183-493: The ÷ Tour (pronounced the " Divide Tour ") was the third world concert tour by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran , in support of his third studio album, ÷ (2017) (pronounced "divide"). Comprising 260 shows, it officially began on 16 March 2017, in Turin , Italy and ended on 26 August 2019, in Ipswich , England. Ticket sales started on 2 February 2017. The tour set world records for
366-964: A Station Session in St. Pancras International in June 2010. Some of the episode is on their Facebook page Sheeran also self-released two other EPs in 2010, Ed Sheeran: Live at the Bedford and Songs I Wrote with Amy , which is a collection of love songs he wrote in Wales with Amy Wadge . When in Los Angeles in 2010, he was invited to perform at The Foxxhole, a club run by actor Jamie Foxx , which ended with an invitation to stay at Foxx's home. On 8 January 2011, Sheeran released another independent EP, No. 5 Collaborations Project , featuring grime artists such as Wiley , Jme , Devlin , Sway and Ghetts . With this EP, Sheeran gained mainstream attention for having reached number 2 in
549-439: A blues rock track with solos by Knopfler and Clapton, also appeared on the 1990 album Hell To Pay as a gift to Canadian blues/jazz artist Jeff Healey from Knopfler. This was prior to the time that Knopfler, Illsley and manager Ed Bicknell decided to reform the band the following year. In 1990, Dire Straits reunited. Retaining Bicknell as their manager, Mark Knopfler, John Illsley, Alan Clark and Guy Fletcher were joined in
732-624: A "natural performer", and his classmates also voted him "most likely to be famous". He was accepted at the National Youth Theatre in London as a teenager. He successfully auditioned for Youth Music Theatre UK in 2007 and joined their production of Frankenstein – A New Musical in Plymouth . He is a patron of Youth Music Theatre UK (now renamed British Youth Music Theatre) and of Access to Music , where he studied Artist Development. Sheeran
915-431: A "super posh" restaurant while narrating the message he had sent to the company. As the other wealthy diners look on in horror at the sight of a ketchup bottle, he flips the bottle, bangs it against his hand to budge the ketchup and smothers it all over his food. The company released a limited edition ketchup product known as Ed Sheeran X Heinz ketchup, also known as "Heinz Edchup". Dire Straits Dire Straits were
1098-432: A 13-night residency at Wembley Arena in London, the band moved down the road to Wembley Stadium on the afternoon of 13 July 1985, to appear in a Live Aid slot, in which their set included "Money For Nothing" with Sting as guest vocalist. John Illsley states, "It was a very special feeling to be part of something so unique. Live Aid was a unique privilege for all of us. It’s become a fabulous memory." The tour ended at
1281-566: A 38-day period. " Sultans of Swing " scaled the charts to No. 4 in the US and No. 8 in the United Kingdom. The song was one of Dire Straits' biggest hits and became a fixture in the band's live performances. Bob Dylan , who had seen the band play in Los Angeles, was so impressed that he invited Mark Knopfler and drummer Pick Withers to play on his next album, Slow Train Coming . Recording sessions for
1464-406: A British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals, lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums, percussion). The band was active from 1977 to 1988 and again from 1990 to 1995. Their first single, " Sultans of Swing ", from their 1978 self-titled debut album , reached the top ten in
1647-629: A Soul , to which Knopfler, Clark and Williams all contributed. Knopfler also teamed up with Bryan Ferry to contribute lead guitar to one track from his solo album Boys and Girls , released in June 1985. Dire Straits returned to recording at the end of 1984 and began recording tracks at George Martin 's AIR Studios in Montserrat for their upcoming fifth studio album, to be titled Brothers in Arms , with Mark Knopfler and Neil Dorfsman producing. The recording sessions saw further personnel changes. Taking
1830-636: A US tour of 6,000–9,000-capacity venues. "The A Team" received a nomination for Song of the Year at the 2013 Grammy Awards . Elton John , who runs Sheeran's management company, canvassed the award organisers to get Sheeran a performance slot at the ceremony but was told that Sheeran alone was not high-profile enough. John decided to appear with Sheeran to circumvent this problem. Sheeran was also featured on some tracks from Irish singer Foy Vance 's fourth album Joy of Nothing . From March to September 2013, Sheeran played at arenas and stadiums across North America as
2013-508: A bar located on Portobello Road in Notting Hill . The bar is called "Bertie Blossoms", and named after his wife Cherry Seaborn. Sheeran performed a gig in Bristol, which raised £40,000 for a charity that reaches out to street sex workers . "It's good to show insight that these people are real people with real emotions and they deserve the same charity work as anyone else," Sheeran said. "There's
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#17328631812982196-439: A beach in the coastal Suffolk town of Lowestoft . On 1 March 2023, Sheeran officially announced on all social media platforms that his sixth studio album, - ("Subtract"), would be released on 5 May 2023. Sheeran released the album's lead single, " Eyes Closed " with its accompanying music video on 24 March 2023. " Boat " was released as the second single off the record on 21 April 2023. The third single, " Life Goes On ",
2379-429: A bottle on tour, and has a Heinz Ketchup tattoo on his arm—he put forward an idea he had written for their next TV campaign, and the company responded. A representative from Heinz stated that "1/3 of @HEINZ Instagram posts include people mentioning or tagging Ed, dating all the way back to 2014." Poking fun at people who turn their nose up at those who ask for ketchup in fancy restaurants, the advert sees him walking into
2562-1030: A donation to Ipswich Hospital . In June 2020, Sheeran made a "founding gift" to launch Suffolk Community Foundation's "Rebuilding Local Lives Appeal" in response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the celebration day of the county, "Suffolk Day". Sheeran has donated over £1 million to local charities in Suffolk amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including to a children's hospital ward. Sheeran's parents organised The Ed Sheeran Made in Suffolk Legacy Auction on 23 October 2020 which ran until 8 November. The auction had 220 lots, including items donated by other celebrities such as David Beckham , Kylie Minogue and Usain Bolt . Sheeran has donated some of his personal items including handwritten lyrics from his song "Perfect", lego bricks he played with as
2745-540: A favourite live staple, entering the band’s concert repertoire from this point onwards. Making Movies stayed in the UK Albums Chart for five years, peaking at No. 4. Rolling Stone ranked Making Movies number 52 on its list of the "100 Best Albums of the Eighties". Dire Straits' fourth studio album Love Over Gold , an album of songs filled with lengthy passages that featured Alan Clark's piano and keyboard work,
2928-504: A group that set out from London to Khartoum to raise money for famine relief, led by John Abbey, was called "The Walk of Life". Dire Straits donated the Brothers in Arms Gold disc to the participants in recognition of what they were doing. The band's concert of 10 July 1985 at Wembley Arena , in which they were accompanied by Nils Lofgren for "Solid Rock" and Hank Marvin joined the band at
3111-516: A gut-punch break-up and a trawl around a harshly lit shopping centre. They're for life's big moments, with all the cinematic edge of a Richard Curtis film. He's also malleable – when he's done with hip-hop , for example, he doesn't need an image overhaul to then revert to balladry. If one genre isn't to your tastes, then fear not, another will be along soon. Sheeran has also cited the Beatles , Nizlopi and Eminem as his biggest musical influences. He
3294-575: A kid, handmade You Need Me EP from 2009 and a £3 ticket to his first gig at the British Legion in Framlingham. The auction was made to raise money for Suffolk charities such as GeeWizz and Zest who both support children and young adults in the county, including redeveloping a playground for kids with special educational needs and disabilities in Ipswich. In November Sheeran sold one of his paintings, marking
3477-533: A lot more popular charities that get a lot of attention. And with certain subjects like this they're often washed over and people don't necessarily give them the attention they deserve." Tickets were available to those taking part in the charity's Give it up for One25 campaign by giving something up for 125 hours and hitting the £40,000 fundraising mark. Sheeran frequently gives away his clothes to charity shops around Suffolk, his home county. An ambassador for East Anglia 's Children's Hospice, he has donated clothes to
3660-641: A meal at a Notting Hill wine bar, Knopfler formed the Notting Hillbillies , a country band featuring Guy Fletcher, Brendan Croker, and Steve Phillips , and their manager, Ed Bicknell on drums. The Notting Hillbillies' one album, Missing...Presumed Having a Good Time , with its single "Your Own Sweet Way", was released in March 1990. The Notting Hillbillies toured for the remainder of the year and appeared on Saturday Night Live . Knopfler further emphasised his country music influences on his 1990 collaboration with
3843-552: A new version of "Bad Habits" with the pop metal group Bring Me the Horizon in February. Later that year it was reported that he was in contact with Suffolk extreme metal group Cradle of Filth over a possible project, with frontman Dani Filth confirming progress on the collaboration in August. In July, he launched a collaboration with clothing brand Lucy & Yak which was inspired by
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#17328631812984026-622: A one off charity concert at the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle in honour of 11-year-old Joanne Gillespie – the National Children of Courage and North East Personality award winner who published the 1989 book Brave Heart about her fight against cancer. The concert raised more than £35,000. This was the last ever appearance by Terry Williams as the band’s drummer, and Brendan Croker played rhythm guitar in place of Jack Sonni. Also in 1989 over
