Ed Sheeran had “convinced himself” to quit music after his daughter was born.
The 30-year-old Grammy-winner has revealed he was considering giving up his pop career after welcoming his first child, daughter Lyra Antarctica, 12 months, into the world in August 2020, as his life became consumed by fatherhood.
Ed – who has his baby girl with wife Cherry Seaborn – told GQ magazine: “When my daughter was born I just said, ‘Maybe this is me now.’ It was such a switch in my life and, wow, it was bringing me so much. Joy, of course, but obviously parts of it were really difficult too. I can’t really explain it, but I felt so much life was coming at me, I thought, ‘Well, this is what I’m meant to do now.’ I stopped playing the guitar, stopped writing songs and I stopped singing.”
Asked if he was serious, he replied: “I actually convinced myself I was never going to sing or pick up the guitar again. I was like, ‘No. This is it. I quit.’”
Ed felt like he’d “lost all purpose” during his hiatus but fortunately got his music-making mojo back.
He explained: “After about four months of not doing anything musically at all, I was having a chat with a friend of mine, a musician who is also going to retire. He’s a lot older than me. I told him that I needed something, as after about four months I had lost all purpose. Even though my new purpose was being a dad, if you asked me what I did I wouldn’t be able to tell you. My answer would be ‘Erm, I do f*** all’.”
The ‘Castle on the Hill’ hitmaker releases his new album, ‘=’, next month, and recently revealed it’s a “really personal record” inspired by him becoming a dad.
He said: “‘= (Equals)’ is a really personal record and one that means a lot to me.
“My life changed greatly over the past few years – I got married, became a father, experienced loss, and I reflect on these topics over the course of the album. I see it as my coming-of-age record, and I can’t wait to share this next chapter with you.”