Bono - His last appearance

[Hanover]

Over the many years U2 have evolved not just musically but in their appearance. None more so than Bono. We've all marvelled and at times have been totally captivated by his ever changing look.
The question I put to you all is: Bono has kept his pre-elevation look and it's more than likely that this look has been one of the longest he's held on to.
Do you think that Bono will change his appearance again or is it possible that Bono as we view him today, apart from becoming a little older, will hang on to the look he has now?

You're welcome to post any pics of Bono and the changes that we've witnessed in his outer persona over the years.

Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

 

[U2Kitten]

Being a girl who has noticed such things for 21 years now, I can tell you, you haven't been looking closely enough. Bono's look HAS changed several times over the last 4 years. His hair has changed lengths, colors and even styles several times, his shades are always different, as are his clothes, and he's always looked good over this time.

Give me time to gather them up and I will illustrate for you with a pictoral history

 

[U2Kitten]

Let's start with Pre-Elevation. Here he is in early 2000, the day he got his Freedom of the City award. His hair was short, fluffy and black, and he wore those heavy black rimmed glasses with jewels.

Soon after at the Berlin Film Festival, without the glasses

 

[U2Kitten]

By the summer of 2000, when the BD video was made, his look was the puffed up, kinda spikey, short black hair with the tight black shiny pants and the heavy dark shades

Sept. 2000, sightings of Bono- still the same shades, his hair a little longer and slicked back

 

[U2Kitten]

After the release of ATYCLB, at the promo concert in NYC, Bono wore the shearling coat and red glasses

European Stuck video, Dec. 2000

MY VH1 Awards (thanks Erised for the stills!)
His hair had grown to a lovely long shag down to the top of his shoulders, dyed black, and the leather jacket was back!!

Of course we all know the Elevation look, his black hair, pale blue shades and leather jacket!

Post- Elevation looks coming up!

 

[U2Kitten]

2002 would bring shorter and lighter hair and various shades and gear. As he walked into the Super Bowl, you could see he was wearing a different jacket and his hair was shorter and his shades were darker:

White House, March 2002

Summer 2002, shorter, lighter hair and the blue jacket.

2002 short hair, reddish shades

Electrical Storm video, August 2002, his hair was short and brown and he wore different shades and the frayed mesh shirt thing.

 

[U2Kitten]

Q Photo shoot, short hair, maroon shades, mesh shirt

At a party, same look, only in a suit

Oprah show, fall 2002

Elvis TV special, late fall 2002, (thanks Erised! ) He has the light blue Elevaton type shades, a little different, and a shorter version of the Elevation hair, it might look like it, dyed black, combed back, a little gelled on top, but it's been shortened considerably from shoulder length to ear length. He is also wearing a different green shirt, military type.

 

[U2Kitten]

December 2002, Heart Of America Tour, the green cap, no shades!

Let me go back and fix the pics that didn't work and I'll start on 2003, an interesting and diverse year which included many shade, hair and facial hair changes!

 

[U2Kitten]

Bono fashion 2003!

I can't find a pic right now, but the earliest 2003 look for Bono was the same as the last 2002, he wore the green hat facing forward and no shades to the dockands announcement and to paint the Peter and the Wolf pics!

Next 2003 change was in late Jan. at the Golden Globes. He had blue shades again, and black hair, a little curly and collar length, no beard.

Next came the Musicares person of the year where he first showed off his beard!

By March and the Oscar ceremony, his hair had grown a little, and his beard had grown a lot!

Also as you can see from all these illustrations, 2003 was a year of ruffled, open shirts and suit jackets for Bono.

 

[U2Kitten]

This was an interesting look we'd never seen

By now, we thought maybe the beard was here to stay. But the next time we saw him he had shaved it off!

So he was clean shaven again, and his hair was once again black and near shoulder length, but no gel this time, soft and pretty. He wore a lovely shade of green shades and light colored suits.

^^ that is one of my favorite pics of him ever

 

[U2Kitten]

Summer 2003 in the south of France brought us Bono in a straw hat, with his green shades and long, dark hair, and open denim shirt!

Long hair, leather, green shades and rock and roll at the Special Olympics

The next time we saw him was at the Nelson Mandela party. His hair was a little shorter and more layered and he had had dyed it reddish, almost golden red!

Light blue shades again, a little different style if you look at the bridge of his nose, and the reddish tint hair with golden glow was the Bono of fall 2003!

At the UN, kind of curly, reddish brown hair, blue shades, suits and shirts in unique colors!

 

[verte76]

I think he looks great in all of these pix, and I'm sure he'll look great when they hit the road and my Snapfish collection will double in size.

 

[U2Kitten]

Here's a couple more recent 'looks'

Slicked back hair, dark red shades, kind of bearded again!

Longer lighter hair, green shades, open brown shirt!

First pic of 2004!

Love those aqua shades, see, he's found a color he hasn't used before!

