Robert David "Lu" Edmonds (born 9 September 1957) is an English rock and

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

musician. He is currently, as of 2018, a vocalist and saz and

cümbüş The ''cümbüş'' (; ) is a Turkish stringed instrument of relatively modern origin. It was developed in 1930 by Zeynel Abidin Cümbüş as an oud-like instrument that could be heard as part of a larger ensemble. The cümbüş is shaped like ...

player in

the Mekons The Mekons are a British Post-punk band formed in 1976 as an art collective. They are one of the longest-running and most prolific of the first-wave British punk rock bands. The band's style has evolved over time to incorporate aspects of co ...

and the guitarist for

Public Image Ltd Public Image Ltd (abbreviated and stylized as PiL) are an English post-punk band formed by lead vocalist John Lydon (previously, as Johnny Rotten, lead vocalist of the Sex Pistols), guitarist Keith Levene (a founding member of the Clash), bassi ...

. Edmonds reportedly plays electric guitar, bass guitar, keyboards,

bouzouki The bouzouki (, also ; ; alt. pl. ''bouzoukia'', , from Greek , from Turkish ) is a musical instrument popular in West Asia (Syria, Iraq), Europe and Balkans (Greece, North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Turkey). It is a member of the long-necked lute fam ...

, saz, cümbüs,

oud The oud ( ; , ) is a Middle Eastern short-neck lute-type, pear-shaped, fretless stringed instrument (a chordophone in the Hornbostel–Sachs classification of instruments), usually with 11 strings grouped in six courses, but some models have ...

, and drums, among other instruments.

Personal life

Growing up abroad in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

and

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

, Edmonds was educated in local schools and at

Ampleforth College Ampleforth College is a co-educational Private schools in the United Kingdom, fee-charging boarding and day school in the English Public school (United Kingdom), public school tradition. It opened in 1803 as a boys' school. It is near the villa ...

. As of 2024, he resided in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

Rock music

Edmonds is currently, as of 2018, a vocalist and saz and

player in

, and also the lead guitarist for

Public Image Limited In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociological concept of the ''Öffentlichkei ...

The Damned 1977-1978

Edmonds first came to prominence as a member of the Damned, playing guitar on their second album, 1977's '' Music For Pleasure''. It was the rest of the band that nicknamed him "Lu"—short for "Lunatic". Billed simply as "Lu" while with the Damned, subsequent bands billed him as Lu Edmonds (or occasionally "Lu Knee").

The Edge 1978–1980

Edmonds was the guitarist/vocalist in new-wave band the Edge. This band also featured drummer

Jon Moss Jonathan Aubrey Moss (born 11 September 1957) is an English drummer, best known as a member of the 1980s pop group Culture Club. He has also played with other bands, including London, the Nips, the Damned and Adam and the Ants. Early life ...

, (whom Edmonds met in the Damned, and who went on to become the drummer in

Culture Club Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...

), bassist Glyn Havard (who played in the

prog-rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed "progressive pop", the ...

band Jade Warrior) and keyboardist Gavin Povey (who later played with UK virtuoso guitarist

Albert Lee Albert William Lee (born 21 December 1943) is an English guitarist known for his fingerstyle and hybrid picking technique. Lee has worked, both in the studio and on tour, with many famous musicians from a wide range of genres. He has also m ...

in Albert Lee & Hogan's Heroes). They released one album, Square 1 and two singles.

Other

He has played in

, the Spizzles,

Shriekback Shriekback are an English rock band formed in 1981 in Kentish Town by Barry Andrews, formerly of XTC and the League of Gentlemen (keyboards/synthesizers/vocals), and Dave Allen, formerly of Gang of Four (bass guitar), with Carl Marsh, formerl ...

, as a Bloke in Billy Bragg & the Blokes as well as on tracks by

the Waterboys The Waterboys are a rock band formed in 1983 by Scottish musician and songwriter Mike Scott (Scottish musician), Mike Scott. The band's membership, past and present, has been composed mainly of musicians from Britain and Ireland, with Scott re ...

and

Kirsty MacColl Kirsty Anna MacColl (, ; 10 October 1959 – 18 December 2000) was a British singer and songwriter. The daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl, she recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop ...

. He also co-wrote songs with MacColl for her first album and played lead guitar on her first single " They Don't Know" (and also on the cover of that song by comedian

Tracey Ullman Tracey Ullman (born Trace Ullman; 30 December 1959) is a British-American actress, singer, dancer, screenwriter, producer, and director. Despite being frequently referred to as a comedian, Ullman considers herself a character actress. Critics h ...

