Andrew Edge

Andrew Edge
Edge in Vienna, Austria, in 1996.
Background information
Birth name	David Andrew Edge
Born	8 December 1956
Origin	Swarcliffe, Leeds, England
Genres	Pop, dance, synthpop
Instruments	Percussion, guitar, keyboards, vocals
Labels	Arista Records Ten Records/Virgin Records EMI BMG
Associated acts	Thompson Twins, Viva Lula, Savage Progress, YOYO, Rainhard Fendrich
Website	Andrew Edge

Andrew Edge is a musician from Leeds, England who has played pop music, dance, synth pop and ballads. After playing in local Leeds jazz-rock bands and Working Men's Club bands, he moved to London in the late 1970s, and joined the Thompson Twins. After one year Edge left the group and joined Uropa Lula, who released three singles (on Arista Records) and supported Big Country on a tour of Britain. Edge then joined Savage Progress, who supported the Thompson Twins on a tour of Britain in 1984, and in the same year embarked on a tour of Germany, Switzerland and Austria, to support their album and single releases there.

Although a percussionist, Edge changed to vocals and writing songs after he moved from London to Linz, Austria. He started the group YOYO in 1990, signing with EMI records, before working with Robert Ponger (producer of Falco). Edge later released a solo album in 1996; Northern Sky, on BMG records (Austria). Edge released a CD in 2011 by the name of Drumsing, with percussionist Judy Klausner.

Leeds

Andrew Edge is the fifth child of Joseph Leonard Edge (b. 1926, d. 1986) and Audrey Edge, née Kirkbride (b. 1928), and grew up in Swarcliffe, East Leeds. He started playing drums at the age of 15; his first professional job being at the East Leeds Working Men's Club (now Seacroft Green Social Club), at weekends for £19 a week, playing every Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening for singers, or providing backing music. Edge took drum lessons from Leeds drummer Doug King, and also Geoff Myers, as Myers was a noted drum teacher in Leeds, and played with the big band Syd Lawrence Orchestra.^{[1][dead link]} Edge later worked with musicians from the Leeds College of Music in the group GPO (with Dave Cass, who later worked with Jive Bunny), as well as local Working Men's Club bands, like Street Choir.^[2] This involved playing as many as seven or eight performances a week, while also having a full-time job.^[3]

London

Edge moved to London in the late 1970s and played with a variety of groups.

The Thompson Twins

As the Thompson Twins drummer, "Pod" Podgorski, had decided to stay in Chesterfield, Tom Bailey (bass/vocals) Pete Dodd (guitar/vocals) and Jon Roog (guitar) auditioned for drummers at The Point Studio, 9 Eccleston Street, Victoria, London. Dick O'Dell (Disco Dell) the manager of The Pop Group and the Slits had a window-less office in the same building, next to the studio. Bailey, Dodd and Roog all lived in the south London boroughs of Lambeth and Stockwell (Bailey lived as a squatter in Lillieshall Road) and Edge lived in Marney Road, Clapham. Edge stayed with the Thompson Twins for a year when the band was still a quartet.^[4][5]

Uropa Lula

Uropa Lula/Viva Lula, 1982. Edge, Fromm, Lloyd, Dias

Edge later played drums for Uropa Lula (later called Viva Lula), with David Lloyd (voc/gtr), Allan Dias (bass), Pete Fromm (kybd) Carol Isaacs (kybd), and Chester Kamen (gtr) who is the brother of pop singer Nick Kamen.^[6] The group played a headlining tour of the Eastern United States for six weeks in early 1983, playing at The Ritz in New York (1 February 1982), Mudd Club (7 February 1982), and supporting Holly and the Italians at the Brooklyn Zoo (26 February 1982). Upon their return to the UK, on 2 June 1982 the group played at the Camden Palace (now called Koko), supported Big Country at the Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool (19 June 1982), and John Cale at the The Venue, Victoria, London (5 July 1982).

