World is a common name for the whole of human civilization, specifically human experience, history, or the human condition in general, ''worldwide'', i.e. anywhere on Earth.

In a philosophical context it may refer to: (1) the whole of the physical Universe, or (2) an ontological world (''see world disclosure''). In a theological context, ''world'' usually refers to the material or the profane sphere, as opposed to the celestial, spiritual, transcendent or sacred. The "end of the world" refers to scenarios of the final end of human history, often in religious contexts.

World history is commonly understood as spanning the major geopolitical developments of about five millennia, from the first civilizations to the present.

World population is the sum of all human populations at any time; similarly, world economy is the sum of the economies of all societies (all countries), especially in the context of globalization. Terms like world championship, gross world product, world flags etc. also imply the sum or combination of all current-day sovereign states.

In terms such as world religion, world language, and world war, ''world'' suggests international or intercontinental scope without necessarily implying participation of the entire world.

In terms such as world map and world climate, ''world'' is used in the sense detached from human culture or civilization, referring to the planet Earth physically.

Etymology and usage

The English word ''world'' comes from the Old English ''weorold (-uld), weorld, worold (-uld, -eld)'', a compound of ''wer'' "man" and ''eld'' "age," which thus means roughly "Age of Man." The Old English is a reflex of the Common Germanic ''*wira-alđiz'', also reflected in Old Saxon ''werold'', Old High German ''weralt'', Old Frisian ''warld'' and Old Norse ''verǫld'' (whence the Icelandic ''veröld'').

The corresponding word in Latin is ''mundus'', literally "clean, elegant", itself a loan translation of Greek ''cosmos'' "orderly arrangement." While the Germanic word thus reflects a mythological notion of a "domain of Man" (compare Midgard), presumably as opposed to the divine sphere on the one hand and the chthonic sphere of the underworld on the other, the Greco-Latin term expresses a notion of creation as an act of establishing order out of chaos.

'World' distinguishes the entire planet or population from any particular country or region: ''world affairs'' pertain not just to one place but to the whole world, and ''world history'' is a field of history that examines events from a global (rather than a national or a regional) perspective. ''Earth'', on the other hand, refers to the planet as a physical entity, and distinguishes it from other planets and physical objects.

'''World''' can also be used attributively, to mean 'global', 'relating to the whole world', forming usages such as world community or world canonical texts.

By extension, a '''world''' may refer to any planet or heavenly body, especially when it is thought of as inhabited, especially in the context of science fiction or futurology.

'''World''', in original sense, when qualified, can also refer to a particular domain of human experience.

The ''world of work'' describes paid work and the pursuit of career, in all its social aspects, to distinguish it from home life and academic study.

The ''fashion world'' describes the environment of the designers, fashion houses and consumers that make up the fashion industry.

historically, the ''New World'' vs. the ''Old World'', referring to the parts of the world colonized in the wake of the age of discovery. Now mostly used in zoology and botany, as New World monkey.

Philosophy

In philosophy, the term world has several possible meanings. In some contexts, it refers to everything that makes up reality or the physical universe. In others, it can mean have a specific ontological sense (see world disclosure). While clarifying the concept of world has arguably always been among the basic tasks of Western philosophy, this theme appears to have been raised explicitly only at the start of the twentieth century and has been the subject of continuous debate. The question of what the world is has by no means been settled.

;Parmenides The traditional interpretation of Parmenides' work is that he argued that the every-day perception of reality of the physical world (as described in doxa) is mistaken, and that the reality of the world is 'One Being' (as described in aletheia): an unchanging, ungenerated, indestructible whole.

;Plato In his Allegory of the Cave, Plato distingues between forms and ideas and imagines two distinct worlds : the sensible world and the intelligible world.

;Hegel In Hegel's philosophy of history, the expression ''Weltgeschichte ist Weltgericht'' (World History is a tribunal that judges the World) is used to assert the view that History is what judges men, their actions and their opinions. Science is born from the desire to transform the World in relation to Man; its final end is technical application.

;Schopenhauer ''The World as Will and Representation'' is the central work of Arthur Schopenhauer. Schopenhauer saw the human will as our one window to the world behind the representation; the Kantian thing-in-itself. He believed, therefore, that we could gain knowledge about the thing-in-itself, something Kant said was impossible, since the rest of the relationship between representation and thing-in-itself could be understood by analogy to the relationship between human will and human body.

;Wittgenstein Two definitions that were both put forward in the 1920s, however, suggest the range of available opinion. "The world is everything that is the case," wrote Ludwig Wittgenstein in his influential ''Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus'', first published in 1922. This definition would serve as the basis of logical positivism, with its assumption that there is exactly one world, consisting of the totality of facts, regardless of the interpretations that individual people may make of them.

;Heidegger Martin Heidegger, meanwhile, argued that "the surrounding world is different for each of us, and notwithstanding that we move about in a common world". The world, for Heidegger, was that into which we are always already "thrown" and with which we, as beings-in-the-world, must come to terms. His conception of "world disclosure" was most notably elaborated in his 1927 work ''Being and Time''.

;Freud In response, Freud proposed that we do not move about in a common world, but a common thought process. He believed that all the actions of a person are motivated by one thing: lust. This led to numerous theories about reactionary consciousness.

;Other Some philosophers, often inspired by David Lewis, argue that metaphysical concepts such as possibility, probability and necessity are best analyzed by comparing ''the'' world to a range of possible worlds; a view commonly known as modal realism.

Religion and mythology

Mythological cosmologies often depict the world as centered around an axis mundi and delimited by a boundary such as a world ocean, a world serpent or similar.

