 album has been offered for free to the 500 million users of Apple's iTunes service.

The said album has 11 songs, which includes the lead single ‘The Miracle’ which the group performed in the Apple event.

Talking at the event launch, U2 lead singer Bono said, "From the very beginning U2 has always wanted our music to reach as many people as possible, the clue is in our name I suppose - so today is kind of mind-blowing to us. The most personal album we've written could be shared with half a billion people… by hitting send. If only songwriting was that easy.”

"It's exciting and humbling to think that people who don't know U2 or listen to rock music for that matter might check us out. Working with Apple is always a blast. They only want to do things that haven't been done before - that's a thrill to be part of," he added.

Despite the group's unprecedented move to give it for free, Songs of Innocence will not be eligible to be nominated for the next Grammy Awards.

U2's last album, No Line on the Horizon, hit the top spot in the UK charts in 2009 and eventually surpassed the five-million-sales mark worldwide.

The Irish band is famed for producing some of the landmark albums of the 1980s and early 1990s, including The Joshua Tree and Achtung Baby.