Guitarist Magazine, 11.2000

The Edge, from U2 to U

Mythical guitarist at 39 years, The Edge sold more than 70 million albums with U2.Et the new album of the group, " All that you can' T leave behind, should still start again the machine. But like Peter Buck, his, alter ego at REM, Dave Evans (its true name) is rather a anti-musician who contributed to redefine the role of the guitar in the rock' roll, by tracing improbable milked union between the wild riffs of its heroes and the surrounding and obsessing airs of the new eleectronic musics.

In 1996, one gave to him first " Rory Gallagher Rock Musician Award ", this self-portrait helps to include/understand why.

Dave " The Edge " Evans was born in Barking in the suburbs is of London, August 8, 1961. One year later, its family leaves to settle in Dublin, city which it did not leave since.
Calm and reserved child, it follows a normal schooling and intends himself for a career of doctor. With the re-entry 1976, it locates at the school a small advertisement of Larry Mullen, future beater of U2: " Seek musicians to assemble a group ". Dave answers and goes to Larry with his/her brother and a friend, Adam Clayton. In a corner of the part another young man, not very large but loquacious is held: Paul " Bono "

The five discuss music, are discovered common influences and decide to form Feedback, an embryonic version of U2: " Coming from punk, one estimated, like Velvet Underground or NewYork Dolls before us, that it p' was not really necessary to know to play ". Because Dave has the face particularly
end and sharp-edged, the others baptize it The Edge. At the end of his schooling, this pupil steady in spite of his incipient musical vocation, explains to his parents that it will be devoted to the music lasting one year but promises all to drop if nothing occurs.

Punk roots

In 1978, Feedback become The Hype occurs in Limerick in Ireland. Jackie Heyden of CBS Records locates the group become quartet (the brother of The Edge left) and suggests recording a first demonstration. Paul McGuinness, a businessman, proposes with the group which has just changed again name to manage it:

This association lasts still today, a record in the history of the rock'n'roll. Two years and a pair of singles later, Bono, Larry and The Edge join Shalom, a group of Christians very practise. But it proves soon that the search of spirituality of certain members of the group is not shared by the others: Larry and Bono, estimating that the life style rock' roll is not incompatible with the control induced by the church, leave Shalom. The Edge also but a little later and not with the same conviction.

It is with War, its third album in 1983, that U2 explodes truly. Containing the tubes " Sunday, Bloody Sunday " and " NewYear' S Day ", it will transform this punk proto group avid in concerts into a monster of stage: " We are of these musicians who estimate that a group must be in correlation with its public and to play our songs live before recording them was always the best test to judge their effectiveness ".

Free guitarist in his head and his hands, follower of the air arpeggios drowned in the echo which will become its very identifiable trademark in " Bullet The Blue Sky " or " One ", The Edge contributes to work his U2: " The echo reassured us in studio in the sense that it outside gave us the illusion to be, to play live. War joins again with our punk roots, the experiments do not harm energy.

For the first time, I worked in my corner and proposed with the group of the riffs and the continuations of agreements which we developed at the time of the balances ".

The same year, The Edge marries Aislinn O' Sullivan, his first wife who will give him three children. The couple divorces in 1996 and The Edge shares today the existence of Morleigh Steinberg, choreographer of the Zoo TV Tower and mother of its two other children.

Machine of war

In 1984, The Unforgettable Fire marks the beginning long and prolific collaboration with Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois: " I always had the intuition that Eno could help us. It was not very packed with the idea to produce us but it is listening to our demonstrations in Dublin which it had to realize that one was more ambitious than our preceding discs let it believe. Eno wants to really contribute to the physical arrangement of manner, it is not limited to the suggestions. It plays of the keyboards with the group, it is almost an additional musician. On certain titles like " The Unforgettable Fire " precisely, its influence is very discrete, but on others, " Promenade " or " Presley Elvis In America ", his contribution is major.

