Ed Sheeran letter reveals he got straight 'F's in his music course
He didn't let that stop him
Ed Sheeran might be a multi-award winning pop super star, but just 10 years ago he was an upcoming musician, trying to make it big. And, as this new exhibition shows, you don't have to pass all your exams - even if they are in music, to be a very successful pop star.
A keen guitarist, Ed started a diploma at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, Surrey, but in 2010, as the letter below shows, Ed's results were straight 'F's! However, not to be deterred, the 'Sing' pop star left the college as his music career began to take off.
The new exhibition, which opens today (20th August) in Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, has been curated by the singer's dad, and is a collection of personal objects and memorabilia. The exhibition also includes the lyrics to one of the first songs he wrote, at the age of 13, and several portraits of the pop star painted by Irish artist Colin Davidson.
In a book that accompanies the exhibition, Ed's dad describes how his son was "disillusioned" with the course after just a few weeks. He went on to explain how Ed had been given the opportunity to support Just Jack saying, "He then rang us along with his wife, Imogen to say that he was determined to go, even if it meant him leaving college. Neither of us were surprised. Ed was developing a fearless gut instinct."
WATCH: Exclusive performance of Ed Sheeran performing 'Shape Of You' for us
Of course, since releasing his debut single 'The A Team' in 2011, Ed has had huge success. This year alone, he has had two Number 1 hits with, 'I Don't Care' and 'Beautiful People', both of which had very memorable videos.
The 'I Don't Care' music video featured Ed and Justin Bieber dressed up as a corn on the cob, a panda and an ice cream cone, whereas the 'Beautiful People' music video was very relatable. In the 'Beautiful People' music video, a couple wanting to go on holiday find themselves on a yacht, surrounded by beautiful people.
Now take a look at songs that you might not know where written by Ed Sheeran:
Olly Murs - 'Love Shine Down', featuring Jessie J (2010)
'Love Shine Down' featuring Jessie J was an album track on Olly's self-titled album from 2010, co-written by Ed, Olly and four other people.
Hear the song on YouTube here.
One Direction - 'Little Things' (2012)
Co-written by Ed, 'Little Things' was a Number 1 hit for the boy band One Direction in 2012. It appeared on their second album, 'Take Me Home', and Ed worked with songwriter Fiona Bevan and producer Jake Gosling to create it.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
They also worked together on 'Moments', from their debut album 'Up All Night'.
Taylor Swift - 'Everything Has Changed' featuring Ed Sheeran (2013)
Written by both Ed and Taylor, this single reached the Top 10 around the world in 2013.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Ed and Taylor also worked together on 'End Game' from her sixth album 'Reputation', released in 2017.
One Direction - '18' (2014)
'18' was another song released by One Direction and written by Ed Sheeran. It was a promotional song released in 2014.
Hear the song on YouTube here.
Jessie Ware - 'Say You Love Me'
Ed co-wrote 'Say You Love Me' and even provided backing vocals for Jessie Ware's track. The stripped back love song features on her fourth album 'Tough Love' which came out in 2014.
Hilary Duff - 'Tattoo' (2015)
Disney star Hilary Duff released her 5th album 'Breathe In. Breathe Out.' in 2015, worked with Ed on the song 'Tattoo'.
Watch the video on YouTube.
Justin Bieber - 'Love Yourself' (2015)
Ed joined forces with Justin for 'Love Yourself' which was a hit in 2015 all around the world, reaching the top spot in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Sweden, as well as spending six weeks at Number 1 in the UK. Ed nearly kept the track for his own album, '÷', but it ended up with Justin instead.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Ed and Biebs also worked together on 'The Feeling', which appeared on his fourth album 'Purpose' released in 2015.