See also

Globe

List of sovereign states

Universe

References

External links

Category:Earth

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name	Billy Connolly
birth name	William Connolly, Jr.
birth date	November 24, 1942
birth place	Anderston, Glasgow, Scotland , United Kingdom
medium	Stand-up, television, film, music
nationality	Scottish
active	1965–present
genre	Observational comedy, Musical comedy
subject	Everyday life, sex, religion, old age, Scottish culture
influences	Chic Murray
influenced	Eddie Izzard, Craig Ferguson, Ross Noble
spouse	Iris Pressagh (1969–1985) (divorced)Pamela Stephenson (1989–present)
website	BillyConnolly.com

}} William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE (born 24 November 1942) is a British comedian, musician, presenter and actor born in Scotland. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname ''The Big Yin'' (The Big One). His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder (specifically a boilermaker) in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade to pursue a career as a folk singer in the Humblebums and subsequently as a soloist. In the early 1970s he made the transition from folk-singer with a comedic persona to full-fledged comedian, a role in which he continues. He also became an actor, and has appeared in such films as ''Indecent Proposal'' (1993); ''Mrs. Brown'' (1997), for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; ''The Boondock Saints'' (1999); ''The Man Who Sued God'' (2001); ''Water'' (1985); ''The Last Samurai'' (2003); ''Timeline'' (2003); ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (2004); ''Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties'' (2006); and ''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'' (2008). Connolly reprised his role as Noah "Il Duce" MacManus in ''Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day''. Connolly appears as the King of Lilliput in the 2010 remake of ''Gulliver′s Travels''.

Early life

Connolly was born at 69 Dover Street ("on the linoleum, three floors up" "at six o'clock in the evening") in Anderston, Glasgow, to William Connolly and his wife Mary (McLean) Connolly, a hospital cafeteria worker. Connolly's grandfather was an Irish immigrant. In 1946, when he was barely four years old, Connolly's mother abandoned her children when his father was still away in the army. Connolly and his sister, Florence, were cared for by two aunts, Margaret and Mona Connolly, his father's sisters. His biography, written by wife Pamela Stephenson, documented years of physical and sexual abuse by his father, which began when he was ten and lasted until he was about fifteen.

"Twice in my life, two birds have flown in and made a huge difference," explained Connolly in 1996. When he was seven, the Connolly family went to Rothesay on holiday. He was sent to get some milk and bread rolls. On his way back with his hands full, a bird landed on his head. Connolly immediately thought God had called him and "nearly had a coronary". "It was a jackdaw, and I didn't know you could teach jackdaws to speak. But I was walking along, and this thing landed on my head and said hello. I nearly passed away. I learned subsequently that it was a tame bird, and we became friends and I got used to the idea: the bird would land on me and I was quite happy. My life had changed forever." Connolly said the second "bird" was Brett Whiteley, an Australian artist he met through Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits in the 1980s.

Between the ages of fourteen and twenty, Connolly was brought up in a tenement in the Anderston district of Glasgow. He later lived in Partick. Connolly still supports football club Partick Thistle. Connolly has wryly observed that many people think that the name of the club is "Patrick Thistle nil".

He attended St. Peter's Primary School in Glasgow and St. Gerard's Secondary School in Govan. At age 12, Connolly decided he wanted to become a comedian but did not think he fitted the mould, feeling he needed to become more "windswept and interesting". At 15, he left school with two engineering qualifications, one collected by mistake which belonged to a boy named Connell.

Connolly was a year too young to work in the shipyards. He became a delivery boy until he was sixteen, when he was deemed overqualified (due to his J1 and J2 certificates) to become an engineer. Instead, he worked as a boilermaker at Alexander Stephen and Sons Shipyard in Linthouse.

Connolly also joined the Territorial Army Reserve 15th (Scottish) Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (15 PARA). He later commemorated his experiences in the song "Weekend Soldier").

Career

Origin of "The Big Yin"

Connolly's ''The Big Yin'' nickname was first used during his adolescent years to differentiate between himself and his father. "My father was a very strong man. Broad and strong. He had an 18½-inch neck collar. Huge, like a bull. He was "Big Billy" and I was "Wee Billy". And then I got bigger than him, and the whole thing got out of control. And then I became ''The Big Yin'' in Scotland. So, we'd go into the pub and someone would say, 'Billy Connolly was in.' 'Oh, Big Billy or Wee Billy?' 'The Big Yin.' 'Oh, Wee Billy.' If you were a stranger, you'd think, 'What are these people talking about?'"

1960s

In 1966, after he had completed a five-year apprenticeship as a boilermaker, Connolly accepted a ten-week job building an oil platform in Nigeria. Upon his return to Scotland, he worked at John Brown & Company, but focused increasingly on being a folk singer.

Connolly's career as a folk singer led to him forming a folk-pop duo called The Humblebums with Tam Harvey. After recording one album, Harvey left the partnership and was replaced by future rock star Gerry Rafferty. Connolly’s time with Rafferty possibly influenced his future comedy as years later he would recall how Rafferty’s expert prank telephone calls, made while waiting to go on stage, used to make him "scream" with laughter. The Connolly-Rafferty version of The Humblebums recorded two more albums for independent record label Transatlantic Records. The albums were not big commercial successes but enjoyed cult status and critical acclaim. Connolly's contributions were primarily straightforward pop-folk with quirky and whimsical lyrics, but he had not especially focused on comedy at this point.

In 1970, the Humblebums broke up, with Rafferty going on to record a solo album: ''Can I Have My Money Back'' (1971). Connolly returned to being a folk singer. His live performances featured folk songs with humorous introductions that became increasingly long in duration.

