The Edge

Not to be confused with Edge (wrestler).
The Edge
Background information
Birth name David Howell Evans
Born 8 August 1961 (1961-08-08) (age 49)
Barking, London, England
Origin Dublin, Ireland
Genres Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
Occupations musician, songwriter, activist
Instruments guitar, keyboards, vocals, bass guitar
Years active 1976–present
Labels Island (1980–2006)
Mercury (2006–present)
Associated acts U2, Passengers
Website U2.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Explorer
Fender Stratocaster
Gibson Les Paul
Fender Telecaster
Epiphone Casino
Gretsch Country Gentleman
Rickenbacker 330/12

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961 in Barking, Essex, England), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge),[1] is an British-born Irish musician best known as the guitarist, keyboardist, and main backing vocalist of rock band U2. His distinctive electric guitar timbre and percussive style of playing, along with his use of digital sound processing — delay and chorus in particular — have been crucial in defining U2's sound. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named him at #24 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Contents

Personal life

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital,[2] Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans.[3] When he was just one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St. Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band.[4] The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change[5]). U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he was persuaded to stay.[4] During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved.[6] Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday".[4] The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983.[7] The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989.[6] The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.[6]

During U2's Zoo TV Tour, The Edge began to date Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer for the tour's live performances. The couple began dating in 1993, and had their daughter, Sian, in 1997, and a son, Levi, (25 October 1999).[6] They were married on 22 June 2002.[6]

He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film It Might Get Loud.[8] He is also a Methodist Christian.

Music

"Notes actually do mean something. They have power. I think of notes as being expensive. You don't just throw them around. I find the ones that do the best job and that's what I use. I suppose I'm a minimalist instinctively. I don't like to be inefficient if I can get away with it. Like on the end of "With or Without You". My instinct was to go with something very simple. Everyone else said, 'Nah, you can't do that.' I won the argument and I still think it's sort of brave, because the end of "With or Without You" could have been so much bigger, so much more of a climax, but there's this power to it which I think is even more potent because it's held back... ultimately I'm interested in music. I'm a musician. I'm not a gunslinger. That's the difference between what I do and what a lot of guitar heroes do."

—The Edge in 1991.[9]

Guitar playing

As a guitar player, The Edge is recognized as having a trademark sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the signature sound of classic VOX AC-30s) that is achieved with extensive use of delay effects, reverb, and a focus on texture and melody. To achieve an "Edge-like" sound, the feedback delay is set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.

1987's The Joshua Tree is probably the best example of the "U2 sound", with songs such as "With or Without You" and "Where the Streets Have No Name" being among the band's most critically acclaimed and best loved works. The album showcases The Edge's approach to the guitar: rather than trying to push his guitar to the front of the mix and make his contributions obvious, The Edge focuses on the song and the mood, often contributing just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present digital delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."[10]

The Edge in June 2005

The Edge's guitar technique has been shaped by many different influences. His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds, he was nine at the time. His brother Dik Evans and he experimented.[10] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that."[10]

The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the Achtung Baby era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos. His influence as a guitarist can be heard by acts such as Radiohead, Muse, Coldplay, and other bands of the alternative scene.

Vocals

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are often in the form of a repeated cry. Examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day" and "New Year's Day". The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug".[6] His backing vocals are often in falsetto, such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies". He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday[11]).

Other instruments

He has played piano and 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", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", 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.

Solo recordings

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, Jay-Z, and Rihanna.

The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for Season 1 and 2 of The Batman.

He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye.

Musical equipment

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar.

Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.

