Ed O'Brien

Information about Ed O'Brien

Edward "Ed" John O'Brien (born April 15, 1968, in Oxford, England) is a member of Radiohead. He plays guitar and sings harmony vocals live and on some tracks from the band's albums.

Personal life

Ed was originally invited into the band by Thom Yorke because of his resemblance to Morrissey. He is often considered the most photogenic rock star of the band, and the most gregarious with the public. However, promotional material has never shifted the emphasis on Yorke and Greenwood to him, and neither the band nor their labels have attempted to use Ed as a selling point. He is easily the tallest member of the band, at 6' 5" (no other band members exceed 6 feet tall). Ed has a wife named Susan and a son, Salvador, who was born in January 2004 and daughter, who was born early 2006.

Radiohead work

Ed is known for his large collection of effects pedals, which are important in creating Radiohead's distinct sound. Even on tracks that do not feature any guitar work, his pedals are put to use for other purposes, such as altering Thom Yorke's vocals (Along with Greenwood on the Korg Kaoss Pad). Though he served primarily as a rhythm guitarist on the earlier albums, Radiohead's migration beyond alternative rock instrumentation often saw fellow guitarist Jonny Greenwood called on to play keyboards, the modular synthesizer, or the Ondes Martenot, moving Ed to the forefront as Radiohead's chief guitarist. He is a self-taught guitarist, but took drum lessons and is an accomplished drummer, though his only drum works for Radiohead to date have been the auxiliary drums on Hail to the Thief track "There There", a task he shared with Jonny Greenwood, and an additional drum piece on the b-side "Pearly*".

Although all members of the band are credited equally for all songs, Ed is not usually involved in songwriting, apart from few notable exceptions, such as the opening riff on "Go To Sleep", which he wrote, and the riff that makes up the closing song on "The Bends", "Street Spirit (Fade Out)", which was also his. He mainly helps to expand on the musical framework created by Thom Yorke, and is known for his contributions to "Karma Police" (he created the effect that closes the song), "Lucky" (he created the effect that opens the song, and his backing vocals during the chorus are an integral part of the track) and "Treefingers" (his guitar chords were processed electronically to sound like ambient music). He also (not always exclusively) plays lead guitar on many of the post-The Bends songs including "Airbag", "Exit Music (for a film)", "Let Down", "Climbing Up The Walls", "No Surprises", "Lucky", "The Tourist", "How to Disappear Completely", "Packed Like Sardines", "Knives Out", "Dollars and Cents", "Scatterbrain", and the fan favourite b-side and live staple, "Talk Show Host". For an in-depth look into Ed's playing on OK Computer, if you listen to the album with earphones, Ed's parts come out of the left earphone and Jonny's parts come out of the right earphone on all but the first and last songs. Other parts come out of both earphones. This is presumably to mimic their on-stage set-up.

Work outside of Radiohead

Ed made contributions to a soundtrack project for the BBC drama series Eureka Street before recording Kid A. During sessions of Kid A and Amnesiac, Ed kept his fans up to date with an open diary posted on the band's website, providing the most in depth look at how those experimental albums were recorded. His most recent collaboration outside of Radiohead involved some guitar work on album of Asian Dub Foundation. He played on "1000 Mirrors" (with Sinéad O'Connor), "Blowback" and "Enemy of the enemy". He also played live with Neil Finn and various others in 7 Worlds Collide.

Ed and band mate Phil Selway had programming lessons with producer/engineer Phelan Kane at Tech Music Schools in London back in 2001.

Ed took guitar lessons at the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance [1] with guitar tutor Iain Scott.

Equipment

Guitars Effects These are pedals that have been identified over the years, Not all of these pedals may be used at one time. In 2006 a MIDI Controller possibly to rack Effects took the place of many Delays.

Amplifiers
  • VOX AC30 (2) (used for clean tones) most Modulation/Delay Pedals are used on this.
  • Mesa Boogie Dual Rectifier Trem-O-Verb (2) (used for the distorted tones)
  • VETTA II

