LONDON (AFP) - Irish rock group U2 said Wednesday it was adding two dates in London and Barcelona to its Europe and North America tour this year after concerts sold out.

"We are working to satisfy the incredible demand," Arthur Fogel, head of global touring for the entertainment company Live Nation, said in a statement.

The band's 19-city iNNOCENCE and eXPERIENCE Tour kicks off in Vancouver in Canada in May and follows the release of U2's 13th studio album Songs Of Innocence.

U2 will now have a total of five shows in London and three in Barcelona on their first tour since 2009-2011, which was the highest-grossing tour in history.

Frontman Bono, 54, said last month that he may never play the guitar again after a bicycle accident in New York's Central Park in November that injured his hand, shoulder, elbow and face.