Ed Sheeran

An era-defining artist, Halifax-born, Suffolk-raised folk pop superstar Ed Sheeran has not only racked up a slew of accolades and awards for his music, but also broken several records for his tours.

He started out in music, while living in Hebden Bridge, at the age of four, singing in the church choir, while his father was a curator at Cartwright Hall in Bradford and his mother worked at Manchester City Art Gallery, before learning to play guitar when he was 11, inspired by Eric Clapton, and then started writing songs after meeting Damien Rice at a small concert in Ireland.

He self-released an EP called Spinning Man in 2004 when he was just 14. Two years later, he moved to London to study at the National Youth Theatre, and by 2009 he had performed more than 300 gigs.

His hugely successful debut + (Plus) came out in 2011 and climbed to No.1 on the UK albums chart thanks to the success of lead singles The A Team, Lego House and You Need Me, I Don’t Need You.

He has since gone on to break records, selling more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the world's best-selling music artists, and seen all five albums top the UK charts (and across the globe) - his latest is set for release in May 2023.