The band in front of the tree in Anton Corbijn's iconic shoot. Island Records Island Records

THE TREE FEATURED on the artwork of U2′s Joshua Tree album has been vandalised.

A fan on the AtU2 forum said that they had visited the tree over the weekend, but found that a limb had been hacked off the tree.

Hwy 190 wrote:

This past Sunday, I made my proverbial yearly hike out to the Tree with my dog to reminisce only to find that some hack and I do mean hack, decided it was a bright idea to take a hacksaw to one of the Tree’s limbs – evidently to remove an inch thick cross section as a souvenir. Are you kidding me? I won’t even elaborate as to how pathetic this is. Let’s just say It was a good thing I didn’t happen upon this ignorant low-life degenerate in his course of action.

They then added this picture:

The tree had fallen down in 2000 due to a nearby stream uprooting it. However, the area remains something of a pilgrimage site for fans:

The news that the tree, based in the Mojave Desert, had been vandalised got a lot of fans angry.

This pisses me off so much I want to drive out there and guard the bloody tree with a shotgun.Next time I’m out there, I will definitely be doing some cleanup and maintenance. RESPECT THE DAMN SITE!!!!!

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By Paul Hosford 

Originally published on TheJournal.ie 

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