Ed Sheeran with Brenda Edwards, right, and Tanisha Artman, the mother and sister of Jamal Edwards, at Tuesday night’s gala
(Picture: Getty Images for Jamal Edwards S)The mother of Jamal Edwards pledged to continue his work helping young people — as Ed Sheeran, Jessie Ware and Lewis Capaldi performed at a memorial gala for the late music pioneer.
Edwards, who founded online music platform SBTV and was made an MBE for services to music in 2015, died in February at the age of 31.
Tuesday night’s gala also served as the first fundraiser for the Jamal Edwards Self-Belief Trust, which aims to help young people at risk of homelessness and give them the opportunity to thrive in the media industry.
Speaking before the event, the entrepreneur’s mother Brenda Edwards said she will “never get over his death”.
But Mrs Edwards, a panelist on ITV’s Loose Women, added: “He’s here, I feel it; his presence is with me every single day. His generosity is what we want to continue. He was always about championing young people. That was his main aim.”
The evening at new venue HERE, at Outernet in Soho, was hosted by Hollywood actor Terry Crews. Singer Ware remembered her friend Edwards as “a huge supporter of everyone whether you were doing well or not, he was there to kind of gee you up.
“We had a dance at Ed’s wedding. He got me tickets for Chelsea — even though I’m a Man United fan, he was like, just that guy. We’d talk a lot, he was just a wonderful person.”
Edwards founded SBTV while still at school. It went on to help launch the careers of artists including Stormzy, Dave, Emeli Sandé and Sheeran, who paid tribute to the entrepreneur, calling him his “brother”.
He said: “Jamal was just all about finding people and showing people new opportunities, at a time where the industry was mostly based in London.
“My manager, my record label, saw me first on SBTV. I really don’t think I would have been allowed through certain doors if it hadn’t been for Jamal.”
The night raised over £100,000 with £12,000 of that donated by America’s Got Talent star Crews, who became emotional at times as he spoke about his “kindred spirit” Edwards.
A signed acetate of Sheeran’s yet-to-be named new album — due out next year — was snapped up by Grammy-winner Eve for £35,000.
Edwards died from a heart attack after taking cocaine and drinking alcohol, a coroner concluded.