The head of Transatlantic Records, Nat Joseph, who had signed The Humblebums and had nurtured their career, was concerned that Connolly find a way to develop a distinctive solo career just as his former bandmate, Gerry Rafferty, was doing. Joseph saw several of Connolly's performances and noted his comedic skills. Joseph had successfully nurtured the recording career of another Scottish folk entertainer, Hamish Imlach, and saw potential in Connolly following a similar path. He suggested to Connolly that he drop the folk-singing and focus primarily on becoming a comedian. It was a life-changing suggestion.

1970s

In 1972, Joseph produced Connolly's first solo album, ''Billy Connolly Live!'', a mixture of comedic songs and short monologues that hinted at what was to follow. In late 1973, Joseph produced the breakthrough album that propelled Connolly to British stardom. Recorded at a small venue, The Tudor Hotel in Airdrie, the record was a double album titled ''Solo Concert''. Releasing a live double-album by a comedian who was virtually unknown (except to a cult audience in Glasgow) was an unusual gambit by Joseph but his faith in Connolly's talent was justified. Joseph and his marketing team, which included publicist Martin Lewis, successfully promoted the album to chart success on its release in 1974. It featured one of Connolly's most famous comedy routines: "The Crucifixion", in which he likens Christ's Last Supper to a drunken night out in Glasgow. The recording was banned by many radio stations at the time. Building on his cult Scottish following, they broke Connolly throughout the UK – an unusual development for a regional comedian.

In 1975, the rapidity and extent of Connolly's breakthrough was used to secure him a booking on Britain's premier TV talk show, the BBC's ''Parkinson''. Connolly made the most of the opportunity and told a bawdy joke about a man who had murdered his wife and buried her bottom-up so he'd have somewhere to park his bike. This ribald humour was unusually forthright on a primetime Saturday night on British television in the mid-1970s, and his appearance made a great impact. He became a good friend of the host, Michael Parkinson, and now holds the record for appearances on the programme, having been a guest on fifteen occasions. Referring to that debut appearance, he later said: "That programme changed my entire life." Parkinson, in the documentary ''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'', stated that people still remember Connolly telling the punchline to the 'bike joke' three decades after that TV appearance. When asked about the material, Connolly stated, "Yes, it was incredibly edgy for its time. My manager, on the way over, warned me not to do it, but it was a great joke and the interview was going so well, I thought, 'Oh, fuck that!!' I don't know where I got the courage in those days, but Michael did put confidence in me." Connolly's UK success spread to other English-speaking countries: Australia, New Zealand and Canada. However, his broad Scottish accent and British cultural references made success in the US improbable.

His increased profile led to contact with other individuals, including musicians such as Elton John. John at that time was trying to assist British performers whom he personally liked to achieve success in the US (he had released records in the US by veteran British pop singer Cliff Richard on his own Rocket Records label.) John tried to give Connolly a boost in America by using him as the opening act on his 1976 US tour. But the well-intentioned gesture was a failure. Elton John's American fans had no interest in being warmed-up by an unknown comedic performer – especially a Scotsman whose accent they found incomprehensible. "In Washington, some guy threw a pipe and it hit me right between my eyes", he told Michael Parkinson two years later. "It wasn't my audience. They made me feel about as welcome as a fart in a spacesuit."

Connolly continued to grow in popularity in the UK. In 1975 he signed with Polydor Records. Connolly continued to release live albums and he also recorded several comedic songs that enjoyed commercial success as novelty singles including parodies of Tammy Wynette's song "D.I.V.O.R.C.E." (which he performed on ''Top of the Pops'' in December 1975) and the Village People's "In the Navy" (titled "In the Brownies").

In 1979, Connolly was invited by producer Martin Lewis to join the cast of ''The Secret Policeman's Ball'', the third in the series of the ''Secret Policeman's Ball'' fundraising shows for Amnesty International. Connolly was the first comedic performer in the series who was not an alumnus of the ''Oxbridge'' school of middle-class university-educated entertainers and he made the most of his appearance. His performance was considered to be one of the highlights of the show's comedy album (released by Island Records in December 1979) and feature film (released by ITC Films in 1980). Appearing in the company of long-established talents such as John Cleese and Peter Cook helped elevate the perception of Connolly as one of Britain's leading comedic talents. Lewis also teamed Connolly with Cleese and Cook to appear in the television commercial for the album.

1980s

In 1981, John Cleese and Martin Lewis invited Connolly to appear in that year's Amnesty show, ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball''. Connolly's performance was again reported as one of the highlights of the show and he was prominently featured in the subsequent comedy album (Springtime!/Island Records 1981) and UK film (UIP 1982). The commercial success of the special US version of ''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' film (Miramax Films 1982) introduced Connolly to a wider American audience, who were attracted to the film because of the presence of Monty Python members. His on-screen presence alongside these performers – who were already familiar to Anglophile comedy buffs – helped lay down a marker for Connolly's eventual return to the US in his own right eight years later.

In 1985, he divorced Iris Pressagh, his wife of sixteen years (they had separated four years earlier after living together in Drymen). He was awarded custody of their two children. That same year, he performed ''An Audience with...'', which was videotaped at the South Bank Television Centre in front of a celebrity audience for ITV. The uncut, uncensored version was subsequently released on video. In July 1985 he performed at the Wembley leg of Live Aid, immediately preceding Elton John.

In 1986 he visited Mozambique to appear in a documentary for Comic Relief. He also featured in the charity's inaugural live stage show, both as a stand-up and portraying a willing 'victim' in his partner Pamela Stephenson's act of sawing a man in half to create two dwarves.

Connolly completed his first world tour in 1987, including six nights at the Royal Albert Hall in London, which was documented in the ''Billy and Albert'' video.

When the Fox Network aired ''Freedomfest: Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebration'' in 1988, Connolly was still virtually unknown in the States, but his performance drew attention, particularly from producers, and interest in him grew.

In 1988, Connolly's father died after a stroke, the eighth of his life. His mother died four years later of motor neurone disease. She was living in Dunoon at that point.

