Guitarist Dave Evans fell during the last song of the night, but the rest of the band played on in the first show on the Innocence and Experience tour

U2’s latest world tour got off to an unsteady start in Vancouver on Thursday night, when lead guitarist The Edge fell off the edge of the stage.

The Edge, whose real name is Dave Evans, walked off the edge of the walkway connecting the main stage and the B-stage at the Rogers Arena, during a rendition of I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For. The concert was the first of the band’s Innocence and Experience tour, which backs their latest album, Songs of Innocence.

The guitarist fell during the last song of the night, which the rest of the band – Bono, Larry Mullen Jr and Adam Clayton – continued to play while he was helped up by security guards.

The Edge later posted on Instagram a picture of his grazed and cut right arm, with the message: “Didn’t see the edge, I’m OK!!”

In front of an audience of 19,000, the band played seven songs from Songs of Innocence, an album which met mixed reviews and caused controversy in September when it was given, free, to all iTunes users.

Preparations for the tour, which this year will visit 20 cities in Europe and North America, were affected by another fall, when frontman Bono fell off a bike in Central Park, New York in November. After recovering from serious injuries to his arm and face, Bono said he may never play guitar again.