Ed O'Brien
Edward John O'Brien (born 15 April 1968) is an English guitarist, songwriter and member of the rock band Radiohead. He releases solo music under the name EOB.
For other people with the same name, see Edward O'Brien.
Ed O'Brien
O'Brien attended Abingdon School in Oxfordshire, England, where he formed Radiohead with schoolmates. O'Brien said his role was to "service the songs" and support the songwriter, Thom Yorke. He often creates ambient sounds and textures, using effects, sustain units and the EBow, and provides backing vocals.
O'Brien's first solo album, Earth, was released in 2020. O'Brien had been writing songs for years, but lacked confidence and felt they had a character that would be lost with Radiohead. He began a North American tour in February 2020; a larger tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Rolling Stone named O'Brien among the greatest guitarists of all time in 2010 and 2023. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Radiohead in 2019.
Early life[edit]
O'Brien was born on April 15, 1968.[1] His family comes from Ballyporeen, Ireland.[2] As a child, O'Brien enjoyed cricket and theatre. His parents split when he was 10; O'Brien said this was when music became his "refuge".[3] He grew up listening to post-punk acts such as Siouxsie and the Banshees, Adam and the Ants, Depeche Mode, the Police and David Bowie. He said: "It was a very foetal [time] for music because people who went to art college or artists, or musicians, suddenly thought, 'Oh, I can be that.'"[4]
The members of Radiohead met while attending Abingdon School, an independent school for boys in Abingdon, Oxfordshire.[5] While O'Brien was playing Lysander in a school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, he met Thom Yorke, who was scoring the production.[3] Yorke asked him to join him for a jam. According to O'Brien, "Before that, [life] was a bit confusing, a bit crap. And then suddenly ... I felt something very strong, almost like some kind of epiphany, almost like: 'This is it.'"[6]
Along with the drummer, Philip Selway, O'Brien was in the year above Yorke and the bassist, Colin Greenwood, and three years above Colin's brother, the guitarist Jonny Greenwood.[7] In 1985, they formed On a Friday, the name referring to their usual rehearsal day in the school's music room.[7] They continued to rehearse during holidays while the members attended university.[8] O'Brien studied economics at the University of Manchester,[1] where he took part in the Second Summer of Love.[9]
Personal life[edit]
O'Brien lives in north London.[59] With his wife, Susan Kobrin, he has a son, born in January 2004, and a daughter, born in 2006.[60][61]
Around 2000, O’Brien gave up alcohol, saying it was "fucking him up", and began using meditation.[62] In 2011, O'Brien and his family moved to Brazil for a year, living on a farm near Ubatuba.[17] In March 2020, O'Brien announced that he had contracted COVID-19 and was recovering in isolation.[63]