Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968, in
Oxford,
England) is a member of
Radiohead. He plays
guitar and is responsible for
harmony vocals during live concerts and on many tracks from the band's albums (with
drummer Phil Selway). He has also played guitar and provided backing vocals for the
7 Worlds Collide project.
He was ranked number 59 on Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".
Radiohead
O'Brien 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 (he along with
Jonny Greenwood uses the Korg
Kaoss Pad). As well as being a self-taught guitarist, he is an accomplished drummer; though his only drum contributions for Radiohead to date have been the auxiliary drums on
Hail to the Thief track "
There There", a task he shared with Greenwood, and an additional drum piece on the b-side
Pearly*.
Although all members of the band are credited equally for all songs, O'Brien is not usually involved in songwriting. Notable exceptions include the opening riff on the songs "
Go to Sleep", and the riff that makes up the closing song on The Bends, "
Street Spirit (Fade Out)". He has also written the instrumental "
Meeting in the Aisle", "
Lull", and the music to "Big Boots".
He mainly helps to expand on the musical framework created by Thom Yorke, and is known for his contributions to "
Karma Police", (creating 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).
During live shows, he provides
backing vocals to many songs including "
Blow Out", "
Street Spirit (Fade Out)", "
Black Star", "
Paranoid Android", "
No Surprises", "
Lucky", "
Electioneering", "
The Tourist", "
Karma Police", "
Idioteque", "
Morning Bell", "
You And Whose Army?", "
Dollars and Cents", "
2+2=5", "
Sit Down. Stand Up.", "
I Will", "
The Gloaming", "
There There", "
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", and "
Reckoner".
He (not always exclusively) plays lead guitar on many of the post-
The Bends songs including "
Let Down", "
Climbing Up The Walls", "
No Surprises", "
How to Disappear Completely", "
Morning Bell", "
The National Anthem", "
Packt Like Sardines in a Crushd Tin Box", "
Dollars and Cents", "
Sail to the Moon", "
Where I End and You Begin", "
Myxomatosis", "
Bodysnatchers", "
Videotape", "
Weird Fishes/Arpeggi", "
All I Need", and the fan-favourite b-side "
Talk Show Host".
Work outside Radiohead
O'Brien made contributions to a soundtrack project for the
BBC drama series
Eureka Street before recording
Kid A. During sessions for
Kid A and
Amnesiac, he kept fans up to date with an open diary posted on the , providing the most in-depth look at how those experimental albums were recorded. His most recent collaboration outside Radiohead involved guitar work on an
Asian Dub Foundation album; he played on "1000 Mirrors" (with
Sinéad O'Connor), "Blowback" and "Enemy of the Enemy".
O'Brien has toured and recorded with
Neil Finn as part of the 7 Worlds Collide project. He provided guitar and backing vocals on their eponymous
2001 live album, and reprised his role on their 2009 studio album,
The Sun Came Out, where he also co-wrote two tracks.
O'Brien and bandmate
Phil Selway had programming lessons with producer/engineer
Phelan Kane at
Tech Music Schools in London in 2001, and the same two band members also joined the
7 Worlds Collide project.
Personal life
O'Brien lives with his wife Susan Cobrin, who works for
Amnesty International, in
London. The couple have a son, Salvador, born in January 2004 and daughter, Oona, born in early 2006.
He is the tallest member of
Radiohead, standing at 6' 5" or 195 cm (no other band members exceed 6 feet tall).
Equipment
Guitars- "Plank" guitar (custom built to Ed's specifications)
Effects- BOSS DD-5 Digital Delay (4)
- BOSS RV-3 Digital Reverb/Delay
- BOSS FV-300H (now replaced with FV-500H)
- Roland Space Echo (used pre-OK Computer)
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)
- Fender Super-Sonic 112 combo, fed into a Super-Sonic 212 cabinet (seen used in the thumbs_down webcast).
