The Edge - WikiHQ

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), known by his stage name the Edge or simply Edge, is an Irish and British musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist of the rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 15 studio albums with them as well as one solo record. His understated style of guitar playing, a signature of U2's music, is distinguished by chiming timbres, use of rhythmic delay, drone notes, harmonics, and an extensive use of effects units.

Born in England to Welsh parents and raised in Ireland, the Edge formed the band that would become U2 with his classmates at Mount Temple Comprehensive School and his elder brother Dik in 1976. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most successful acts in popular music, with albums such as 1987's The Joshua Tree and 1991's Achtung Baby. Over the years, the Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, the Edge has also played keyboards, produced their records Zooropa (1993) and Songs of Surrender (2023), and occasionally served as co-lyricist. The Edge met his second wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, the Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison, Tina Turner, and Martin Garrix, and the soundtracks to the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. As a member of U2, the Edge has won 22 Grammy Awards and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Several music publications have ranked the Edge among the greatest guitarists of all time.

Early life

David Howell Evans was born on 8 August 1961 at the Barking Maternity Hospital in Barking, Essex, the second child of Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans. The family initially lived in Chadwell Heath. Around 1962, Garvin was offered a promotion which took the family to Dublin.

Evans received his initial formal education at St. Andrew's National School in Malahide. As a child, he also received piano and guitar lessons and practised music with Dik. He received his first guitar at the age of seven when his mother bought him a Spanish guitar. He did not know how to properly tune it or hold it and referred to it as "little more than a toy", but he was fascinated by how cool it was. At the age of nine, the "first proper guitar" came to the Evans household when his mother purchased an old acoustic guitar at a jumble sale for a pound. He and Dik both experimented with this instrument, replacing the rusty wire strings with nylon ones and learning to play it properly.

Musical career

U2

left|thumb|The Edge performing with U2 in Norway in January 1985

While the Evans brothers were at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin in 1976, they went along to a meeting in response to an advert posted by another pupil, Larry Mullen Jr., on the school's noticeboard seeking musicians to form a new band with him. Among the several other pupils who also responded to the note were Paul "Bono" Hewson and Adam Clayton. The band went through a number of reformations before becoming known as U2 in March 1978 (Richard Evans having left before this to join another band, leaving his younger brother as the lead guitarist).

Early in the band's career, Evans was given the nickname "the Edge" by members of the Lypton Village surrealist street gang to which Bono belonged. The nickname is commonly believed to be derived from the angular shape of Evans' head. However, the origin of the name is disputed and other theories include a description of his guitar playing and his preference for not becoming fully involved and therefore remaining on the edge of things.

thumb|The Edge performing during the [[Zoo TV Tour in 1993]]

U2 began its public performance life in small venues in Dublin in 1977, occasionally playing at other venues elsewhere in Ireland. In December 1979, they performed their first concerts outside Ireland, in London, and in 1980 began extensive touring across the British Isles, developing a following. Their debut album Boy was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October Tour, the Edge came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay. During this period, he became involved with a group called the Shalom Fellowship, with which Bono and Mullen were also involved. Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday". for the extra level of responsibility he assumed in its creation.

In 2024, the Edge co-directed V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film with his wife Morleigh Steinberg. The film documents U2's 2023–2024 concert residency U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere and will screen exclusively at Sphere.

Other musical projects

In addition to his regular role within U2, the Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jah Wobble, Holger Czukay, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. Through his working relationships with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, the Edge connected with Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar) and collaborated with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). The soundtrack included the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was co-written and sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor. Larry Mullen Jr played drums on the track.

thumb|The Edge and bandmate [[Bono have collaborated musically outside of U2]]

The Edge has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on numerous musical projects outside of the group. They wrote the musical score for the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, which opened in 1990. The duo also wrote the eponymous theme song of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye, which was performed by Tina Turner. The Edge and Bono ventured into theatre again when they composed the music and lyrics for the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, which opened in 2011. A single titled "Rise Above 1" by Reeve Carney, featuring Bono and the Edge, was released digitally from the musical's soundtrack. The music video was released on 28 July 2011. The Edge and Bono collaborated with Dutch DJ Martin Garrix on the song "We Are the People", which served as the official song of the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament and was released on 14 May 2021.

The Edge wrote the theme song for seasons one and two of The Batman, which aired in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

In 2008, the Edge participated in the Davis Guggenheim-directed documentary film It Might Get Loud. The film examines the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of the Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White. The film premiered on 5 September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival

On 29 April 2016, the Edge performed in the Sistine Chapel as part of a conference for the Angiogenesis Foundation, making him the first rock artist to stage a concert at the site.

In 2023, the Edge was a guest musician on the songs "Train with No Station" and "Noche Oscura" for the album Los Angeles by Lol Tolhurst, Budgie, and Jacknife Lee.

