BONO - BONO DISAPPOINTED EARLIER FANS WITH 'AWKWARD' IMAGE

Singer BONO cites U2's appalling sense of fashion as the main reason fans at their early gigs dismissed them as an "awkward" band destined for a disappointing music career.

The Irish rockers had tried on "various guises" during the early 1980s before acquiring the look they felt most comfortable with, much to the shock of their followers who expected U2 to adopt a look similar to that of their extravagantly-dressed contemporaries.

Bono says, "There was definitely a sense, early on, that we didn't belong.

"I suppose we felt guilty we weren't pretending. And we sensed disappointment from other people that we were so awkward.

"It was, like, 'Of all the people to become the biggest rock band in the world, who would have thought it would be them?'

"That was a prevailing attitude. That we didn't have the star thing down. We tried on various guises before we found ourselves.

"I think the only time we were self-conscious was when the cameras came out. The thing is, we knew we didn't know how to look good. We were acutely aware of that."