Ed Sheeran opens up about his early days in music sharing his 'self released projects'
"I would go from gig to gig trying to flog CDs with these songs on"
Ed Sheeran is a worldwide superstar now, however back when he was starting out it was a very different story. Going from busking on the streets, to trying to sell his self released songs on CDs at small gigs, Ed has done it all.
Now the singer has opened up about his early days, while also sharing a video of him playing a very early song, which has become a fan favourite.
In the caption, Ed explained how he started out, writing: 'I self released all my first projects, and sorta released them into an abyss of nothingness at the time. No one really cared, except my close family and friends.
'I would go from gig to gig trying to flog CDs with these songs on, praying someone would latch onto them and give me a shot. In the end it was the fanbase that grew organically that was the shot I was given.'
Ed continued: 'Songs like Little Bird were on those very first indie releases I did, and has become a fan fav over the years. It’s been so long releasing on a large commercial scale, that sometimes I do forget how it all started.
'A backpack with a loop pedal, unwashed clothes, and a stack of CD’s. Here’s me singing a song I wrote when I was 17 in a field in Suffolk, 16 years later in a field in Suffolk. Not much has changed eh. Well maybe more tattoos and smaller guitar. Check out Forgotten Favs right now on all platforms, til the next one x'. (sic)
What is the tracklist?
Six songs are featured on Ed's EP 'My Forgotten Favourites', the full tracklist is below.
- 'Grade B'
- 'One Night'
- 'Cold Coffee'
- 'Gold Rush'
- 'Touch and Go'
- 'Little Bird'
You can hear songs by Ed Sheeran on heat radio.
Take a look through Ed Sheeran's career timeline:
Career beginnings
Ed comes from a very creative family - his parents are in the art world and his brother is a composer, so it's no surprise that Ed was encouraged towards music from a young age. He began singing at his local church from the age of four, and learned to play the guitar at 11, even writing songs whilst still at high school. He made it into the National Youth Theatre in London and also performed with Youth Music Theatre UK in 2007.
(Pictured at the 'Ed Sheeran: Made in Suffolk' gallery exhibition in 2019.)
2004: First record 'Spinning Man'
In 2004, Ed started recording his music and independently released his first collection of work, 'Spinning Man'. In 2005, he released 'The Orange Room' EP which featured four tracks - 'I Love You', 'Addicted', 'Misery' and 'Moody Ballad Of Ed'. Ed once revealed that fellow singer-songwriter Damien Rice had been a huge inspiration for him, saying in 2015, "I was only about 11 or 12 years old when I saw Damien play at Whelan's, and that night literally changed my life. The time he spent talking with me after the show made all the difference. It inspired me in a way that I only hope to do for someone else."
(Pictured in 2010.)
2008: Britannia High
In 2008, he moved to London to pursue his music career, playing small venues and busking. In the same year, Ed auditioned for Britannia High at the age of just 16-years-old! The auditions were shown on the telly, with Ed auditioning alongside the likes of Pixie Lott and Skins star Mitch Hewer, to take part in a show all about a fictional theatre school. Although he impressed the judges with his voice, Ed didn't quite have all the skills they were looking for, and did not progress.
2010: SBTV performance of 'You Don't Need Me'
2010 was a fantastic year for Ed - he recorded a studio session for Jamal Edwards' SB.TV, and his live performance of 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You' went viral. Off the back of that, rapper Example invited him on tour, leading Ed to release his critically-acclaimed EP 'Loose Change', which featured his debut single, 'The A-Team'. Watch his incredible SBTV performance on YouTube. 'Loose Change' was certified Gold by the BPI in June 2024, translating to over 100,000 sales in the UK alone!
Ed's career was picking up by now and the internet loved him. He was gaining celebrity fans in the form of footballers, fellow musicians, and even national newspapers. Within that year, he was invited to perform at The Foxxhole, a club run by actor Jamie Foxx, who also invited him to stay at his home.
2011: 'No. 5 Collaborations Project'
On 8th January 2011, Ed released yet another independent EP, 'No. 5 Collaborations Project', featuring UK grime artists such as Wiley, JME, Devlin, and Ghetts which gained mainstream attention. At its peak, the project reached Number 2 in the iTunes charts with over 7,000 first week sales. Within that month Ed had signed to Asylum Records. Ed's international success began on 26th April 2011 when he appeared on Later... with Jools Holland, where he first performed his debut single. 'The A-Team' served as the lead single from his debut studio album '+' and the single sold 58,000 copies in the first week, becoming a top ten hit in eight countries.
