The Edge Biography

David "The Edge" Howell Evans
(b. August 8, 1961)
Instrument: Guitars, piano, keyboards, vocals and background vocals

Dave 'The Edge' Evans was born in Barking, Essex, in East London, to parents of Welsh descent, Gwenda and Garvin Evans. When he was one year old, the family - which included younger sister Gill and older brother Dick - moved to Dublin, where he has lived ever since. There, he grew up as a quiet kid, a loner and very intelligent. He did well in school, and up until before he met who would be his future bandmates, he wanted to go to the university and become a doctor.

It was in the fall of 1976 when he spotted Larry's note on the Mount Temple Comprehensive High School bulletin board, which asked for anyone interested in forming a band. He was the first to respond to the ad, and he went to the first meeting in Larry's house with his brother Dick and their friend, Adam Clayton. Along with Paul Hewson and a few others, this was the first meeting of what would become U2. The Edge showed them he had guitar playing skills that seemed well beyond his age, and the chemistry among them was obvious from the beginning.

Early in the band's career, Dave Evans was re-baptized by Bono - then Bono Vox - as 'The Edge'. The nickname was inspired in the beginning by the sharp features of his face, but it also applied to his sharp mind and the way he always observes things from the edge. When he finished high school, he told his parents he'd take a year off, to see where the band and their music would take him.

Along with Bono and Larry, The Edge joined a Christian-based religious group called Shalom in the early 1980s. The young men were in search of spirituality and the answer to the big question, and these issues soon became a problem within the band. The three members attending the bible group were torn between their Christian ideals and their rock and roll lifestyle. Larry and Bono quickly chose the band, but the Edge was uncertain. He had a lot of doubts, and nearly left U2 prior to the making of the War album. But he took Bono's advice to follow his heart and after a reasonable period of soul searching, he chose the band as well. The Edge realized he didn't have a problem with his beliefs or his music and lifestyle, it was other people who did.

In 1983, Edge married Aislinn O'Sullivan, with whom he remained for 7 years and had three daughters: Holly (1985), Arun (1986), and Blue Angel (1989). In 1990 they separated, and in 1996 they got a legal divorce. He now has a daughter, Sian, and a son, Levi, with Morleigh Steinberg, the belly dancer and choreographer from the ZooTv Tour, whom he started dating in 1993. The two were officially married in June, 2002.

The Edge's guitar sound is part of U2's trademark, the characteristic and mesmerizing sounds he plays and the emotions he puts through them are what make him one of the most unique guitarists in rock and roll. His style -- clean, sharp, incisive, cutting-Edge -- is unmistakable. He has often been called an "anti-guitar hero" because of his aversion to the indulgent, solo style of many contemporaries.

He's also lent his vocal talents to several U2 songs, first singing lead on "Seconds" from the War album. He later took the lead on songs such as "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", and sang a solo version of "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during 1997-98's PopMart Tour.