1. The Edge is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist of the rock band U2.
28 Facts About The Edge
1. 2.
The Edge met his second wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.
3.
The Edge co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina.
4.
The Edge 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.
5.
The Edge's father was an engineer who worked for the local electricity board, and subsequently worked for the electronics company Plessey.
6.
The Edge received his first guitar at the age of seven when his mother bought him a Spanish guitar.
7.
The Edge 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.
8.
In 1981, leading up to the October Tour, the Edge came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay.
9.
The Edge received his first production credit on the band's 1993 album Zooropa for the extra level of responsibility he assumed in its creation.
10.
In 2024, the Edge co-directed V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film with his wife Morleigh Steinberg.
11.
The Edge has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on numerous musical projects outside of the group.
12.
The Edge wrote the theme song for seasons one and two of The Batman, which aired in 2004 and 2005 respectively.
13.
In 2008, the Edge participated in the Davis Guggenheim-directed documentary film It Might Get Loud.
14.
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.
15.
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.
16.
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.
17.
The Edge eschews virtuosity in favour of "atmospherics, subtlety, minimalism, and clever signal processing", according to Guitar Player.
18.
Rather than emulate common playing styles, the Edge is interested in "tearing up the rule book" and finding new ways to approach the instrument; he was inspired by guitarists such as Tom Verlaine of Television, Keith Levene of Public Image Ltd, and John McKay of Siouxsie and the Banshees, who he thought "were all playing the instrument in a fresh way".
19.
The Edge cited guitarists such as John McGeoch, Rory Gallagher, and Patti Smith as some of his strongest influences.
20.
The Edge became known for his extensive use of effects units, and for his meticulous nature in crafting specific sounds and guitar tones from his equipment choices.
21.
The Edge said that rather than using effects merely to modify his sound, he uses them to spark ideas during his songwriting process.
22.
The Edge developed his playing style during his teenage years, partially as a result of him and Mullen trying to accommodate the "eccentric" bass playing of Clayton by being the timekeepers of the band.
23.
The Edge 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".
24.
The Edge has used plectrums manufactured by the German company Herdim that he turns sideways or upside down so the dimpled grip strums against the strings, resulting in a "rasping top end" to his guitar tone.
25.
The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar and lap steel guitar.
26.
The Edge serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501 nonprofit organisation dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.
27.
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.
28.
The Edge has won numerous awards with U2, including 22 Grammy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Original Song.