The tragic inspiration for Ed Sheeran's career-launching song has been revealed

‘We Are’ was written about a close friend

Ed Sheeran
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 7th Nov 2018
Last updated 7th Nov 2018

A new biography about Ed Sheeran has revealed the moving inspiration behind the song which is credited with getting him a record deal. According to the book, Ed Sheeran's song, 'We Are', which was included on one of his very first self-released EPs, was written after the death of a close school friend.

'We Are' was written about the pop star's friend, Stuart Dines, who died while he was on a school ski trip in Cologne in 2006. Ed was just 14 at the time of his friend's death, and 'We Are' was reportedly played at his funeral.

The book explains, 'Ed had to come to terms with the death of someone he saw practically every day. He resolved to write a song about his feelings. He composed it, he said, "whilst I got round to actually accepting it".'

WATCH: Top 10 facts about Ed Sheeran you probably didn't know:

Stuart's dad was also quoted as saying, "Ed was very, very upset, like a lot of the children."

The 'Shape Of You' singer later credited that song with getting him a record deal, when he was starting out in music. Of course, in the years since then, Ed Sheeran's success has been phenomenal with many Top 10 singles.

Exclusive: Ed Sheeran Performs 'Shape Of You' Live:

The 'Castle On The Hill' singer has also written a number of songs for other artists, here are 12 songs that Ed Sheeran has written for other artists, including Taylor Swift, One Direction and Rita Ora.

Exclusive: Ed Sheeran performs 'Castle On The Hill':

Ed Sheeran has recently announced some UK tour dates following on from his '÷' tour. The singer will be performing homecoming shows in just TWO venues in the UK, Leeds and Ipswich, in August 2019.

See all of Ed Sheeran's UK tour dates below:

AUGUST 2019

Leeds Roundhay Park - Fri 16th

Leeds Roundhay Park - Sat 17th

Ipswich Chantry Park - Fri 23rd

Ipswich Chantry Park - Sat 24th

Ipswich Chantry Park - Sun 25th

Ipswich Chantry Park - Mon 26th

Tickets are on sale NOW for Ed Sheeran and you can buy them from Aloud.com

Since returning to music following a year's break in 2016, Ed Sheeran has had phenomenal success starting with his comeback singles, 'Shape Of You' and 'Castle On The Hill' released in January 2017. Then, last year he ended the year with a Christmas Number 1 - a duet with Beyoncé, 'Perfect'.

See which other collabs were released last year:

Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé: 'Perfect'

After delighting fans with his album track 'Perfect', Ed Sheeran decided to give it a little Christmas sprinkle when he teamed up with Beyoncé for a new version of the single.

The tragic inspiration for Ed Sheeran's career-launching song has been revealed
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In other Ed Sheeran news, last month, he serenaded Bruno Mars for his birthday, Bruno posted the video of the pair saying, 'You know you’ve made it when you can hire Ed Sheeran to sing you Happy Birthday. 🍾🥂 #ExtraForever! #HappyBrunoMarsDay!'.

You can hear Ed Sheeran's songs on Northsound 1.