4209-649: A scene from the 2003 romantic-comedy film Love Actually , the song's music video sees the duo pay homage to scenes from past British Christmas hits, including " Last Christmas ", " Walking in the Air ", " Merry Christmas Everyone ", and " Stay Another Day ". All of the UK profits from the song went to the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation and the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Debuting at number one in
4392-654: A single day of general public sale. In Sydney , a total of 243,513 tickets were sold for three shows at the ANZ Stadium , which rolled out over three successive nights from 15 to 17 March 2018. The attendance per show was 79,726, 81,752 and 82,035, respectively. This set a new record for aggregate attendance at a series of stadium concerts in NSW, smashing the old benchmark of 213,045 set by AC/DC during their Black Ice World Tour in 2010. According to Billboard , Sheeran's tour grossed $ 776.4 million and sold 8.88 million tickets across
4575-549: A single day, making history with Sheeran being the only artist to ever do so in Irish territory. Due to the phenomenal demand, extra dates were added in both Cork and Dublin, with three dates for each city in total. Sellout status occurred once again in Santiago during his first concert on 15 May, prompting to add one more date. In Oceania, the tour broke the official record for the most tickets sold, at over 1 million (previously held by
4758-584: A single featured on Swift's fourth studio album, Red . Sheeran also contributed two songs to One Direction's second studio album, Take Me Home , released in November 2012; the single " Little Things " became the group's second number-one in the UK. Sheeran's album peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 , while "The A Team" reached No. 16 on the US Billboard Hot 100 . In late 2012 and early 2013, he headlined
4941-413: A single-coloured background with a solid mathematical symbol. On 2 January, he posted a 10-second video on Twitter and other social media platforms, revealing the tracklist and cover art of his fourth studio album, ÷ ("Divide"), which was released on 3 March 2017. The album debuted at number one in the UK, the US, Germany, Australia, Canada and other major markets. With first week sales of 672,000 it
5124-524: A style which would continue for the rest of the band's career. The album featured many of Mark Knopfler's most personal compositions. The most successful chart single was " Romeo and Juliet " (number 8 in the UK Singles Chart ), a song about a failed love affair, with Knopfler's trademark in keeping personal songs under fictitious names. Although never released as a hit single, " Solid Rock " was featured in all Dire Straits' live shows from this point on for
5307-415: A survival thing. That kind of scale is dehumanizing." Knopfler spent two years recovering from the experience, which had taken a toll on his creative and personal life. After disbanding Dire Straits, Mark Knopfler started a career as a solo artist, releasing his first solo album, Golden Heart , in March 1996 after nearly 20 years of collaborations. Brothers in Arms was certified nine times platinum in
5490-550: A terrible strain on everybody, emotionally and physically. We were changed by it." The last stop and final touring concert of the group took place on 9 October 1992 in Zaragoza , Spain. After the end of the tour, Mark Knopfler expressed a wish to give up touring on a big scale and took some time out from the music business. A live album, On the Night , was released in May 1993, which documented
5673-429: A top 10 hit. As well as the title track and "It Never Rains", Love Over Gold featured the 14-minute epic " Telegraph Road ". Also written by Knopfler during this period was " Private Dancer ", which did not appear on the album, but was eventually given to Tina Turner for her comeback album of the same name . Love Over Gold reportedly sold two million copies during the first six weeks after its release. Shortly after
÷ Tour - Misplaced Pages Continue
5856-475: A video through SB.TV —a channel launched by British entrepreneur Jamal Edwards —and rapper Example invited Sheeran to tour with him. In the same month, he also released his critically acclaimed Loose Change EP, which featured his future debut single, " The A Team ". Sheeran began to be seen by more people over the internet through YouTube and his fan base expanded, with him also receiving praise from The Independent newspaper and Elton John . He played
6039-455: A world tour to promote the album, which lasted until October 1992. The On Every Street Tour featured 300 shows in front of some 7.1 million ticket-buying fans. While musically more elaborate than the previous 1985–86 world tour, the band's gruelling final tour was not as critically acclaimed nor as commercially successful. This proved to be too much for Dire Straits, and by this time Mark Knopfler had enough of such massive operations. This led to
6222-586: Is a second cousin of Northern Irish broadcaster Gordon Burns , who hosted the British game show The Krypton Factor . Sheeran began recording music in 2004, and at the age of thirteen independently released his first collection of work, titled Spinning Man . He has been friends with fellow English singer Passenger since he was 15, with the two playing the same gig in Cambridge. He moved to London in 2008 and began playing in small venues. In 2008, he auditioned for
6405-400: Is a culture publicist turned jewellery designer. His parents ran Sheeran Lock, an independent art consultancy, from 1990 to 2010. Sheeran sang at a local church choir at the age of four, learned how to play the guitar at age eleven, and began writing songs while at Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham. He also played the cello when he was younger. A 2004 school report described him as
6588-591: Is also a fan of heavier music and cites bands such as Cradle of Filth , Slipknot , Korn , Marilyn Manson and Bring Me the Horizon as other influences. As a teenager, he also had a Kerrang! subscription. According to Sheeran, he had a stutter in his speech when he was younger, and he credited rapping along to Eminem's The Marshall Mathers LP for helping him stammer less. He was also inspired by " Cannonball " singer-songwriter Damien Rice in 2002, with Sheeran stating, "seeing him play this small club in Ireland, I
6771-470: Is an influence. His aunt gave him 10 pounds to buy a CD and the first CD he purchased was Conspiracy of One and he used to play their song Million Miles Away in front of a mirror. Sheeran later performed the song with the band. In March 2015, Sheeran announced he was setting up a record label, Gingerbread Man Records, which is a deal with Warner Music Group . The label was launched in August 2015 alongside its accompanying YouTube channel. Jamie Lawson ,
6954-537: Is featured in the end credits of the film The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug , the film's soundtrack , and on the deluxe version of his second album. Sheeran was nominated for Best New Artist at the 2014 Grammy Awards . On 24 March 2014, Sheeran performed at the Teenage Cancer Trust charity concert at the Royal Albert Hall in London where he unveiled "Take It Back", a track that would appear on
7137-556: Is not intended to represent all shows from the tour. Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( / ˈ ʃ ɪər ən / SHEER -ən ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire , and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk , he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently released the extended play No. 5 Collaborations Project . He signed with Asylum Records
7320-411: Is one of the reasons I started writing songs, and was such a pleasure to work with him." In December 2017, Sheeran appeared on BBC Radio 1 's Live Lounge , performing his song "Perfect" and a duet of The Pogues ' festive classic " Fairytale of New York " with Anne-Marie . On 3 January 2018, "Shape of You" was named the best-selling single of 2017 in the UK, and the best-selling single of 2017 on
7503-506: Is struggling in these strange times". Sheeran's charity, the Framlingham Foundation Trust, is reported to have donated money to give a primary school teacher to take an imperative course to help children create songs with untraditional instruments which will benefit children with learning difficulties. Sheeran made his acting debut in 2014, a cameo role as himself on New Zealand soap opera Shortland Street , filmed while he
÷ Tour - Misplaced Pages Continue
7686-580: Is the eighth-best-selling album in UK history. According to the Guinness Book of British Hit Albums , as of 2005, Dire Straits had spent over 1,100 weeks on the UK Albums Chart , the fifth at that time. Dire Straits drew from influences including country , folk , the blues rock of J. J. Cale , and jazz . Their stripped-down sound contrasted with punk rock and demonstrated a roots rock influence that emerged from pub rock . There were several changes in personnel, with Mark Knopfler and Illsley being
7869-560: Is the 107th-best-selling album in the United States. In August 1986, MTV Europe was launched with Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing". After the Brothers in Arms tour ended, Mark Knopfler took a break from Dire Straits, and, during 1987, he concentrated on solo projects and film soundtracks. Dire Straits regrouped in 1988 for the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert, staged on 11 June 1988 at Wembley Stadium, in which they were
8052-563: Is the fastest-selling album by a male solo artist in the UK, and third fastest in UK chart history behind 25 by Adele and Be Here Now by Oasis . It had the biggest first-week sales of 2017 in the US, until it was surpassed by Taylor Swift's Reputation . On 6 January, Sheeran released two singles, " Shape of You " and " Castle on the Hill "; the theme of the latter single Sheeran's upbringing in his home town of Framlingham in Suffolk, with
8235-443: The 1983 Brit Awards . Dire Straits embarked on an eight-month-long Love over Gold Tour, which finished with two concerts at London's Hammersmith Odeon on 22 and 23 July 1983. King Crimson saxophonist Mel Collins and session keyboardist Tommy Mandel , who had played with Bryan Adams since 1981, joined the live line-up to help Clark cover his increasingly detailed keyboard parts and arrangements. The double album Alchemy Live
