The Edge (born 8th August 1961)
David Howell Evans, otherwise known by his stage name The Edge/Edge is a British-born Irish musician, songwriter and singer best known for his position as lead guitarist of the rock band U2. Known globally as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, he has recorded thirteen studio albums with the band and one solo record. His use of effects, particularly delay, as well as his minimalistic playing is what creates Edge's signature chiming sound.
Net Worth: Celebrity Net Worth has reported that the Edge has a net worth of approximately $200 million.
Personal Life: David Howell Evans was born in Essex, UK. After David's father was offered a promotion in 1962, Edge's parents decided to leave Chadwell Health and the family moved to County Dublin, Ireland, when Edge was one year old. Edge attended St Andrew's National School where he received piano and guitar lessons.
Musical career: Edge and his brother Dik Evans formed a band with future U2 drummer Larry Mullen Jr. after responding to an advertisement Larry put out for musicians. The band didn't emerge as U2 until 1978, just after Dik left the group. After performing in various venues throughout Ireland U2 released their debut album Boy in 1980.
Evans nearly left the group in 1981 due to religious reasons but decided to stay. At this point he also played with a band called Shalom Tigers alongside bandmates Bono and Larry. The three decided to stay with U2. Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan in 1983 and had three daughters together over a seven year period, before separating in 1990. The two got divorced in 1996 a year after it was legalised in Ireland. 1993 saw The Edge begin dating Morleigh Steinberg - employed by the band as a belly dancer during their Zoo TV Tour. The couple had two children together prior to their marriage in 2002. Despite being an environmentalist, The Edge has been criticised for trying to build five luxury mansions on a plot of land in Malibu, California. Following a $1 million donation from The Edge to the Santa Monica mountains Conservancy, the group decided to remain neutral on the issue.
Life as a guitarist: Delay, Reverb and the clean sound of the Vox AC30 is what characterises the sound of Edge's guitar playing. The simplicity of some of Edge's most famous riffs devolve from his views that musical notes are 'expensive' and should be used only when needed. Edge's first guitar was an old acoustic bought at a local flea market for him and his brother when he was nine. The simplicity of Edge's playing technique contrasts vividly with the wide array of guitar effects he experiments with - his live setup is famously massive, with up to twenty-one different guitars being present backstage and a multitude of effects pedals kept beneath his feet and on the desk of his sound engineer.
The Edge has also been the backing vocalist for U2 on several occasions. U2's well-known single 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' includes Edge singing the chorus with Bono harmonising at the end of each line. Edge's vocals often come in the form of a falsetto or repeated cry. Edge has also played piano and keyboard on several of the band's songs including 'I Fall Down', 'October', 'So Cruel', 'New Year's Day' and 'Running to Stand Still'. When performing the song '40' live, The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments. The Edge has also recorded with artists such as B.B. King, Johnny Cash and Jay-Z. He worked alongside others on the score to the 1986 film Captive. He created the themes song for season one and two of The Batman, worked with Bono to write the James Bond film GoldenEye and a musical adaptation of Spider-Man.
2005 saw The Edge, Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz found the charity Music Rising - aiming at providing new instruments to replace those lost by musicians in the 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Originally the group focused only on professionals but later expanded to all musicians in need of assistance, such as those in schools and churches. They have helped over one hundred people since the start of their campaign.
Biography by Contactmusic.com
U2 have had to postpone their gig at Stockholm’s The Globe.
