His rise from singing Suffolk schoolboy to international sensation has been charted around the world – and now there must be very few people who have not heard of Ed Sheeran.
The Framlingham-raised star is just about to release his third album, ‘÷’ (read as divide), which follows the success of his debut ‘+’ (plus) and its follow-up ‘x’ (mulitply).
Ed’s love of music has been clear ever since his days at Thomas Mills High School and some of his very first gigs were in East Anglia.
We have taken a look back at 10 years of coverage of Ed Sheeran by Archant to create a timeline of his rise and success.
Take a look below to see how the flame-haired singer-songwriter’s career has unfolded (dates listed are when the article mentioned appeared in print).
October 20, 2007 – Starting local
It is well known Ed played anywhere and everywhere he could in his early days, including Ipswich venues like McGinty’s pub and the Steamboat Tavern.
The small gigs and local festivals are obviously a far cry from the sold-out stadium tours he is used to today, but they are great memories for those who can now look back and realise they were watching a star in the making.
The very first mention of a young Ed Sheeran we’ve found in our archives actually comes from one of our sister papers in Norfolk, the Norwich Evening News.
No eye-catching picture or huge headline here though – Ed’s name is just one of many in a local gig guide, on this occasion announcing an appearance at Castle Mall for the Dumduckerdum festival.
April 11, 2008 – Giving some support
He may now be the headline act wherever he goes, but there was a time when Ed was the support act for other artists.
One such group whose show he featured in was Nizlopi when they visited Norwich in 2008, and he got a mention in their What’s On entry in our Norfolk sister papers.
Ed had also been the duo’s guitar technician during their tour at the time, and he’s since stated they are one of the acts which influenced his own work.
November 14, 2008 – The Next Big Thing
This prediction certainly turned out to be true.
At the age of 17 in 2008, Ed was taking part in the Next Big Thing music competition in Norfolk.
He won the six-act final at the University of East Anglia (despite guitar and microphone problems) and received £750-worth of equipment, a recording contract with a local label and a studio package.
Again, this was covered in the Norwich Evening News (which helped run the competition) – with some photos of a very fresh-faced Ed performing and clutching a bottle of champagne.
After the win Ed said: “I love performing and the atmosphere that comes with it. Even on Sunday night I enjoyed it despite the fact that everything went wrong and I thought the crowd would hate me.”
April 7, 2009 – Compilation album
Ed made an appearance in the Ipswich Star (then still named the Evening Star) with a number of other acts involved in a council-funded programme.
The winners of the Soundwaves Ultimate Bands Contest performed at Woodbridge’s Seckford Theatre to launch their compilation album Sounds of the East Coast II.
Soundwaves was set up by a grassroots group of people interested in music and got funding from Suffolk Coastal and Suffolk County councils as well as the Youth Opportunity Fund.
It also made use of early social media – and believe it or not its MySpace page is still active, including a 53 second teaser of Ed’s track Saturday which featured on the album.
In a review of the night he was described as looking “like a teenage garden gnome” – but was voted the best act in the show.
July 6, 2009 – Ipswich Music Day
Ed took to one of the eight stages in Christchurch Park with a guitar bearing his now-famous paw-print logo.
It was the 18th version of the event, one of the biggest free, one-day music festivals in the region, and more than 30,000 people attended.
That’s 30,000 people who had the chance to see baseball-cap wearing Ed performing without paying a penny – opportunities like that are certainly few and far between now.
A sign of Ed’s success is that from 2013 a stage at the music day has been named after him.
May 5, 2010 – Fundraising for EACH
The East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices charity has benefitted greatly from Ed’s support.
On a number of occasions since becoming a global superstar he has donated some of his old clothes to the group which have then auctioned them off to raise money.
But before all that he helped out in his own way at a fashion show held by sixth form students from Woodbridge School.
It was held at the Seckford Theatre and raised £1,914 for EACH’s yet-to-be-built Treehouse Hospice.
Where did Ed come in? He provided additional entertainment at the event by performing a few of his songs.