Musical style

Guitar playing

The Edge's style of playing guitar is distinguished by his chiming timbres, echoing notes, sparse voicings, and extensive use of effects units. He favours the perfect fifth interval and often plays power chords, which are chords consisting of just the fifth and root notes and that eliminate the third. This style is not explicitly in a major or minor key but implies both, creating a musical ambiguity. Against this drone, he changes other notes to imply a harmony. Among the Edge's signature techniques are playing arpeggios, and harmonics,

The Edge takes a relatively understated approach to guitar playing, viewing notes as "expensive" and preferring to play simple parts that best serve their song. He eschews virtuosity in favour of "atmospherics, subtlety, minimalism, and clever signal processing", according to Guitar Player. Rather than emulate common playing styles, the Edge is interested in "tearing up the rule book" and finding new ways to approach the instrument; The Edge also cited guitarists such as John McGeoch, Rory Gallagher, and Patti Smith as some of his strongest influences. After acquiring his first delay pedal, the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, he became fascinated with how to use its return echo to "fill in notes that [he's] not playing, like two guitar players rather than one". The effect unit became a mainstay in his guitar rig and had a significant impact on the band's creative output. Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page called him a "sonic architect", Critics have variously referred to the Edge's guitar sounds as evoking the image of fighter planes on "Bullet the Blue Sky", resembling a "dentist's drill" on "Love Is Blindness", and resembling an "airplane turbine" on "Mofo". The Edge said that rather than using effects merely to modify his sound, he uses them to spark ideas during his songwriting process. which became a signature of the group. However, he found the sound of the Explorer's bass strings unsatisfactory and avoided them in his playing early on, resulting in a trebly sound. He said by focusing "on one area of the fretboard [he] was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way". and has sung the second verse of the "Stand by Me" cover on a few shows. A solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness", which is featured in the documentary film From the Sky Down, is sung by him as well.

Other instruments

The Edge has played keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", "Original of the Species", and others. In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", "Moment of Surrender" and "Raised By Wolves", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species", piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although the Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Equipment

thumb|The Edge playing a [[Fender Stratocaster in 2019]]

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Detailed gear diagrams of the Edge's U2 guitar rig for the 1981 October Tour, the 1983 War Tour, and the 2009 U2 360° Tour

Personal life

thumb|The Edge with his wife [[Morleigh Steinberg, Bono's wife Ali Hewson, and Bill Clinton]]

Evans was raised as a Protestant and was, along with fellow band members Bono and Mullen, involved with non-denominational Christian group the Shalom Fellowship as an adult.

Evans married his secondary school girlfriend, Aislinn O'Sullivan, on 12 July 1983. They have three daughters named Hollie (born 1984), Arran (born 1985), and Blue Angel (born 1989). and their son was born in 1999 in the same city. The couple married in Nice, France, in 2002. In 2019, they sold the hotel leasehold, but they continue to own the building with Paddy McKillen Sr.

Evans has been criticised for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156-acre (63.13-hectare) plot of land in Malibu, California, United States. The California Coastal Commission voted 8–4 against his plans. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1million donation from Evans and a commitment to designate 100acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.

After living in Ireland for 62 years, the Edge became an Irish citizen in June 2025 at the age of 63.

Discography

{| class="wikitable"

!Year

!Title

!Album

|1983

|"Snake Charmer" / "Snake Charmer" (Reprise) (Jah Wobble with The Edge and Holger Czukay) "Hold on to Your Dreams" (Jah Wobble with The Edge)

|Snake Charmer

|1986

|Various tracks

|Captive soundtrack

|2011

|"Rise Above 1" (Reeve Carney featuring Bono and The Edge)

|Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark

|2021

|"We Are the People" (Martin Garrix featuring Bono and The Edge)

|2023

|"Train with No Station" / "Noche Oscura" (Lol Tolhurst, Budgie and Jacknife Lee featuring The Edge)

|Los Angeles

Philanthropy

thumb|Angiogenesis Foundation co-founder Dr. William W. Li, [[United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture|US Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Stephen Censky, and the Edge]]

The Edge, Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising in 2005, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realised the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle. In 2021, the Edge partnered with the charity Love Welcomes to sell a line of guitar straps that were handsewn by refugee women and featured a Morse code pattern; proceeds from sales of the strap benefitted employment and support of refugee women.

Awards and recognition

thumb|left|The Edge speaking as U2 receive 2022 [[Kennedy Center Honors]]

The Edge has won numerous awards with U2, including 22 Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song (for "The Hands That Built America" in 2003 and "Ordinary Love" in 2014). In 2005, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of U2, in the group's first year of eligibility. In 2007, he received an honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music. At the 2017 Bonnaroo Music Festival, the Edge was honoured with the Les Paul Spirit Award by the Les Paul Foundation for being someone who "exemplifies the spirit of the late, great Les Paul through innovation, engineering, technology and/or music". In May 2024, the Venice Family Clinic presented its inaugural HEART Award to the Edge and his wife Morleigh Steinberg, who are longtime supporters of the center, at its inaugural HEART (Health + Art) Gala.

In 2010, Gibson ranked him the 23rd-best guitarist of all time, saying that he "created a sound that is distinctly his own – no small feat when you consider he's had to do it in the course of three decades while working shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the biggest personalities in rock, Bono". The following year, Rolling Stone placed the Edge at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"; Daniel Lanois called him an "innovative mind", a "scientist, and a poet by night", and said he is "dedicated to note-taking" to "document every detail of his sound". The magazine re-ranked the Edge to 47th place on its expanded 2023 list of the 250 greatest guitarists. In 2012, Spin ranked him 13th on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists, saying that he "masked and flaunted his willful ignorance of how guitars are meant to be played with forgiving delay pedals, forging a sonic trademark so distinctive that his band's name became an adjective". In 2015, Rolling Stone ranked Bono and the Edge at number 35 on its list of the 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time.

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

U2.com, official U2 site
Music Rising, a campaign for replacing the musical instruments lost or destroyed by the catastrophic 2005 US hurricanes
A study of the Edge's guitar delay
Comment on the mathematical analysis of the Edge's guitar sound