Then there are all those great pics in Miss U2's albums and on U2eastlink, I'm sure you've all seen them!

I think Bono has done an excellent job with the variations in his look over the last few years and they all looked good! I'm surprised not more of you have noticed this. Well, you girls probably have, but Hanover is a guy, right? Hanover I don't see any way you could look through this research project documentation an not see how he has changed his look several times over the last 4 years.

I would love to see him go back to the heeled boots instead of those knunky bottom shoes and tighter pants instead of the baggier ones. But overall I have no complaints about his looks and I hope he will stick with something like this for the tour, nothing drastic, wacky or over the top that would make them look ridiculous at their age and stage in their careers. They're cool just the way they are. See you on the road, guys!

 

[wolfeden]

I've only been paying attention since 1984 so you're up on me a bit, though my focus was always trying to look like him (so I had to keep up you know....) rather than swooning... *chuckle*
*looks at my black felt hat, a little rumpled now.. other assorted things I bought and wore over 20 years of idolizing the man...lol*

I don't know if this happens to anyone else but...
does it sort of catch in your throat a little, how much they've changed in the last 10 years... I think mostly it's seeing the grey in the stubble on Bono and Edge that gets me.

We're all two decades older now, but somehow it didn't seem to me to have been so drastic between '84 and '94..
Bah, I don't even know if this is making sense... just that something in me looks at the pictures from the '80s, the now-tattered posters and torn-out magazine pages that covered my walls, the UF video I nearly played to tearing-through, even watching R&H on DVD after wearing out two video tapes....

and I see the pics posted here from within a few months ago and something in me cries a little, even as I'm still mesmerized by these men.. time moves on, though I wish I could catch them up and smooth away the years and keep them as they were back when they ruled my teenage world.. the great pics all of you post here remind me though, they are aging just like the rest of us and they've earned it, they aren't the fresh-faced 20-somethings they were when I first encountered them but the drive and yes - passion is still there no matter how grey they get...

 

[swandiver]

I'm thankful we've had them for a couple of decades and hopefully a couple more. Lots of big bands hit the high times, then disappear. Hopefully, U2 will continue to keep us happy and thoughtful for years to come.

 

[souLnation2002]

Wow Kitty! Talk about the Ultimate Hair Review!

 

[U2Kitten]

Wow Kitty! Talk about the Ultimate Hair Review!

Thanks, I'm glad somebody noticed! It took me all morning when I should have been doing more important things Not just hair, but shades, beard, scruff, and fashion He really has had a lot of looks over the last 4 years, not just the same one, if you pay attention as we surely do I'm sure he did them on purpose for variety and I bet he'd be glad to know some people have noticed and appreciated all those different hot looks

 

[souLnation2002]

Thanks, I'm glad somebody noticed! It took me all morning when I should have been doing more important things

You did a great job!

Procrastination can be a good thing when it comes to PLEBA

 

[souLnation2002]

Not just hair, but shades, beard, scruff, and fashion He really has had a lot of looks over the last 4 years, not just the same one, if you pay attention as we surely do I'm sure he did them on purpose for variety and I bet he'd be glad to know some people have noticed and appreciated all those different hot looks

Yes, he's changed, and he's done a good job of it too! His change is quite subtle, don't you think?

This is an "interesting" image as well

 

[U2Kitten]

Yes, he's changed, and he's done a good job of it too! His change is quite subtle, don't you think?

This is an "interesting" image as well

Oh yes how could I forget that one Thanks!

 

[kellyahern]

Thanks, I'm glad somebody noticed! It took me all morning when I should have been doing more important things Not just hair, but shades, beard, scruff, and fashion He really has had a lot of looks over the last 4 years, not just the same one, if you pay attention as we surely do I'm sure he did them on purpose for variety and I bet he'd be glad to know some people have noticed and appreciated all those different hot looks

That was great Thanks U2Kitten

 

[U2Kitten]

Thanks It's obvious I spend a lot of time obsessing over this man's looks

 

[bonosloveslave]

Thanks for the retrospective!!!

 

[sue4u2]

Awesome U2Kitten, as always

 

[verte76]

Thanks mucho U2Kitten!!!

 

[U2Kitten]

Hanover, do you believe he's had different looks after this documentary?

 

[Billie Midol]

I think Bono has done an excellent job with the variations in his look over the last few years and they all looked good!

...and you,my dear,have done an excellent job chronicling his various looks!
What a treat to see all those pics!!! Bravo,U2Kitten!

 

[Moonlit_Angel]

Is it just me, or does his neck look kinda long in this one (not saying that's necessarily a bad thing...just find it interesting)?

Wow, U2Kitten, what a review! I didn't notice the changes nearly as much as you did-basically all I noticed was this: he had dark hair that varied occasionally in length and no beard, then it got lighter and he got a beard, now it's lighter and he doesn't have a beard. You, on the other hand, took a lot closer look and noticed the clothes and stuff as well, too. Which is fine. Whatever keeps your interest. .