On 20 December 1989, in Fiji, Connolly married Pamela Stephenson, the New Zealand-born comedy actress he had met when making a cameo appearance on the BBC sketch show ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', in which she was one of four regular performers. He had been living with her since 1981. "Marriage to Pam didn't change me, it saved me," he later said. "I was going to die. I was on a downwards spiral and enjoying every second of it. Not only was I dying, but I was looking forward to it."

In October 1989, Connolly shaved off his trademark shaggy beard for a film role and he remained clean-shaven for several years.

1990s

Although Connolly had performed in North America as early as the 1970s, and had appeared in several movies that played in American theatres, he nonetheless remained relatively unknown until 1990 when he was featured in the HBO special ''Whoopi Goldberg and Billy Connolly in Performance'', produced by New York's Brooklyn Academy of Music. Goldberg introduced Connolly, and his performance has been cited as the moment that officially launched his career in the States. Soon after, Connolly succeeded Howard Hesseman as the star of the sitcom ''Head of the Class'' for the 1990–1991 season, but the series was cancelled during his tenure.

Connolly joined Frank Bruno and Ozzy Osbourne when singing 'The War Song of the Urpneys' in The Dreamstone.

The following year, Connolly and Stephenson moved to Los Angeles, and the family won green cards in the Morrison Visa Lottery. In 1991, Connolly received his first (and, to date, only) leading television role as the star of ''Billy'', another sitcom and a spin-off of ''Head of the Class''. It lasted only a half-season.

On 4 June 1992, Connolly performed his 25th-anniversary concert in Glasgow. Parts of the show, and its build-up, were documented in ''The South Bank Show'', which aired later in the year.

Connolly was dealt a blow in 1993 when his close friend and fishing partner, Jimmy Kent, died.

In early January 1994, Connolly began a 40-date ''World Tour of Scotland'', which would be broadcast by the BBC later in the year as a six-part series. It was so well received that the BBC signed him up to do a similar tour two years later, this time in Australia. The eight-part series followed Connolly on his custom-made Harley Davidson trike.

Also in 1995, Connolly recorded a BBC special, entitled ''A Scot in the Arctic'', in which he spends a week by himself in the Arctic Circle.

In 1997, Connolly starred with Judi Dench in ''Mrs. Brown'', in which he played John Brown, the favoured Scottish servant of Queen Victoria. He was nominated for a BAFTA Award and a BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.

In 1998, Connolly's best friend, Danny Kyle, died. "He was me dearest, dearest, oldest friend," Connolly explained to an Australian audience on his ''Greatest Hits'' compilation, released in 2001.

In November 1998, Connolly was the subject of a two-hour retrospective entitled ''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'', which included tributes from Judi Dench, Sean Connery, Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, and Eddie Izzard. The special was released on DVD in North America in 2004.

The following year, Connolly undertook a four-month, 59-date sellout tour of Australia and New Zealand. Later in the year, he completed a five-week, 25-date sellout run at London's Hammersmith Apollo. In 2000 he travelled to Canada for two weeks on a 13-date tour.

2000s

In 2000 Connolly starred in ''Beautiful Joe'' alongside Sharon Stone. The following year he completed the third in his "World Tour" BBC series, this time of ''England, Ireland and Wales'', which began in Dublin and ended in Plymouth. It was broadcast the following year.

Also in 2001, Pamela Stephenson's first biography of her husband, ''Billy'', was published. It outlines his career and life, including the sexual abuse by his father that lasted from his tenth to his fourteenth years. Much of the book is about Connolly the celebrity but the account of his early years provides a context for his humour and point of view. A follow-up, ''Bravemouth'', was published in 2003.

Connolly has also written several books, including ''Billy Connolly'' (late 1970s) and ''Gullible's Travels'' (early 1980s), both based upon his stage act, as well as books based upon some of his "World Tour" television series. He has stated that his comedy does not work on the printed page.

A fourth BBC series, ''World Tour of New Zealand'', was filmed in 2004 and aired that winter. Also in his 63rd year, Connolly performed two sold-out benefit concerts at the Oxford New Theatre in memory of Malcolm Kingsnorth, who for twenty-five years was Connolly's tour manager and sound engineer.

He has continued to be a much in demand character actor, appearing in several films such as ''White Oleander'' (2002), ''The Last Samurai'' (2003) and ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' (2004). He has also played an eclectic collection of leading roles in recent years, including a lawyer who undertakes a legal case of Biblical proportions in ''The Man Who Sued God'' (2001), and a young boy's pet zombie in ''Fido'' (2006).

In January 2005, Connolly came 8th in ''The Comedian's Comedian'', a poll voted for by fellow comedians and comedy insider and embarked on a major UK tour with 15 sold-out nights in Glasgow.

Also in 2005, Connolly and Stephenson announced, after fourteen years of living in Hollywood, they were returning to live in the former's native land. They purchased a yacht with the profits from their house-sale, and split the year between Malta and Candacraig House in Aberdeenshire.

Later in the year, Connolly topped an unscientific poll of "Britain's Favourite Comedian" conducted by TV network Five, placing him ahead of performers such as John Cleese, Ronnie Barker, Dawn French, and Peter Cook.

In 2006, Connolly revealed that he also has a house on the island of Gozo. He and his wife also have an apartment in New York City, near Union Square.

On 30 December 2007, Connolly escaped uninjured from a single-car accident on the A939 near the Scottish town of Ballater, Aberdeenshire.

In late February it was announced that Connolly would play ten shows in early April at the Post Street Theatre in San Francisco.

