Ed Sheeran's full name. Who is Ed Sheeran? The thorny path to glory

It is most common to hear complaints that popular music is wrong, ugly, and generally not at all what it should be. And so it happened - the most popular singer of 2017 is finally liked by absolutely everyone (well, with the very, very rare exception). If you haven’t heard it yet (is it even possible?), then meet Ed Sheeran. A short, red-haired Englishman who conquered all continents with his music in an instant.

Musician from the province

Ed is not one of those guys who gets everything on a silver platter. He even had to save up for his first guitar himself. Parents were not involved in music, and they were not rich either - dad John still works at the museum as a curator and guide, mom Imogen wrote to the local Suffolk newspaper, and collected jewelry at home in the evenings. Today, even Kate Middleton has an Imogen bracelet, but business took off only when Ed became famous.

With music, Ed has always had a mutual love. The guy did not even resist when he was sent to sing in the church choir, and regularly went to classes on the weekend. And at the age of 17 he packed his things and moved to London. He had nowhere to live in the capital, so he wandered among his friends. But not for long, because famous musicians are ready to almost fight each other for Sheeran as an opening act (Taylor Swift wins).

Elton John's favorite

Already in 2009, Ed gives 312 concerts. And this is not a whim of the producer, the musician himself set such a bar for himself. He sometimes went on stage only to overtake James Morrison, in whose interview I once read that he gave 200 concerts in a year. In parallel, Ed releases the first album, which is already being bought by listeners on all continents. And with the boy who sang in the choir, Elton John himself begins to dream of performing (looking ahead, let's say that his dream comes true twice).

It would seem that there is nothing more to want, but Sheeran is preparing a second album and approaches everything even more responsibly - he writes 120 songs, and then chooses the best ones with the producers. Ed can overwrite them dozens of times too. “I wanted to leave sensual and honest songs that came from the heart. When you hear Kesha's song, you know it's a hit. But you don't feel like crying or laughing or sitting in a corner for five hours playing it over and over."

The singer easily collects stadiums in America and the UK. “You are the only musician in the world who can do this alone,” Sir Elton John tells the young artist.

Photo by Getty Images

Strange guy

Lloyd, Nigel, Felix... These are not the names of Ed's brothers or pets. So the singer named his guitars. Sheeran seems like an ideal, but is actually a very strange guy. Take at least his tattoos - you won’t believe it, but under a cute T-shirt, the singer’s body is completely crammed with pictures. Among them are a bottle of ketchup, a cup of tea, multi-colored pieces of a puzzle and designers, a snowflake, a keyhole, and all this rather gives the impression of children's drawings.

Sheeran is one of those who definitely won't smash his guitar on the stage

Among all this chaos, you can also find an icon with a crossed out heart. Now take a deep breath, because we can't keep this a secret: Sheeran is such a womanizer. Yes, yes, and this is with all his cuteness. Having become famous, he broke up with his school girlfriend, whom he dated for four years, and since then no girl has been able to captivate the guy for so long. And there have been many attempts. So all these romantic songs are dedicated to different girls. “Those who I don’t like at all pay attention to me. There are even those whom I would not want to see around under any circumstances. I'm talking about those who are only attracted to money and fame. They want to go to expensive restaurants, get cool gifts. And I prefer girls with whom you can roll into a regular bar, drink and play billiards, ”said the singer in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine.

Photo by Getty Images

Now Ed is dating Cherry Seaborn, with whom he went to school together (dating another girl). For the sake of Ed, Cherry returned from New York to the UK, but the singer is in no hurry to marry her. Perhaps the whole point is his fanaticism for Emma Stone - the singer has repeatedly hinted in an interview that he would not mind coming to some red carpet paired with this actress. But the La La Land star is ignoring hints so far. By the way, Ed does not consider himself a ladies' man, much more often saying that he is a "clumsy fat man." Do you also think he is lying?

Kitten savior

And is the most popular singer in the world now before the wedding? Sheeran pleases fans in a different way. And we are not disingenuous now: if loving Bieber or Cameron Diaz is a thankless task, then the situation with Bunny Ed is a completely different situation. He can pay an 11-year-old fan a ticket to London to come to his concert, sing for free at the wedding of complete strangers, star in Game of Thrones just because it is his fan's favorite series, visit a fan in the hospital ... And also he constantly picks up stray kittens.