8418-414: The 2016 ceremony : Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance . In May 2016, × was named the second-best-selling album worldwide in 2015, behind 25 by Adele . On 13 December 2016, after a year long hiatus and social media break, Sheeran tweeted a picture and changed his Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to a light blue, implying the release of a new album—each of Sheeran's previous albums were
8601-673: The Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The same day, ÷ was named the best-selling album of 2017 in the UK, and the US. As the best-selling artist worldwide for 2017, the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) named him the Global Recording Artist of the Year . At the 2018 Brit Awards held at the O 2 Arena in London on 21 February, Sheeran performed " Supermarket Flowers ", and received
8784-546: The British Phonographic Industry , denoting shipments of 1.8 million copies. As of March 2012, the album had sold 1,021,072 copies in the UK. The album also reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the US. The song, " Moments ", on the debut album by boy band One Direction , released in November 2011, was co-written by Sheeran. At the 2012 Brit Awards on 21 February, Sheeran won
8967-532: The Dire Straits Brothers in Arms Tour of 1985, with around 950,000), as well as most stadium shows by a single artist on one tour (18, formerly held by AC/DC at 14). Sheeran also broke records for the biggest stadium tour of Australia and New Zealand, venue record for highest cumulative attendance on one tour and venue record for highest attendance for a single show. More than 710,000 tickets were sold within
9150-590: The German Single Charts . On 15 January, the songs debuted at number one and number two on the ARIA Singles Chart , the first time this has been achieved in the history of the Australian chart. On 17 January, "Shape of You" debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 , while "Castle on the Hill" entered at number six; this made Sheeran the first artist ever to have two songs simultaneously debut in
9333-588: The National Youth Theatre in London, Sheeran's acting roles include appearing in the 2019 film Yesterday , playing himself. Edward Christopher Sheeran was born on 17 February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire , England. His early childhood home was on Birchcliffe Road in nearby Hebden Bridge . His father was a curator at Cartwright Hall in Bradford , and his mother worked at Manchester City Art Gallery . In December 1995, he moved with his family from Hebden Bridge to Framlingham in Suffolk , where he attended
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#17328631812989516-594: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for 2018. Speaking to Billboard magazine, Illsley said he was pleased to have his work as a musician recognised, but felt that Knopfler was not enthusiastic about a possible reunion performance. Knopfler did not appear at the ceremony. In 2009, Illsley and Clark performed several Dire Straits songs in an open air concert in San Vigilio, and since then, Clark, Palmer, Illsley, Cummings, Collins, Sonni and Withers, in various line-ups, have toured as
9699-495: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Dire Straits have sold between 100 million and 120 million records worldwide, including 51.4 million certified units, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Brothers Mark and David Knopfler were born in Glasgow and raised in Blyth in the northeast of England. With John Illsley and Pick Withers , from Leicester in
9882-560: The Sydney Entertainment Centre , Australia, on 26 April 1986, where Dire Straits still holds the record for consecutive appearances at 21 nights. The band also made an impromptu attempt at the Australian folk song " Waltzing Matilda ". With 900,000 tickets sold in Australia and New Zealand, it was the biggest concert tour in Australasian music history, until it was overtaken in 2017–2018 by Ed Sheeran . Additionally, in 1985,
10065-518: The U2 360° Tour before it finished, despite playing mostly in smaller venues and deliberately keeping tickets price relatively low with no VIP areas. This is due to the larger number of shows (255) in the tour, and it also became the most attended tour of all time with over 8.5 million having attended in 43 countries with further dates to play. This set list is from the concert on 5 August 2017 in Glendale. It
10248-501: The UK Albums Chart at number 1 and spent a total of 228 weeks in the charts and sold over 4.3 million copies. It went on to become the best-selling album of 1985 in the UK. Brothers in Arms was similarly successful in the US, peaking at No. 1 on Billboard 200 for nine weeks, going multi-platinum and selling nine million copies there. The album spent 34 weeks at number 1 on the Australian ARIA Charts , and it remains
10431-463: The UK Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart , topped the charts in Australia, Canada and Germany among others, and peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. His eleventh week at number one in the UK saw him become the first British solo artist to notch up 52 weeks at Number 1 across his catalogue, with only Elvis Presley (80 weeks) and The Beatles (69 weeks) achieving more weeks at
10614-690: The UK Singles Chart , breaking the record for most top-10 UK singles from one album. His fourth single from ÷ , " Perfect ", reached number one in the US, Australia, and the UK, where it became the Christmas number one in 2017. The world's best-selling artist of 2017, he was named the Global Recording Artist of the Year . Released in 2019, his fourth overall and first collaborative album, No.6 Collaborations Project , debuted at number one in most major markets, and spawned three UK number one singles, " I Don't Care ", " Beautiful People ", and " Take Me Back to London ". His fifth studio album, = (" Equals "), topped
10797-519: The castle referring to Framlingham Castle . Following the release of these singles, Sheeran co-hosted the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show with Scott Mills where it was implied that he would possibly make an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2017. It was also during this show that Sheeran used a new Martin guitar that featured the ÷ logo (of his new album) on both the headstock and body of
10980-537: The highest-grossing concert tour and the most tickets sold by a tour. On the morning of 26 January 2017, the European dates of the tour were announced through Sheeran's social networks. Hours later through the same networks were announced the dates for Latin America. Tickets for the tour sold out quickly, prompting new dates to be added in London, Turin and Santiago. On 13 February 2017 it was announced that he would be part of
11163-546: The iTunes chart without any promotion or label, selling over 7,000 copies in the first week. Three months later, Sheeran put on a free show to fans at the Barfly in Camden Town . Over 1,000 fans turned up, so Sheeran played four different shows to ensure everyone saw a gig, including a gig outside on the street after the venue had closed. Later that month, Sheeran was signed to Asylum Records . On 26 April 2011, Sheeran appeared on
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#173286318129811346-435: The 201 dates reported from 16 March 2017 to 31 October 2018. The tour was the eighth highest-grossing tour of 2017, accumulating $ 122 million and selling 1,408,681 tickets. The Divide Tour became 2018's highest-grossing tour with $ 429 million, setting all-time records for the highest-grossing solo tour and highest year-end gross ever. It then broke the all-time highest-grossing record of $ 735 million for any tour set by
11529-734: The Asian leg. Rescheduled shows in Manila, Osaka, and Tokyo occurred in April 2018, but Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong, and Jakarta were cancelled. Lauv served as the opening act in Asia in November. On 28 June 2017, Sheeran announced a stadium tour across Europe. After the initial announcement, tickets sold quickly, which prompted new dates in Cork, Dublin, Manchester, Glasgow, Newcastle, London, Cardiff, Amsterdam, Paris, Gothenburg, Munich, Zürich, Vienna, and Warsaw. Anne-Marie returned as
11712-415: The BBC music show Later... with Jools Holland , where he performed his debut single "The A Team". Six weeks later, "The A Team" was released as a digital download in the UK. The release served as the lead single from Sheeran's debut studio album, + ("Plus"). "The A Team" entered the UK Singles Chart at number three, selling over 58,000 copies in the first week. It was the best-selling debut single and
11895-424: The Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist , and British Breakthrough Act of the Year. On 10 January 2012, it was announced that Sheeran would support Snow Patrol on their US tour from late March until May. His song, " Give Me Love ", was featured in the episode " Dangerous Liaisons " of The Vampire Diaries . At the Ivor Novello Awards in May 2012, Sheeran's "The A Team" bested Adele 's " Rolling in
12078-429: The DVD Jumpers for Goalposts: Live at Wembley Stadium ; the title is a nod to playing concerts at Wembley Stadium, the home of English football . In 2015, Sheeran wrote " Love Yourself " for Justin Bieber 's fourth album. Sheeran had initially planned to put the song on his third album ÷ and added that the track would have been scrapped before Bieber took the song. In August 2015, he sang along with Macklemore on
12261-558: The Deep " and Florence and the Machine 's " Shake It Out " for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. Sheeran performed "The A Team" at the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II concert held on The Mall outside Buckingham Palace on 4 June 2012 and a cover of Pink Floyd 's " Wish You Were Here " at the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London on 12 August 2012. Taylor Swift contacted Sheeran after hearing his music while touring Australia in March 2012. He later co-wrote and provided vocals for " Everything Has Changed ",
12444-426: The Dire Straits Legends and continue as the Dire Straits Legacy. They have released an album, 3 Chord Trick . In a 2018 US tour they were joined by Trevor Horn on bass and Steve Ferrone on drums. In September 2021, Alan Clark released his piano solo album Backstory , and in November 2021 Illsley published his autobiography My Life in Dire Straits . Former Straits guitarist Jack Sonni died on 30 August 2023 at
