Not many artists can say that the major label debut single they penned at just 18 years old was a Top 10 hit in nine different countries. Fewer still can claim to have sung about crack cocaine addiction and prostitution in front of an audience of 17 million people, including the bulk of the British Royal Family, as part of the Queen’s 2012 Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
“Two years ago at Christmas, I did a gig at Camden Proud Galleries in London," recalled Ed Sheeran in a cover feature interview with Total Guitar in 2012. "I finished up my show and my friend came up to me and said, ‘What are you doing tomorrow?’ He explained that this homeless shelter called Crisis do this thing every year where they get given these big warehouses in lots of different areas around the country. But this particular one was in East London. They sweep the streets, basically, and house homeless people over the Christmas period for a week. They give them healthcare, shoes, food, dental care, cinemas, beds and house them. And my friend asked me if I wanted to be the entertainment.
