Ed Sheeran has paid tribute to his late friend Shane Warne, who tragically died after suffering a heart attack.
The cricketer, 52, was a sports icon and he and Ed, 31, forged a strong friendship after meeting in Shane's native Australia.
Ed, who has just announced he'll be touring Oz and New Zealand next year, spoke to Aussie show The Project about how much he misses his pal.
Explaining how he first met Shane he said: "We met in 2014, when I was doing the Logies. He was staying at the hotel next to me, and do you remember he had that club at Crown?
"He took me and my friends there, and that was like the first time I'd hung out with him.
"Then - mate, he used to do some really amazing things. I've got some friends that are huge into cricket, and he just offered one day like, 'Do you want me to take them to the nets at Lord's [in London]?"
"You guys know - the heart of that bloke was so big, and he's just such a lovely person inside and out. There's so many stories like that."
Ed then spoke about the time he did his ever Australian tour in 2015, revealing Shane made his dad's day.
"He took me in the nets at the Melbourne Cricket Ground," the star explained.
"He was bowling against my dad, and my dad was doing the hits and everything.
"Then I sort of whispered to him, "Give him one proper Shane Warne ball" - man, they fly don't they! They really fly."
It's been a tough year for Ed, who sadly lost his friends entrepreneur Jamal Edwards and music mogul Michael Gudinski, who died aged 68 last March.
Ed explained that his + – = ÷ x Tour, also known as The Mathematics Tour will be bitter sweet due to his loss.
He said: "It's kind of weird as we booked the dates and it's the anniversary of his passing on the date,' he said of Michael.
"It's going to be an emotional day, but it's going to be amazing and I'm so proud to be able to play it. I wish he could see it."
After news broke of Shane's death, Ed shared a photo of the cricketer and Michael together on Instagram with the caption: “The world keeps taking incredible people away.
“I spoke to Shane on the anniversary of Michael’s passing this week saying we were both raising a glass of 707 in his honour, and now this news comes out.
“Shane was the kindest heart, and always went above and beyond to make people feel welcome and special. Such a gentleman.
“He gave so many hours and years of his life to bring joy to others, and was such an amazing friend to me. Il bloody miss you mate. Absolutely gutted.”