12627-402: The East Midlands, they formed Dire Straits in Deptford, south east London, in 1977. Withers was already a 10-year music business veteran, having been a session drummer for Dave Edmunds , Gerry Rafferty , Magna Carta and others through the 1970s. He was house drummer at Rockfield Studios in Monmouthshire and was part of the group Spring, which recorded an album for RCA in 1971. At the time of
12810-660: The Global Success Award from Elton John and Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood . Sheeran played to over 950,000 people in Australia and New Zealand in March and April, making it the biggest concert tour in Australasian music history, overtaking the previous record set by Dire Straits in 1986. In April, the IFPI named ÷ the best-selling album worldwide of 2017. At the 2018 Billboard Music Awards on 20 May, Sheeran performed " Galway Girl " from Phoenix Park in Dublin , Ireland, and picked up six awards, including Top Artist and Top Hot 100 Artist . In 2018 Sheeran wrote songs for boy bands. " Trust Fund Baby ", by Why Don't We ,
12993-572: The ITV series Britannia High . He also opened for Nizlopi in Norwich in April 2008, after being one of their guitar technicians. In the autumn of 2009, Sheeran began studying music at the Academy of Contemporary Music (ACM) in Guildford , Surrey as an undergraduate at the age of 18, but left without permission in the same year to support hip-hop artist Just Jack . He released another EP in 2009, You Need Me , and also collaborated several times with Essex singer Leddra Chapman , including CeeLo Green 's " Fuck You ". In February 2010, Sheeran posted
13176-490: The Official Chart Company's chart of the decade with three songs inside the top 5—" Shape of You " was named number one. His four albums spent a combined 41 weeks at number one in the UK, the most weeks at number one in the 2010s , and five weeks more than Adele in second. He had the third and fourth best-selling album of the 2010s in the UK, with only Adele's two albums selling more. Globally, Spotify named him
13359-503: The Roadrunning (with Emmylou Harris), Kill to Get Crimson , Get Lucky and One Deep River . In 2007, Knopfler said he did not miss the global fame that came his way at the height of the band's success. He said, "It just got too big." In October 2008, Illsley told the BBC that he hoped Knopfler would agree to re-form Dire Straits for a comeback tour. Knopfler declined, saying that he
13542-604: The St Elizabeth Hospice charity shop in his home town Framlingham, including eight bags of clothes to the shop in February 2014. In 2016, he donated 13 bags of clothes to the shop. The tartan shirt worn by Sheeran when he met Renee Zellweger's character, Bridget, in Bridget Jones's Baby , was auctioned online to raise further funds for the hospice. On 15 November 2014, Sheeran joined the charity supergroup Band Aid 30 along with other British and Irish pop acts, recording
13725-623: The Top 50 in the UK Singles chart; however, it reached number one in the US on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, their second song to do so (after "Money for Nothing"). The track reached the top 20 in Canada and Belgium and peaked inside the top 30 in other European countries, as well as Australia. The album's title track was also relatively unsuccessful in the UK, failing to reach
13908-612: The UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. To support the album, Sheeran embarked on a world tour starting on 6 August 2014 at Osaka , Japan. On 27 September 2014, Sheeran was one of the headline acts at the Melbourne Cricket Ground prior to the 2014 AFL Grand Final . Following " Don't ", " Thinking Out Loud " was released on 24 September 2014 as the album's third single. Unlike his previous music videos, Sheeran took
14091-538: The UK Singles Chart on 10 December, it was Sheeran's 12th hit single. On 23 December, Sheeran featured on the remix of Fireboy DML 's song " Peru ". On 11 February 2022, Sheeran released a duet version of " The Joker and the Queen " featuring Taylor Swift . On 4 March, he featured in " Bam Bam ", collaborating for the second time with Camila Cabello . Later that month he collaborated with Colombian singer J Balvin in
14274-451: The UK and Australia, and a stripped-down acoustic version of the song titled "Perfect Duet", a collaboration with Beyoncé , reached number one in the US and the UK, becoming the year's UK Christmas number one . On 7 November, Taylor Swift revealed that Sheeran collaborated on the song " End Game " for her sixth studio album Reputation . The song, which also features rapper Future , was released on 10 November. On 4 December, Sheeran
14457-457: The UK and US charts. It was followed by a series of hit singles including " Romeo and Juliet " (1981), " Private Investigations " (1982), " Twisting by the Pool " (1983), " Money for Nothing " (1985), and " Walk of Life " (1985). Their most commercially successful album, Brothers in Arms (1985), has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide; it was the first album to sell a million copies on CD and
14640-562: The UK on 28 September. Sheeran co-hosted the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards on 25 October in Milan , Italy. He won the awards for Best Live Act and Best Live Stage; the latter was in recognition for his performance at the 2014 V Festival in England. Sheeran won the Breakthrough award at the 2015 Billboard Touring Awards . His single from × , "Thinking Out Loud", earned him two Grammy Awards at
14823-499: The UK, Australia and other markets, and number two in the US. On 31 May, " Cross Me " featuring Chance the Rapper and PnB Rock , debuted at number 9 in the UK. Released on 28 June 2019, " Beautiful People " featuring Khalid debuted at number 3 in the UK and number 4 in Australia. On 5 July, Sheeran released two new songs, " Best Part of Me " featuring Yebba , and " Blow " with Bruno Mars and Chris Stapleton . On 12 July, he released
15006-430: The UK, peaking at number nine. Sheeran released + on 12 September 2011. The album received generally favourable reviews from music critics and debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart for sales of 102,000 copies. By end of 2011, sales of the album in the UK stood at 791,000; it became the second-best-selling debut album and the ninth-biggest-selling album there. The album has been certified platinum six times by
15189-546: The US in August 1996. During that year, the entire Dire Straits catalogue was remastered by Bob Ludwig and re-released on CD on Mercury Records , in most of the world outside the US. The remasters were released in September 2000 in the US on Warner Bros . Knopfler, John Illsley, Alan Clark, and Guy Fletcher reunited for one last time on 19 June 1999, with Ed Bicknell on drums, playing five songs, including Chuck Berry 's " Nadine ", for Illsley's wedding. In July 2002, Knopfler
15372-547: The US top 10. The team behind TLC 's song " No Scrubs " were given writing credits on "Shape of You" after fans and critics found similarities between elements of the two songs. On 26 January, Sheeran announced dates for the beginning of the Divide Tour with shows in Europe, South America and North America from 17 March until 14 June 2017. On 17 February, Sheeran released " How Would You Feel (Paean) ". Though not an official single,
15555-499: The US, and two of his albums are in the list of the best-selling albums in UK chart history . In December 2019, the Official Charts Company named him artist of the decade, with the most combined success in the UK album and singles charts in the 2010s. As of July 2024, he is the 3rd most followed artist on Spotify . Beginning in March 2017, his ÷ Tour became the highest-grossing of all time in August 2019. An alumnus of
15738-436: The United Kingdom, where it reached the number 2 position, despite its almost seven-minute length, and became another of the band's most popular live songs. In other parts of the world, " Industrial Disease ", a song that looks at the decline of the British manufacturing industry in the early 1980s, focusing on strikes, depression and dysfunctionality, was the main single from the album, particularly in Canada, where it became
15921-515: The Year for × at the 2015 Brit Awards . On 21 May he received the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year. On 21 June, Sheeran co-hosted the 2015 Much Music Video Awards in Toronto, where he performed the singles, "Thinking Out Loud" and " Photograph "; he also won two awards, Best International Artist and Most Buzzworthy International Artist or Group. On 27 June, Sheeran performed as
16104-501: The acoustic guitar. Both singles went on to break the Spotify day one streaming record, with a combined total of over 13 million streams in 24 hours. On 13 January, "Shape of You" and "Castle on the Hill" entered the UK Singles Chart at number one and number two, the first time in history an artist has taken the top two UK chart positions with new songs. The same day he also became the first artist to debut at number one and number two on
16287-462: The age of 68. In November 2023, Illsley reiterated in an interview that he and Knopfler had no interest in reforming Dire Straits, in spite of having received large financial offers to get back together. He reflected that the band members had "reached the end of the road" after the end of their final world tour in 1992, and that he was "pretty happy" when the band’s run came to an end, recalling feeling "mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted" by
16470-507: The album and played during the credits in the film is the instrumental " Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero " which was released as a single, and remains very popular among football fans, especially those of Knopfler’s home town club, Newcastle United , as it is played as the team runs out before every home game. The track immediately became a popular live staple for Dire Straits, entering the band's repertoire from 1983 onwards. "Local Hero"
16653-425: The album at number 51 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever in 2000. The album also ranked number 351 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2003. Brothers in Arms is also ranked number 3 in the best albums of 1985 and number 31 in the best albums of the 1980s, and as of December 2017, the album was ranked the eighth-best-selling album in UK chart history, and
