Sheeran plays secret Sydney gig

Singer Ed Sheeran finished off a packed three days of promotion Down Under with a secret gig in Sydney to a room full of competition winners.

Ed Sheeran is the modern version of a one-man band.

Gone is the fellow with a drum attached to his back and in his place stepped Sheeran, with guitar and a loop pedal, onto a Sydney stage on Tuesday night.

Standing alone on the stage, he created his own rhythmic guitar riffs, backing vocals and percussion with the use of the loop pedal.

"It's new," he told the crowd.

At times, this gadget created a chorus of Sheerans who sang out from the stage with his soulful timbre.

The red-headed Yorkshireman was in town to perform a series of secret gigs for iHeartRadio at Paddington Town Hall.

The audience of 700 won their tickets through KIIS 1065 radio station and were only told the location of the venue hours before the gig.

The crowd, made up mostly of adolescent girls, were more than happy to sing (and scream) along as Sheeran sang hits such as You Need Me, I Don't Need You and I See Fire.

Showcasing some songs from his upcoming album, x (pronounced "multiply") Sheeran was in particularly jubilant form as he explained this was the last night of a "very long three days" of performing, including his appearance at the Logies on Sunday night.

One of the tracks off the new album, Don't, has already landed Sheeran some publicity for its subject matter, which alludes to a woman who cheated on him.

He has denied it's about his friend, singer Taylor Swift, but has yet to deny a rumour it may be about British singer Ellie Goulding.

Rumours aside, Sheeran relished belting it out to the packed crowd.

But it was during an unplugged moment, which took the singer away from the distracting loop pedal, that his incredible vocal range had time to shine.

The crowd went silent for him as he stepped in front of the microphones and played two songs, unplugged: Kiss Me and an autobiographical rap which drew some laughter from the otherwise hushed crowd.

"This is the third gig of the day," Sheeran told his fans.

"I'll be back in the country very soon I hope. This is my favourite country to tour in," he said.

Sheeran closed the show with his new single, Sing, telling the audience "I want you to wake up tomorrow singing this song and pissing your parents off".

And as he left the stage, he at least managed to keep them singing it as the lights went up.


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Source: AAP

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Sheeran plays secret Sydney gig | SBS News