Ed Sheeran is sitting in his dressing room at Melbourne Cricket Ground. In the background, Tom Jones can be heard sound-checking.
鈥淲e鈥檙e singing the Prince song, Kiss, together,鈥 says Sheeran, 鈥渂ut we鈥檝e already rehearsed that.鈥
The night before, Sheeran and his new pal Jones 鈥 who performed together in Australia 鈥 went out for a few glasses of wine, and 74-year-old Jones regaled the 23-year-old with stories of appearing in The Simpsons and hanging out with Elvis Presley in Las Vegas back in the day.
This is the world in which Sheeran now lives, where rather than him names in music to learn from, they request an audience with him.
Elton John asked to perform with him at the Grammy Awards in 2013, and Paul McCartney, after the special concert earlier this year, marking the 50th anniversary of The Beatles landing in America, invited him to his trailer for a margarita.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 expecting that one. I was with my parents and ready to go home for the night, and the next minute, that happened,鈥 he says, like it was no big deal.
He counts Taylor Swift and Harry Styles among his closest showbiz friends, and while recording his second album x last year, Friends star Courteney Cox let him stay in her Malibu home.
Sheeran had been performing in LA when Spin City and Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, and his actor wife Christa Miller, asked if their daughter could have her photo taken with him after the show. 鈥淭he next night, I was having dinner in Malibu and Bill and Christa were in the same restaurant. They came over to thank me for being nice to their daughter and then invited me to a house party.
"I thought, 鈥榃hy not?鈥 It turned out to be Courteney鈥檚 house party. It was miles from anywhere, and I鈥檇 sent my driver home so I had to stay over, and that鈥檚 when we became friends,鈥 the singer explains.
He鈥檚 a long way from Framlingham, the Suffolk village where he grew up, but spend any amount of time with Sheeran and it鈥檚 not hard to understand why so many A-listers want to hang out with him; he鈥檚 impeccably mannered for a start, and in a way most multi-million-selling artists just aren鈥檛. Unassuming isn鈥檛 the word.
He admits he鈥檚 changed a bit, though, since his first album was released and worldwide fame followed. He鈥檚 a bit more paranoid, and wary around new people, he says, but he鈥檚 generally much happier with his lot than he was three years ago.
鈥淚 was quite well known among people my age, from the mix-tapes and YouTube videos that were doing the rounds, so I would get stopped and asked for photos and things,鈥 he says. 鈥淭hat still happens, although back four years ago, I was broke, so there wasn鈥檛 the upside. Now I鈥檓 financially comfortable, and I鈥檝e made my family financially comfortable, so I can see the rewards.鈥
Other musicians seek him out too, including Pharrell Williams and producer Rick Rubin, who both went to Sheeran offering their services on a collaboration. The track with Williams, Sing, resulted in a No 1 single, while Rubin produced two tracks on x 鈥 pronounced multiply 鈥 Don鈥檛 and Bloodstream.
Of Sing, he says it was the first time he鈥檚 tried to write a song without a deep, emotional meaning.
鈥淕oing in with Pharrell, I knew I wanted to make a bona fide pop song and we were just trying some things out. It鈥檚 just me explaining how I had fun on a night out, had a drink and had a dance with a girl, and that鈥檚 it.
鈥淚鈥檝e never really done that before, and it was nice to do it and to not worry about how it would make people feel, and whether it was me opening up enough. I just wanted to write a song that was fun.鈥
He says if the aftermath of his debut + taught him anything, it was that his songs were being used as emotional crutches by his fans.
鈥淚鈥檇 get people talking to me saying they鈥檇 listened to my record on their own in their bedroom, while eating ice cream and crying, or that they鈥檇 listened to my record after they鈥檇 broken up with a partner, so it was a very melancholic album.
鈥淚 learned I need to give people some fun here and there. I am not a hugely depressed person, I like to have fun and the melancholy doesn鈥檛 reflect who I am. Sometimes, it鈥檚 just good to sing about stuff that鈥檚 pointless. Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo is not a song that comes from a lot of heartbreak or upset, but it is a great pop song, and I want to do that too.鈥
Despite the fide pop song, he still doesn鈥檛 see himself as a pop singer, however much he鈥檇 like to be.
鈥淚 really want to be in that world, among those big pop singers,鈥 he says, referring to the likes of his friends Taylor Swift and Pharrell Williams.
鈥淚 think I am placed in that world when it comes to award shows and things, but I don鈥檛 get mentioned in the same sentence as those stars when it comes to music.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not about sales these days, either, it鈥檚 about status. My sales can match up to most other big artists, but I don鈥檛 get mentioned in the same breath. It鈥檚 all to do with the way you carry and portray yourself.鈥 If he鈥檚 not seen as a pop singer yet 鈥 he鈥檚 more your little brother鈥檚 scruffy mate who plays the guitar 鈥 it won鈥檛 be long. So far, x is the fastest-selling album in the 海角视频 this year, having sold 180,000 copies during its first week, beating Coldplay鈥檚 Ghost Stories, which had previously held the record, by around 15,000 copies.
鈥淵eah, but,鈥 counters Sheeran, 鈥渢hat Coldplay album is the only one they鈥檝e not really promoted, so they could still beat me if they wanted.鈥
His grasp of the way records sell is second to none, and some might accuse him of careerism. It鈥檚 simply not the done thing for an artist to admit they鈥檙e so acutely aware of how their music is selling, or how many tickets have sold for a forthcoming tour. Of course, Sheeran鈥檚 not really an exception here 鈥 almost every artist is just as aware of this stuff as he is, he just talks about it in interviews, while they feign ignorance.
After the 海角视频 leg of his tour, he鈥檚 off around the world again, due to finish up next August, when he plans to take a break and write some more songs.
鈥淭his is the first tour I鈥檝e ever done where I set off on one date and know when I鈥檓 going to finish. have started, and then 30-date tours in other countries keep getting added as we go along,鈥 says Sheeran.
鈥淭his time, it鈥檚 structured, and if there鈥檚 one thing I鈥檝e been lacking for the past few years, it鈥檚 structure.鈥
* Ed Sheeran plays Birmingham鈥檚 NIA on October 18 and then Birmingham鈥檚 LG Arena on October 19 and 20. Tickets for the Oct 20 gig are still available. For more information visit