His albums with exclusive titles in the form of signs of mathematical operations of addition, multiplication and division - "+", "x" and "÷" - at various times topped the national hit parade of the UK Albums Chart. The last of the mentioned discs in 2017 also became the first in the authoritative Billboard 200 chart and charts in Canada, Germany, Italy, Sweden.

Childhood of Ed Sheeran

Grandfather and grandmother on the line of the musician's father were Irish, perhaps from them he inherited the red hair color.

The boy's love for singing and music was discovered at a very early age. At the age of 4, he already sang in the church choir. Then he learned to play the guitar, while studying at Thomas Mills High School he began to write his own songs.

On weekends, parents often took their sons to concerts of famous performers, attending which was part of their official duties. The singer recalled that as a child he was particularly impressed by the concert of rock legend Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall, the Damien Rice show in Ireland, the fantastic performance of Paul McCartney in Birmingham, as well as concerts by Bob Dylan and Eminem.

Carier start

At the age of 14, the tireless musician began releasing several mini-albums, the so-called EP. In particular, in 2005 his first mini-album "The Orange Room" was released.

In 2008, two significant events took place in the life of the 17-year-old artist: he performed as a guitarist opening for his idols, the alternative band Nizlopi, and became a student at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford.

Ed Sheeran - "All My Life" (acoustic cover on Nizlopi)

During his studies, he played more than three hundred concerts, toured with musician Just Jack, sang several songs with Leddra Chapman and rapper Example, and also released the mini-album "Loose Change".

In 2010, he went to conquer the United States without a contract or offers, just buying a ticket to Los Angeles. He promoted his work by performing at various city venues. A capable and purposeful young man attracted the attention of the Oscar-winning Jamie Foxx. The actor was so impressed with Ed's talent that he invited him first to his radio show "The Foxxhole", and then to his home recording studio.

Meanwhile, the singer's army of fans grew significantly, and he was offered a contract by Atlantic Records. After that, he started working on his first full-length disc "+", which was ready by September 2011.

Album "+"

Ed Sheeran

In 2012, the singer performed at the closing ceremony of the Olympics in the capital of the United Kingdom. As part of a group of performers, he sang a composition from the repertoire of the legendary Pink Floyd "Wish You Were Here".

In 2013, his "The A Team" received a Grammy nomination for Song of the Year, but lost out to "We Are Young" by American indie band Fun. During the awards ceremony, the Briton performed his hit with Elton John, and the cult rock artist himself invited him to sing a duet.

While working on the next studio album, the artist collaborated with many famous musicians. So, he participated in Snow Patrol concerts as part of their North American tour, also performed on tours by Passenger, The Rolling Stones and country star Taylor Swift, for whom he wrote the track "Everything Has Changed".

He then co-wrote "Little Things" by the boy band One Direction, recorded "I See Fire", which became the soundtrack for Peter Jackson's The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, and "Sing" with Pharrell Williams. In addition, he gave 3 grandiose concerts at the New York sports complex Madison Square Garden, tickets for which were sold out instantly.

Disk "x"

He made a tour in support of the disc, which started in Japan, continued in Europe, the United States, Asia, and ended in 2015 in New Zealand. The tour included three large-scale performances by the artist at London's Wembley, which were sold out.

In 2016, the single from the second disc "Thinking Out Loud" brought Ed a victory in two Grammy categories. His clip in the first day after the release scored more than two and a half million views on YouTube, subsequently the number of viewers over a billion.

Ed Sheeran – Thinking out Loud

After the tour, Sheeran announced his decision to put his eventful career on hold.

Since 2014, the fantastically successful artist has appeared in cameos in the television series Shortland Street, Home and Away, and Undating. In addition, he played in the historical drama The Bastard Executioner. In 2016, the musician took the 3rd position in the ranking of the richest English celebrities under 30 according to Heat magazine - that year Ed earned $ 59 million, losing only to the brilliant Adele in her homeland, whose bank account has $ 114 million, and Daniel Radcliffe, the star of the adaptations of the Harry Potter stories, with $92 million.

Ed Sheeran's personal life

As it turned out, the singer, who considers himself a clumsy fat man, never felt confident in relations with the fair sex. The press knows about three of his novels.

Early in his career, he dated Scottish model and singer Nina Nesbitt, who inspired his songs "Nina", "Photograph" and "Friends". It is assumed that he dedicated his first studio album "+" to her. In turn, Nina's album "Peroxide" is largely dedicated to Ed.

From 2014 to 2015, Ed Sheeran dated the Greek woman Athena Andrelos, who inspired him to create the hit "Thinking Out Loud".