On 10 March 2008, tickets went on sale for Connolly's Irish tour, set to take place in May, June and July. He performed three shows in University Concert Hall, Limerick, ten shows at the Olympia Theatre, Dublin, five shows at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast and three shows at the Cork Opera House. They all sold out in a matter of hours. The tour also travelled to Kerry (two shows) and Mayo (two shows).

In October 2009 he played a tour of his homeland, and sold out everywhere, despite adding extra dates. He stated he was proud to have broken the computer system for Glasgow and Edinburgh, as they could not handle the rush for tickets. In Glasgow he was playing at SECC. The SECC was built near the site where his family had lived when he was a child.

In May 2011 Connolly suffered a broken rib and a gashed knee when his motor trike rolled on top of him while filming for the ITV travel documentary ''Billy Connolly's Route 66''. He returned to filming a week later.

Personal life

Connolly has been married to his second wife, comedian and psychologist Pamela Stephenson, since 1989. In the book ''Billy'', and in a December 2008 online interview, Connolly states he was sexually abused by his father between the ages of 10 and 15. He believes this was a result of the Catholic Church not allowing his father to divorce after his mother left the family. Due to this, Connolly has a "deep distrust and dislike of the Catholic church and any other organization that brainwashes people". In a 1999 interview with ''The Sunday Herald'' Connolly condemned the SNP as "racist" and the new Scottish parliament as a "joke".

Connolly has two siblings: an older sister, Florence, who is a retired school-teacher, and a younger brother, Michael; he has referred to both in his stand-up routines. He is also the father to five children: two from his first marriage and three from his second.

Controversy

Kenneth Bigley joke

In October 2004, during an 18-night stint at London's Hammersmith Apollo, Connolly was criticised for making jokes about the hostage Kenneth Bigley. Shortly after Connolly joked about the future killing of the hostage and touched on the subject of Bigley’s young Thai wife, Bigley was beheaded in Iraq. Connolly claims he was misquoted. He has declined to clarify what he actually said, claiming that the context was as important as the precise words used.

Support for charity

Connolly is a patron of the National Association for Bikers with a Disability.

Folk music

In 1965, together with Tam Harvey, Connolly started a group called the Humblebums. At their first gig, Connolly reportedly introduced them both to the audience by saying, "My name's Billy Connolly, and I'm humble. This is Tam Harvey, he's a bum." The band would later include Gerry Rafferty. After Harvey left the group, Connolly and Rafferty continued as a duo and the latter two of their three albums featured just that duo. Connolly sang, played five-string banjo, guitar and autoharp, and at live shows entertained the audience with his humorous introductions to the songs.

Frank Bruno and Billy Connolly provided lead vocals on The War Song of the Urpneys from The Dreamstone, although the version heard in the series was largely sung by composer Mike Batt.

In his ''World Tour of Scotland'', Connolly reveals that at a trailer show during the Edinburgh Festival, the Humblebums took to the stage just before the late Yehudi Menuhin.

The Humblebums broke up in 1971 and both Connolly and Rafferty went solo. Connolly's first solo album in 1972, ''Billy Connolly Live!'' on Transatlantic Records, featured him as a singer/songwriter.

His early albums were a mixture of comedy performances with comedic and serious musical interludes. Among his best known musical performances were "The Welly Boot Song", a parody of the Scottish folk song "The Wark O' The Weavers," which became his theme song for several years; "In the Brownies", a parody of the hit Village People song "In the Navy" (for which Connolly filmed a music video); "Two Little Boys in Blue", a tongue-in-cheek indictment of police brutality done to the tune of Rolf Harris' "Two Little Boys"; and the ballad "I Wish I Was in Glasgow," which Connolly would later perform in duet with Malcolm McDowell on a guest appearance on the 1990s American sitcom ''Pearl'' (which starred Rhea Perlman). He also performed the occasional Humblebums-era song such as "Oh, No!" as well as straightforward covers such as a version of Dolly Parton's "Coat of Many Colors," which was included on his ''Get Right Intae Him!'' album.

In November 1975, his spoof of the Tammy Wynette song "D-I-V-O-R-C-E" was a UK No. 1 single for one week. Wynette's original was about parents spelling out words of an impending marital split to avoid traumatising their young child. Connolly's spoof of the song played on the fact that many dog owners use the same tactic when they do not wish their pet to become upset about an impending trip to the vet. Connolly's song is about a couple whose marriage is ruined by a bad vet visit (spelling out "W-O-R-M" or "Q-U-A-R-A-N-T-I-N-E", for example.) His song "No Chance" was a parody of J. J. Barrie's cover of the song "No Charge".

In 1985 he sang the theme song to ''Super Gran'', which was released as a single and in 1996 he performed a cover of Ralph McTell's "'In the Dreamtime" as the theme to his ''World Tour of Australia''. By the late 1980s, Connolly had all but dropped the music from his act, though he still records the occasional musical performance, such as a 1980s recording of his composition "Sergeant, Where's Mine?" with The Dubliners. In 1998 he covered The Beatles' "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" on the George Martin tribute album, ''In My Life''. Most recently, he sang a song during the film ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events''. And in 1995 and 2005, he released two albums of instrumental performances ''Musical Tour of Scotland'' and ''Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand'', respectively.

Connolly is among the artists featured on ''Banjoman'', a tribute to American folk musician Derroll Adams, released in 2002. He plays one song, "The Rock".

Stand-up comedy

It is as a stand-up comedian that Connolly is best known. His observational comedy is idiosyncratic and often off-the-cuff. He has outraged certain sectors of audiences, critics and the media with his free use of the word "fuck". He has made jokes relating to masturbation, blasphemy, defecation, flatulence, haemorrhoids, sex, his father's illness, his aunts' cruelty and, in the latter stages of his career, old age (specifically his experiences of growing old). In 2007 and again in 2010, he was voted the greatest stand-up comic on Channel 4's 100 Greatest Stand-Ups.