I think my personal favorite parts of this time period are the way he looked during the whole Elevation tour, late 2002 to early 2003, and then fall of 2003 up to now. . But all of it is good.

I also agree with swandiver and wolfeden's posts. As much as I've talked about going back in time and having them be closer to my age, I agree with what wolfeden says about the way they look now. The guys are certainly four of the better looking older men I've ever seen, They're great guys, and that is what truly matters-age is completely irrelevant.

And while I have my days where I'm bemoaning the fact that I've missed out on so much of the neat stuff in their career, the bottom line is, I'm into the band now, and that's really all that matters, right?

Angela

 

[Hanover]

Hi Kitten. You've impressed the hell out of me, with such a comprehensive and convincing catalogue of changes in Bono since his pre Elevation days. I'm actually somewhat bemused as I was merely attempting to emphasis that overall the Bono that we see now has just subtly altered...this is kinda awkward to express as my initial thought was just a generalisation, I do realise that there are changes in Bono, major changes and I could have documented this fact as you're eforts have done.

Not being blunt K but no one, not even you are the same person that you were yesterday, there may be no direct proof as you look at yourself but trust me...a change, however slight has occurred.

Back to Bono, yes of course he's changed, he's older, his hair's different but in general terms that overall look, that look is still evident. Gloss away what you will, but I'm still of the thought that Bono's look now will be maintained well into the forseeable future.

Thanks for going to great lenghts to back up your argument, you have my greatest admiration for it.

I'm am what you might refer to as a 'veteran' U2 fan K, I've been a fan since the early days and not a day passes whereby the legions of U2 fans swell even more, mostly with younger fans, U2 are fortunate that their music is and has reached another generation.

 

[U2Kitten]

Hi, Hanover. So you'd have to see him do something outrageous like get multiple face piercings and tattoos and dreadlocks? Well, I hope not! So what you're saying is that his inside changes are tied to his outside changes and he's done with drastic changing on the inside, is that it? I have always believed Bono's outside changes were tied to his inside ones. Some have inisisted that 'it's still Bono is Bono is Bono' no matter what he looks like, but I disagree. I am a veteran fan too, of 21 years now, but from the US instead of UK like you. I have always had a feeling for Bono and I do think his outside changes reflected inside changes. Some I liked better than others. I admit to not caring for the looks of "Pop" Bono, but it wasn't just his looks, something inside of him had changed, his attitude, his personality, and it showed on his face and came out in interviews, and it was like a different person, one that I didn't care for as I had loved the others. I think the ZOOTV Bono was also another total change on the inside for him, he was more arrogant, trying to act 'cool', and hiding the emotion in his beautiful eyes behind dark shades. I think that's one reason he started wearing them, not only to look cool but to keep us from reading what was in his eyes because they always give him away. Though Elevation Bono was 'soft and cuddly', very reflective, emotional and loveable, I noticed there was just something missing from his eyes that used to be there, something that I loved in the 80's. It was ironic that I saw an interview in which Bono said the same thing, that looking at an exhibition of pics of himself he noticed that something was gone from the eyes, just what I said! He called it a certain innocence, something he thought was a bad thing and tried hard to get rid of, then found out it wasn't bad at all.

Bono has gone through many stages, the young deeply religious boy, the angry young man, the thoughtful, sensitive artist, the brash, arrogant rock star, the anti-Bono, the it's okay to be Bono after all. He still wants to change the world, but instead of waving a flag he's beating the politicians at their own game. So has he finished changing on the inside? None of us ever will be. But is he at a stage in his career where he probably won't do anything shocking in his looks? Well, I hope not. But he does continue to change his looks in some ways, he seems to be determined never to look the same, but I'm glad he's doing while staying in bounds of good looks and good taste.

While it's true that they have attracted new generations with their music, no matter the age group I still think it takes a certain kind of person to be a U2 fan, something on the inside that has nothing to do with age. The kind of person who likes rapmetal is never going to be a U2 fan, so I hope they never adopt that look and sound that doesn't suit them trying to 'appeal to a younger audience and bring in new fans.' They will only be made fun of, look at the old farts up there posing as something they're not. So, if what Bono is now IS Bono, inside and out, yes, stay with it, because it's not a bad thing at all. It's a wonderful thing. U2 will always be loved by enough people of all ages all over the world with good taste, they don't need those people.

I have thought that one of the reasons the album is taking so long to come out is that maybe they have nothing else to say to us right now? They have reached a stage in their lives and careers where they are happy and are enjoying it. I'm sure they'll wait until the album is something they're proud of before they put it out. It will be something that is filled with what is in their hearts and souls and minds, and that's all any of us can ask.

Isn't it interesting how this band brings out so much thought and feelings in their fans? Yes, the pics are hot and the music is good. But U2 go beyond that, they touch our lives, they make us think, they make us feel. That's very special.