Neither style nor subtlety has ever been U2's strong point, and image has never been one of the important things about them. But they have all -- except maybe Larry -- changed their own styles quite often, in addition to the natural process of aging.
This topic occurred to me earlier when I was looking at the sleeves for some Bootlegs from the Unforgettable Fire tour. In that 1984-1985 period, Adam Clayton suddenly looked really cool and (dare I say it?) sexy, completely transformed from his white-Afro early look; on the other hand, Edge was balding, Bono needed his hair ironed, and Larry looked.... like he always does.
So in which periods did each guy look his best/worst? My choices:
Bono: Best -- 1986-1987
Worst -- 1984-1985 (mullet + blond streaks)
Edge: Best -- 1992-1993
Worst -- 1981-1982 (dorky clothes, out-of-control hair)
Adam: Best -- 1984-1985
Worst -- 1970s in general
Larry: Best -- 1993 (I liked his 'stache and goatee)
Worst -- 2005 (that short-on-top, long-at-back thing was weird)
I remember a hilarious article from New York about U2's press conference at K-Mart to launch PopMart in 1997. The writer wrote (and I'm paraphrasing): "Bono enters, with hair shorn and a superhero shirt on with yellow glasses; The Edge has a cowboy hat, handlebar moustache and a cheesy T-shirt; Adam Clayton looks like character from a sci-fi movie with his colored hair, orange glasses and funky outfit; Larry Mullen looks... the same as he did in 1977."
This topic occurred to me earlier when I was looking at the sleeves for some Bootlegs from the Unforgettable Fire tour. In that 1984-1985 period, Adam Clayton suddenly looked really cool and (dare I say it?) sexy, completely transformed from his white-Afro early look; on the other hand, Edge was balding, Bono needed his hair ironed, and Larry looked.... like he always does.
So in which periods did each guy look his best/worst? My choices:
Bono: Best -- 1986-1987
Worst -- 1984-1985 (mullet + blond streaks)
Edge: Best -- 1992-1993
Worst -- 1981-1982 (dorky clothes, out-of-control hair)
Adam: Best -- 1984-1985
Worst -- 1970s in general
Larry: Best -- 1993 (I liked his 'stache and goatee)
Worst -- 2005 (that short-on-top, long-at-back thing was weird)
I remember a hilarious article from New York about U2's press conference at K-Mart to launch PopMart in 1997. The writer wrote (and I'm paraphrasing): "Bono enters, with hair shorn and a superhero shirt on with yellow glasses; The Edge has a cowboy hat, handlebar moustache and a cheesy T-shirt; Adam Clayton looks like character from a sci-fi movie with his colored hair, orange glasses and funky outfit; Larry Mullen looks... the same as he did in 1977."