His debut album reached Number 1 on the UK albums chart in 2011, selling over 790,000 copies, and became the second best-selling debut album. Today, the album is 6x Platinum and has sold over one million copies. Later in 2011, Ed shared his talents and co-wrote the song, 'Moments', on the debut album by the boy band One Direction. This was the start of Ed Sheeran's hugely successful songwriting career.
2012
BRIT Awards:
British Breakthrough Act
British Male Solo Artist
Ivor Novello Awards:
Best Song Musically and Lyrically for 'The A Team'
2013-14: The Hobbit soundtrack and follow-up album
From March to September 2013, Ed played at arenas and stadiums across North America as the opening act for Taylor. He then went on to headline three sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden a month later. He debuted 'Tenerife Sea' and 'I See Fire', the featured song for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.
Ed was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2014 Grammy Awards. He teased the follow-up album to '+' and by early June 2014 he released 'Sing' which earned his first Number 1 single in the UK and announced his next album would be titled 'x'. 'Thinking Out Loud' was released as the album's third single. Unlike his previous videos, Ed took the lead role where he performed a ballroom dance. It became his second single to reach number one in the UK. Watch the music video here.
2015: Ivor Novello songwriting award
In 2015, he won British Male Solo Artist and British Album of the Year for 'x' at the BRIT Awards. He also received the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year. The album was named the second best-selling album worldwide, debuting at Number 1 in the UK albums chart in 2014 and selling 180,000 copies in its first week. Ed released five songs from 'x' including number 1 hits 'Sing' and 'Thinking Out Loud'. Ed also set up his own record label in 2015, Gingerbread Man Records.
2016: Social media break
After an extremely successful few years, Ed ditched his phone and decided to take a year-long hiatus and social media break. In a post on 13th December 2015, he announced he would be back 'next autumn'. That was the last we saw of Ed Sheeran until 13th December 2016 when he changed his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram handle to a light blue, implying the release of a new album. On 1st January 2017, Ed uploaded a video which showed him holding a piece of paper with the words 'New Music Coming Friday'.
2016: Ed Sheeran wins his first Grammy Award
In 2016, Ed received two Grammys for his song 'Thinking Out Loud'. The pop star took home Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the ceremony in Los Angeles.
2017: Third album '÷'
Ed released his third album, '÷' in January 2017, which became the fastest-selling album by a male solo artist in the UK, and third fastest in UK chart history. It was an amazing year for Ed. 'Shape of You', taken from the album '÷', was named the best selling single of 2017 in the UK and the best selling single of 2017 in the US. In January 2019, Ed Sheeran broke a YouTube record for 'Shape Of You', becoming only the second video ever to reach four billion views. The album was named the best selling album of 2017 in the UK and the US.
2017: MBE Award
In 2017, Ed Sheeran was awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire). He received his award from Prince Charles in December 2017. Ed was originally announced to receive an MBE back in June 2017, for the Queen's birthday honours list. At the time of collecting his award Ed said, "... my grandfather... he died on this day four years ago, so it's actually quite a nice full circle thing, I guess he'd be pretty proud".
2018: Ed won even more awards
BRIT Awards:
Global Success Award
Grammy Awards:
Best Pop Solo Performance for 'Shape of You'
Best Pop Vocal Album for '÷'
Ivor Novello Awards:
Songwriter of the Year
Most Performed Work for 'Shape of You'
2018: Ed Sheeran wins two Grammy Awards
Not only did Ed win the Global Success Award at The BRITs, he also won two prestigious Grammy Awards. The pop star won Best Pop Solo Performance for 'Shape of You' and Best Pop Vocal Album for '÷' (Divide).
2019: 'Edchup'
Ed joined forces with Heinz for their 150th birthday to launch his very own Heinz Tomato Ketchup, dubbed "Edchup". Edchup was apparently created after he shared several social media posts declaring his love for Heinz Tomato Ketchup. What a guy.
