Original joshua tree from U2’s famous album found hacked in desert

The joshua tree that adorned U2’s album of the same name from 1987 has been vandalised and hacked in California’s Mojave Desert.

Part of the hacked Joshua Tree Image taken by a fan last Sunday

The iconic album made the tree a famous tourist attraction for thousands of fans on an annual basis over the past 27 years. The Daily Mail online said the discovery was made by a fan on his annual hike with his dog to the tree near Darwin last weekend. He wrote on a U2 message board that someone had taken a saw to it and removed one of the tree’s limbs – evidently as a souvenir.

The Edge and Bono performing in front of the Lincoln Memorial Image by Steve Jurvetson / CC BY 2.0

He appealed to people visiting the joshua tree to show respect for the tree used on the album which was designed to represented U2’s experience in the US. Two of the band’s best-selling songs featured on the album -With Or Without You and I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. The group landed Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Group Rock Performance that year.