Discography

A partial list of musical and comedic recordings:

1972 - ''Billy Connolly Live''

1974 - ''Cop Yer Whack for This''

1974 - ''Solo Concert''

1975 - ''Get Right Intae Him!

1975 - ''Words and Music''

1975 - ''The Big Yin''

1976 - ''Atlantic Bridge''

1977 - ''Billy Connolly''

1977 - ''Raw Meat for the Balcony!''

1978 - ''Anthology''

1979 - ''Riotous Assembly''

1981 - ''The Pick of Billy Connolly'' (compilation)

1983 - ''A Change is Good as Arrest''

1983 - ''In Concert''

1984 - ''Big Yin Double Helping'' (compilation)

1985 - ''An Audience With Billy Connolly''

1985 - ''Wreck on Tour''

1987 - ''Billy & Albert''

1991 - ''Live at the Odeon Hammersmith London''

1995 - ''Musical Tour of Scotland''

1999 - ''Comedy and Songs'' (compilation)

1999 - ''One Night Stand Down Under''

2002 - ''The Big Yin - Billy Connolly in Concert'' (compilation)

2003 - ''Transatlantic Years'' (compilation of material recorded between 1969 and 1974)

2005 - ''Billy Connolly's Musical Tour of New Zealand''

2007 - ''Live in Concert''

2010 - ''The Man'' Live in London, recorded January 2010

The above list does not include at least two albums recorded with the Humblebums prior to 1972, and only includes a sampling of the many reissues and compilations released over the years.

Playwright

Connolly has written three plays:

''An' Me Wi' A Bad Leg Tae'' (1975)

''When Hair Was Long And Time Was Short'' (1977)

''Red Runner'' (1979)

Film actor

Connolly has often joked about the regularity of the deaths of the characters he portrays in movies. "If you want to see me in a movie, you have to hurry to the theatre, because I usually die in the first fifteen minutes. I'm never in the sequel." Connolly also claims to be the only man to ever die in a Muppet movie. Notable film appearances include ''Absolution'' (1978) with Richard Burton, and ''Mrs Brown'' (1997) with Judi Dench.

Filmography

Year

Title

align="center"

1975

Television Movies

*''Just Another Saturday'' as Paddy

align="center"

1976

''Connolly'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''The Elephants' Graveyard'' as Jody

Documentaries/Specials

*''Big Banana Feet'' as Himself

align="center"

1978

''Absolution as Blakey

*''Billy Connolly in Concert'' as Himself

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1980

''The Secret Policeman's Ball (1979)>The Secret Policeman's Ball'' as Himself

*''Worzel Gummidge: A Cup o' Tea an' a Slice o' Cake as Bogle McNeep

align="center"

1981

''Billy Connolly Bites Yer Bum!'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

Cambodia>Kampuchea'' as Himself

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1982

''The Secret Policeman's Other Ball'' as Himself

*''The Pick of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''Blue Money'' as Des

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1983

''Bullshot (film)>Bullshot'' as Hawkeye McGillicuddy

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1984

Television

*''Tickle on the Tum''

Television Movies

*''Weekend in Wallop'' as Himself

align="center"

1985

''Water (1985 film)>Water'' as Delgado

*''An Audience with Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television

*''Supergran'' composer/singer of the theme song

Television Special

*''Live Aid'' as Himself

align="center"

1986

''To the North of Katmandu''

align="center"

1987

''The Hunting of the Snark (musical)>The Hunting of the Snark'' as The Bellman

*''Billy Connolly at the Royal Albert Hall'' as Himself

align="center"

1988

Documentaries/Specials

*''Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute'' as Himself

align="center"

1989

''The Return of the Musketeers'' as Caddie

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1990

''Whoopi Goldberg Presents Billy Connolly (HBO Standup Performance)'' as Himself

*''Crossing the Line'' (known in the UK as ''The Big Man'') as Frankie (for which he shaved off his trademark goatee)

Television

*''Head of the Class'' as Billy MacGregor (1990–1991)

Television Movies

*''Dreaming''

align="center"

1991

''Billy Connolly Live 1991'' as Himself

*''Pale Blue Scottish Person (HBO Standup Performance)'' as Himself

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1992

''25 B.C.: The Best of 25 Years of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Television

Billy (1992 TV series)>Billy'' as Billy MacGregor

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1993

''Indecent Proposal'' as the Auction MC

Television Movies

*''Down Among the Big Boys'' as Jo Jo Donnelly

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1994

''Billy Connolly Live 1994'' as Himself

Television

*''World Tour of Scotland'' as Himself

align="center"

1995

''Pocahontas (1995 film)>Pocahontas'' as Ben (voice)

*''Two Bites of Billy Connolly'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''A Scot in the Arctic'' as Himself

align="center"

1996

''Muppet Treasure Island'' as Billy Bones

Television

*''Pearl'' guest star and composer of "I Wish I Was in Glasgow" (1983) in the episode "Billy"

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of Australia'' as Himself

Video Games

*''Muppet Treasure Island'' as Billy Bones (voice)

align="center"

1997

''Beverly Hills Ninja'' as Japanese Antique Shop Proprietor

Mrs. Brown'' as John Brown (for which he was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA)

*''Paws as PC (voice)

*''Billy Connolly: Two Night Stand'' as Himself

Television Movies

*''Deacon Brodie'' as Deacon Brodie

Documentaries/Specials

*''Sean Connery, an Intimate Portrait'' as Himself

*''Sean Connery Close Up'' as Himself

*''Whatever Happened to... Clement and La Frenais?'' as Himself

align="center"

1998

''Still Crazy'' as Hughie

**also the composer of "Stealin'"

*''The Impostors'' as Mr. Sparks

*''Middleton's Changeling'' as Alibius

align="center"