Uropa Lula toured with Big Country in June 1983: 12 June 1983, Swansea Brangwyn Hall. 13, Bath Pavilion. 14, St Austell Coliseum. 15, Salisbury City Hall. 16, Dunstable Queensway Hall. 17, Poole Arts Centre. 22, Llandudno Astra Theatre. 23, Redcar Coatham Bowl. 24, Hull City Hall. 25, Leeds Town Hall. 26, Oldham Queen Elizabeth. 27, Mansfield Leisure Centre, and 2 July 1983, Leicester De Montfort Hall.^[7]

Edge started using his middle name, Andrew, because the group's manager, Hilde Swendgaard, thought it would be too confusing to have two members of the same group called David. Arista Records released two singles by the group: Our Love Has Just Begun B/W I've Suddenly Remembered Something (ARIST476, 1982) as Uropa Lula.^[8] (Musicians: Lloyd, Fromm, Dias & Edge) Fell Upon A Jewel B/W She Appears to Vanish (ARIST498, 1983) as Uropa Lula. (Musicians: Lloyd, Dias, Edge, Isaacs and Kamen). Arista later dropped the group, and Edge joined Savage Progress.^[9]

Savage Progress

After signing a publishing contract with Rupert Merton's Point Music (the same publishing company as the Thompson Twins) Savage Progress signed a contract with 10 Records (a subsidiary of Virgin Records) and released their first single, "My Soul Unwraps Tonight".^[10] Their first album, Celebration, was partly produced by Paul "Wix" Wickens, who now plays keyboards for Paul McCartney.

Savage Progress joined the Thompson Twins on their "Into The Gap" tour of Britain (February, 1984) as support act:^[11] 21 February 1984, Goldiggers, Chippenham/22, Apollo Theatre, Oxford/23, The Leisure Centre, Hereford/24-25, Brighton Conference Centre, Brighton/26-27, Colston Hall, Bristol/28, Coliseum, St. Austell/29, Arts Centre, Dorchester/2-3-4-5–6 March 1984, Hammersmith Odeon, London/8, Sheffield City Hall/9, Newcastle City Hall/10, Glasgow Apollo, Glasgow/11-12, Edinburgh Playhouse/13-14, Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham/15, Royal Court Theatre, Liverpool/16, Manchester Apollo/17-18, Birmingham Odeon, Birmingham/19, De Montfort Hall, Leicester/25, Birmingham Odeon/26-27, Hammersmith Palais.^[12]

In October of the same year they went on a tour of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, to capitalize on the success of their single releases.^[13][14][15] The group also supported Tina Turner at The Venue in Victoria, London, in December 1984.^[16]

Session drummer

Edge also played as a session musician for bands like The Chills ("Pink Frost") Julian Cope ("Lunatic and Fire Pistol") and Freur ("Doot Doot", which was initially produced at the Point Studio by Alex Burak).^[17][18][19] Edge also worked again with Dodd and Roog from the Thompson Twins in a band called Big View, recording a single called August Grass, which was released on Point Records (owned by Merton, the Thompson Twins publisher) in 1982.^[20] Edge played a two-week tour of France with the Australian group Died Pretty in 1986, as drummer Chris Welsh had broken his foot in London.^[21]

Linz

Edge moved to Linz, Austria, in the late 1980s, and recorded a piece called Experiment 501 – investigating the magic of the right steps, in 1989, with interactive artist Sam Auinger, which was presented as an a cappella piece for the Chemie Linz (Agrolinz Melamine International) and ÖMV (OMV Aktiengesellschaft) companies.^[22] Edge then sang for the Austrian band Camorra, with Peter Androsch (guitar) Robert Spour (keyboards) Sandy Sonntagbauer (bass) and Andreas Luger (drums). Androsch went on to become a well-known opera and classical music composer in Austria, and Spour would compose for the annual Linz Klangwolke (Sound Clouds) festival.^{[23][24][25][26][27]}

