Wow, who knew eyeliner would be the hottest trend among rock stars in 2008?

From Brandon Flowers to David Cook, and a few others, eyeliner use among lead singers is once again on the rise.

Sure, it was hip among the Virgin Prunes and during most of Gavin Friday’s career, but now that Bono’s unleashed his need to don the eyeliner, is it now something to rebel *against* doing? Is it hip to see someone like Bono (at age 48) wearing it? After all, Bono’s A Clockwork Orange days were almost 20 years ago on the London stage…and Alex DeLarge’s use of eyeliner was a part of his trademark look.

After watching the video clip on Q magazine microsite, Adam explains that Bono’s once again getting into character and “experiments with a few different things to bring it alive again.” Does this mean that we’ll see a new character joining the ranks of The Fly, MacPhisto, The Mirrorball Man, and Fidel Bono (from PopMart during “Miami”)? I suppose we’ll have to wait and see as their promotional campaign unfolds and the new music becomes available.

That said, the eyeliner is a cheaper alternative to the $250+ shades for fans who want to join Bono’s look. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, and if Bono wants to bring your attention to his eyes, that must mean he wants to let you in as the shades are stripped away. Or, it could be his way of separating his rockstar image from his world leader image. Whatever it is (and I’m sure this question may be brought up by some magazine interviewer at some stage), it is something that is certainly causing a stir among fans not used to seeing yer man Bono wearing eye makeup while not in drag.

By the way…speaking of Brandon Flowers…here’s a great photo sans eyeliner of Bono with Brandon and Johnny Borrell that I hadn’t seen before…anyone know what magazine this came from?