1999

''Billy Connolly: One Night Stand Down Under''

*''The Boondock Saints'' as "Il Duce", A.K.A. Noah MacManus

*''The Debt Collector'' as Nickie Dryden

align="center"

2000

''An Everlasting Piece'' as Scalper

Beautiful Joe (film)>Beautiful Joe'' as Joe

Television Movies

*''Columbo: Murder with Too Many Notes'' as Findlay Crawford

align="center"

2001

''Gabriel and Me'' as Gabriel

*''The Man Who Sued God'' as Steve Myers

*''Who is Cletis Tout?'' as Dr. Savian

*''Billy Connolly Live: The Greatest Hits'' as Himself

Television Movies

Prince Charming (TV film)>Prince Charming'' as Hamish

*''Gentlemen's Relish'' as Kingdom Swann

Documentaries/Specials

*''Comic Relief: Say Pants to Poverty'' as Himself

*''Comic Relief Short Pants'' as Himself

align="center"

2002

''White Oleander (film)>White Oleander'' as Barry Kolker

*''Billy Connolly Live 2002'' as Himself

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of England, Ireland and Wales'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''Ultimate Fights from the Movies'' as Frankie from ''Crossing the Line''

British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''Judi Dench: A BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch''

align="center"

2003

''The Last Samurai'' as Sgt. Zebulon Gant

Timeline (film)>Timeline'' as Prof. E.A. Johnston

Documentaries/Specials

*''Billy Connolly: Erect for 30 Years'' as Himself

Julie Walters: A British Academy of Film and Television Arts>BAFTA Tribute'' as Himself

*''The Importance of Being Famous'' as Himself

*''Overnight'' as Himself

*''Comic Relief 2003: The Big Hair Do'' as Himself

align="center"

2004

''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' as Uncle Monty

Television

*''Billy Connolly's World Tour of New Zealand'' as Himself

Documentaries/Specials

*''Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time'' as #73

align="center"

2005

DVD

*''Billy Connolly: Live in New York''

Documentaries

*''Ivor Cutler: Looking for Truth with a Pin'' as Himself

The Aristocrats (film)>The Aristocrats'' as Himself

align="center"

2006

''Open Season (film)>Open Season'' as McSquizzy

*''Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties'' as Lord Dargis

Fido (film)>Fido'' as Fido

DVD

*''Billy Connolly: The Essential Collection'' as Himself

Documentaries

Fuck (film)>Fuck'' as Himself

align="center"

2007

DVD

*''Billy Connolly Live: Was it Something I Said?'' as Himself

align="center"

2008

''The X-Files: I Want to Believe'' as Father Joseph "Joe" Crissman

DVD

* Billy Connolly: Journey to the Edge of the World

align="center"

2008

''Open Season 2'' as McSquizzy

align="center"

2009

Television

ITV1, also aired Seven Network>Channel Seven in Australia)

*''Good Sharma'' as Reverend Webster

DVD

*''The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day'' as Noah MacManus, A.K.A. "Il Duce"

align="center"

2010

''Gulliver's Travels (2010 film)>Gulliver's Travels'' as King of Lilliput

align="center"

2010

Television

* ''Ben 10: Ultimate Alien'' as Captain Glowbeard (1 episode)

align="center"

2011

''Open Season 3'' as McSquizzy

* ''The Ballad of Nessie'' as Narrator

align="center"

2012

''Brave (2012 film)>Brave'' as King Fergus

Television guest appearances

''The South Bank Show'' on 13 May 1979

''Aspel & Company'' in episode (#2.11), 23 March 1985

''Minder'' as Tick Tack in episode \"Fatal Impression\" (#7.3), 16 January 1989

''The South Bank Show'' on 4 October 1992

''Late Show with David Letterman'' on 18 November 1993

''Clive James'' in episode (#1.3), 6 March 1994

''Pearl'' as William 'Billy' Pynchon in episode \"Billy Returns\" (#1.22), 25 June 1997 and episode \"Billy\" (#1.4), 30 September 1996

''Veronica's Closet'' as Campbell in \"Veronica's Got a Secret\" (#1.11), 8 January 1998

''Tracey Takes On...'' as Rory Cassidy in episode \"Culture\" (#3.9), 1 March 1998

''3rd Rock from the Sun'' as Inspector Macaffery one episode \"Dial M for Dick\" (#5.4), 9 November 1999

''Rove Live'' on 23 October 2001

''The Late Late Show'' on 17 October 2003

''Tinseltown TV'' on 6 December 2003

''Parkinson'' in 1975 and on 2 January 1978; 3 April 1982; 23 January 1998; 17 December 1999; 20 October 2001; 18 October 2003; 4 September 2004; 16 December 2007

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on 14 December 2004

''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' on 15 December 2004

''Last Call with Carson Daly'' on 22 December 2004

''Britain's Finest'' on episode \"Actresses\", 18 July 2005 and episode \"Actors\", 11 July 2005

''Real Time with Bill Maher'' on episode (#3.22), 28 October 2005

''Enough Rope'' on 20 February 2006

''The Daily Show with Jon Stewart'' on 10 May 2006

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 28 September 2006

''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' on 9 June 2007

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 2 November 2009

''The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson'' on 18 December 2010

Awards

Connolly was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Glasgow on 11 July 2001.

In 2003, the BAFTA presented him with a Lifetime Achievement award. Also in 2003, he received a CBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List.

On 4 July 2006, Connolly was awarded an honorary doctorate by Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) for his service to performing arts.

On 18 March 2007 and again on 11 April 2010, Connolly was named Number One in Channel 4's "100 Greatest Stand Ups".

