Bono reveals his 1 big regret from 1985 Live Aid performance: ‘I can't look back'
In the new documentary 'Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took on the World' documentary, Bono admitted that he regrets his hair choice during U2's performance at Live Aid in 1985.
'I can't look back at this moment with two eyes because it was such a bad hair day,' Bono said.
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8 Bono performs at Live Aid 1985.
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'Honestly, it's one of the most famous moments of your life and your activism, you've got a mullet,' the Irish rocker added.
The charity concert was held simultaneously at Wembley Stadium in London and John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985 to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
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8 Adam Clayton and Bono perform live onstage at Live Aid in July 1985.
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8 Bono performs with other musical acts during the finale of Live Aid.
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8 Live Aid organizer Bob Geldof onstage with Bono.
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Around 1.9 billion people from 150 countries — nearly 40 percent of the world population — tuned into the global event.
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Performers included U2, Freddie Mercury, Elton John, The Who, David Bowie, Paul Young, Sting, Phil Collins, Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys, Madonna, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and more.
During their set, U2 performed 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' and 'Bad.' Bono also sang in a group rendition of 'Do They Know It's Christmas?'
8 Bono poses during a photocall for the film 'Bono: Stories of Surrender' at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
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Bono previously reflected on his 1980s mullet in his 2022 memoir 'Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story: Bono.'
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'As for the show itself, influential though it was in the arc of our band, I confess that I find it excruciating to watch,' he wrote, per The Guardian. 'It's a little humbling that during one of the greatest moments of your life, you're having a bad hair day.'
8 Bono performing at Live Aid at Wembley Stadium in London.
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'Now, some people would say that I've had a bad hair life, but when I am forced to look at footage of U2 playing Live Aid, there is only one thing that I can see. The mullet,' the 'With Or Without You' singer said. 'All thoughts of altruism and of righteous anger, all the right reasons that we were there, all these flee my mind, and all I see is the ultimate bad hair day.'
8 Bono performing during Live Aid in July 1985.
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In a 2012 interview, Bono said: 'I have an erase button on the mullet hairdo.'
'Many lay claim to the mullet. I'm trying to think of the guy who invented it,' he jokingly added.
8 Bono performs during the U2 concert in Nashville in May 2018.
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'Live Aid: When Rock 'n' Roll Took On the World' is a four-part documentary that 'tells the definitive story of how two rockstars inspired the largest global music events in history.'
The doc features interviews with other musical acts including Sting, Patti LaBelle, Phil Collins and Lionel Richie.
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