2019: Ed's statue appears in Moscow
A giant Ed Sheeran statue appeared in Moscow ahead of his gig there at the end of July 2019. The huge statue was done to commemorate Ed's first performance in the country, and shows the singer in a lying down pose outside Gorky Park, wearing a white graffitied shirt, red trousers, white socks and aviator shades.
2019: Fourth album and semi-retirement
In July 2019 he released his album 'No.6 Collaborations Project' which was made up entirely of incredible collaborations with other artists. In 2019 alone he released several Top 10 songs, including, 'I Don't Care' with Justin Bieber, and 'Beautiful People' featuring Khalid. Ed also won the Global Success at the BRIT Awards for the second year running, and tied the knot to Cherry in 2019 as well. Ed was also honoured with a statue in Moscow ahead of his gig there at the end of July 2019. The huge statue was done to commemorate Ed's first performance in the country, and shows the singer in a lying down pose outside Gorky Park, wearing a white graffitied shirt, red trousers, white socks and aviator shades.
Ed announced in August 2019 that he would be semi-retiring after being on tour for two years. Ed said, "As you may or not know, I've been on the Divide tour for over two years now and this is the last day of the whole thing. There is something very bittersweet about it. I love that you guys are here and we are ending it in Ipswich. This is my last gig for probably 18 months."
2020: Birth of his first child
Ed announced the birth of his first child in September 2020! He and Cherry welcomed a little girl named Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran in August, announcing the new on Instagram with a super cute snap of some baby socks. He wrote, 'Ello! A quick message from me as I have some personal news that I wanted to share with you... Last week, with the help of an amazing delivery team, Cherry gave birth to our beautiful and healthy daughter - Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran. We are completely in love with her. Both mum and baby are doing amazing and we are on cloud nine over here. We hope that you can respect our privacy at this time. Lots of love and I'll see you when it's time to come back, Ed xCherry Seaborn.'
2021: Ed hints at new album AND tour
In May 2021, Ed dropped a MASSIVE hint that we had new music and a brand new tour coming our way. On his 30th birthday Ed stated that he'd 'be back online with the 4th instalment in the series later this year' - later, after revealing he's going to be the shirt sponsor at Ipswich Town Football Club, Ed released a brand new logo made up of his album titles '+', 'x' and '÷', plus - and =, with the word 'tour' underneath.
2021: Ed releases single 'Bad Habits'
In June 2021, Ed released his single 'Bad Habits', the first from his forthcoming fifth studio album!
In April 2022, the song hit 1 billion streams on Spotify, making this his tenth song to reach this amazing milestone.
2021: Ed announces album '=' and new single 'Visiting Hours'
Ed announced his fourth solo studio album '=' in August 2021. The follow up to 'Divide', the 'Afterglow' singer and new dad described it as a "coming of age record", which will be released on 29th October 2021.
As well as his track 'Visiting Hours', Ed released another single from his upcoming album called 'Shivers' on 10th September 2021.
2021: Ed announces 'The Mathematics Tour' for 2022
On 17th September Ed announced that he is heading on a huge stadium tour in 2022! Named 'The Mathematics Tour', the singer will be heading around the UK between May-July next year, with some shows across Ireland, Central Europe and Scandinavia too.
2021: Ed releases '='
On 29th October 2021, Ed officially released his album '=' ('Equals'). Sharing a picture of himself alongside his new album cover, the singer wrote: '= (equals) is out now. This is my favourite album I've made, I'm so proud of it. Thank you to all the wonderful people who worked on it with me. To the fans, I hope you love it as much I do, it's been a long journey to this point. Have a fantastic weekend xx'.
2022: Ed wins Songwriter of the Year at The BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards 2022 with Mastercard were rather eventful for Ed, to say that least! Kicking the ceremony off, Ed took to the stage with rock band Bring Me The Horizon, as they performed his hit track 'Bad Habits'. As well as plenty of pyrotechnics, the amazing performance also involved a healthy amount of lasers, aerial performers and a contortionist.
Not only that, but Ed Sheeran went on to be awarded with the Songwriter of the Year Award, presented to him by scientist Brian Cox. The singer paid tribute to his wife Cherry in his acceptance speech, before taking to the stage for a second time to sing 'The Joker and The Queen'.
