Ed Sheeran has spoken out after police in Bengaluru pulled the plug on a surprise street concert he was performing for a crowd of spectators.
After fan-captured video footage was shared on social media showing the Feb 9 incident, the British singer-songwriter, 33, posted a message on his Instagram Stories, assuring his followers it’s “all good” as he explained his perspective on what happened.
“We had permission to busk by the way, hence us playing in that exact spot was planned out before, it wasn’t just us randomly turning up,” he wrote. “All good though.”
Sheeran, who is in India as part of his Mathematics tour, performed at the NICE Grounds in Bengaluru on Feb 8 and Feb 9, reported India Today.
Early on Feb 9, he did an impromptu concert on Church Street, singing his hit “Shape of You” while dressed in shorts, a T-shirt and sunglasses.
He had a simple setup consisting of a standing microphone and an acoustic guitar. Fans soon joined him and sang along, before a uniformed officer approached Sheeran and bent down to unplug the microphone.
Two men attempted to intervene, but the officer was undeterred. While Sheeran valiantly attempted to carry on with his performance, once his mic was cut, he smiled and shrugged in defeat.
In another video, Sheeran can be heard telling the crowd: “Everyone, we had permission to do this, but this policeman is shutting it down.”
Local authorities said that, while Sheeran had a permit to play at concerts, that did not extend to impromptu outdoor performances, reported AFP.
“He is a very famous singer and naturally there will be chaos. To prevent that, police had not given him permission,” Karnataka’s Home Minister G. Parameshwara said on Monday.
“In spite of that, he has come and tried to perform, so police prevented him. Nothing beyond that.”
Sheeran denied he had broken the law, saying he was granted permission to busk “in that exact spot”.
During his time in India – he performed in Shillong on Thursday and will be on show in Delhi tomorrow –Sheeran shared lots of highlights on Instagram, including getting his very first sitar lesson with Megha Rawoot, whom he described in a post as “a great teacher”.
In another Instagram post, which he titled “India dump 2”, Sheeran shared a series of photos and clips of some of his adventures in India, including spending time with England’s cricket team (who happened to be in the country), hanging out in the recording studio with Grammy-winning composer A.R. Rahman and enjoying a scooter ride with Indian singer Arijit Singh in Jiaganj, West Bengal.
