His understated style of guitar playing, a signature of U2's music, is distinguished by chiming timbres, use of rhythmic delay, drone notes, harmonics, and an extensive use of effects units.

Born in England to Welsh parents and raised in Ireland, the Edge formed the band that would become U2 with his classmates at Mount Temple Comprehensive School and his elder brother Dik in 1976.

He 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.

[1] The Edge said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "Me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that.

[7] Early in the band's career, Evans was given the nickname "the Edge" by members of the Lypton Village surrealist street gang to which Bono belonged.

[8][9] However, the origin of the name is disputed and other theories include a description of his guitar playing and his preference for not becoming fully involved and therefore remaining on the edge of things.

Through his working relationships with producers Brian Eno and Daniel Lanois, the Edge connected with Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar) and collaborated with him on the score to the film Captive (1986).

They wrote the musical score for the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange, which opened in 1990.

A single titled "Rise Above 1" by Reeve Carney, featuring Bono and the Edge, was released digitally from the musical's soundtrack.

The film examines the history of the electric guitar, focusing on the careers and styles of the Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White.

[19] 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.

I won the argument and I still think it's sort of brave, because the end of 'With or Without You' could have been so much bigger, so much more of a climax, but there's this power to it which I think is even more potent because it's held back... ultimately I'm interested in music.

The Edge's style of playing guitar is distinguished by his chiming timbres,[22][23] echoing notes,[24] sparse voicings,[25] and extensive use of effects units.

[31][32] Among the Edge's signature techniques are playing arpeggios,[33][31] sixteenth note percussive strumming,[34] and harmonics,[27] the latter of which he described as "so pure and finely-focused that [they have] the incredible ability to pierce through [their] environment of sound, just like lightning".

[30] Author Henrik Marstal said that his use of harmonics and chiming timbres "emulates the concept of bell ringing" and "embod[ies] a spiritual dimension".

[37] Rather than emulate common playing styles, the Edge is interested in "tearing up the rule book" and finding new ways to approach the instrument;[24] 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".

[40][30] The Edge's guitar sound is frequently modulated with a delay set to a dotted eighth note for rhythmic effect.

[23][41][42] After acquiring his first delay pedal, the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man,[43] he became fascinated with how to use its return echo to "fill in notes that [he's] not playing, like two guitar players rather than one".

[43] 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.

His 1964 Vox AC30 "Top Boost" amplifier (housed in a 1970s cabinet) is favoured for its "sparkle" tone, and is the basis for his sound both in the studio and live.

[45] The Edge has also 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.

He has played keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others.

In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", "Moment of Surrender" and "Raised By Wolves", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately.

[55] Evans was raised as a Protestant[56] and was, along with fellow band members Bono and Mullen, involved with non-denominational Christian group the Shalom Fellowship as an adult.

The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from Evans and a commitment to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.

[63] The Edge, Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising in 2005, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina.

The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organisation dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.

[73] In 2010, Gibson ranked him the 23rd-best guitarist of all time, saying that he "created a sound that is distinctly his own – no small feat when you consider he's had to do it in the course of three decades while working shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the biggest personalities in rock, Bono".

[74] The following year, Rolling Stone placed the Edge at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"; Daniel Lanois called him an "innovative mind", a "scientist, and a poet by night", and said he is "dedicated to note-taking" to "document every detail of his sound".

[76] In 2012, Spin ranked him 13th on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists, saying that he "masked and flaunted his willful ignorance of how guitars are meant to be played with forgiving delay pedals, forging a sonic trademark so distinctive that his band's name became an adjective".