During a creative break, Ed had a lover, hockey player Cherry Seaborn. They had known her since their school days, but only in 2015 did their relationship move to a higher level. He dedicated the song "Perfect", included in the third album, to his chosen one. In the winter of 2018, the couple announced their engagement.

The young man is distinguished by a combination of rare talent, exceptional diligence and extraordinary charm. Thanks to this, he has a lot of fans and many star friends. Among them is Harry Styles, to whom he personally made a lock-shaped tattoo on his arm, the famous Taylor Swift, in memory of the concerts with which he made himself a tattoo “RED” (the name of one of her albums).

Among the singer's friends are the Irish musician Foy Vance, who accompanied him during the tour and performed as an opening act, and the actor Rupert Grint, known for his role as red-haired Ron in the Harry Potter films and starring in the video for the song "Lego House".

The young talent's favorite dish is Portuguese-style chicken, and his favorite rapper is Kendrick Lamar.

All four guitars of the performer have their own names: Cyril, Felix, Lloyd and Nigel.

Ed Sheeran now. "÷"

Ed Sheeran – Shape of You

During the same period, two of the singer's songs, "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill", peaked at number one and two respectively on the UK Singles Chart. Thus, for the first time in the history of the country, the first two lines of the UK hit parade simultaneously featured works by the same author.

Released in March, the disc “÷” again became No. 1 in the lists of the most popular musical groups in the USA, Canada, Italy, Germany and other countries. In Britain, in the first week of sales, about 670,000 copies of it were sold. The best result was previously shown only by Adele with the album "25" (800 thousand) and the group Oasis with "Be Here Now" (700 thousand). It has been certified platinum twice in Australia and the United Kingdom.

As it became known, the singer was invited to star in the next season of the fantasy series Game of Thrones. The performer was patronized by a big fan of the musician Maisie Williams, who embodies the image of Arya Stark in the picture.

Ed Sheeran in "Game of Thrones": acting and singing

There was a funny incident at the Grammy Awards in early 2018. Ed Sheeran, presented in several categories and as a result received awards for "Best Pop Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Performance" (Shape of You), beating the likes of Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson and Pink ... just not came to the ceremony! Later, the singer explained this by saying that he overslept such a solemn event and found out about his awards only the next day from the news.

Ed Sheeran saw the light of day in West Yorkshire in 1991. His parents are renowned artists. While still a child, he learned to play the guitar. Ed Sheeran wrote songs as a child and even asked his parents to help him record his own album.

When the boy was 14 years old, he released the first two mini-albums with his own recordings. Also new recordings were released in 2006 and 2007. In addition, Ed performed as an opening act for the Nizlopi group, where he was able to win the interest of many fans. And already in 2008, having moved to the capital of Great Britain, he began to hold his own concerts daily, though renting very small venues.
The teenager strove to be like his idol in everything - Jim Morrison, who announced in an interview that he gave 200 concerts a year. He not only wanted to imitate the famous vocalist, but also to surpass him. And he succeeded quite well, since already in 2009 he gave 312 concerts.

The thorny path to glory

Literally six months later, the singer goes on tour with Just Jack, and then releases a new disc and publishes a video for the song “You Need Me” on YouTube. In the spring of 2010, the young musician gives concerts almost all over Los Angeles, where he was noticed by Jamie Foxx. With the help of Fox, the musician appeared on a popular radio show. This attracted even more fans and even sponsors to him.

Thus, his biography was already quite rich, he manages to sign a contract with Asylum / Atlantic Records. And already in September 2011, his first disc was released, recorded in the studio. One of the songs, namely "The A Team", held an honorable third place in the British hit parade for several months. By the end of the year, the singer shot a video featuring the popular actor Rupert Grint.

The singer's popularity has already grown so much that he was able to perform at the end of the London Olympic Games, standing on the same stage with Nick Masen and Mike Rutherford. In 2012, Ed Sheeran, whose songs have already won the hearts of millions of fans, goes on an international tour with Michael Rosenberg.

Interested in young talent and Taylor Swift. Together, they were able to record vocals for the song "Everything Has Changed", included in Taylor's album "Red". The musician annually pleases his fans with new songs and compositions. But he did not stop at concert activities, and in 2015 he starred in the Top Gear program.

Hard work and the desire to be the first in everything were not in vain. In 2016, Ed Sheeran was awarded the long-awaited Grammy for the single "Thinking Out Lod".