YOYO

	"Games People Play" Sample of the single " Games People Play", by Yoyo (1991)
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Edge later formed the band YOYO in Linz, with brothers Andreas (bass/vocals) and Christoph Raffetseder (guitar/vocals) Manfred Cellnig (guitar) and Hansi Riener (drums), signing a record contract with EMI records in Vienna.^[28] In 1991, the band released a vinyl album, a cassette album, and a CD, which was the last time a band's music was released on all three formats in Austria. They played as the headlining act at the Linz Fest in 1991,^[29] and supported The Beach Boys at a concert in Linz.^[30] YOYO were played often on the radio in Austria with their cover version of the Joe South song, "Games People Play".^[31]

The song list on the album was: 1. Day After Day 2. Games People Play 3. Here We Go Again 4. So So 5. Big Blue Moon 6. Wind Still Blow 7. L.O.V.E. 8. Wild 9. Enough is Enough 10. House of Love (only available on the CD release) and 11. Fool For You. (CD liner notes).

Solo

The photos of a northern sunrise and sunset that Edge used for the cover of his solo CD, Northern Sky

Edge later worked with Robert Ponger, who was producer of Falco,^[32] and Austrian duo Paper Moon.^[33][34] Ponger arranged for Edge to support Joan Baez at the Arena, Vienna. Edge's collaboration with Ponger lasted three years, but Edge only used two songs (from 12 demo songs) for his solo CD on BMG records (Austria) called, Northern Sky (1996).^[35][36][37] The front cover photos of a sunrise and sunset in Leeds were taken by Edge's mother.^[38] Edge recorded nearly all of the songs at keyboard player Gerald Landschutzer's home in Gaumberg, Linz, with Manfred Puchner (guitar, who now plays with Hans Söllner),^[39] Kurt Mitterlehner (bass) and Herbie becker (bass). Edge overdubbed live drums and vocals at the X-Art studio in Pinkafeld, Burgenland, Austria, but credited himself as David Edge/percussive engineering.^[38]

	" Angels in the Orchestra " Sample of the song " Angels in the Orchestra " by Andrew Edge, from Northern Sky
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The songs were: 1. Angels in the Orchestra 2. One Year & One Day 3. Save Me 4. Black River White Moon 5. Time Stands Still 6. Lipstick Caress 7. Wichita Lineman 8. Waterfall 9. Take (This Heart of Mine) 10. Run-around 11. Bought and Sold 12. Northern Sky 13. Simple Things 14. Black Sea.^[38]

Session singer and songwriting

Edge sang backing vocals for LaLa Brooks (formerly of The Crystals) on her BMG (Austria) CD LaLa Brooks & Friends in 1994.^[40] In 1997, Edge sang Silent Night (in German) with Rainhard Fendrich, which has been released every Christmas since then.^[41][42] Edge wrote the lyrics for Manuel Ortega's Christmas song, "All I Want For Xmas Is You", in 2004, which was only released on the internet.

Edge has worked with Mojique v2.0,^[43] Karli Möstl,^[44] Bob Zabek,^[45][46] The Big Easy Jive Club, The Royal Drive Affair, and spent a few years writing and recording songs with Thomas Mandel for a project called Mandeledge that would feature vocals, grand piano, double bass and drums, with Wolfgang Bruendlinger on guitar. Early in 2007, Mandel decided that he did not wish to continue and left the project. Edge then started working on a solo CD with Josef 'Judy' Klausner (percussion) featuring only voice and percussion.^[47][48]

Edge taught English at the BFI for four years,^[49] (evening classes for students wishing to attain the Matura, which is the Austrian status for A levels) and taught (part-time) at the MCE company for four years, which is part of the Voestalpine steel company.^[50] He now teaches English Conversation at the BHAK academy in Auhof, Linz.^[51]

Drumsing

	"Talking All The Time" Sample of the song, "Talking All The Time", by Drumsing
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Edge and Klausner released a CD by the name of Drumsing in 2011, which consists of songs sung over a congas and percussion backing, with no other instruments.

References

External links

• Andrew Edge at Blogspot.com
• My Soul Unwraps Tonight video
• "Live auf Samstag", Austrian TV.
• Edge, Angels in the Orchestra
• CD by Edge
• CD listing