Ed Sheeran May End His Self-Imposed Break For One of His Music Idols
Musician Ed Sheeran has been taking one of his breaks from music and social media since Dec. 2019. Not much has been heard from him, as he promised.
However, it seems he may be taking a break from his break for the sake of one of his music idols.
Sheeran’s latest break
At the final stop of his Divide tour in August, the Shape of You singer let his fans know he was ready to take a break from the grind of writing music, recording, and touring.
“As you may or not know, I’ve been on the Divide tour for over two years now and this is the last day of the whole thing,” he told the crowd in Ipswich, England, according to The Sun. “There is something very bittersweet about it.”
“I love that you guys are here and we are ending it in Ipswich,” he continued. “This is my last gig for probably 18 months.”
Then in December, Sheeran announced on Instagram, a post which has been his last one, that he would be taking another break from music and social media.
“Hello all. Gonna go on another break again,” he said. “The Divide era and tour changed my life in so many ways, but now it’s all over it’s time to go out and see some more of the world.”
David Gray’s ‘White Ladder’ and its 20th anniversary
One of Sheeran’s musical inspirations is English singer-songwriter, David Gray, who has been described as a cross between a British Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen. Gray is both folksy and musically innovative.
His iconic and career-defining album, White Ladder, is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this year and the 51-year-old is celebrating it big with a massive arena tour. He’ll be performing the album, in its entirety, accompanied by the same musicians with whom he recorded the album in his bedroom in 1999, using the same equipment heard on the album.
“It’s an album that came from nowhere to steal the hearts of millions all over the world, completely transforming my life in the process,” Gray said in a statement. “Twenty years on and it feels like White Ladder is just as alive for people now as it was back then.”
Sheeran’s breaking his break for David Gray
One of the people whose heart White Ladder stole was Ed Sheeran’s.
As part of the promotional blitz Gray is orchestrating for White Ladder‘s anniversary, he’s asking his fans to record a brief White Ladder story of what the album meant to them. Musician John Mayer has recorded his, and so have Carly Rae Jepsen and U2’s Adam Clayton.
Sheeran came off his break to record his White Ladder story in support of Gray’s milestone year.
The 29-year-old superstar said in his story about the twenty-year old album, “White Ladder, for me, was an album that really molded me as an artist and as a music fan. I remember I was on a family holiday and I always remember so clearly, my dad had been given White Ladder by my godmother, and we had it in the car.”
“And I remember the drums for ‘Please Forgive Me’ and the first piano chord and thinking, ‘Oh, this is unlike anything I’ve ever heard before.’ “
“I just think it’s a fantastic album and so happy that I’ve been asked to add to the twenty-year celebration.”
Sheeran recorded his video statement from the recording studio where he’s working on new music.
Will Sheeran join David Gray in concert?
For his part, Gray was moved by Sheeran’s remembrance of the special part his album has played in his fellow Englishman’s life. Speaking with Forbes this month, Gray teased that Sheeran may join him for a show or two of his tour.
“Ed Sheeran has done a beautiful video piece talking about White Ladder and what it means to him. It was a big record for Ed, so, you know, there’s talk that he might come along and something might happen. So watch this space.”