September 21, 2010 – Catching Foxx’s eye
Now 19, but still an unsigned artist, Ed paid for a trip to Los Angeles to play some gigs a bit further away from his home in Framlingham.
He actually went over in April, but didn’t speak about it until later in the year.
While there performing at an open mic night he caught the attention of actor Jamie Foxx and was invited onto his radio show.
“I then played the radio show and then after that he invited me to a party at his house. I ended up spending a week there and using his studio,” Ed said afterwards.
To cap off the surreal experience, Ed then flew home to play another gig – at Woodbridge School.
January 4, 2011 – An ‘emerging talent’
This was the year the hard work really paid off for Ed as he prepared to sign his first record deal.
But just a few days into the New Year, before becoming a signed artist, he was talking about the fifth and final instalment of his self-funded EP No. 5 Collaborations Project.
Ed was also drawing up his 10-year plan to make it in the music industry. He said: “Last year was all about getting known; this year is doing the groundwork; 2012 could be a big year and I’ll be looking at doing a second album in 2013. I’m looking ahead to the next 10 years; after that I’ll chill out a bit.”
I wonder how closely he’s stuck to the plan?
January 21, 2011 – Celebrations at The Station
The journey had been going on for many years, but everything started to pick up pace for Ed when he signed his first record deal.
He put the finishing touches to a six-album deal with Asylum Records, part of Atlantic Records, at his home in Framlingham.
Then he took the label bosses down to his local pub, The Station, for a celebratory pint with his family.
Ed said: “It was a long time coming so I feel happy. It’s a new stage that’s starting and I felt it was time for it to happen.
“I’ve been in the studio all this week – and will be all next week and the one after. I hope the album will be out in August or September.”
You can even see an early video interview with Ed here.
June 15, 2011 – Single success
Five months after signing with Atlantic, Ed hits the headlines with his first single The A Team.
It debuted at number three in the UK singles chart and made the top 10 in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands.
The 20-year-old’s song was A-listed by Radio 1 and had huge national exposure, as well as later becoming the lead track for debut album ‘+’.
Ed also spoke about keeping fans informed of his work through Twitter, which he famously took a break from (along with social media in general) in 2016.
At the time he said: “When I was off it for two weeks making the record, people thought I’d died. But with 80,000 followers, that’s the same reach as a magazine. I can advertise gigs or anything. It’s a really cool way to push out stuff.”
July 18, 2011 – Huge homecoming at Latitude
Remember how Ed played at small festivals like Dumduckerdum, mentioned in our first entry? Things have certainly changed since those days...
He opened the Obelisk Arena on Saturday of the sixth Latitude Festival – in the pouring rain – but gave a commanding performance which went down a storm.
His set finished with an encore of Bob Dylan’s Make You Feel My Love which he dedicated to his dad John.
September 19, 2011 – Sheeran plus ‘+’ equals success
Ed’s debut album, ‘+’, which featured The A Team as well as his other singles from 2011 You Need Me, I Don’t Need You and Lego House, was released on Monday, September 12 and by Sunday it had topped the album charts.
More than 100,000 copies of the 20-year-old’s music were sold in that first week.
October 7, 2011 – Time for a catch up
You could say it was quite a busy year for Ed, but he still found time for a catch-up with the EADT to talk about how the first months of his career as a signed musician had gone.
He also spoke about his hit The A Team, and where the inspiration came from.
“I have a friend who works at a homeless shelter every Christmas,” he explained. “He asked me to go along one year and play some songs for the people there.
“I met a girl called Angel, who was this amazing girl who really stood out – mainly because she was the only girl in the shelter and everyone else was male. I learned a lot about Angel, the unfortunate ways she earned her money on the street, and the things she did with it when she had it – it was a very bleak story.
“I spent some time with her playing her favourite songs, and then wrote The A Team for her.”
February 22, 2012 – The best of British
Ed said at the start of 2011 that 2012 could be a big year for him.
Well, it started off in pretty good shape when he picked up a pair of Brit Awards on February 21.
Not only was he named Best British Breakthrough Artist but he also won the gong for Best British Male Solo Artist.
He had also been nominated for best British album and best British single, but missed out to Adele and One Direction respectively.
