Ed Sheeran

• 1. Framlingham Roots And Early Gigs

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  Edward Christopher Sheeran was born on the 17th of February 1991 in Halifax, West Yorkshire. His family moved to Framlingham, Suffolk, when he was four years old. He attended Brandeston Hall preparatory school and later Thomas Mills High School within that town. A 2004 school report described him as a natural performer while his classmates voted him most likely to be famous. He began writing songs at age eleven after learning the guitar. By 2008 he had moved to London to play small venues. In April 2008 he opened for Nizlopi in Norwich after working as their guitar technician. That autumn he enrolled at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford but left without permission to support hip-hop artist Just Jack. He released an EP titled You Need Me in 2009 and collaborated with Essex singer Leddra Chapman. In February 2010 he posted a video through SB.TV which launched by British entrepreneur Jamal Edwards. Rapper Example invited him to tour with him that same month. He also released Loose Change EP which featured his future debut single The A Team.

• 2. Plus Album Breakthrough Success

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  Sheeran appeared on BBC music show Later... with Jools Holland on the 26th of April 2011 to perform his debut single The A Team. Six weeks later the song became available as a digital download in the UK. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number three selling over 58,000 copies in its first week. The track sold 801,000 copies total making it the eighth-best-selling single of 2011. His debut album Plus arrived on the 12th of September 2011 debuting at number one on the UK Albums Chart. Sales reached 791,000 copies by the end of 2011 alone. The record was certified platinum six times denoting shipments of 1.8 million copies. By March 2012 sales stood at 1,021,072 copies in the UK. The album peaked inside the top five across Australia Canada Ireland New Zealand and the US. At the 2012 Brit Awards held on the 21st of February Sheeran won Best British Male Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act of the Year. He supported Snow Patrol on their US tour from late March until May 2012. His song Give Me Love appeared in an episode of The Vampire Diaries titled Dangerous Liaisons.

• 3. Multiply Tour And Global Records

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  Sheeran performed Take It Back at a Teenage Cancer Trust charity concert at London's Royal Albert Hall on the 24th of March 2014. Sing became his first number-one single in the UK earning him that status by early June 2014. His second studio album Multiply released worldwide on the 23rd of June 2014 after spanning three years of writing over 120 songs. The album featured tracks produced by Rick Rubin Pharrell Williams and Benny Blanco alongside Gosling. Multiply peaked at number one on both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. A world tour began on the 6th of August 2014 starting in Osaka Japan. On 10, the 12th of July 2015 he played sold-out shows at London's Wembley Stadium which were documented for NBC airing as Ed Sheeran , Live at Wembley Stadium. In November 2015 he released the DVD Jumpers for Goalposts: Live at Wembley Stadium. Thinking Out Loud spent eight weeks at number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 behind Uptown Funk. The song earned him Song of the Year and Best Pop Solo Performance at the 2016 Grammy Awards. Multiply was named the second-best-selling album worldwide in 2015 behind Adele's 25.

• 4. Divide Tour And Streaming Dominance

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  Sheeran tweeted a light blue picture on the 13th of December 2016 signaling his new album Divide. He revealed the track list and cover art via social media on the 2nd of January 2017 before releasing the album on the 3rd of March 2017. With first week sales of 672,000 copies it became the fastest-selling album by a male solo artist in the UK. Two singles Shape of You and Castle on the Hill entered the UK Singles Chart at number one and number two respectively on the 13th of January 2017. This marked the first time an artist took the top two positions with new songs simultaneously. Shape of You debuted at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 while Castle on the Hill entered at number six making Sheeran the first to have two songs debut in the US top ten. By the 11th of March 2017 he had accumulated ten top-10 singles from Divide breaking Calvin Harris's record. The Divide Tour began on the 17th of March 2017 ending on the 26th of August 2019 with homecoming gigs in Ipswich Suffolk. It became the highest-grossing tour of all time in August 2019. On the 4th of December 2017 Spotify named him its most-streamed artist of that year with 6.3 billion streams.

• 5. Collaborations And Recent Releases

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  Sheeran released I Don't Care featuring Justin Bieber on the 10th of May 2019 which debuted with 10.977 million daily global streams breaking a platform record. His fourth studio album No.6 Collaborations Project arrived on the 12th of July 2019 debuting at number one in multiple markets including the UK and US. Three singles from this project reached number one in the UK: I Don't Care Beautiful People and Take Me Back to London. He released his fifth studio album Equals on the 29th of October 2021 after painting the cover during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Bad Habits spent eleven consecutive weeks at the top of the UK Singles Chart making it his tenth number-one single. Equals topped charts in most major markets becoming his fifth UK number-one album. Subtract released on the 5th of May 2023 was followed by Autumn Variations on the 29th of September 2023 under his own label Gingerbread Man Records. Play arrived as his eighth studio album on the 12th of September 2025. Azizam served as its lead single releasing on the 4th of April 2025. The Loop Tour supporting Play began on the 1st of December 2025.

• 6. Suffolk Foundation And Business Ventures

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  Sheeran launched the Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation in December 2019 to help artists under age eighteen with grants. In May 2020 he donated £170,000 to Thomas Mills High School in Framlingham via that foundation. Funds purchased MacBooks cameras and a photography darkroom for the school. He also donated over £1 million to local charities in Suffolk during the pandemic including to a children's hospital ward. His parents organized The Ed Sheeran Made in Suffolk Legacy Auction running from the 23rd of October until the 8th of November 2020. The auction included 220 lots such as handwritten lyrics from Perfect and a £3 ticket to his first gig at the British Legion in Framlingham. Proceeds supported GeeWizz and Zest which aid children and young adults in the county. In March 2015 he announced Gingerbread Man Records established as a deal with Warner Music Group. Jamie Lawson became the label's first signee releasing his self-titled debut album on the 9th of October 2015 earning a number-one spot in the UK Albums Chart. Foy Vance signed as the second artist in November 2015 while Maisie Peters joined in 2021.

• 7. Plagiarism Lawsuits And Court Rulings

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  Sheeran settled out of court in 2017 regarding claims his song Photograph copied Amazing by Matt Cardle though he later regretted the decision. Legal action arrived against him in 2018 accusing Thinking Out Loud of copying Let's Get It On by Marvin Gaye. US District Judge Louis Stanton rejected dismissal requests finding substantial similarities between musical elements. The case went to trial in New York in April 2023 where a jury found unanimously in Sheeran's favor. He stated these chords are common building blocks used long before the original songs were written. Appeals attempted to revive the dispute but the US Supreme Court declined hearing an appeal in June 2025 effectively ending the matter. Another copyright lawsuit over Shape of You reached court in March 2022 alleging infringement of Oh Why by Sami Chokri and Ross O'Donoghue. Mr Justice Zacaroli ruled Sheeran neither deliberately nor subconsciously copied phrases from that composition. All tort actions reaching a jury have been decided in Sheeran's favor despite earlier settlements.