16836-426: The album release. By early June 2014, "Sing" had earned Sheeran his first number-one single in the UK. Sheeran's second studio album, × ("Multiply"), was released worldwide on 23 June 2014. Spanning three years, Sheeran wrote more than 120 songs for the album. The album features tracks produced by Rick Rubin , Pharrell Williams and Benny Blanco , as well as that of Gosling's. × peaked at number one in both
17019-517: The album was minimal). According to a Sound on Sound magazine interview with Neil Dorfsman, the drumming style of Terry Williams was considered to be unsuitable for the desired sound of the album during the first month of the recording sessions at Montserrat. Williams was released from the recording sessions and temporarily replaced by jazz session drummer Omar Hakim , who re-recorded the album's drum parts within three days before leaving for other commitments. Both Hakim and Williams are credited on
17202-449: The album, although Williams’ sole contribution on the finished album was the improvised crescendo at the beginning of " Money for Nothing ". According to another interview with Neil Dorsman, Williams played toms and tom fills throughout "Money for Nothing", while Omar Hakim played drums on all the remaining tracks on the album. According to Williams, he recorded all his drum parts to a click track which he felt hindered his ability to channel
17385-406: The album, " All the Roadrunning ", was a duet with singer Emmylou Harris . The album was well received. In 2005, Brothers in Arms was re-released in a limited 20th anniversary edition which won a Grammy Award for Best Surround Sound Album at the 48th Grammy Awards ceremony. Since the break-up of Dire Straits, Knopfler has shown no interest in re-forming the band and is quoted as saying he
17568-451: The album, along with " Antisocial " with Travis Scott . The album debuted at number one in the UK, the US, Australia and other markets. On 26 August, Sheeran wrapped up the 260-show Divide Tour with the last of four homecoming gigs in Ipswich , Suffolk; the tour included, for example, his performance for over 100,000 people at Malmi Airport in Helsinki , Finland on 24 July. On 30 August,
17751-403: The album. The second single peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart. " Lego House " was released as the third single, reaching the top ten on the Australian, Irish and New Zealand Singles Charts. The music video for "Lego House" features actor Rupert Grint , as a play on their similar appearance. " Drunk ", released on 19 February 2012, became Sheeran's fourth consecutive top-ten single in
17934-683: The arms from a bike accident. The cities that were affected by the cancellation were Taipei, Seoul, Hong Kong and Jakarta. Sheeran will perform three Asia 2019 dates in Singapore, Seoul, and Bangkok. Sheeran later announced a second date in Cape Town , South Africa at Cape Town Stadium , scheduled for 28 March 2019. On 28 November, Sheeran added dates in Tokyo , Osaka , and Jakarta . On 10 January 2019, Sheeran added dates in Taiwan , Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur . For
18117-407: The artwork of =. On 29 September, Sheeran released the single " Celestial ", a collaboration with Japanese media franchise Pokémon . In November, "Shivers" became Sheeran's 11th song to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify . He celebrated via an Instagram post, saying that he was currently filming a music video for his next album, scheduled to be released the following year. Sheeran was spotted at
18300-550: The band members out-voted him. The result was Dire Straits' most commercially successful hit single in the UK, peaking at number two. The album is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first compact disc (CD) to sell a million copies, and it has been credited with popularising the CD format. The Guardian ranked the Brothers in Arms CD number 38 in their list of the 50 key events in rock music history. The album featured
18483-536: The band started recording tracks for their third album. Produced by Jimmy Iovine , with Mark Knopfler also sharing credit, Making Movies was released in October 1980. During the recording sessions, tensions between the Knopfler brothers reached a point where David Knopfler decided to leave the band for a solo career. The remaining trio continued the album, with a session guitarist Sid McGinnis on rhythm guitar, although he
18666-641: The band were commemorated with a Heritage Award from PRS for Music . A plaque was placed on a block of flats in Deptford , London, where Dire Straits was formed and played their first gig. In 2011, Alan Clark, Chris White, and Phil Palmer, along with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ' drummer Steve Ferrone , formed a new band, the Straits, to perform at a charity show at the Royal Albert Hall in London. On 13 December 2017, Dire Straits were announced as inductees into
18849-457: The band's formation, Mark was working as an English teacher, Illsley was studying at Goldsmiths' College, and David was a social worker. Mark and Withers had both been part of the pub rock group Brewers Droop around 1973. The new band was initially known as the Café Racers. The name Dire Straits was coined by a musician flatmate of Withers, allegedly thought up while they were rehearsing in
19032-434: The band. Released in June 1995, their third and final live album was a contractual release to Vertigo Records (now a division of Mercury Records ). At this time, Mark Knopfler quietly disbanded Dire Straits and prepared to work on his first full-fledged solo album (still signed to Mercury Records). Knopfler later recalled that, "I put the thing to bed because I wanted to get back to some kind of reality. It's self-protection,
19215-404: The biggest band in the world. There's not an accent then on the music, there's an accent on popularity. I needed a rest." The tremendous success of the Brothers in Arms album and the tour that went with it left the band members under a significant amount of stress, and Knopfler announced that he wanted to work on more personal projects. A best of / greatest hits compilation, Money for Nothing ,
19398-797: The campaign, with the proceeds used to help people in the country struggling to keep their home warm in winter. Sheeran teamed up with the cast of the BBC3 mockumentary sitcom People Just Do Nothing to perform a charity single for the BBC's biennial telethon Comic Relief which aired in March 2017. He appeared in a November 2017 episode of Gogglebox along with other UK celebrities such as Ozzy Osbourne , former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher , and Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn as part of Channel 4 and Cancer Research UK 's Stand Up to Cancer fundraising campaign. In December 2019, he launched his own music foundation, Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation (ESSMF). In
19581-409: The charts in most major markets in 2021. His sixth album, - (" Subtract "), was released on 5 May 2023, while his seventh album, Autumn Variations , was released on 29 September 2023 under his own record label, Gingerbread Man Records. Sheeran has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists . He has 119 million RIAA -certified units in
19764-430: The deluxe version of the second album. " Sing ", the lead single, was released on 7 April 2014. Sonically, the song is a departure from Sheeran's previous recordings. "Sing" was intended to create hype over the album release, but from concern that this might alienate Sheeran's fan base, " One ", an acoustic ballad, was released on 16 May 2014; "One" also marked the first of several promotional singles released leading to
19947-447: The effects of that conflict." "Brothers in Arms" has become a favourite at military funerals. Reported to be the world's first CD single, it was issued in the UK as a promotional item distinguished with a logo for the tour, Live in '85, while a second to commemorate the Australian leg of the tour marked Live in '86. "Walk of Life", meanwhile, was nearly excluded from the album when co-producer Neil Dorfsman voted against its inclusion, but
20130-520: The end to play "Going Home" (the theme from Local Hero ), was televised in the United Kingdom on The Tube on Channel 4 in January 1986. (Although never officially released, bootleg recordings of the performance entitled Wembley does the Walk (2005) have been circulated.) In 1986, Brothers in Arms won two Grammy Awards and also won Best British Album at the 1987 Brit Awards . Q magazine placed
20313-421: The first and only time his art has been made available for sale, which he titled "Dab 2 2020", to the same auction. Later that month, Sheeran backed footballer Marcus Rashford 's free school meals campaign and opened his own breakfast club at his Notting Hill restaurant, Bertie Blossoms. He announced on his Instagram that he provided hot breakfasts for "anyone who is normally entitled to a free school meal or who
20496-713: The full version of the "Money for Nothing" cut, rather than the LP version, and it also includes extended versions of all tracks on the first side of the LP, with the exception of "Walk of Life". The 1985–1986 Brothers in Arms world tour which followed the album's release was phenomenally successful, with over 2.5 million tickets sold. The tour included dates in Europe, Israel, North America, and Australia and New Zealand. The band, joined by saxophonist Chris White , played 248 shows in over 100 different cities. The tour began on 25 April 1985 in Split , Croatia (then part of Yugoslavia). While playing
20679-576: The group again. Dire Straits were called "the biggest British rock band of the 80s" by Classic Rock magazine; their 1985–1986 world tour , which included a performance at Live Aid in July 1985, set a record in Australasia . Their final world tour from 1991 to 1992 sold 7.1 million tickets. Dire Straits won four Grammy Awards , three Brit Awards ( Best British Group twice), two MTV Video Music Awards , and various other awards. They were inducted into