External links

  • StringsReunited.com : Includes a regular blog by Plank, Radiohead technician, giving technical information.
  •  • [ e] Radiohead
Thom Yorke • Jonny Greenwood • Ed O'Brien • Colin Greenwood • Phil Selway
Discography
Albums: Pablo Honey • The Bends • OK Computer • Kid A • Amnesiac • Hail to the Thief • Seventh studio album
EPs: Manic Hedgehog • Drill • Itch • My Iron Lung • No Surprises/Running from Demons • Airbag/How Am I Driving? • I Might Be Wrong • COM LAG (2plus2isfive)
Singles: "Creep" • "Anyone Can Play Guitar" • "Pop Is Dead" • "Stop Whispering" • "My Iron Lung" • "High and Dry" • "Planet Telex" • "Fake Plastic Trees" • "Just" • "Street Spirit (Fade Out)" • "Lucky" • "Paranoid Android" • "Karma Police" • "No Surprises" • "Pyramid Song" • "Knives Out" • "There There" • "Go to Sleep" • "2 + 2 = 5"
DVDs: Live at the Astoria • 7 Television Commercials • Meeting People Is Easy • The Most Gigantic Lying Mouth of All Time
Related articles
Dead Air Space • Stanley Donwood • Nigel Godrich
Other projects
Jonny Greenwood: Bodysong • Jonny Greenwood Is the Controller
Thom Yorke: The Eraser • Spitting Feathers
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Oxford is a city and local government district in Oxfordshire, England, with a population of 134,248 (2001 census). It is home to the University of Oxford, the oldest university in the English-speaking world.
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Radiohead are an English rock band. Initially formed in Oxfordshire in 1986, the band's lineup, which has remained the same since their inception, consists of Thom Yorke, Jonny Greenwood, Ed O'Brien, Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway.
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The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, and twelve string guitars also exist.
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harmony is the use and study of pitch simultaneity, and therefore chords, actual or implied, in music. The study of harmony may often refer to the study of harmonic progressions, the movement from one pitch simultaneity to another, and the structural principles that govern such
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Steven Patrick Morrissey (IPA: /moʊɹ.ɪs.i/) (born May 22, 1959) is an English singer and songwriter from Manchester, England.

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An effects pedal (or a "stomp box") is an electronic effects unit housed in a small metal or plastic chassis used by musicians, usually electric guitar players to modify their guitar sound.
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The Kaoss Pad is a touchpad MIDI controller, sampler, and effects processor for audio and musical instruments made by Korg.

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Jonathan "Jonny" Richard Guy Greenwood (born November 5, 1971 in Oxford), is a musician and a member of Radiohead. Greenwood is a multi-instrumentalist and also serves as the band's lead guitarist.
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keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano, which is used in nearly all forms of western music. Other widely used keyboard instruments include various types of organs as well as other mechanical,
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modular synthesizer is a type of synthesizer consisting of separate modules which must be connected by wires (patch cords) to create a so-called patch. These synthesizers are very flexible. Every output generates an electric current of variable voltage.
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The ondes Martenot (IPA: [õd maʀtəno]; French for "Martenot waves"; also known as the ondium Martenot, Martenot and ondes musicales) is an early electronic musical instrument with a keyboard and slide, invented in 1928 by Maurice Martenot and
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Hail to the Thief
(2003) In Rainbows
(2007)

Hail to the Thief (subtitled The Gloaming) is the sixth studio album by English rock band Radiohead, released on 9 June 2003 in the United Kingdom and June 10, 2003, in the United States.
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Released 26 May 2003
Format CD, 12"
Recorded 2002
Genre Alternative
Length 5:23
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich, Radiohead
Peak chart positions
  • 1 (Canada)
  • 4 (UK Singles Chart)

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Released 18 August 2003
Format CD, 12"
Recorded 2002
Genre Alternative rock
Length 3:21
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich, Radiohead
Peak chart positions
  • # 12 (UK Singles Chart)

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The Bends
(1995) OK Computer
(1997)

The Bends, released on 13 March 1995 in the United Kingdom and on 4 April 1995 in the United States, is the second studio album released by the English rock band Radiohead.
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Released 16 June 1997
Recorded 1996, 1997
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:19
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich with Radiohead
OK Computer track listing
  1. "Airbag"
  2. "Paranoid Android"

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"Treefingers"

Song by Radiohead
from the album Kid A
Released 2 October 2000
Recorded January 1999–April 2000
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The Bends
(1995) OK Computer
(1997)

The Bends, released on 13 March 1995 in the United Kingdom and on 4 April 1995 in the United States, is the second studio album released by the English rock band Radiohead.
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An airbag, A.K.A. a Supplementary Restraint System (SRS), an Air Cushion Restraint System (ACRS), or the Supplemental Inflatable Restraint (SIR) is a flexible
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Released 16 June 1997
Recorded 1996, 1997
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:25
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich with Radiohead
OK Computer track listing
  1. "Airbag"
  2. "Paranoid Android"

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Released 16 June 1997
Recorded 1996, 1997
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:59
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich with Radiohead
OK Computer track listing
  1. "Airbag"
  2. "Paranoid Android"

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Released 16 June 1997
Recorded 1996, 1997
Genre Alternative rock
Length 4:45
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich with Radiohead
OK Computer track listing
  1. "Airbag"
  2. "Paranoid Android"

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Released 12 January 1998
Format CD, 12", Cassette
Genre Alternative rock
Length 3:49
Label Parlophone
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich, Radiohead
Peak chart positions
  • #4 (UK Singles Chart)

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LUCKY(ラッキー) is the mascot character of Japanese professional baseball team, Hanshin Tigers. With her boyfriend TO LUCKY, she cheers up the team and entertains funs and audiences of every game. Her uniform number is 1994.
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Released 16 June 1997
Recorded 1996, 1997
Genre Alternative rock
Length 5:25
Label Parlophone
Writer(s) Jonny Greenwood
Producer(s) Nigel Godrich with Radiohead
OK Computer track listing
  1. "Airbag"

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"How to Disappear Completely"

Song by Radiohead
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