Guitars

  • 1976 Gibson Limited Edition Explorer The Edge has a few of these and has retired his first/main Explorer which is only used in the studio now.
  • 1973 (Per Dallas Schoo video at u2.com) Fender Stratocaster "Blackie #1". Used for "Bullet The Blue Sky" and "Where The Streets Have No Name", amongst many others.
  • 197x Fender Stratocaster (multiple) Edge has a number of Stratocasters, many that are of similar vintage, model and finish.
  • 1973 Gibson Les Paul Custom White finish. Black knobs.
  • 1975 Gibson Les Paul Custom White finish. Gold knobs.
The Edge donated his cream Les Paul Custom to an auction to benefit Music Rising.
  • 1982 Gibson Les Paul 30th Anniversary Goldtop w/"PAF Reissue" pickups.
  • 2005 Gibson Les Paul Standard Music Rising (Most likely, Edge has more than one of these)
  • 1966 Gibson SG Heritage cherry finish. Used live for "Elevation".
  • 1965 Gibson SG Pelham blue finish. Backup to the Heritage cherry SG
  • Fender Telecaster Blonde finish. Used live for "Vertigo" and "Get on your Boots" and "I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix)"
  • 1996 Fender Telecaster White with matching headstock, pearloid bindings and golden hardware, 40th Anniversary edition, made in Japan. Used live for "Sunday Bloody Sunday" on the Elevation and Vertigo tours. This guitar can also be seen in the "Walk On" video.
  • 1962 Fender Jaguar Seen in "Electrical Storm" video, and used for "Discothèque", "IIf You Wear That Velvet Dress" and "With or Without You" during the PopMart Tour.
  • Rickenbacker 330/12 Fireglo. Used live for "Mysterious Ways" and "Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own." He's had a few of these. The one used through the Elevation tour (a 1967) was destroyed in the HQ studio flood in early 2002)
  • Rickenbacker 330/12 Mapleglo. Used live for "Mysterious Ways" on the U2 360° Tour.
  • 1963 Gretsch G6122 Country Gentleman
  • Gretsch Stereo Country Club Sunburst finish, currently used during the U2 360° Tour for "Moment Of Surrender" (per Dallas Schoo)
  • Gretsch White Falcon Mainly used in the studio and on early TV performances of "Trip Through Your Wires". Not seen on tour. Also seen in the movie "Rattle and Hum" during the song "Desire".
  • Line 6 Variax 700 Acoustic (2). One, black with red 'vertigo' circles around the soundhole, was used for "The Fly" during the 'Vertigo' tour in 2005/2006. The other was a silver sparkle model, which was used primarily for "Love and Peace (Or Else), during the 'Vertigo' tour in 2005/2006.
  • 1962 Epiphone Casino tobacco finish. Seen played live on the U2 360° Tour for "Breathe" and "No Line On The Horizon"
  • Epiphone Sheraton
  • 2006 Epiphone Standard Music Rising
  • Gibson SJ-200 tobacco finish
  • Gibson SJ-200 natural finish
  • Gibson SJ-200 Pete Townshend Model (2) natural finish
  • 199x Fernandes Decade Elite (2). One "sea foam" finish. One "orange" finish
  • 2001 Fernandes Customized Native Pro. Metallic green finish. The Fernandes humbucking pickups were swapped out for Duncan Hot Rails, a new pearl pickguard was cut for the guitar to accommodate the new pickups (which are smaller in size). The Native Pro neck was also removed and a Decade Elite neck was used for this guitar.
  • 2002 Fernandes Retrorocket Elite. Custom black finish. Used for "With Or Without You" because of the sustainer pickup.
  • 200x Fernandes Retrorocket Elite. Stock black finish w/white pickguard. Used for "UltraViolet (Light My Way" during the U2:360 tour.
  • 1997 Gibson ES-175 sparkle blue finish (Bono's) Edge can be seen with this guitar in "The Ground Beneath Her Feet" video.
  • 1953 Gibson ES-295 - can be seen in the "Desire" video. Used at several shows on the Joshua Tree tour and was sold at the Music Rising auction in 2007.
  • Gibson ES-330 tobacco finish [Seen in the "Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses" and "One" videos. This was used for "One" during the ZooTV/Zooropa shows
  • Gibson ES-335 tobacco finish
  • Gibson Sonex-180 Deluxe. Black finish. Used briefly during the summer October festival shows. Soon replaced by the 1975 Gibson Les Paul Custom.
  • Gibson Byrdland may have been borrowed. Seen in some Rattle and Hum outtakes pictures and video]
  • Washburn/Taylor Acoustics, made famous during the live version of "Party Girl".

Keyboards

  • Yamaha CP70 (keyboard)/piano: used for "October", "New Year's Day", "Running To Stand Still", "Original Of The Species."
  • Yamaha CP80 (keyboard)/piano: used for "Moment of Surrender",

When he takes over for bassist Adam Clayton for the song "40", he used the Ibanez Musicia n in the 1980s and the Lakland Darryl Jones Signature for the more recent Vertigo Tour.