May 18, 2012 – Another award
Already an award winner this year, Ed picked up another gong – this time for one of his songs.
He received the Ivor Novello award on May 17 for the Best Song Musically and Lyrically, for The A Team.
Ed beat of competition from Adele and Florence and The Machine.
June 4, 2012 – From Lego House to Buck House
A sign of Ed’s rise to prominence was the invitation he received to play at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee concert.
He performed at Buckingham Palace in the show which also featured Gary Barlow, Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Cliff Richard and Dame Shirley Bassey.
July 13, 2012 – Gigging in the forest
When he played at Latitude the year before, Ed was an up-and-coming solo artist.
When he returned to East Anglia for a gig in Thetford Forest, it was his first back here since becoming a major, award winning singer.
Tickets sold out in 25 minutes. The crowd was packed, singing along to his hits and not disappointed by the natural showman’s performance – a bit of a theme for the next few years.
August 13, 2012 – Part of the Olympic party
It was one of the most spectacular sporting events ever seen in the UK – and at the very end, Ed was part of it.
The Framlingham boy appeared at the closing ceremony, alongside Jessie J, Kate Moss, Take That and George Michael, where he performed Pink Floyd’s Wish You Were Here with the band’s drummer, Nick Mason.
August 20, 2012 – Summer fun continues at V
Ed’s list of high-profile gigs grew longer when he played V Festival in Essex and Staffordshire.
July 4, 2013 – Back to school
Despite the huge tours, busy schedules and global travelling, Ed has still managed to find time to return to his roots in Framlingham.
He dropped into one of his former schools, Brandeston Hall, to listen to the students’ summer concert.
The 22-year-old chatted with pupils, signed autographs for them and posed for photographs.
December 18, 2013 – Popping down the pub
Ed was back in Suffolk again in December – but he wasn’t alone.
When he was spotted in The Station pub shortly before Christmas he was accompanied by fellow music star Taylor Swift. A fan managed to get a selfie with the pair which was posted on Twitter.
The friends had collaborated on Swift’s Red album and Ed opened for Swift’s American tour during much of 2013 before he headlined three sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in October.
February 2, 2014 – Graduating to high school
Ed had already paid a surprise visit to his primary school – now it was time to go back to high school.
The superstar dropped in to Thomas Mills High School (see the video here) to give a musical masterclass to pupils.
He also caught up with his former music teacher Richard Hanley, someone who helped nurture Ed’s burgeoning talent during his schooldays.
February 19, 2014 – Charity ambassador
The work Ed has done over the years for charity has been well documented.
And one group, East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices, wanted to formally recognise the work he had done to help them.
Ed was named an official ambassador for the charity during a visit to the Treehouse on February 18 and took part in a music therapy session before signing a drumkit he had previously donated to the centre.
Ed has also released special, limited edition guitars to help fundraise for EACH.
March 27, 2014 – The chance to dress like Ed
More charity work here, with Ed donating his old clothes to charity shops in Framlingham.
The St Elizabeth and Sue Ryder shops in the town both received bags of clothes, as did EACH in Ipswich.
Sales and auctions for the clothes, which included everything from T-shirts and belts to onesies and ice hockey jerseys, understandably attracted a lot of interest.
Ed has since donated more clothes to Suffolk charity shops to aid their fundraising.
May 6, 2014 – The secret Steamboat gig
As the release date for Ed’s second single, ‘x’, closed in (and with lead single Sing already released), a series of three exclusive, secret gigs were announced, all taking place on the same day.
One was cryptically revealed as being in East Anglia, and the lucky 50 people who were on Facebook at just the right time to get one of the pairs of tickets found out just hours beforehand that it would be at the Steamboat Tavern in Ipswich.
It was a venue Ed had played before achieving fame and many of the small crowd were from Suffolk.
Before the gig he came out to speak to the waiting fans and signed autographs for them.
June 24, 2014 – Straight back to the top
The previous day Ed had released his second album ‘x’ worldwide.
By the end of the day he occupied the top two spots in the digital download charts – the deluxe edition pipping its regular counterpart to the summit.
