U2 wins court battle to recover tour memorabilia

U2 has won a court battle to recover tour memorabilia the band claims were stolen by former stylist Lola Cashman.

U2 has won a court battle to recover tour memorabilia the band claims were stolen by former stylist Lola Cashman.

Ms Cashman has been ordered to return the items - including a pair of trousers, a Stetson hat, and earrings, all worn by Bono during the Joshua Tree world tour in the late 1980s - within seven days.

She claimed to have been given the items by the band and later attempted to sell them at auction.

But Mr Justice Matthew Deery told the Circuit Civil Court in Dublin this morning that "the weight of evidence is entirely against the defendant’s version of events.

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"Bearing in mind all the evidence it is highly unlikely that the items were given in this way."

He also pointed out that Ms Cashman was not able to give further details of the events at the end of the Joshua Tree tour when Bono allegedly gave her his Stetson hat and that she did not include any mention of this incident in her 2003 book about the band.

Mr Justice Deery also ordered the return of 88 Polaroid photographs and 117 other photographs that were taken while the band were trying on their wardrobe and were in an intimate setting.

He said that Ms Cashman had unlimited access to the band as part of her employment and should have observed confidentiality.

He also said he did not accept that the current proceedings were taken solely to hamper defamation proceedings that Ms Cashman is taking against the band in the United Kingdom.

Those proceedings arise out of a letter sent to auctioneers Christies on behalf of U2 querying the ownership of the items. They were offered for sale by Ms Cashman at a Christie's rock memorabilia auction in London in 2002.

"It does seem odd to me that an extremely successful band would make provision to pursue this case if it was not of serious importance to them," said Mr Justice Deery.

Ms Cashman was hired by U2 during the late 1980s to create a new image for the band. She told the court she had given the group a "raunchy and rough" cowboy look featured in the subsequent live concert film Rattle and Hum.

She had done a "fantastic job", she said, and claimed that as the tour came to an end in late 1987, Bono gave her items.

However, the four U2 members - Paul Hewson (aka Bono), Adam Clayton, David Evans and Laurence Mullen - had asked the Circuit Court president, Mr Justice Deery, for a declaration that the items belong to the rock group and not to Ms Cashman.

A decision on costs will be made next Tuesday.