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 first three al

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 first three albums. All vocal parts on their subsequent albums were done by Thom Yorke, although Ed still handles the harmony parts from those songs in concert.

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*".