The Edge
David Howell Evans (born August 8, 1961 in Barking , London), better known by his nickname The Edge , is the guitarist of the Irish band U2 .
Life
When Evans was a year old, his family moved from London to Dublin . In 1983 he married Aislin O'Sulliva, with whom he has three daughters. In 1996 he divorced her and in June 2002 married Morleigh Steinberg, who had performed as a belly dancer on U2's ZOO TV tour in 1992. With her he had another daughter and a son. The guitarist was politically active as a supporter of the Ireland for Europe 2009 citizens' initiative for Ireland to approve the Lisbon Treaty .
music
In high school, Evans took piano and guitar lessons . He often performed with his brother Dick; together with him he also built an electric guitar . In 1976 the two responded to a notice posted by Larry Mullen Jr. , who was looking for musicians to start a rock band . This band changed names several times, in 1978 Evans' brother Dick got out again; shortly thereafter the band adopted their final name U2. At that time Evans got his name "The Edge" ( English "the edge, the edge") from Bono . There are two possible justifications for this name; Bono claims that the name comes from Evans having a particularly sharp mind. In fan circles, however, the opinion is that this name alludes more to The Edges' sharp facial features.
Evans developed his own guitar sound with lots of delay and echo - effects that has been a hallmark of U2. In most of the songs, Evans' guitar style is characterized by short, succinct tone sequences; he rarely plays opulent solos.
Through his work at U2, he has played with other well-known musicians such as Johnny Cash , BB King , Green Day and Tina Turner . In many songs of the band U2 he also takes on backing vocals ( Beautiful Day , Zooropa, Lemon) or, as in Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of, parts of the lead vocals. In three more (Seconds, Van Diemen's Land, Numb) Evans takes over the lead vocals completely. The song Numb was also released as a single. Occasionally Evans also plays keyboard for U2 (New Year's Day, Running To Stand Still, Original Of The Species, Moment of Surrender).
In 2015, Rolling Stone listed The Edge, together with Bono, on rank 35 of the 100 best songwriters of all time .
Others
In 2008 the documentary / Rockumentary It Might Get Loud was released , which is dedicated to the history of the electric guitar and the three guitarists The Edge, Jack White ( The White Stripes , The Raconteurs and The Dead Weather ) and Jimmy Page ( The Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin ). The film was shown in German cinemas from August 27, 2009.
On 26 June 2010 he played with Muse at Glastonbury Festival , where they shared Where the Streets Have No Name by U2 played.
Discography
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 US
|
|||
| 1986 | Heroine Captive (OST) |
- | - | - |
UK89 (3 weeks) UK |
- |
First published: September 1986
with Sinéad O'Connor |
| 2010 |
Stranded (Haiti Mon Amour) Hope for Haiti Now |
- |
AT10 (2 weeks) AT |
- |
UK41 (2 weeks) UK |
US16 (2 weeks) US |
|
| 2011 | Rise Above 1 Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (OST) |
- | - | - | - |
US74 (1 week) US |
First published: May 2011
Reeve Carney feat. Bono & The Edge |
Award
- Golden Globe for Mandela - The Long Road to Freedom , awarded on January 12, 2014
Web links
- Official website of the band U2
- The Edge in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Barbara Klimke: This diffuse fear of Europe . In: Berliner Zeitung , September 30, 2009.
- ↑ The 100 Greatest Songwriters of All Time. Rolling Stone , August 2015, accessed August 7, 2017 .
- ↑ Chart sources: UK US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Edge, The |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Evans, David Howell |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Irish guitarist for the band U2 |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 8, 1961 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Barking , London |