Us to give between its hands made us progress in a considerable way ", Porté by the success of the album, U2 connects the world rounds, occurs in Live Aid in 1985, attesting of its interest for the great causes: " During " Bad ", Bono is descended in crowd with the meeting from the public.
That seemed to us to last of the hours. During this time, one jammait as one could but of course it monopolized all the attention and its gesture symbolized a little Live Aid as a whole. I was depressed when I left scene, but afterwards, I appreciated to re-examine these images. One can always sign petitions, to take part in meetings, I believe that what passes by the music is much more significant and people respect that. "

The following year, U2 turns for Amnesty International then returns again in studio to record what many regards as its masterpiece: The Joshua Tree. This album still marks a stage in the evolution of the play of guitar of The Edge: " In the pure plan guitaristic, The Unforgettable Fire had been very liberator bus Brian had let me foresee that all was permis.Cette time, we went even further with these famous treatments of which it has the secrecy, this work on the tapes and via the synthetizers ". A round follows from which will be extracted a film (Rattle & Hum), a disc (raised by the presence of BB King and partly recorded in legendary Sun studio of Memphis) and a book of the photographer Anton Corbijn, evidence that U2 became an enormous machine of war.

Naturally, some see in this planetary success the beginning of an artistic and moral decline: " I include/understand the point of view of some of our detractors. On the other hand, the honesty which perspires in each plan of Rattle & Hum could not be called in question. The sincerity of U2 is truly its strong point. "

Like Italian

At the beginning of the Nineties, U2 starts a more industrial phase and bruitist and records Achtung Baby with the Hansa studios, famous to have inspired in David Bowie his European trilogy, Low/Heroes/Lodger. English Fans of the star, Bono and they his impregnate environment of the city and make appear their most experimental album.

The Edge continues déstructurer its play of guitar and to use its instrument in a revolutionary way. In Zooropa and Pop, the two other discs published by the group which never hesitated to be called in question during the Nineties, The Edge will adapt its play to musical environments of the moment, techno, dance, ambient: " When one keeps too a long time the head in the handlebar, one loses sometimes the contact with the public. There was a little the feeling to be perceived like caricatures. Some listened to us with a particularly cynical ear and it was with us to suggest another way of approaching our music.

Artists like Bob Dylan or Lou Reed showed us that it was not always necessary to tackle the subjects of face for making well pass the ideas. In Ireland people direct, are impassioned like Italians. Circumspection is not our fort. Bono was released a little *** TRANSLATION ENDS HERE *** avec ses personnages tels que celui de "The Fly " avec les grosses lunettes. On est parfois plus efficace lorsqu'on ne s'escrime pas à l' ê tre à tout prix : un peu de second degr é ne pouvait pas nous nuire.

C'est é galement la premi è re fois, durant le Zoo TV Tour que l'on tournait avec un concept ce qui nous permettait d'exp é rimenter sur sc è ne toutes les nouvelles technologies. La situation globale nous amenait à nous poser des tas de questions du style : Internet arrive, l'information est bombard é e dans nos cerveaux à un rythme dingue, mais qu'advient-il de l' ê tre humain ? "

Miles Davis et David Bowie

En 2000, le nouvel album de U2, All That You Can't Leave Behind, marque le retour à un pop plus indie que clinquante. Constitu é de chansons qu'aucun arrangement superflu ne vient travestir, il est vraisemblablement l'album du groupe le plus authentique depuis ses d é buts : "On n'a pas voulu que la production dissimule notre r é elle identit é ou la qualit é des titres. Pour l'instant, la r é action des gens est des plus enthousiastes. En tant que guitariste, je n'ai jamais autant utilis é de sons clairs que sur ce disque ".

Vif, malin, g é n é reux, conscient que l'avenir du rock appartient à ceux qui en usent sans en abuser, The Edge est un exemple. Lui qui n'a jamais jou é note pour note les solos de ces h é ros et n'a jamais piqu é de plan à personne, sait que c'est dans la personnalit é , l'identit é de chaque musicien que r é side son vrai talent : "La pop music entre dans une nouvelle è re. Les gens veulent des bonnes chansons, des m é lodies m é morisables.

Pour ce disque, on a r é fl é chi à ce que l'on avait d'unique et nous avons pris conscience que le fait d' ê tre un groupe, toujours bien vivant en l'an 2000, é tait notre force. On est reconnaissable. Le rock n'est pas toujours synonyme de qualit é et la pop n'est certainement pas un art mineur parce qu'avoir une perception na ï ve de la musique n'a rien de p é joratif.

Qu'on é coute Miles Davis, David Bowie ou qui que ce soit d'autre, la s é duction doit ê tre imm é diate. c'est quelque chose que nous avons toujours recherch é dans notre travail. Il y a cette fra î cheur dans le
nouvel album. "