Oh dear. Ed Sheeran’s plans to do a bit of busking in between dates on his current Indian tour have been halted, as it seems he hasn’t got the correct paperwork.
The multi-million selling singer had been performing in the southern city of Bengaluru before a gig there that evening. In a video clip that’s gone viral, Sheeran can be seen strumming his way through Shape Of You in front of an appreciative crowd before he’s collared by an official who unplugs his mic - much to the chagrin of the onlookers.
Local police have said that permission was refused because Sheeran had chosen to busk in one of the busiest areas of the city, one that is known for heavy traffic.
A Bengaluru police official, Shekar T Tekkannanavar, told the news agency ANI: “I refused to give permission because Church Street gets very crowded. That is the reason he was asked to vacate the place.”
However, Sheeran is claiming that he did have permission after all. Writing on Instagram, he said: “We had permission to busk, by the way. Hence, us playing in that exact spot was planned out beforehand. It wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good, though.”
Fans were disappointed, but the local MP backed up the police. Posting on Twitter/X, the ruling party MP PC Mohan wrote: “even global stars must follow local rules – no permit, no performance”.
The video was apparently taken by Sahil Kaling, a 22 year old software engineer who said he was “a bit disappointed when police stopped him.”
“We decided to take a walk on Church Street and just before entering MG Road metro station we saw him get out of a car. We couldn’t believe we got the chance to see him performing up close. It was surreal.”
Sheeran, of course, was a busker in his native Ipswich long before he had a record contract. Even now, he’s known for surprising fans and making the odd impromptu street performance before gigs.
Anyhoo, the two dates the singer played in the city seemed to go well. For the gigs Sheeran brought on stage the acclaimed Indian singer Shilpa Rao and the pair duetted on Chuttamelle, a popular song in the local language, Telugu.
“Radio stations all said Layne’s voice is wrong”: Alice In Chains and Jane’s Addiction producer Dave Jerden helped to define the sound of alternative rock
Why did Jon Batiste have a Jupiter-8 plugin controller, a Maschine+ and an Ableton Live controller sitting on his piano when he sang the National Anthem at the Super Bowl? We’re still not sure