Earlier in the month the single Sing had been the first of Ed’s to reach number one in the charts.
October 23, 2014 – Making dreams come true
He’s already shown himself to be a generous and down-to-earth guy, and Ed reinforced that image by making a young fan’s day.
Zac Cox from Stowmarket has a number of complex medical conditions, but loves listening to Ed’s music.
So after a message was shared on social media Zac’s family was offered tickets to a gig of Ed’s in Birmingham where they met him backstage afterwards.
October 23, 2014 – Another pair of gongs...
A night at the Q Awards proved fruitful for Ed as he picked up the prizes for best solo artist and best live act.
February 26, 2015 – ...And another Brits double
Three years previously Ed picked up two awards at the Brits.
In 2015 he did it again, taking home the prizes for best British male solo artist and British Album of the Year for ‘x’.
July 17, 2015 – Back to The Station with Scherzy
Ed takes another famous friend down to his favourite Framlingham pub – Nicole Scherzinger posing up for selfies with her host and a fan.
July 18, 2015 – A surprise festival appearance
Back in 2011 Ed was still making a name for himself when he wowed the crowds at Latitude.
Four years later he surprised festival-goers at Henham Park by turning up for a surprise slot during the event’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
He would go on to make another surprise appearance in 2016, despite taking a break.
August 12, 2015 – Dr Sheeran
Saying “Suffolk is very much where I call home”, it is announced Ed will be awarded an honorary doctorate by University Campus Suffolk (now the University of Suffolk).
It recognises his contribution to music with Ed saying he was excited to build links with UCS.
The doctorate was awarded to Ed at a ceremony in October where he made a speech to the students graduating that day.
December 14, 2015 –T’daa for now
The previous day saw news that no fan of Ed Sheeran would really have wanted to hear.
In a brief social media message Ed said he was going to take a break from social media so he could see the world through his own eyes and not a screen.
And that was that, for a year. Sort of.
July 10, 2016 – Ed Sheer-Ham
Despite being away from the news for a while, Ed makes an appearance of sorts with the news he will feature in Ipswich’s Pigs Gone Wild art trail (in a manner of speaking).
His likeness was painted onto one of the sculptures, which was sponsored by Suffolk County Council, with the model named Ed Sheer-Ham in his honour.
When the pigs were auctioned off to raise money for St Elzabeth Hospice, Ed shelled out to make sure he was the winning bidder.
December 1, 2016 – Taking a break from taking a break
Although officially on a hiatus, Ed did turn up at a special gig towards the end of 2016.
He performed at an EACH fundraiser at the Natural History Museum in London.
December 14, 2016 – On the way back
After a year of shying away from the limelight, Ed returned to Twitter.
The tweet itself was not much – just a light blue background – but it gets fans excited that an announcement about new music could be on the way.
January 7, 2017 – Returning with a bang
Having teased fans with a ‘new music on Friday’ message, Ed co-hosts the Radio 1 breakfast show on the day he released Castle On The Hill, his love song for Suffolk which references Framlingham Castle with its title, and Shape Of You.
Predictably, they both shoot to the top of the charts.
January 13, 2017 – A gig for Ipswich?
The last time Ed played Ipswich was his secret, intimate ‘x’ album promotion at the Steamboat.
But now he’s said he would like to play Portman Road, the home of Ipswich Town FC, someday.
It might be a way off though – his current deal means gigs in the east or south of England are usually held in London. But watch this space.
January 24, 2017 – A local music video
The music video for Castle On The Hill is released, largely shot in Suffolk.
It goes down a storm online, especially with those who know the Suffolk teenagers, such as Hugo Fairbanks-Watson, recruited to star as younger versions of Ed and his friends.
January 27, 2017 – New tour announced
With Castle On The Hill and Shape Of You already topping the charts at numbers two and one respectively, Ed announces his tour for new album ‘÷’ (to be released on March 3), which will take in Europe before heading to the UK.
February 17, 2017 – Happy birthday
Just because it’s his birthday (his 26th), Ed releases another track from ‘÷’ called How Would You Feel (Paean).
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