The personal and family life of the singer

Naturally, the press is constantly watching popular singers and actors, and Ed Sheeran did not bypass this fate. The singer's personal life was also quite stormy, and he began to get involved in girls from the 4th grade of school. In 2014, his Greek girlfriend Athena Andrelos publicly announced their romance. Unfortunately, the couple lasted only a year, after which Ed announced that he was mutually in love with James Blunt. Luckily, it turned out to be just a joke. At the moment, the musician's heart is not occupied by anyone.

Ed Sheeran is a British-born popular musician and actor. This red-haired talent broke into the UK charts in 2011 with the single "The A Team". Sheeran performs music in the genre of melodic pop-rock. The singer showed an example of how to fight for your dream. In his youth, he performed at city venues, and today millions of fans are looking forward to his new tour.

Childhood and youth

The musician's full name is Edward Christopher Sheeran. The future hero of the British hit parade was born in Halifax (West Yorkshire). It happened on February 17, 1991. According to the zodiac sign Aquarius. Already at the age of 4 he sang in the choir at the church.

In addition to music, Ed Sheeran acts in films. In 2017, he appeared in the cult TV series "", where he played a soldier in the Lannister army. The artist appeared in an episodic scene of the film along with who plays.

Personal life

Of course, like any popular and talented singer, Ed has an uncountable number of fans. But he is an adherent of a long and serious relationship. At one time, Sheeran's lover was called his colleague Taylor Swift, but there were no comments from young people. Ed once publicly confessed his passion for another British musician, but later it turned out that this was just a shocking joke.

In an interview, the musician admitted that after breaking up with a school friend, he could not establish a personal life: all novels were fleeting. This continued until he met Cherry Seaborn on his way. By the way, she is his former classmate.

If Adele (29) is the most popular singer in England, then Ed Sheeran (26) is the most popular guy in the Kingdom. He has three studio albums on his account: "+", "x" and "÷", and they were at the top of all conceivable charts in the world (by the way, more than 21 million copies sold), more than 300 concerts at the coolest venues on the planet (and we don't count the show (27), Sheeran's best friend, for whom he played as an opening act), the most popular wedding song of 2014 Thinking Out Loud (over 1 billion views) and his own record label Gingerbread Man Records.

And you also know him from the Game of Thrones - Ed in the seventh season: he played the very singing soldier whom Arya Stark meets in the forest. Then an avalanche of criticism hit Ed (although we still didn’t understand why), and immediately after that, the singer: “I just decided not to go there anymore: it took too much time, and I wanted to do it for a long time. I was in Game of Thrones, why should I care what other people think? But of course I read comments about myself on the Internet - it's impossible to avoid it." And by the way, he doesn't know how Game of Thrones will end. “I'm sorry,” Ed laughs.

Immediately after the release of the third studio album Divide, Ed again began a series of concerts, crowded halls and screams of fans. “They received the album very well. I've had a lot of gigs already and I can see they haven't gotten tired of Divide yet." Sheeran, by the way, admits that relatives, his beloved girl Cherry Seaborn and parents help him survive such a busy tour schedule, constant flights and almost complete lack of sleep: “Next to me are wonderful people and my beloved family. I'm getting high."

Ed's favorite song from the new album is the romantic and touching love ballad Perfect (by the way, he wrote it first and generally considers it his best work). A month ago, the official lyric video was released on it, and today he released a full-fledged video. “When I was in high school, I dated a girl. This song is a story about my first love,” says Ed. He does not write songs “about anything” at all, they are all based on his life: “I take inspiration from everything that happens around me. Without exception, I don't focus only on the good."

In addition, Ed is now actively involved in his record label Gingerbread Man Records, which he founded in 2015. Several very promising guys have already signed up for him - Foy Vance and Jamie Lawson. And soon Sheeran will introduce a new boy rock band. All details are still kept secret. "I can only say that in style their music is very similar to mine." Ed has no fear of being in second place and losing to his wards in popularity: “I like what I have now. So I'm not afraid at all."

And Ed, by the way, quit smoking! “I haven’t smoked for six months now,” he says in a very pleased voice. “It’s just that at some point I smoked the last cigarette and I don’t touch them anymore.” True, he is not going to give up another bad habit - alcohol. Ed is very fond of beer. “And Russian vodka, by the way, too. I think she's delicious. Especially when it's cold,” he laughs.

Sheeran's concerts are scheduled until August next year, and almost all tickets are already sold out. Unfortunately, Russia is not on the list. But we hope that someday he will come to us. And try real Russian vodka.