A few years ago, British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was releasing his own videos on YouTube and playing hundreds of gigs a year in the hopes of landing a record deal and making a career out of the music he’d been playing since he first stepped on a stage when he was 15 years old.
Today, the most popular “ginger” in the music biz has Elton John on speed-dial and just finished up an appearance at the closing ceremonies of the London Summer Olympics playing a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here” to a TV audience of approximately 3.8 billion people. Up until recently, the Sheeran phenomenon has been more of a uniquely British occurrence, but with the domestic release of his debut album, Sheeran is setting his sights on North American audiences.
He plays a very sold-out show at Echo Beach on Sept. 21.
“Toronto, actually Canada as a whole has been a very good country for me so far,” says a modest Sheeran during a recent interview. “It is really nice to see how it is building.”
A natural performer, Sheeran dropped out of high school and started “gigging” and didn’t stop until he signed a record deal with the aforementioned Crocodile Rocker Elton John’s own Rocket Records.
In 2011, he released a song called “A-Team” that debuted at number three on the U.K. singles chart and made him into a star.
His wide-ranging influences include standard singer-songwriters such as Van Morrison and Crosby, Stills and Nash alongside hip hop icons such as Jay-Z and Eminem. And they are all jumbled up inside Sheeran’s simple, no-nonsense approach: him, his tiny Little Martin guitar and his loop pedals.
“I think, you know, it is healthy to draw influences from all different types of music,” Sheeran explains. “I listen to everything from rap and heavy metal to singer-songwriters and stuff. I keep my mind open to other styles.”
One quality that separates Sheeran from some performers is a work ethic and commitment to entertainment that belies his young age of just 21.
“I think if you’re in the entertainment business, you need to entertain and give them a good show,” he says. “And you have to remember that it is about them.”
And then there’s the Lego.
One of Sheeran’s everyman traits is a love of Lego. He has a habit of piecing together elaborate people or structures to while away the time before taking the stage for shows, not to mention one of his most popular tunes is entitled “Lego House.” Talk about product placement. Let’s just say, people from around the world are, right now, packaging up Lego sets to send to their favourite pop star.
His meteoric rise isn’t uncommon. It’s the coming out the other side with all your faculties intact that seems to give people trouble.
“I think you need to maintain good people around you,” Sheeran explains. “A lot of artists fade out because people don’t have their best interests at heart.”
One thing we know with certainty, if you don’t have tickets to his Toronto show, yet, expect to pay bundles.
Go to edsheeran.com for details.
