U2 star The Edge has said he is suffering “survivors’ guilt” as dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdown has fairly easy for him.
The guitarist also said that it’s “remarkable” U2 are still together after 40 years and is proud the band have retained their connection with Ireland.
The Edge, real name David Evans, also stated that one of the benefits of being a famous rockstar was that it helped open doors and he said that he hopes he has used that privilege well.
The 59-year-old, who lives in Dalkey, in south Dublin, revealed that he has spent most of the Covid-19 lockdown working on new music and said he was “thankful” he didn’t have to expose himself to the killer bug due to work.
RELATIVELY PAINLESS
He said: “I feel like one of the really fortunate ones.
“I’m extremely thankful for the fact that I’m not a person who has to go to work in the public and expose themselves potentially to the virus.
“I’ve been able to lock down and be at home. And the home I have is a very nice home, so thank you to all the U2 fans that have supported our band over the years.”
He continued: “I’ve basically been doing what I normally would do during this cycle of U2, which is to work on new music and generate new ideas, a lot of exciting things.
“It’s been very challenging on levels, social levels and family members and friends that have been going through some difficult times.
“But on a personal level, I feel like I’m experiencing a little bit of survivors’ guilt almost because it’s been relatively painless for me I have to be honest.”
The iconic musician was speaking on Ciara’s Pink Sparkle Podcast – which is hosted by his cousin Ciara Lawrence, who uses the platform as a way to help challenge the stigma about people who have a learning disability.
STILL TOGETHER
Asked what is the best thing about U2 now, the rocker replied: “The obvious thing is we’re still together.
“Because it’s been 40 years plus of four men working together in an extremely close and interconnected way. So that’s pretty remarkable.
“Doesn’t mean it’s always easy, and we just finished five years of touring together so we’ve all been enjoying a little bit of a break to pursue our own personal projects and just recharge our own batteries so then we come back together we’re fully enthusiastic about the idea of working with U2. So that’s great.”
He added: “I think the way that being in a very successful group opens doors for other projects. I’m thinking a lot to do with the advocacy work that Bono does and we all do.
“It means it is possible to get a meeting with a president or prime minister. And if you have something to say, if you’ve got a project that you really are passionate about, that’s an incredible privilege, and I hope we’ve used that privilege well over the years. We’ve certainly tried to. So those are the obvious things.”
The Edge continued: “I think one of the things that’s great about our band is having started in Ireland, which is a fairly small community, having kind of conquer the world but then retained our connection with Ireland I think that’s also kind of important and maybe unique.
“That’s powerful and it’s something we’re very proud of.”
Bono and The Edge were centre stage at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on Friday night for a virtual performance for the opening ceremony of Euro 2020.