Rixton - 'Hotel Ceiling' (2015)
Released in 2015, this song was the third song from Rixton's debut album. Ed worked on the song with producer Benny Blanco, and the video starred Hollywood actress Alice Eve.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Rudimental - 'Lay It All On Me' featuring Ed Sheeran (2015)
Co-written by drum and bass group Rudimental and Ed, this single was a hit in 2015 and appeared on the group's second album 'We The Generation' in that year. It was the second collaboration for Ed and the group, who co-wrote and also remixed 'Bloodstream' on Ed's album 'x'.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
The Weeknd - 'Dark Times' (2015)
Ed and The Weeknd worked together on 'Dark Times' for his second album, 'Beauty Behind the Madness'. As well as writing the song together, Ed also provided vocals on the track.
Major Lazer featuring Justin Bieber and Mø - 'Cold Water' (2016)
Ed was also co-writer on another Justin Bieber track, which also worked with DJ group Major Lazer, made up of Diplo, Jillionaire and Walshy Fire, with the song also featuring Danish singer and producer MØ. It reached Number 1 in the UK in 2016.
Watch the lyric video on YouTube here.
Matt Terry - 'When Christmas Comes Around' (2016)
Ed worked with his collaborator Amy Wadge for The X Factor 2016 winner Matt Terry on his winners' single, 'When Christmas Comes Around'.
Watch the official music video on YouTube.
Robbie Williams - 'Pretty Woman' (2016)
'Pretty Woman' is featured on Robbie's album, 'The Heavy Entertainment Show', released in 2016. Ed co-wrote the song with Robbie, teamed up with Benny Blanco again and also producer Steve Robson for the track.
Hear the song on YouTube here.
Eminem - 'River' (2017)
Ed co-wrote and appeared on Eminem's track 'River' from his 2017 album 'Revival'. It reached Number 1 in the UK charts and was also certified Platinum. The music video for the song received a nomination for Best Cinematography at the MTV VMAs 2018.
Watch the official video on YouTube.
Zara Larsson - 'Don't Let Me Be Yours' (2017)
This song was co-written by Zara and Ed along with some other songwriters including Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid. Ed also provided backing vocals on the track, which appeared on Zara's second album 'So Good', released in 2017.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
James Blunt - 'Make Me Better' (2017)
James hired Ed's songwriting talents for his 5th album 'The Afterlove', working on both 'Make Me Better' and 'Time of Our Lives'.
Listen to the song on YouTube.
Liam Payne - 'Strip That Down', featuring Quavo (2017)
The debut solo single from former One Directioner Liam Payne was co-written by Ed, Liam and Quavo who also features on the track. Ed also provided uncredited backing vocals for the song, which reached Number 3 in the UK charts.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
They also worked together on Liam's 2019 single 'Stack It Up' featuring A Boogie wit da Hoodie.
Rita Ora - 'Your Song' (2017)
Rita Ora made her comeback in 2017 with a song penned by the fantastic Ed, which also served as the lead single from her second album, 'Phoenix, released in 2018.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
DJ Snake and Lauv - 'A Different Way' (2017)
DJ Snake and Lauv worked together on 'A Different Way' in 2017, roping in Ed for the songwriting along with Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid, as well as Steve Mac, Ilsey Juber and Lindy Robbins.
Watch the official video on YouTube.
Anne-Marie - '2002' (2018)
Anne-Marie's most popular song as it stands is '2002', which she co-wrote with Ed and who encouraged her to release it as a single. It peaked at Number 3 in the UK charts.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Olly Murs - 'Moves' featuring Snoop Dogg (2018)
Ed and Olly teamed up once again in 2018 for Olly's comeback single, 'Moves', which also featured vocals from Snoop Dogg. The track featured on the soundtrack for Johnny English Strikes Again.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Jess Glynne - 'Thursday' (2018)
Ed helped Jess Glynne pen this song, which is all about how people shouldn't be forced to hide behind a mask and should feel free to express themselves. Jess has stated that it's one of her "favourites", and that it's "close to her heart".
