The one that got away!
The original band scene in London back then would be in various clubs across town, having as many bands as possible on the bill playing half an hour each. The hottest act was put last, pretending to headline.
Most of the bands would be signed, and all of them secretly thought they were the next big thing.
In between these gigs, some of us would go on support tours which the label paid the headlining act to do. We toured with Paolo Nutini, Girls Aloud, The Hoosiers, The Script, and even one gig with Sting.
Among all the signed bands with new haircuts was this young, scruffy ginger kid who rapped really badly over an acoustic guitar plugged into a loop pedal. Oh, how we all laughed at him, he was popping up everywhere but nobody cared.
I was playing bass in this band and also made a music video for every song we put out (since deleted). My videos were getting a bit of a reputation and Ed Sheeran’s manager asked me one day if I wanted to make a music video for Ed, I politely declined, I had parties to attend!
A year or so later, one of our band members left, the MD of the Record Label was sacked and all 13 bands he had signed were dropped overnight. We never released the industry-hyped album, I stopped making music videos and playing bass. Instead, I went back to teaching and playing the guitar.
Ed in the meantime spent his time going from gig to gig, sleeping on various people’s sofas, getting friendly with producers all over the country, and doing writing sessions with them on a weekly basis.
After a few years, Ed became known for not just rapping badly but having this relentless work ethic.
In 2011 (when my band was over) he released the single The A Team and I realized that I probably should have made that video, written some songs with him and perhaps gone to fewer parties.
Still, surely, Ed Sheeran’s success would be short-lived, like everyone else I’d seen come and go over the last few years, right?
Later in 2011, his debut album, + was released, only The A Team is a proper Tune and I found out that his producer and co-writer was Jake Gosling, a friend of a friend of mine, that’s how close I was, still, that’s probably it for Ed Sheeran, right?
Instead of partying (like my band did), Ed sets off on a crazy tour, still just him and a guitar, he goes everywhere to promote his new album which eventually goes #1 in 5 countries, including the U.K. and U.S.
Eventually, + sells 4 million copies and (I’m guessing here) all bands from 2009 think it should have been them.
His second album, X, features a collaboration with Pharrell Williams for Sing, but the biggest tune is Thinking Out Loud. As the rest of the world starts arguing that this is a Let’s Get It On rip-off, Ed goes back on the road.
After more touring, X was declared a success in 16 countries as a #1 album, and over 10 million copies sold.
Ed’s 3rd album, ÷ (2016), is his greatest triumph with singles Perfect, Shape of You, Castle on the Hill, and Galway Girl all doing well.
Shape of You being the biggest hit and Ed Sheeran’s signature song, it went #1 in 34 countries, selling over 40 million copies in the process, I really should have made that music video for Ed back in 2009…
By now Ed’s success is so undeniable that old artists’ kids want a piece of the cake, claiming he’s ripped their dad’s song off (Marvin Gaye).
In the case of Shape Of You, Ed does admit to being inspired by Scrubs (TLC) and gives them a cut of the tune.
By now, Ed is a superstar and everyone wants a piece of the Sheeran cake so for his next release, he collaborates with everyone (Khalid, Max Martin, Cardi B, Chance the Rapper, Stormzy, Justin Bieber, Eminem, 50 Cent, H.E.R., Skrillex, Bruno Mars, and Chris Stapleton).
Dubbed No.6 Collaborations it did well, but perhaps no Ed Sheeran classics are to be found on this release. I remember seeing the video with Ed and Stormzy and being particularly annoyed.
His next album, = (2021), does well in the smaller territories, but sales in the U.S. and U.K., are now much smaller. One tune stands out here, Bad Habits.
Ed’s latest release, -, came in 2023, when I found out that it was released as a “visual album”, having a video for every song I thought, again, I really should have said yes 15 years ago when his manager asked me to make him a video, oh well, there had to be one that got away.
I guess the moral of the story here is that if you want to be successful in the music industry, you have to do one thing: say yes, it clearly worked for Ed. I, on the other hand said yes when someone asked: Would you like another free beer?
Ed Sheeran tunes | Related pages
Shape of You
You can learn how to play Shape of You by Ed Sheeran using chords, lyrics, chord analysis, TAB, and the original recording.
| C#m F#m7 | A (Bsus4) B |
The club isn’t the best place to find a lover so the bar is where I go…
Ed Sheeran on the web
- EdSheeran.com
- Discogs
- Wiki
- YouTube
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