He was exposed to music very early
Ed Sheeran, a self-made musician who was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and later on moved to Framlingham with his family, was exposed to music very early on in his life. He used to be a choir boy when he was four. He sang in the local church with his mother.
His upbringing was rigid
As a young kid he did not watch TV and was not playing video games in his spare time. His parents did not want him to waste his hours with things the other children his age would do. In retrospect, he is very thankful they did what they did. He had ample opportunities to play the guitar and built himself into the powerhouse musician he is today.
He was self-taught at first
Before receiving proper music lessons Ed Sheeran used to play the guitar his uncle gave him for hours. Interestingly, he gave names to his later guitars. Names like Lloyd, Felix, Cyril, Nigel, Chris, Trev and James. These names came from people in his working crew. He even uses some of the names twice when he breaks a guitar way too fast.
Damian Rice gave him the initial push
The story goes like this: as an 11 years old boy Ed Sheeran went to watch a performance by musician Damian Rice in Ireland. He later talked with him in a bar. This convinced Sheeran to pursue a career in music, the little talk showed him that a musician is exactly what he wants to be. When he came home his first order of business was to write a bunch of songs. To this day he is a fan of Damien's and even has his name as a tattoo on his arm.
His debut album
His debut album, simply called +, was released on 12th September 2011. It quickly reached number 1 on the UK album chart. What is interesting about it is that he recorded it in a friend's garden shed. Like the whole thing. According to him, he did it to keep it organic. After all he has the rest of his life to record in fancy studios.
Elton John is one of his biggest fans
Elton John likes Ed Sheeran's music, this is not a big secret. What is interesting, however, is the proposition he made in 2011. He convinced the young talent to pose naked for a catalogue, which was made for a charity. Ed Sheeran agreed even though he was shy at first. Many people at the time were doing it and he decided to join in, being a charity sealed the deal.
He collaborated with Ron from Harry Potter
Ed Sheeran and Rupert Grint look very similar, like close relatives, mostly because of their hair color. Eventually the actor agreed to play in the video for one of Sheraan's songs - Lego House. Grint represents a fan, who got so crazy he now believes that he is Ed Sheeran himself, something similar to Eminem's "Stan" .
He talked about his experiences with bullying
Ed Sheeran takes bullying as something normal that happens to most people. He used to be the weird one in class, wearing huge glasses, having stuttering and hearing problems. In short - he was an easy target. That did not prevent him from being a successful adult though, so in general he doesn't think his experiences were very negative. He believes they shaped him up into the man he is today.
His free time is something he struggles with
It is very simple really. Before he became the famous musician he is today, music used to be all of his free time. Now that his hobby became his full time job he can be quite confused what to do with his relaxing hours.
His father's help was a huge driving force
Ed Sheeran's dad noticed his son's passion fairly early. He then started encouraging him to perform in front of public, something young Sheeran was afraid of. His first real performance was when he was 11, at a school concert. Back then he was so afraid he says he wouldn't have gone if it wasn't for his father's encouragement.
His inspiration is.......he himself
All these deep and emotional songs you hear Ed Sheeran perform? They come straight from his heart. Happy songs for the happy moments he went through, sad ones for the times he was down. He quickly noticed that and started writing the lyrics mere hours after the strong emotion, this is why all of them feel so fresh and raw. Of course it is also great that he doesn't have to change at all to perform at his best.
Eminem helped him conquer one of his problems
Not directly, no, but Slim Shady did have a large influence on Ed Sheeran's childhood. His stuttering came from a birthmark which got removed fairly early. Naturally, he wanted the stuttering gone because it interfered with his chosen career path. The speech therapy young Sheeran went to did not produce the desired results, so his father bought him some Eminem disks to listen to. Fast melodic rapping yielded results and he remained a fan of the genre ever since.
He is a very generous guy
It is no surprise to see Ed Sheeran donating to charity, or performing in charity events. The guy doesn't mind spending his time and talent in the name of a generous cause. One of the highlights was him donating 20 000 dollars to the American Institute for Stuttering on top of already performing there for free.
His over a hundred tattoos
Ed Sheeran loves his tattoos, there is no doubt about that. He estimates that there are more than one hundred unique ones, although nobody is sure of the exact number. Some are nice and related to his family and career. Others are straight up silly. It is hard to tell which one takes the cake - the Puss 'N Boots, the "Prince"(from The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), the teddy bear, the teacup, the kiwi bird, or the Heinz ketchup logo.