20862-568: The group's second album, Communiqué , took place in December 1978 at Compass Point Studios in Nassau, Bahamas . Released in June 1979, Communiqué was produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett and went to No. 1 on the German album charts, with the debut album Dire Straits simultaneously at No. 3. In the United Kingdom, the album peaked at No. 5 in the album charts. Featuring the single " Lady Writer ",
21045-459: The guitarist Chet Atkins , Neck and Neck . In 1990, Dire Straits (Knopfler, Illsley, Clark and Fletcher), performed alongside Eric Clapton and his band at the Knebworth Festival , playing "Solid Rock", "Money for Nothing" and "I Think I Love You Too Much". Knopfler explained that the latter was an experimental song and was unsure if they should record it on a following record. The song,
21228-542: The headline act. Guitarist Jack Sonni was unable to play the show as it coincided with the birth of his twin daughters, so Eric Clapton played rhythm guitar with the band, and during the set performed his hit " Wonderful Tonight " with them. Sonni and Terry Williams both officially left the band shortly afterwards. Mark Knopfler announced the dissolution of Dire Straits in September 1988. He told Rob Tannenbaum in Rolling Stone : "A lot of press reports were saying we were
21411-426: The independent Brandeston Hall preparatory school (now Framlingham College Prep School), then Thomas Mills High School , also in Framlingham. He has an older brother named Matthew, who works as a composer. Sheeran's parents, John and Imogen, are from London. His father is Irish, and Sheeran has stated that his father is from a "very large" Catholic family. John is an art curator and lecturer, and Imogen
21594-548: The influence of Clapton, Sheeran states, "He's the reason I started playing guitar". He singled out Clapton's performance at the Party at the Palace in the grounds of Buckingham Palace , "I was eleven when I saw Eric Clapton play at the Queen's Golden Jubilee concert in June 2002. I remember him walking on stage with this rainbow-coloured Stratocaster and playing the first riff of ' Layla '. I
21777-629: The kitchen of a friend, Simon Cowe, of Lindisfarne . In 1977, the group recorded a five-song demo tape which included their future hit single, " Sultans of Swing ", as well as " Water of Love " and " Down to the Waterline ". After a performance at the Rock Garden in 1977, they took a demo tape to MCA in Soho but were turned down. They sent a tape to DJ Charlie Gillett , presenter of Honky Tonk on BBC Radio London . The band simply wanted advice, but Gillett liked
21960-425: The label's first signee, met Sheeran while they were both in London's folk circuit. Lawson released his self-titled debut album on 9 October 2015, which has earned him a number one in the UK Albums Chart. Sheeran signed his second artist, Foy Vance , in November 2015. Maisie Peters also signed with the label in 2021. On 29 September 2019, Sheeran announced he was teaming up with his manager Stuart Camp to open
22143-498: The last four shows, Sheeran played at Chantry Park in Ipswich in what was advertised as a homecoming set of gigs. For each of the four nights, a different additional support act performed; three were chosen by BBC Music Introducing in Suffolk and one by Hoax, all of which were local undercover artists. The local acts that performed were Bessie Turner, Caswell, Salvador and Piers James. In Ireland, more than 300,000 tickets for seven shows across Cork, Belfast, Galway and Dublin were sold in
22326-536: The latest version of the track " Do They Know It's Christmas? " at Sarm West Studios in Notting Hill , London, to raise money for the West African Ebola virus epidemic . In November 2015, Sheeran supported the No Cold Homes campaign by the UK charity, Turn2us . Sheeran was one of nearly thirty celebrities, which included Helen Mirren , Jeremy Irons and Hugh Laurie , to donate items of winter clothing to
22509-416: The lead role in the single's accompaniment, where he performed a ballroom dance. It became his second single to reach number one in the UK, and it also spent eight weeks at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 (with only " Uptown Funk " by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars keeping it from top spot). In 2014, combined streams on Sheeran's catalogue in Spotify reached 860 million; Spotify named him
22692-459: The line up for a week of gigs at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust taking place on 28 March 2017. On 22 February 2017, Sheeran announced that Anne-Marie and Ryan McMullan would be the opening acts for the European dates. On 8 March 2017, Sheeran announced the North American leg. James Blunt was announced as the opening act, except for Indianapolis and Cleveland, where
22875-476: The longest-running number one album in Australia. The album featured a more lavish production and overall sound than Dire Straits' earlier work and spawned several big chart singles: "Money for Nothing", which reached number 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 , and number 4 in the UK Singles Chart , " So Far Away " (No. 20 UK, No. 19 US), " Brothers in Arms " (No. 16 UK), " Walk of Life " (No. 2 UK, No. 7 US), and " Your Latest Trick " (No. 26 UK). "Money for Nothing"
23058-414: The medieval drama The Bastard Executioner on FX . Sheeran also appeared as himself in the 2016 film Bridget Jones's Baby in a scene where Bridget Jones , played by Renée Zellweger , encounters the singer at the Glastonbury Festival . In July 2017, Sheeran appeared in a scene on Game of Thrones opposite Maisie Williams , who plays Arya Stark . David Benioff explained that since Williams
23241-428: The most-streamed artist and × the most-streamed album. In the same year, the album made Sheeran iTunes ' best-selling artist in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. × was nominated for Album of the Year at the 57th Grammy Awards . Sheeran performed "Thinking Out Loud" alongside John Mayer , Questlove and Herbie Hancock at the ceremony. On 25 February, Sheeran won British Male Solo Artist and British Album of
23424-402: The music score to the film Local Hero . The album was released in April 1983 and received a BAFTA Award nomination for Best Original Film Music the following year. Alan Clark contributed significantly, and other Dire Straits members Illsley, Lindes and Williams played on one track, "Freeway Flyer", while Gerry Rafferty sang lead vocals on "The Way It Always Starts". The closing track on
23607-537: The music so much that he played "Sultans of Swing" on his show. Two months later, Dire Straits signed a recording contract with the Vertigo division of Phonogram Inc. In October 1977, the band recorded demo tapes of "Southbound Again", "In the Gallery" and "Six Blade Knife" for BBC Radio London; in November, demo tapes were made of " Setting Me Up ", "Eastbound Train" and "Real Girl". The group's first album, Dire Straits ,
23790-479: The north east of England. A compilation album, The Best of Dire Straits & Mark Knopfler: Private Investigations , was released in November 2005 and reached the UK Top 20. Featuring material from the majority of Dire Straits' studio albums and Knopfler's solo and soundtrack material, it was released in two editions, a single CD with a grey cover and a double CD in a blue cover. The only previously unreleased track on
23973-501: The only members who remained with the band for its entire history. After their first breakup in 1988, Knopfler told Rolling Stone : "A lot of press reports were saying we were the biggest band in the world. There's not an accent then on the music, there's an accent on popularity. I needed a rest." They disbanded permanently in 1995, after which Knopfler launched a solo career full-time. He has declined numerous reunion offers, and confirmed in April 2024 that he would never play as part of
24156-469: The opener was Joshua Radin . On 10 May 2017, Sheeran announced the Oceanian leg. The tour was originally slated to have seven shows, but demand was high, the leg became eighteen shows. On 8 June 2017, Sheeran announced the Asian leg of the tour, which was originally planned for October 2017 until November 2017. However, due to bone fractures in his arms from a bike accident, he had to postpone and cancel parts of
24339-528: The opening act for The Rolling Stones in their Zip Code Tour date in Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium . On 10–12 July 2015, Sheeran performed sold-out shows at London's Wembley Stadium . The shows, which were announced in November 2014, were part of his world tour. The concert was documented and aired on 16 August 2015 on NBC ; the one-hour special Ed Sheeran – Live at Wembley Stadium also included behind-the-scenes footage. In November 2015 Sheeran released
24522-425: The opening act for Swift's The Red Tour . According to Sheeran, it was then his biggest tour, and he added a scarlet RED tattoo to commemorate it. In October 2013, Sheeran headlined three sold-out shows at New York's Madison Square Garden . At the concert, Sheeran debuted new songs, including " Tenerife Sea ", a future track on his second studio album. Sheeran released " I See Fire " on 5 November 2013. The song
24705-655: The opening act, while Jamie Lawson was added, and Beoga was added for Ireland. On 22 September 2017, Sheeran announced a stadium tour across North America. On 6 February 2018, Sheeran added dates to the leg with new cities that were not in the initial announcement, and second shows in Toronto, Foxborough, and East Rutherford. Snow Patrol was announced as the main opener for the North American stadium leg, along with Anne-Marie and Lauv in selected dates. On 25 June 2018, Sheeran added two dates, performing in South Africa in March 2019. On 19 September 2018, Sheeran added more 2019 dates to
24888-515: The overall eighth-best selling single of 2011, selling 801,000 copies. The lead single also became a top ten hit in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway and the Netherlands. During a headline set in the BBC Introducing tent at Glastonbury Festival 2011 , Sheeran announced that " You Need Me, I Don't Need You " would be released on 26 August as the second single from
25071-526: The place of Tommy Mandel, Guy Fletcher , who had previously worked as a session musician with Roxy Music and had worked with Knopfler on the Cal and Comfort and Joy soundtracks, joined Dire Straits full time so that the band had a permanent second keyboardist. Hal Lindes left the band early on during the recording sessions and was replaced in December 1984 by Jack Sonni , a New York-based guitarist and longstanding friend of Knopfler (although Sonni's contribution to