2022 - '2Step' remixes
Ed Sheeran released his '2Step' remix with Lil Baby in April, and has followed this up with several other versions of the song remixed by different artists. The music video for his song with Lil Baby was filmed in Kyiv before the war started, and Ed announced that he would be donating his record royalities from the song's YouTube streams to the DEC's Ukrain Humanitarian Appeal.
The remixes which have been released and shared by Ed since include a version with Ukrainian band Antytila. The song was released with a music video filmed in Ukraine featuring the band and lyrics in Ukrainian.
2022: Ed Sheeran released '= tour edition'
Ed Sheeran released a new version of his 2021 album '=' in May 2022. The new 'Tour Edition' had nine extra tracks, including two unreleased tracks from the film Yesterday, which Ed starred in. It also included several collabs, including 'The Joker And The Queen' with Taylor Swift and '2Step' with Lil Baby.
2022: Ed Sheeran closes the Platinum Jubilee celebrations
Ed Sheeran was chosen to close the Platinum Jubilee celebrations by performing at the Pageant outside Buckingham Palace.
2022: Ed Sheeran revealed as the most played artist of 2021
Phonographic Performance Limited (PPL) announced in June 2022, that Ed Sheeran was the most played artist in 2021! His song 'Bad Habits' was also the most played song in 2021.
2023: Ed Sheeran premieres song about his friendship with Jamal Edwards
Following a cryptic announcement, Ed Sheeran has premiered a new song about his friendship with his late friend Jamal Edwards, who helped him in the early days of his career.
The video was filmed at Chelsea Football Club's Stamford Bridge, with the singer standing in the centre of the pitch surrounded by candles.
2023: Ed Sheeran appears to confirm the name of his sixth album
Ed Sheeran confirmed the name of his sixth album on February 2023, when fans started to receive a notebook with the subtract symbol in it. Ed then shared a fan's post which included a photo of the book. He then confirmed the release date would be 5th May 2023.
2023: Hot sauce line
We know Ed is a lover of condiments - anyone remember Edchup? - so it's no surprise that he's brought out his own range. Explaining how he made it, Ed said: "I had a year of whittling down the perfect flavours with a great mixing team, and we settled on two absolute belters, the Tingly and the Xtra Tingly. I've had them on tour with me recently to try them with all sorts of meals, and there really isn't anything they don't go with (except bananas, don't do that). I'm so excited to bring this product out, it's genuinely something I use every day on all three meals."
2023: Ed Sheeran announces mini tour for UK and Europe
Ed Sheeran confirmed a mini tour for the UK and Europe including four dates in the UK. These were the only dates he performed in the UK in 2023.
2023: Ed Sheeran: The Sum of It All
Ed Sheeran announced a Disney+ documentary called The Sum of It All. The four-part series follows Ed showing some of the inspiration behind his biggest hits and includes never-before-seen personal footage. The documentary is now available to stream.
2023: Ed Sheeran released 'Substract'
Ed Sheeran released his sixth studio album 'Subtract' on 5th May along with a visual album, available on YouTube. The album features 14 songs and took the singer 10 years to write.
2023: Ed Sheeran releases Tingly Ted's
Ed Sheeran released his own brand of hot sauce called Tingly Ted's. The singer said: "I had a year of whittling down the perfect flavours with a great mixing team, and we settled on two absolute belters. The Tingly and the Xtra Tingly."
2023: 'Shape Of You' goes 10 x Platinum
Undeniably one of Ed's most successful songs, and being the first song to hit two billion streams on Spotify, it comes as no surprise that 'Shape Of You' has multiple Platinum certifications! In August 2023, it was revealed that the track became BRIT certified 10 x Platinum, just over six years after its initial release.
2023: Ed releases his seventh album 'Autumn Variations'
Ed took to Instagram to announce the name and release date of his seventh album. Titled 'Autumn Variations', the album was released on September 29th. It was the first Ed's albums to be released on his own record label, Gingerbread Man Records.
He also released a live version of the album, which was recorded in fans' homes.
2023: Ed becomes the first British act to win the Gold BRIT Billion Award
In October 2023, Ed became the first British act to receive the Gold BRIT Billion Award. The accolade celebrates Ed's music receiving an incredible 10 billion UK streams.
Now read:
Ed Sheeran's awards: A timeline of his biggest accolades 🏆
15 of Ed Sheeran's TV and film cameos
Ed Sheeran's career journey: From street busker to global superstar