Simply wonderful ...

Irish rockers U2 returned to Berlin for a free mini-concert Thursday in front of the Brandenburg Gate, playing its classic singles and a duet with Jay-Z even as the show was obscured from public view by a nearly 6-1/2-foot (two-meter) high metal barrier.

Bono greeted the crowd with the German words “Berlin, Du bist wunderbar!” (Berlin, you are wonderful!) and the band played a 30-minute, six-song set that featured “Sunday, Bloody Sunday,” “One Love” and “Beautiful Day.”

Rapper Jay-Z appeared as a surprise guest and performed Bob Marley’s “Get Up, Stand Up” with Bono.

The show, which was free to 10,000 ticket holders who snapped up the tickets online last week in just three hours, drew some controversy because of the barrier surrounding the gig.

Both Berliners and tourists alike saw the irony in building a wall around a concert dedicated to the wall that already has come down.

The music network MTV, which organized the concert, said it worked with the local promoter, the city and Berlin police to install a temporary fence “around the site to ensure the safety and security of the attendees at the event as well as residents and businesses in the area.”

U2’s publicist RMP refused to comment about the barrier.

Bye-bye, BeBe...

Oprah Winfrey says she’s keeping singer BeBe Winans off her show until domestic violence charges against him are resolved.

The gospel singer had taped appearances on Winfrey’s “karaoke challenge” and was on last Friday. Following the show, some bloggers questioned whether Winfrey was guilty of a double standard by including Winans when she took a strong stand against domestic violence following Chris Brown’s assault of then-girlfriend Rihanna.

Winans was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault last winter for allegedly pushing ex-wife Debra Winans to the ground. He has a court date set for Jan. 20.

Winfrey spokesman Don Halcombe says Winans is off the karaoke segment.

Freeman suit ...

Court records show actor Morgan Freeman has settled a lawsuit related to a 2008 car accident that seriously injured him and a passenger.

Demaris Meyer sued the Oscar-winning actor in U. S. District Court in February, claiming he was negligent when the car ran off the side of a rural highway near his Mississippi Delta home last summer.

The 1997 Nissan Maxima belonged to Meyer, but Freeman was driving when the car flipped several times and landed upright.

Details of the settlement were not disclosed in court records posted Thursday.

Freeman’s attorney, Jack Hayes Jr., would not discuss the terms of the deal, but said “we’re all glad it’s over with.”