Personal details
- Birth Date: 1961-08-08
- Height: 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
- Birth Location: Barking, Essex, England, UK
- Children: (2 children) Hollee
- Children: (divorced, 3 children) Hollee
- Professions: Actor, Composer, Music Department
The Edge, whose real name is David Howell Evans, is that unmistakable force behind U2’s signature sound. Born in Barking, Essex back in ‘61, he didn’t actually hang around there too long—his family packed up and moved to Dublin when he was just a toddler. Growing up in Ireland, he picked up the guitar early (because why not, right?), and he also fooled around with the piano, because apparently, one instrument just wasn’t enough. By ’78, he’d teamed up with some other lads—Bono, Adam, and Larry—and, boom, U2 was born. Edge didn’t just strum in the background; he created those wild, echoing riffs and atmospheric sounds that basically became the band’s trademark. Seriously, that chiming guitar? Pure Edge. Through all the stadium tours, weird sunglasses, and whatever else the ‘80s and ‘90s threw at them, The Edge stuck it out. If you’ve ever blasted “Where the Streets Have No Name” or “With or Without You,” you know exactly what I mean. The Edge isn’t just some guy playing chords—he’s the sonic architect of a band that’s been around for decades and still somehow hasn’t lost its touch. It’s wild to think, but he’s been in the group for nearly 30 years, shaping the sound of rock and making those epic anthems that everybody, even your dad, knows by heart. And yeah, he’s still at it.
U2 hit Cardiff Arms Park for the first night of their ‘Joshua Tree’ tour on July 25, 1987—a gig that only happened because a superfan rallied 10,000 signatures to convince the band to play there. That’s some next-level dedication. During the show, Bono let slip that The Edge’s dad, Garvin Evans, was Welsh and had always joked his son would play rugby at the famous stadium. Of course, The Edge isn’t about to join a scrum, but he did boot a rugby ball out into the crowd, just to keep the prophecy alive. That moment? Pure rock show magic, with the band connecting to the Welsh crowd in a way you just don’t see every day. The Cardiff Arms Park gig is still talked about by people who were there, not just because of the music, but because it felt like U2 made history in a place that means everything to Welsh sports fans.
People keep coming up to us, all wide-eyed, asking if our songs are gonna save the world or fix everything. Honestly, that's not the point. We never sat down thinking, “Yeah, this’ll change the world.” That’s just not how it works. We wrote those songs because that’s what was inside us—frustration, hope, whatever was buzzing around in our heads at two in the morning. Music’s weird like that. It’s not some magic spell that makes politicians behave, or suddenly flips the script on messed-up stuff out there. Maybe it helps you get through the day, or it makes someone feel a little less alone. And if it does, cool. But changing the whole system? Nah, we’re just singing about life as we see it, hoping a few people get it. That’s all it ever was.
August 8, 1961
5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
Konidela Ram Charan
Barking, Essex, England, UK
Yes, Hollee
63 years old