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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
Background information
Birth name	Edward Christopher Sheeran
Born	(1991-02-17) 17 February 1991 (age 33)
Origin	Halifax, UK
Genres	Folk rock, acoustic, hip-hop, grime
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instrument(s)	Vocals, guitar loop pedals
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Asylum / Atlantic Records (2011–present)
Website	edsheeran.com

Edward Christopher "Ed" Sheeran (born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter who is currently signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records. Sheeran broke through commercially in June 2011, when his debut single "The A Team" debuted at number 3 on the UK chart.

Early life

Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire to Irish parents, before moving to Framlingham, Suffolk. He learned guitar at a very young age, and began writing songs during his time at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham. His early childhood memories, that he referred to in a interview on the Zane Lowe show, included listening to Van Morrison on his countless trips to London with his parents and going to an intimate gig with Damien Rice in Ireland when he was 11. He also opened for Nizlopi in Norwich in April 2008 after being one of their guitar technicians.

Music career

2005–2011

Sheeran began recording in 2005, which led to the release of his first EP, The Orange Room EP. Sheeran also released 2 albums, a self-titled one in 2006 and Want Some? in 2007. He moved to London in 2008 to play gigs, starting off in very small venues, playing every day, to as little as five people . In 2008, he auditioned for the ITV series Britannia High.

In 2009, Sheeran played 312 gigs. He said that he read an interview with James Morrison that said that Morrison had done 200 gigs in a year, and Sheeran wanted to beat him on this number.Also in 2009, he released another EP, You Need E's, just before going on tour with Just Jack. In February 2010 Sheeran posted a video through SB.TV, which led to mainstream rapper Example asking Sheeran to tour with him. Also in February 2010 he released his second independent release, his critically acclaimed Loose Change EP, which featured one of his most popular songs "The A Team". A video was made for the song, and cost only £20 to make. This was also his debut single once he was signed.

In April 2010, after leaving his old management company, Sheeran bought a ticket to Los Angeles, with no contacts other than one poetry night. He played open mic nights all over the city, before being spotted at 'The Foxxhole' by Jamie Foxx, who invited him to stay at his house and record for the rest of his stay. Throughout 2010, Sheeran began to be seen by more people over the internet through YouTube and his fan-base grew, with him also getting credit from The Independent newspaper, England football captain Rio Ferdinand and Elton John. Sheeran released three more EPs in 2010, including Ed Sheeran: Live at the Bedford and Songs I Wrote With Amy which is a collection of love songs he wrote in Wales with fellow singer songwriter Amy Wadge.

2011–present

On 8 January 2011, Sheeran released his final independent EP, No.5 Collaborations Project featuring appearances by grime artists including Wiley, JME, Devlin, Sway and Ghetts. With this EP, Sheeran gained mainstream attention for reaching number 1 in the iTunes chart without any promotion or label, selling over 7,000 copies in its first week. Three months later, Sheeran put on a free show to fans at the Barfly in Camden. Over 1,000 fans turned up to see the show, so Sheeran ended up playing four different shows to make sure everyone saw a gig, including a gig outside on the street after the venue had closed. Later that month, Sheeran was signed to Asylum / Atlantic Records.

On 26 April, Sheeran appeared on the TV music show Later... with Jools Holland – where he performed the song "The A Team". Six weeks later "The A Team" was released as a digital download in the United Kingdom. The release served as the lead single from Sheeran's debut studio album, entitled + – which was released through Atlantic Records on 12 September 2011. "The A Team" entered the UK chart at number 3, selling over 58,000 copies in the first week. It was congratulated on being the highest-selling and highest-charting debut single of 2011.

During a headline set in the BBC Introducing tent at Glastonbury Festival 2011, Sheeran announced that "You Need Me" would be released on 28 August as the second single from the album.

Sheeran will also be performing at the Festival Republic Stage during the Reading festival, performed live alongside Mikill Pane and Wretch 32 at Bestival, and will perform on the main stage of the 2011 Jersey Live festival.

Discography

Albums

Collaboration albums

Extended plays

Singles

As featured artist

Other charted songs

Guest appearances

References

1. ^ Haugh, Richard (10 January 2011). "Ed Sheeran battles Rihanna for top spot in album chart". BBC News. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
2. ^ UK Singles Chart – Week Ending: 25 June 2011 The Official Charts Company, Retrieved 2011-08-01.
3. Ed Sheeran – The Irish Times – Fri, Sep 09, 2011
4. ^ "Introducing – Ed Sheeran". BBC Suffolk. April 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2011.
5. Tony Fentons Blog > Daily Download – Ed Sheeran
6. "The amazing story of Ed Sheeran". Retrieved 9 August 2011.
7. "Elt says Ed's the Cat's whiskers | The Sun |Showbiz|Music". The Sun. 15 January 2011. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
8. BBC Suffolk (13 January 2011). "Ed Sheeran signs with Asylum Records / Atlantic Records following 'No. 5 Collaborations Project' success". BBC News. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
9. ^ "Ed Sheeran – UK Charts". www.chartstats.com/.
10. Peak positions for the extended plays in the UK:
    • For "You Need Me": "Chart Archive > New Entries > 28 May 2011". Retrieved 27 July 2011.
    • For "Loose Change": "Chart Archive > New Entries > 25 June 2011". Retrieved 27 July 2011.
    • For "Songs I Wrote With Amy": "Chart Archive > New Entries > 16 July 2011". Retrieved 27 July 2011.
    • For "iTunes Festival: London 2011": "Chart Archive > New Entries > 30 July 2011". Retrieved 1 August 2011.
11. "Ed Sheeran – One Take EP". Download A Mixtape (DAM).
12. Irish Singles Chart – Week Ending: 30 June 2011 Irish Recorded Music Association, Retrieved 2011-07-27.
13. Chart Week Ending: July 2 2011 Retrieved 2011-06-30.
14. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110806cluk.txt
15. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/singles-chart/

External links

• Interview
• Official website
• Template:Myspace
• Ed Sheeran on Facebook
• Ed Sheeran on Twitter
• Ed Sheeran's channel on YouTube

Template:Persondata

• Use dmy dates from January 2011
• 1991 births
• Living people
• British singer-songwriters
• English people of Irish descent