The Multi Delay Man...
The king of sound and effects.....
The one that made the guitar sound like a fighter jet in "Bullet the Blue Sky" ....
The one that made it sound like a helicopter in the song "Mofo", and forced her to produce dentist drill sounds in the song "Love Is Blindness" ...
The man who changed the whole perception about how the guitar can sound - The Edge, is celebrating his birthday today !!
(Photo: RMV)
Let's tell you 40 interesting facts about him:
1. He was born to parents of Welsh descent on August 8, 1961, in the Essex region of England. The name given to him at birth was David Howell Evans.
2. When he was a year old his father got a job promotion and the family moved to Dublin.
3. As a child, The Edge received a Catholic Christian education.
4. From an early age he learned to play the guitar and piano, and practiced playing with his older brother Richard nicknamed Dik.
5. He got his first guitar at age 7, it was a classical guitar and he was not really enthusiastic about it.
6. At the age of 9 he got his first serious guitar it was a used acoustic guitar that his mother bought him. From that moment on he began to take playing seriously along with his brother Dick.
7. He attended "Mount Temple" High School where he also met his future U2" bandmates.
9. On September 25, 1976, drummer Larry Mullen Jr. posted an ad on the school bulletin board. The Edge, his brother Dik Evans who played guitar, singer Bono and bassist Adam Clayton responded to the ad and so the band "Feedback" was formed.
9. The band made its debut in April 1977 at St. Fintan's High School.
10. Later the band was renamed "The Hype" and won a talent contest.
11. Immediately afterward Dik Evans left the band to join another local band called "Virgin Prunes", thus forming the lineup that would become "U2" in March 1978.
(Photo: Wordpress)
12. In the early days of the band, Dave Evans was given the nickname "The Edge" by the street gang in Dublin to which he belonged. By the way, the same band also gave the nickname to singer Bono.
13. One version says that the nickname was given to him due to the shape of his pointed head, while other versions say that it is related to his "cut" playing on the guitar and his preference not to be involved and watch from the side when arguments and fights occur.
14. The band began performing in small clubs in Dublin starting in 1978.
15. In 1979 they first appeared outside Ireland, in London.
16. That same year "U2" was already signed on a recording contract by the "CBS" branch in Ireland and released a triple series of mini-albums called "U2-3".
17. In March 1980, the band released their debut album "Boy". Already there one could discern the all-unique Celtic fret style of The Edge on guitar, a style that has become so identified with the band.
18. After finishing the tour of the second album "October", The Edge was very close to leaving the band for religious reasons. He deepened his membership in a Christian group called the "Shalom Tigers". The Christian group also included Bono and drummer Larry Mullen Jr.
19. Eventually The Edge decided to stay in the band and immediately afterward began writing what would become one of its big hits "Sunday Bloody Sunday".
20. Beyond playing the guitar, The Edge was in charge of background vocals and he sometimes even complements Bono's vocals and helped him in a very harmonized and enriching way.
21. The Edge also sang solo in a number of the band's songs such as "Van Diemen's Land", "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds" and co-singing with Bono in the song "Discotheque".
22. The Edge is also responsible for playing the keyboards in the band, several notable examples: "October", "New Year's Day", and "Running to Stand Still".
23. He sometimes also plays bass guitar, as in the song "40" from the album "War" in which he exchanges roles with Adam Clayton.
24. In 1985 he appeared with "U2" in the charity show "Live Aid".
25. In 1986 he wrote the soundtrack for the movie "Captive". It is considered The Edge's only solo album and features Larry Mullen Jr. and Sinéad O'Connor, among others.
26. In March 1988 he won with "U2" their first two Grammys on the masterpiece album "The Joshua Tree".
27. In the future, Edge and the band will win another 20 Grammy Awards !!!
28. In 2002 he appeared on an official stamp of Ireland.
29. In 2005 he entered with "U2" into the "Rock and Roll Hall of Fame".
30. In 2007 he received an honorary doctorate in music from the University of Berkeley.
(Photo: Photo: Bob King)
31. In 2008 he starred in the documentary "It Might Get Loud" alongside Jimmy Page and Jack White. The three focused on the wonderful guitar, musical styles, and sound techniques that can be derived from this amazing instrument.
32. In his twenties he began to lose hair and has since appeared in public with a hat on.
33. Together with "U2" he released 14 studio albums, 9 mini-albums, and one live album.
34. In addition to his work with "U2" The Edge has recorded with artists such as: Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Tina Turner, Ron Wood, Jay-Z, Rihanna, and more.
35. He wrote the theme song for the animated series "The Batman".
36. In 1995 he co-wrote with Bono the theme song for the James Bond film "GoldenEye".
37. He co-wrote with Bono the lyrics and music for the 2011 musical "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."
38. In 2020 he co-wrote with Bono the official Euro 2020 song together with Martin Garrix who has won the title of best DJ in the world four times.
39. In 2010 he was ranked by Gibson at number 23 on the list of the best guitarists of all time. Company representatives noted that he has created a distinctive and unique sound that is only identified with him.
40. In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him and Bono 35th out of 100 best songwriters of all time.
41. He is ranked 38th on Rolling Stone magazine's "100 Greatest Guitarists" list.