On 22 July 2010, Connolly was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (DLitt) by Nottingham Trent University

On 20 August 2010, Connolly was made a Freeman of Glasgow with the award of the Freedom of the City of Glasgow.

Bibliography

References

External links

Connolly's official website

A ''Guardian'' interview with Connolly from 2001

"Enough Rope" interview with Andrew Denton; 20 February 2006

Connolly's interview with ''The Guardian'', September 2001

"A laugh a minute? Life with Billy Connolly" - CNN.com

Category:1942 births Category:Boilermakers Category:British Parachute Regiment soldiers Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Former Roman Catholics Category:Living people Category:People from Glasgow Category:Scottish banjoists Category:Scottish comedians Category:Scottish film actors Category:Scottish folk singers Category:Scottish people of Irish descent Category:Scottish stand-up comedians Category:Scottish television actors Category:Scottish voice actors

cs:Billy Connolly cy:Billy Connolly da:Billy Connolly de:Billy Connolly es:Billy Connolly eu:Billy Connolly fr:Billy Connolly ga:Billy Connolly it:Billy Connolly hu:Billy Connolly ms:Billy Connolly nl:Billy Connolly ja:ビリー・コノリー pl:Billy Connolly pt:Billy Connolly ru:Конолли, Билли sco:Billy Connolly sl:Billy Connolly fi:Billy Connolly sv:Billy Connolly

name	The Edge
background	solo_singer
birth name	David Howell Evans
birth date	August 08, 1961
Birth place	Barking, Essex, England, United Kingdom
origin	County Dublin, Ireland
instrument	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
genre	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, activist
years active	1976–present
label	Island, Mercury
associated acts	U2, Passengers
website
notable instruments	Gibson ExplorerFender StratocasterGibson Les PaulFender TelecasterGretsch Country GentlemanGretsch White FalconRickenbacker 330/12 }}

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge), is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's ''The Joshua Tree'' and 1991's ''Achtung Baby''. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record ''Zooropa'', and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, 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''. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital, Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans. When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band. The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change). U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, ''Boy'', was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay. During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved. Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday". The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983. The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989. The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.

In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999), before marrying on 22 June 2002. He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film ''It Might Get Loud''. The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California. The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location." The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.

Music style

Guitar playing

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.

On 1987's ''The Joshua Tree'', The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique. His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument. He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that." The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the ''Achtung Baby'' era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, ''Under a Blood Red Sky'' and ''Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky'' are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, ''U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle'' and ''Elevation 2001: Live from Boston''). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug". He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday). He also plays a solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary film ''From the Sky Down''.

Other instruments

He has played piano and 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. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film ''Captive'' (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of ''The Batman''. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film ''GoldenEye''. The Edge, along with bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled ''Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge'' was released digitally. The music video was released on July 28, 2011.

Musical equipment

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.

Philanthropy

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.

See also

List of people on stamps of Ireland

Timeline of U2

References

;Footnotes

;Bibliography

External links

U2.com, official U2 site

Music Rising

The Edge – Album Credits

A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay

The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'

Food Bank For New York City public service announcement

Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound

Category:Irish male singers Category:Irish rock guitarists Category:British male singers Category:British rock guitarists Category:Irish people of Welsh descent Category:People from County Dublin Category:People from Essex Category:People from Dalkey Category:Lead guitarists Category:Slide guitarists Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Golden Globe Award winning musicians Category:Backing vocalists Category:U2 members Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Pseudonymous musicians Category:Rock songwriters

bg:Дейв "Едж" Евънс ca:The Edge cs:The Edge da:The Edge de:The Edge et:The Edge es:The Edge eu:The Edge fr:The Edge ga:The Edge gl:The Edge hr:The Edge is:The Edge it:The Edge he:דה אדג' ka:The Edge lv:The Edge lt:The Edge hu:The Edge nl:The Edge (U2) ja:ジ・エッジ no:The Edge pl:The Edge pt:The Edge ro:The Edge ru:Эдж sq:The Edge simple:The Edge sl:David Howell Evans fi:The Edge (muusikko) sv:The Edge tr:The Edge uk:Едж zh:The Edge

Director of communications is a position in both the private and public sectors. A director of communications is responsible for managing and directing an organization's internal and external communications. Directors of communications supervise public relations staff, create communication strategies, and may serve as the key spokesman and media contacts for the organization.

A director of communications may also be called a public relations manager, communications director, or press secretary.

The director of communications usually reports directly to a CXO, including a chief communications officer (CCO) or chief executive officer (CEO) of a company or organization.

In an organization, the director of communications directs the Communications Department, sometimes called a Public Affairs Department. The director of communications may be assisted by a deputy director, clerical staff, and communications specialists and public affairs officers.

Communications in politics

In United States politics, a director of communications is usually a senior aide to the President of the United States (White House Communications Director), a member of the House of Representatives, a senator, a judge, a candidate for political office, a Cabinet secretary, or a government department. The current White House Director of Communications is Dan Pfeiffer.

In Canada and the United Kingdom, a director of communications is a senior aide to members of Parliament, members of the House of Lords, the prime minister, Cabinet ministers, and government departments. The current director of communications to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is Craig Oliver; the director of communications to the Prime Minister of Canada is Dimitri Soudas, to be succeeded by Angelo Persichilli in September 2011.

In Australia, the director of communications is a senior adviser to the Prime Minister. They manage the Prime Minister's communications office including Press Secretaries and Speechwriting staff. The current director of communications is Russell Mahoney.

In Nigeria the director of communications or special adviser on communications is a senior aide to the president, vice president, and senior members of the National Assembly.

In the Council of Europe, the director of communication plays a key role in the organisation, directly supporting the work of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe.

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Category:Business and financial operations occupations Category:Corporate governance Category:Government occupations Category:Management occupations *