25254-541: The re-released "Sultans of Swing" finally started to climb the UK charts. This led to a United States recording contract with Warner Bros. Records ; before the end of 1978, Dire Straits had released their self-titled debut worldwide. They received more attention in the US, but also arrived at the top of the charts in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Dire Straits eventually went top 10 in every European country. The following year, Dire Straits embarked on their first North American tour. They played 51 sold-out concerts over
25437-456: The records of Joni Mitchell , Bob Dylan and Elton John 's Greatest Hits . According to Sheeran, the album that introduced him to music was Van Morrison 's Irish Heartbeat . During his childhood his father took him to live concerts that would inspire his musical creations. These included seeing Eric Clapton at the Royal Albert Hall , Paul McCartney in Birmingham , and Bob Dylan. On
25620-447: The release of Love Over Gold , drummer Pick Withers left the band. His replacement was Terry Williams , formerly of Rockpile and a range of other Welsh bands, including Man . In January 1983, a four-song EP titled ExtendedancEPlay was released while Love Over Gold was still in the album charts. It featured the hit single "Twisting By the Pool", which reached the Top 20 in the UK and Canada. The band won Best British Group at
25803-474: The remainder of their career, while the album's lengthy opening track, " Tunnel of Love ", with its intro "The Carousel Waltz" by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II , was featured in the 1982 Richard Gere film An Officer and a Gentleman . Although "Tunnel of Love" reached only no. 54 in the UK when released as a single in 1981, it remains one of Dire Straits' most famous and popular songs and immediately became
25986-477: The rhythmic feel he wanted. Around six weeks after the recording sessions started, Williams voiced his disappointment to Mark Knopfler over some of his playing so far after listening to a playback of what was recorded; shortly after this, he was dismissed from the sessions. Williams would however be back in the band as a full time member for the music videos and the 1985–1986 Brothers in Arms world tour that followed. Released in May 1985, Brothers in Arms entered
26169-460: The same year. Sheeran's debut album, + (" Plus "), was released in September 2011 and topped the UK Albums Chart . It contained his first hit single " The A Team ". In 2012, Sheeran won the Brit Awards for Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act . Sheeran's second studio album, × (" Multiply "), topped charts around the world upon its release in June 2014. It was named
26352-408: The second most streamed artist of the decade behind Drake . On 21 December 2020, after being on hiatus after having his first child with Cherry Seaborn in August, he released the surprise single, " Afterglow ". On 25 June 2021, Sheeran released " Bad Habits ", the lead single from his upcoming fifth studio album. His 10th UK number one single, the song spent eleven consecutive weeks at the top of
26535-486: The second album continued in a similar vein to the first and displayed the expanding scope of Knopfler's lyricism on the opening track, " Once Upon a Time in the West ". In the coming year, however, this approach began to change, along with the group's line-up. In 1980, Dire Straits were nominated for two Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group for "Sultans of Swing". In July 1980,
26718-539: The second and final break-up. Bill Flanagan described the sequence of events in GQ : "The subsequent world tour lasted nearly two years, made mountains of money and drove Dire Straits into the ground. When the tour was over, both Knopfler's marriage and his band were gone." Manager Ed Bicknell also said, "The last tour was utter misery. Whatever the zeitgeist was that we had been part of, it had passed." John Illsley agreed, saying "Personal relationships were in trouble and it put
26901-491: The second-best-selling album worldwide of 2015. In the same year, × won Album of the Year at the 2015 Brit Awards , and he received the Ivor Novello Award for Songwriter of the Year from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors . A single from × , " Thinking Out Loud ", earned him the 2016 Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance . Sheeran's third album, ÷ (" Divide "),
27084-421: The seventh single from the album, " Take Me Back to London " featuring Stormzy , reached number one in the UK. In 2019, Sheeran co-wrote country music singer Kenny Chesney 's single " Tip of My Tongue ". In December 2019, Sheeran was named artist of the decade by the Official Charts Company for being the most successful performer in the UK album and singles charts of the 2010s. Eight of his songs featured in
27267-666: The singles " Sigue " and " Forever My Love ". Sheeran commenced his +–=÷x Tour (Mathematics Tour) on 21 March. He played warm-up shows at the Electric Ballroom in Camden Town, London before the main tour began with two concerts at Croke Park in Dublin. On 22 April, Sheeran released the fifth single from = , " 2step " featuring Lil Baby , before releasing a version of the song featuring Ukrainian pop-rock band Antytila . 2022 also saw Sheeran venture into heavier styles of music, releasing
27450-514: The song peaked at number two in the UK. By 11 March 2017, Sheeran had accumulated ten top-10 singles from ÷ on the UK Singles Chart, breaking Scottish DJ Calvin Harris 's record of nine top-10 singles from one album. On 25 June, Sheeran headlined the final night of Glastonbury , performing in front of 135,000 people. At the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards Sheeran was named Artist of the Year. The fourth single from ÷ , " Perfect ", reached number one in
27633-477: The songs on the album reflected Mark Knopfler's experiences in Newcastle , Leeds and London. " Down to the Waterline " recalled images of life in Newcastle; "In the Gallery" is a tribute to Leeds sculptor/artist Harry Phillips (father of Steve Phillips ); "Wild West End" and "Lions" were drawn from Knopfler's early days in the capital. That year, Dire Straits began a tour as opening band for Talking Heads , after
27816-442: The statement, Sheeran stated it will help artists aged under 18 with "small but hopefully useful grants". In May 2020, Sheeran donated £170,000 to his former school Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham, Suffolk. The donations, which have been made over a two-year period via the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation, helped the school to purchase items such as MacBooks, cameras and a photography darkroom. The same month, Sheeran made
27999-404: The studio by saxophonist Chris White, steel guitarist Paul Franklin , percussionist Danny Cummings and guitarist Phil Palmer , with drums split between Jeff Porcaro of Toto and Manu Katché . The new album was produced by Knopfler, Clark and Fletcher. Dire Straits released their sixth studio album, On Every Street , in September 1991, which turned out to be their final studio release. It
28182-423: The summit. On 19 August, Sheeran announced that his fifth studio album, = ("Equals"), would be released on 29 October 2021. The cover was painted by him during the first COVID-19 lockdown , and is based on the changes his life had during the last four years, including marriage, having a child and losing friends. The promotional single " Visiting Hours " was released alongside the announcement. On 9 September, he
28365-509: The time Dire Straits disbanded. He said he and Knopfler had enjoyed the success of the band, despite the stress of keeping it working, and quoted Knopfler's comment that "success is great, but fame is [...] something you don’t really want". Knopfler said: "I had an absolute ball for as long as it lasted, until it got so big that I didn't know the names of all the roadies [...] It got so big, we were actually leapfrogging stages [running duplicate convoys of equipment]." Dire Straits remains one of
28548-475: The top 40, although it reached the top 25 in France. The final single released in the UK was " The Bug ", which reached the top 25 in Canada and contains backing vocals by Vince Gill , who was invited to join the band full-time but declined and pursued a solo career. " You and Your Friend " was also released as a single in France and Germany, but not in the UK. Dire Straits, with Chris Whitten on drums, embarked on
28731-460: The tour, again to very mixed reviews. Nevertheless, it reached the UK Top 5, a rare achievement for a live album. The four track Encores EP was also released and rose to number one in the French and Spanish singles charts and reached number 31 in the UK. Dire Straits' final album, Live at the BBC , is a collection of live recordings from 1978 to 1981, which mostly feature the original line-up of
28914-640: The tour, performing in stadiums across Europe and the UK, starting in May 2019. Due to high demand, numerous additional dates were added to the tour itinerary. Sheeran later added even more 2019 dates to the Divide tour, performing in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina in February 2019. He also announced that he would be returning to Asia in April 2019, performing the long-awaited dates that were scheduled to take place in Fall 2017 but were cancelled and rescheduled due to bone fractures in
29097-513: The track "Growing Up". On 26 September, Sheeran performed at the 2015 Global Citizen Festival in Central Park 's Great Lawn in New York, an event organised by Coldplay lead singer, Chris Martin , that advocates an end to extreme global poverty. Sheeran headlined the festival along with Beyoncé , Coldplay and Pearl Jam . The festival was broadcast on NBC in the US on 27 September and the BBC in
29280-463: The track charted at number 21 on its first week in the UK Singles Chart but dropped out of the charts within four weeks. The track fared much better elsewhere, however, reaching the top 10 in Australia, New Zealand and throughout Europe, peaking as high as the number 2 position in several countries, including Denmark and Switzerland, and number 1 in Italy. The follow-up single, " Heavy Fuel ", failed to reach