Eclectic music

In the early years (1982–?) of the band

3 Mustaphas 3 3 Mustaphas 3 is a British world music band formed in 1982. Its core members are Ben Mandelson (under the name Hijaz Mustapha), Tim Fienburgh (1954–2008) (under the name Niaveti III), Colin Bass (under the name Sabah Habas Mustapha), and Nige ...

, "

world music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

" pioneers, Edmonds played various instruments under the pseudonym Uncle Patrel Mustapha Bin Mustapha. Then Edmonds and

Ben Mandelson Ben Mandelson (born 6 October 1953, in Everton, Liverpool in England) is an English musician. In addition he is a manager and producer. Punk and new wave years In the mid-1970s, Mandelson was a student at Bolton Institute of Technology (now the ...

, both former "Mustaphas", created two trios: in 2009

Blue Blokes 3 Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The term ''blue'' generally descr ...

with

Ian A. Anderson Ian A. Anderson (born 26 July 1947) is an English magazine editor, folk musician and broadcaster. Early career and The Village Thing Anderson first performed in his home town of Weston-super-Mare as a member of the Backwater Jook Band and c ...

, releasing the album ''Stubble'' (

Fledg'ling Records Fledg'ling Records is a British independent record label founded in 1991. The label has re-released some albums previously issued by Hokey Pokey Records which was also run by the Fledg'ling founder—David Suff. David Suff having been half of ...

); and in 2010 Les Triaboliques with fellow picker

Justin Adams Justin Alexander Adams (born 22 July 1961) is an English guitarist and composer who works in blues and African styles. Biography Born in London, the son of a diplomat, Adams spent some of his early childhood growing up in Egypt, before returni ...

, releasing the album ''Rivermudtwilight''. In 2010, Edmonds appeared on ''Poets and Lighthouses'', the latest album by

Albert Kuvezin Albert Budachievich Kuvezin (; , , alternatively spelled ''Kögêzin'' (Көгээзин, ), born 27 November 1965 in Kyzyl) is a Russian guitarist and throat singer. Kuvezin was one of the founding members of the Tuvan folk ensemble Huun-Huur- ...

of the

Tuva Tuva (; ) or Tyva (; ), officially the Republic of Tyva,; , is a Republics of Russia, republic of Russia. Tuva lies at the geographical center of Asia, in southern Siberia. The republic borders the Federal subjects of Russia, federal sub ...

n ethnic-rock fusion group

Yat Kha Yat-Kha is a band from Tuva, led by vocalist/guitarist Albert Kuvezin. Their music is a mixture of Tuvan traditional music and rock, featuring Kuvezin's distinctive '' kargyraa'' throat singing style, the '' kanzat kargyraa''. Biography Yat-Kha ...

. In 2019, Edmonds and Mark Roberts, as Blabbermouth, released the album ''Hörspiel'' (" Hörspiel" being

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

for "

radio drama Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, dramatised, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the liste ...

" or "audio play"), with several guest musicians, including

Rico Bell Rico Bell (born Eric John Bellis) is a UK and California based artist and musician best known for his work as a member of the British punk rock band the Mekons which he joined in 1983. A singer and multi-instrumentalist with the Mekons, Bell ha ...

and

Sally Timms Sally Ann Timms (born 29 November 1959) is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Leeds, England, she now lives in the Chicago area, where she works as a paralegal.Lipez, Zachary.Mekons Finally Get Their Revenge: An Interview with Sally Timm ...

of the Mekons, and Albert Kuvezin. –2015, Edmonds spent several years helping local musicians in

Western Siberia Western Siberia or West Siberia ( rus, Западная Сибирь, p=ˈzapədnəjə sʲɪˈbʲirʲ; , ) is a region in North Asia. It is part of the wider region of Siberia that is mostly located in the Russia, Russian Federation, with a Sout ...

and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

to promote their work and to set up recording facilities.

References

External links

Biography & Discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edmonds, Lu English rock guitarists English bass guitarists English male guitarists British male bass guitarists English keyboardists English multi-instrumentalists People from Welwyn Garden City Living people The Damned (band) members Public Image Ltd members The Waterboys members 1957 births People educated at Ampleforth College Musicians from Hertfordshire The Mekons members