Iconic ‘80s Band Shares Photo With Fellow ‘80s Rock Legend: ‘That’s My 1987 College Soundtrack in One Selfie!’

Iconic ‘80s Band Shares Photo With Fellow ‘80s Rock Legend: ‘That’s My 1987 College Soundtrack in One Selfie!’ originally appeared on Parade.

There was a point in the 1980s when Echo & the Bunnymen and U2 were archrivals.

The Bunnymen are best known for their iconic single “The Killing Moon” while U2 went on to worldwide domination.

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That didn’t stop Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch bashing U2 singer Bono at seemingly every opportunity. He frequently called Bono “Nobbo” over the years and dismissed U2 as “music for plumbers.”

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“I said that they appealed to the lowest-common-denominator emotions and were flag-waving born-agains, and now they’re the born-again Village People,” McCulloch once told this writer, referring to U2’s PopMart tour era.

While McCulloch bashed U2, Bono has given props to the Bunnymen in the past.

“I don’t think U2 would be as good as we are without Echo & the Bunnymen,” Bono once said, per Far Out Magazine. “You really raised the standard in what could be achieved by not ‘growing up’.”

He also singled out the specific elements in the Bunnymen’s sound. “The guitar, bass and drums so unique, the production of the songs usually so deft and unobtrusive,” he said. “The voice, the baritone, the bell canto, and the lips like sugar… and weedkiller when they had to be,” he said.

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Given the history of Bono bashing, fans may have been surprised to see a photo of the U2 singer and Bunnymen guitarist Will Sergeant turn up on Echo & the Bunnymen’s official Instagram in a post on July 12 along with the caption, “@u2 The Bono meets @sgtwillfuzz The Fuzz.”

Related: Bono Delivers First Look at Highly Anticipated ‘Magical, Amazing’ Project

While Sergeant and Bono may have gotten over any real or imagined bad blood, judging by the comments made from some Bunnymen fans, the rivalry is alive and well.

“Who is that guy with Will Sergeant?” wrote one.

“It's good to see the Bunnymen promoting the lesser bands,” wrote another.

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Another fan was less snarky, writing, “That’s my 1987 college soundtrack in one selfie!”

Another one joked, “Echo & The Bonomen.”

Still others continued to pile it on.

“A legend. And Bono,” another fan posted.

Iconic ‘80s Band Shares Photo With Fellow ‘80s Rock Legend: ‘That’s My 1987 College Soundtrack in One Selfie!’ first appeared on Parade on Jul 13, 2025

This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 13, 2025, where it first appeared.