29463-445: Was a big fan of the singer, they wanted to have Sheeran appear on the show to surprise Williams, and that they had tried to get him on for years. It received a mix of positive and very negative reviews. In June 2019, Sheeran made his debut appearance in an advertisement for Heinz Tomato Ketchup . A lifelong fan of the product—he has it with everything from fish and chips to his morning sausage "butty" to upmarket dinners, carries
29646-622: Was a recording of excerpts from the final two concerts and was reportedly released without studio overdubs . It was released in March 1984, reaching the Top 3 in the UK Albums Chart. During 1983 and 1984, Mark Knopfler was also involved with other projects outside of Dire Straits, some of which other band members contributed towards. Knopfler and Terry Williams contributed to Phil Everly ´s and Cliff Richard ´s UK hit single " She Means Nothing To Me ", released in early 1983, and Knopfler had also expressed his interest writing film music, and after producer David Puttnam responded he wrote and produced
29829-600: Was able to meet him, and he was unbelievably cool. I went straight home and started writing songs. I would not be doing what I'm doing now if he'd been a jerk." He also played the guitar to Westlife 's Greatest Hits album when he was ten, citing them as one of his influences. Sheeran collaborated with his idol Eric Clapton in April 2016, with Sheeran stating to People magazine, "I sang on Eric Clapton's album I Still Do . It's one thing having him on mine, but being on his, that's an honour that you can't ever pinpoint on how great that is. I did something for his record, and I
30012-474: Was credited as 'Angelo Mysterioso', appearing as a guest on Clapton's 'I Will Be There', in addition to performing the song with Clapton on stage, and he did something for my record performing a guitar solo on ' Dive ' on Sheeran's album ÷ and was credited as 'Angelo Mysterioso'." Sheeran also cited Taylor Swift as one of his influences, suggesting in 2015 their respective success drives each other on. In 2024, Ed Sheeran also confirmed punk band The Offspring
30195-426: Was followed in 1984 by Cal , which was also released on album and to which John Illsley and Terry Williams contributed, and Comfort and Joy , which also featured contributions from Williams. Also, during this time Knopfler produced Bob Dylan 's Infidels which also featured Alan Clark, as well as albums for Aztec Camera and Willy DeVille . Also in 1984, John Illsley released his first solo album, Never Told
30378-401: Was hooked. Two days later I bought a black Stratocaster copy for £30 that came with an amp . All I did for the next month was try to play that 'Layla' riff." In a complicated world, Sheeran's musical modus operandi is straightforward; to create well-crafted, expertly vague songs that unite people. His songs are vessels broad enough to soundtrack both a first dance and a funeral procession,
30561-475: Was in the country for a one-off performance. In May 2015, he appeared as himself and performed on a live episode of the NBC sitcom Undateable . Later that year, while in Australia, he recorded scenes for the soap Home and Away , as a character based on himself. After recording a cover version of Foy Vance 's " Make It Rain " for Sons of Anarchy , Sheeran was cast by creator Kurt Sutter to play Sir Cormac in
30744-557: Was joined by Illsley, Fletcher, Danny Cummings and Chris White for four charity concerts under the name of "Mark Knopfler and friends". Brendan Croker joined Knopfler during the first half, playing mainly material composed with The Notting Hillbillies. Illsley came on for a Dire Straits session toward the end of which, at a Shepherd's Bush concert, Jimmy Nail provided backing vocals for Knopfler's solo composition, " Why Aye Man ". This song appeared on The Ragpicker's Dream (2002), an album that contained references to Knopfler's home area in
30927-497: Was met with more moderate success and mixed reviews, as well as a significantly reduced audience. Some retrospective reviewers, including the All Music Guide , dubbed On Every Street an "underwhelming" follow-up to Brothers in Arms . However, it had sold 15 million copies by 2008, and on release, it went straight to number 1 in the UK Albums Chart. The album also reached number 1 in numerous European countries and Australia, and
31110-424: Was named Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2017 with 6.3 billion streams. He has Spotify's biggest album of the year with ÷ streamed 3.1 billion times, and the top song with "Shape of You" with 1.4 billion streams. On 5 December 2017, hip-hop artist Eminem announced that Sheeran had collaborated on the song " River " for his ninth studio album Revival . On working with Eminem, Sheeran stated, "He
31293-408: Was not interested in "getting all that stuff back together again." He said, "I would only do that for a charity. I'm glad I've experienced it all – I had a lot of fun with it – but I like things the way they are." Keyboardist Guy Fletcher has been associated with almost all of Knopfler's solo work to date and Danny Cummings has been a frequent contributor, notably to Knopfler's solo album releases All
31476-480: Was part of the 2021 Kickoff Experience ahead of the American NFL season opening game. Released on 10 September, " Shivers " dethroned "Bad Habits" at the top of the UK and Irish singles charts. Topping the charts in most major markets, = became his fifth UK number-one album, and fourth US number one. On 29 November 2021, Sheeran and Elton John released " Merry Christmas ", a duet single for charity. Inspired by
31659-441: Was particularly successful in France, where it achieved Diamond certification. In the US, it peaked at number 12. Several singles were released from the album, some of which achieved success in Europe, Australasia and the US; however, none were successful in the UK. An edited version of the opening track " Calling Elvis " was the first single released from the album. With a video based on the 1960s television show Thunderbirds ,
31842-582: Was recorded at Basing Street studios in Notting Hill , London in February 1978, at a cost of £12,500. Produced by Muff Winwood , it was first released in the United Kingdom on Vertigo Records, then a division of Phonogram Inc. It came to the attention of A&R representative Karin Berg, working at Warner Bros. Records in New York City. She felt that it was the kind of music audiences were hungry for, but only one person in her department agreed at first. Many of
32025-414: Was released in March 2017, and was the best-selling album worldwide of 2017 . The first two singles from the album, " Shape of You " and " Castle on the Hill ", broke records in a number of countries by debuting in the top two positions of the charts. He also became the first artist to have two songs debut in the US top 10 in the same week. By March 2017, Sheeran had accumulated ten top-10 singles from ÷ on
32208-479: Was released in October 1988 and reached number one in the UK. The group's first hit single " Sultans of Swing " was re-released as a single in the UK to promote the album. Also in 1988, John Illsley released his second solo album, Glass , which featured Mark Knopfler, Alan Clark, Guy Fletcher and Chris White. During this period, Alan Clark joined Eric Clapton's band for three years, during which time Knopfler also briefly joined. In May 1989, Dire Straits reunited for
32391-476: Was released on 1 February 2018, and "Summer On You", by PrettyMuch , was released on 21 June 2018. On 10 May 2019, Sheeran released the single " I Don't Care ", a duet with Justin Bieber , from his fourth studio album No.6 Collaborations Project . On Spotify , "I Don't Care" debuted with 10.977 million daily global streams, breaking the platform's single-day streaming record . The song debuted at number one in
32574-470: Was released on 5 May 2023. In August 2023, Sheeran announced his second album of the year, Autumn Variations , released on 29 September 2023. It is his first studio album for which he owns the copyright, and also his first to be released through Gingerbread Man Records . Sheeran's musical style has been described as pop , folk-pop , and soft rock . Sheeran also incorporates rap into his music. Sheeran's earliest memories include listening to
32757-434: Was reluctant to re-form the group and that he was not "a fan of Dire Straits' early hits." In the same interview, Illsley said Knopfler was enjoying his continuing success as a solo artist. "He's doing incredibly well as a solo artist, so hats off to him. He's having a perfectly good time doing what he's doing." Guy Fletcher stated on his website that Knopfler had no interest in re-forming Dire Straits. In December 2009,
32940-498: Was the first album recorded entirely digitally, because of Knopfler pushing for improved sound quality. Written during Britain's involvement in the Falklands War of 1982, the album's title track, "Brothers in Arms", deals with the senselessness of war. In 2007, the 25th anniversary of the war, Knopfler recorded a new version of the song at Abbey Road Studios to raise funds for British veterans who he said "are still suffering from
33123-433: Was the first video to be played on MTV in the UK and featured guest vocals by Sting , who is credited with co-writing the song with Mark Knopfler, although it was the inclusion of the melody from " Don't Stand So Close To Me " that triggered the copyright credit, as no actual lyrics were written by Sting. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in February 1986. Brothers in Arms
33306-490: Was uncredited on the album, and Roy Bittan from Bruce Springsteen 's E Street Band guesting on keyboards. After the recording sessions were completed, keyboardist Alan Clark and Californian guitarist Hal Lindes joined Dire Straits as full-time members for the On Location tour of Europe, North America, and Oceania. Making Movies received mostly positive reviews and featured longer songs with more complex arrangements,
33489-549: Was well received when it was released in September 1982, going gold in America and spending four weeks at number one in the United Kingdom. The title was inspired by graffiti seen from the window of Knopfler's old council flat in London. The phrase was taken from the sleeve of an album by Captain Beefheart . Love Over Gold was the first Dire Straits album produced solely by Mark Knopfler, and its main chart hit, " Private Investigations ", gave Dire Straits their first top 5 hit single in
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