Amps

Edge's original 1964 Vox AC30 on stage in Foxborough for the U2 360° Tour

Pedals and rack

Floorboard

Pedals

Rack

Philanthropy

In 2005 The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, 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 realized 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 organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.[12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ U2 Limited (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 21. ISBN 0-00-719668-7
  2. ↑ Unforgettable Fire: The Story of U2. London: Penguin Books. 1988. p. 70. ISBN 0-14-010766-5. 
  3. ↑ U2 Limited (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 21. ISBN 0-00-719668-7. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 U2; McCormick, N. (26 September 2006). U2 by U2. New York: Harper Collins Publishers. pp. 117–120. ISBN 0-06-077675-7. 
  5. ↑ U2 Limited (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers, 117–120. ISBN 0-00-719668-7
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 "The Edge biography (@U2)". http://www.atu2.com/band/edge/. Retrieved 9 September 2007. 
  7. ↑ U2 Limited (2006). U2 by U2. London: HarperCollinsPublishers. p. 144. ISBN 0-00-719668-7. 
  8. ↑ "IT MIGHT GET LOUD". http://www.sonyclassics.com/itmightgetloud/. Retrieved 20 March 2010. 
  9. ↑ Flanagan, Bill (1995). U2 at the End of the World. Delacorte Press. p.43. ISBN 0-385-31154-0
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 "On the Edge of Success". U2 Magazine No. 3. 1 May 1982. http://u2_interviews.tripod.com/id16.html. Retrieved 6 November 2007. 
  11. ↑ U2 Rotterdam, 10 May 1993, Feyenoord Stadium, ZOO TV Tour – U2 on tour
  12. ↑ The Angiogenesis Foundation: People http://www.angio.org/about-people-bod.php, Retrieved 12/7/2009

External links

U2
Bono • Adam Clayton • The Edge • Larry Mullen, Jr.
Studio albums
Boy • October • War • The Unforgettable Fire • The Joshua Tree • Rattle and Hum • Achtung Baby • Zooropa • Pop • All That You Can't Leave Behind • How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb • No Line on the Horizon
Compilations and EPs
Three • Wide Awake in America • Please: PopHeart Live EP • The Best of 1980–1990 • 7 • The Best of 1990–2000 • Exclusive • The Complete U2 • Live from Under the Brooklyn Bridge • U218 Singles • Wide Awake in Europe
Other albums
Under a Blood Red Sky • Melon: Remixes for Propaganda • Original Soundtracks 1 • Hasta la Vista Baby! U2 Live from Mexico City • The Million Dollar Hotel soundtrack • Live from the Point Depot • U2.COMmunication • Zoo TV Live • U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland • Live from Paris • Medium, Rare & Remastered • Artificial Horizon • U2:DUALS • Best of U2
Videos and films
U2 Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky • The Unforgettable Fire Collection • Rattle and Hum • Achtung Baby: The Videos, The Cameos, and a Whole Lot of Interference from Zoo TV • Zoo TV: Live from Sydney • PopMart: Live from Mexico City • Elevation 2001: U2 Live from Boston • U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle, Ireland • Vertigo 2005: Live from Chicago • Vertigo 05: Live from Milan • U218 Videos • Live from Paris • U2 3D • Linear • U2 360° at the Rose Bowl
Tours and concerts
Boy Tour • October Tour • War Tour • The Unforgettable Fire Tour • A Conspiracy of Hope • The Joshua Tree Tour • Lovetown Tour • Zoo TV Tour • PopMart Tour (concert in Sarajevo) • Elevation Tour • Vertigo Tour • U2 360° Tour
Additional personnel
Anton Corbijn • Brian Eno • Dik Evans • Flood • Howie B • Jimmy Iovine • Daniel Lanois • Steve Lillywhite • Paul McGuinness • Willie Williams
Lists and miscellany
Awards • Discography • Songs • Covers of U2 songs • Concert tours • Mother Records • The Dalton Brothers • Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
Wikipedia book Book • Category Category • Portal Portal • WikiProject WikiProject • U2 Timeline • Singles
Batman music
Soundtracks

Batman (album) · Batman (score) · Batman Returns · Batman Forever (soundtrack) · Batman Forever (score) · Batman & Robin · Batman Begins · The Dark Knight
Composers

Neal Hefti (Batman (TV series)) · Nelson Riddle (Batman (TV series)) · Ray Ellis (The New Adventures of Batman) · Norm Prescott (The New Adventures of Batman) · Danny Elfman (Batman (1989 film) and Batman Returns) · Steve Bartek (Batman (1989 film)) · Shirley Walker (Batman (1989 film), Batman: The Animated Series and Batman Beyond) · Elliot Goldenthal (Batman Forever and Batman & Robin) · Kristopher Carter (Batman Beyond and Batman: The Brave and the Bold) · Lolita Ritmanis (Batman Beyond and Batman: The Brave and the Bold) · The Edge (The Batman) · Andy Sturmer (The Batman) · Hans Zimmer (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) · James Newton Howard (Batman Begins and The Dark Knight) · Christopher Drake (Batman: Gotham Knight and Batman: Under the Red Hood) · Robert J. Kral (Batman: Gotham Knight) · Kevin Manthei (Batman: Gotham Knight)
Songs

"Batman Theme" · "Batusi" · "Batdance"  · "Partyman" · "The Arms of Orion" · "Scandalous!" · "The Future"  · "Face to Face" · "Super Freak" · "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me" · "Kiss from a Rose" · "The Riddler" · "Where Are You Now?" · "Smash It Up" · "The Passenger" · "The End Is the Beginning Is the End" · "Look into My Eyes" · "Gotham City" · "Foolish Games" · "Moaner" · "Lazy Eye"