Friday 29th October –Ed Sheeran has released his brand-new album ‘=’ (Equals). In conjunction with the release, Ed is delighted to announce details of his new single ‘Overpass Graffiti’, which will be joined by an official video, premiering today at 2pm BST via YouTube .
Written and produced by Sheeran, Johnny McDaid and Fred Gibson (the trio behind ‘Bad Habits’), ‘Overpass Graffiti’ – the third official single to be taken from Ed’s new album ‘=’ – is a heady, synth-rich ode to ’80s pop, and provides us with a wistful portrait of lost love as Ed soundtracks a past relationship. The official video – directed by Jason Koenig – explores the romanticism of living in the moment as we find Ed stranded in the desert in his dressing gown (!), before he embarks on an adventure with a newfound set of friends who he meets after hitching a ride.
Embracing Ed’s own truths, ‘=’ seamlessly captures both the intimate and every day, elevating universal experiences to a higher plane. The fourth instalment in Sheeran’s symbol album series and a body of tracks that were made over a four-year period that followed his seminal ‘÷’ (Divide) album era, the new album finds Ed taking stock of his life and the people in it as he explores the varying degrees of love (‘The Joker And The Queen’, ‘First Times’, ‘2step’), loss (‘Visiting Hours’), resilience (‘Can’t Stop The Rain’) and fatherhood (‘Sandman’, ‘Leave Your Life’), while also processing his reality and career (‘Tides’).
Sonically, ‘=’ encapsulates Ed’s versatile musical palette, spanning signature, guitar-led tracks and world-class balladry to weightier, euphoric production moments, as first showcased on this summer’s emphatic, 2 x platinum comeback track, ‘Bad Habits’. Written and recorded across Suffolk, London, Sweden and LA, the album’s executive production comes from Ed Sheeran, FRED (No.6 Collaborations Project) and Johnny McDaid (Divide), with additional writing and/or production provided by Steve Mac, Joe Rubel, Amy Wadge, Foy Vance, Elvira Anderfjard, David Hodges, Andrew Watt, Lou Bell, Natalie Hemby and Ben Kweller. Sheeran’s brother, Matthew, a composer, also contributes stunning string arrangements on ‘First Times’ and ‘The Joker And The Queen’. The album artwork is a vivid collage of butterfly imagery symbolising the albums’ thread of ‘new life’ and is backdropped by one of Ed’s own abstract paintings.
Since his comeback in June, Sheeran has sat atop the charts worldwide, and in the UK, he spent a staggering 15 weeks at No.1 on the Official Singles Chart with his singles, ‘Bad Habits’ and ‘Shivers’. Moreover, with the help of his recent single releases, Ed achieved another milestone in the UK after becoming the first British Solo Artist to claim 52 weeks – a full year – at No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart, with only Elvis Presley and The Beatles achieving more overall weeks at the top.
Ed Sheeran will embark on the first leg of his ‘+ – = ÷ x Tour’ (pronounced ‘The Mathematics Tour’) from April 2022, that’ll see him play across the UK, Ireland, Scandinavia and Central Europe in 2022 (shows in other territories will be announced in due course). Later this year, Sheeran will play a special Christmas gig, ‘Ed Sheeran’s Merry Christmas Gathering in aid of Ed Sheeran Suffolk Music Foundation’, that’ll take place on Monday 13th December at St John at Hackney Church, London. To be in with a chance to buy tickets, fans will need to buy Ed Sheeran’s new album, ‘=’, through his official store. Cut off is 4pm BST on Wednesday 3rd November and unique codes will be sent via email to everyone eligible on Monday 8th November, with general sale commencing on Friday 12th November.
‘=’ Official Tracklisting
1. Tides
2. Shivers
3. First Times
4. Bad Habits
5. Overpass Graffiti
6. The Joker And The Queen
7. Leave Your Life
8. Collide
9. 2step
10. Stop The Rain
11. Love In Slow Motion
12. Visiting Hours
13. Sandman
14. Be Right Now
2022 UK tour dates
MAY
Thurs 12th UK Belfast Boucher Road Playing Fields
Fri 13th UK Belfast Boucher Road Playing Fields
Thurs 26th UK Cardiff Principality Stadium
Fri 27th UK Cardiff Principality Stadium
Sat 28th UK Cardiff Principality Stadium
JUNE 2022
Thurs 2nd UK Sunderland Stadium of Light
Fri 3rd UK Sunderland Stadium of Light
Sat 4th UK Sunderland Stadium of Light
Thurs 9th UK Manchester Etihad Stadium
Fri 10th UK Manchester Etihad Stadium
Sat 11th UK Manchester Etihad Stadium
Sun 12th UK Manchester Etihad Stadium
Thurs 16th UK Glasgow Hampden Park
Fri 17th UK Glasgow Hampden Park
Fri 24th UK London Wembley Stadium
Sat 25th UK London Wembley Stadium
Weds 29th UK London Wembley Stadium
Thurs 30th UK London Wembley Stadium
JULY 2022
Fri 1st UK London Wembley Stadium