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Little Mix - 'Woman Like Me' featuring Nicki Minaj (2018)
Little Mix's feminist powerhouse track featuring Nicki Minaj was actually co-written by Ed himself along with Jess Glynne for her own album, 'Always In Between', but said that it "didn't fit" with the other songs and gave it to Little Mix instead.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Keith Urban - 'Parallel Line' (2018)
Ed worked with country music star Keith Urban on his single 'Parallel Line' which featured on his 10th album 'Graffiti U'. Ed and Keith worked with Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid as well as Benny Blanco, Amy Wadge and Julia Michaels - and also features a sample of 'Everglow' by Coldplay from their album, 'A Head Full of Dreams'.
Listen to the song on YouTube.
'Because I Had You' - Shawn Mendes (2018)
Shawn worked with Ryan on his self-titled third album, released in May 2018. Ryan co-wrote 'Particular Taste' and 'Because I Had You', and also co-produced both of those songs.
Listen on YouTube.
Boyzone - 'Because' (2018)
Boyzone teamed up with Ed for 'Because', the lead single from their final album 'Thank You & Goodnight', released in 2018. It was written by Ed along with lead singer Ronan Keating as well as John Shanks and Amy Wadge.
Watch the official music video on YouTube.
Benny Blanco, Halsey and Khalid - 'Eastside' (2018)
Singers Halsey and Khalid teamed up with producer Benny Blanco on 2018 track 'Eastside', working with Ed on the songwriting. The track went to Number 1 in the UK and was also certified 2x Platinum.
Watch the official music video on YouTube.
BTS - 'Make It Right' (2019)
South Korean band BTS worked with Ed on their 2019 song 'Make It Better', which appeared on their EP 'Map of the Soul: Persona'. They released another version of the song later in 2019 with featured singer Lauv.
Watch the official music video on YouTube.
Westlife - 'Hello My Love' (2019)
Ed Sheeran wrote the comeback single for Irish band Westlife, 'Hello My Love', which appeared on their 2019 album 'Spectrum'. The song became a massive hit with Westlife fans.
Watch the music video on YouTube here.
Ed also worked with Westlife on some of their other 'Spectrum' album tracks: 'Better Man', 'Dynamite', 'My Blood' and 'One Last Time', as well as non-album track 'Anywhere'.
Anne-Marie - 'Beautiful' (2021)
In July 2021, Anne-Marie released her track 'Beautiful', co-written by Ed Sheeran and Max Martin. The track features on her second studio album 'Therapy', which was released on 23rd July 2021.
JLS - 'Eternal Love' (2021)
Fans were over the moon when JLS announced that they were getting back together - not only were the boys heading on a reunion tour, but they were even releasing new music. And what better way to break out onto the music scene again than by releasing a track co-written by Ed Sheeran?!
The track 'Eternal Love' featured on JLS's latest album '2.0', which was released on 3rd December 2021.
Watch the music video on YouTube
Camilla Cabello -'Bam Bam' (2022)
Ed joined Camilla Cabello on her track 'Bam Bam' and even co-wrote the song. According to Camilla they worked together with Ricky Reed and Scott Harris to turn an older version of the song into the Latin hit it is now, and it only took them a day to write and record it!
Watch the music video on YouTube
Lewis Capaldi - 'Pointless' (2022)
Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi spoke about the process of writing his song 'Pointless' with Ed, telling the BBC he was hesitant to collaborate with him: "Every British artist who has a Number 1 record seems to have Ed on it. That's a testament to how good he is but I was wary of it. My ego was going, 'I don't want people thinking Ed wrote my song'."
In the end, the pair did work together and co-wrote the track, which was released on Friday 2nd December and will feature on Lewis' second album, 'Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent', slated for release in 2023.
Watch the lyric video on YouTube.
David Guetta, Anne-Marie, Coi Leray - 'Baby Don't Hurt Me' (2023)
Ed is credited as a writer on David Guetta's huge track 'Baby Don't Hurt Me', which features Anne-Marie and Coi Leray. The song also features a sample from the classic dance track, 'What is Love?' by Haddaway.
Perrie - 'Forget About Us' (2024)
Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards released her first solo single in April 2024 and it was co-written by Ed Sheeran. The singer revealed Ed sent her the song which she loved, and after making a few tweaks to it she recorded it.
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You can hear songs by Ed Sheeran on Northsound 1.
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