U2 are in court in Dublin today in a bid to recover a sweat shirt and other items the used on their Joshua Tree world tour in the eighties.
Paul Sreenan SC, for the band, told Circuit Court President Mr Justice Matthew Deery that Bono and other U2 members would tell the court the items, including a Stetson and trousers worn by Bono, had been taken by their former stylist Lola Cashman.
She was claiming they had been gifted to her by the singer.
Mr Sreenan said Ms Cashman had acted as stylist to the group during the tour which had started in 1987 and had taken the items and a collection of 200 photographs to her London home following the tour.
He said there had been difficulties between Ms Cashman and various members of the crew during the tour and afterwards there had been disputes between her and U2’s management over certain expenses she had claimed and air flight overcharges for excess luggage.
Mr Sreenan said that among the items Ms Cashman had taken to her London apartment there were a number of things she would have legitimately required for further work she planned to undertake with the group in Dublin, particularly the completion of filming of the Rattle and Hummovie about the group.
She had full access to the group’s wardrobe on tour and would have had privileged access to all members of the group.
Items of wardrobe might be seen as relatively unimportant in themselves but developed almost iconic status among fans of the group.
He said that while there had been ongoing legal disputes between Ms Cashman and U2 since the Joshua Tree Tour there had been relative calm until 2002 when items of wardrobe from the tour turned up for sale at the London auctioneers Christies.
The items included the picture collection, the Stetson, the sweat shirt, the trousers and a pair of ear rings which Bono had worn during the tour.
Christies had written to the group with regard to the provenance of the items and it was then that U2’s solicitors had written asking they be withheld from sale until inquiries could be made with regard to their ownership.
Mr Sreenan said Bono denied ever having gifted any item of wardrobe to Ms Cashman and U2 was seeking a declaration from the court that the items were owned by the group and not Ms Cashman’s either to hold on to or sell.
The case continues.