Ed Sheeran has announced a last-minute UK and European arena tour.
After unveiling his latest album ‘Subtract’ – which is due for release on May 5 – on Wednesday (01.03.23), the ‘Castle on the Hill’ hitmaker has announced a small batch of dates, kicking off on March 23 in Manchester, taking in two nights at London’s The O2 arena on March 24 and 25 before heading to Glasgow and Dublin on March 28 and March 30, and wrapping in Paris on April 2.
The mini tour is in support of the first single from the follow-up to 2021’s ‘Equals’, which is yet to be announced.
They will be the only shows the Grammy winner will play in the UK this year.
Fans can pre-order the album before 9am on March 7 via Ed’s official website (edsheeran.com) to gain early access to the ticket pre-sale.
With the announcement of Ed’s new album, the ‘Shape of You’ hitmaker also revealed his wife Cherry Seaborn discovered she had a tumour while pregnant with their second child last year and had to delay her treatment.
He also told how his mental health spiralled as he also lost his dear friend Jamal Edwards in February 2022, following a cardiac arrest he suffered after taking drugs.
Ed said: “Within the space of a month, my pregnant wife got told she had a tumour, with no route to treatment until after the birth. My best friend Jamal, a brother to me, died suddenly and I found myself standing in court defending my integrity and career as a songwriter. I was spiralling through fear, depression and anxiety.
“I felt like I was drowning, head below the surface, looking up but not being able to break through for air.”
The 32-year-old singer – who also has two-year-old Lyra with Cherry – admitted his personal turmoil saw him replace an album that had been a decade in the making with his “deepest, darkest thoughts” and he isn’t looking for fans’ approval with the release.
He said: “I had been working on ‘Subtract’ for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be. Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.
“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out. And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts…
“As an artist I didn’t feel like I could credibly put a body of work into the world that didn’t accurately represent where I am and how I need to express myself at this point in my life. This album is purely that. It’s opening the trapdoor into my soul. For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like, I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.
“This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is ‘Subtract’.”
Ed’s 2023 UK and European arena shows:
Thurs 23 March, Manchester, AO Arena
Fri 24 March, London, The O2
Sat 25 March, London, The O2
Tues 28 March, Glasgow, Hydro Arena
Thurs 30 March, Dublin, 3Arena
Sun 2 April, Paris, Accor Arena