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Ed Sheeran Went From Sleeping On The Tube To The World's Biggest Popstar As He Turns 30

Ed Sheeran Went From Sleeping On The Tube To The World's Biggest Popstar As He Turns 30

The songwriter has said he often didn't have a place to stay between 2008 and 2010

Dominic Smithers

Dominic Smithers

Ed Sheeran is one of the biggest popstars in the world, selling out stadiums and arenas wherever he goes.

In 2019, the singer even broke U2's record for the highest-grossing tour of all time, performing 255 shows in 43 countries to over eight million people.

And at the end of it all, he raked in more than £600 million ($840 million).

The songwriter celebrates his 30th birthday on Wednesday (17 February). But with millions in the bank and an army of fans following him wherever he goes, it's easy to forget that it's not always been plain sailing for old Ed.

When he first set out to make a name for himself, the red-headed troubadour had little more than the clothes on his back, and some nights didn't have a roof over his head.

Speaking previously about his early days, Ed said he used to sleep on the Tube after a gig if he didn't have anywhere to go.

In his book, he said: "I didn't have anywhere to live for much of 2008 and the whole of 2009 and 2010, but somehow I made it work. I spent a week catching up on sleep on Circle Line trains.

Ed Sheeran often slept rough during his early days.
PA

"I'd go out and play a gig, wait until 5am when the Underground opened, sleep on the Circle Line until 12, go to a session - and then repeat. It wasn't that bad."

Ed later said people didn't need to worry about him, telling Capital FM he just 'went without a bed some nights, so I slept on the Central Line and outside Buckingham Palace'.

Discussing his song 'Homeless' in MTV documentary Nine Days and Nights of Ed Sheeran, he said: "2009 I'd been doing it [playing gigs in London] for about four years.

"I lost my place to live and just started staying at friends' that I met along the way and it was a very fun time, I had a lot of fun.

"I met a lot of people [and] had a lot of experiences that an 18-year-old probably shouldn't have, and when I didn't have a place I would stand onstage and be like, 'If anyone has got a couch tonight', and it would usually work."

A far cry from the sprawling estate he now owns in Suffolk, isn't it?

He is now one of the richest musicians in the world.
PA

Last year, Ed took a break from performing, and after several years on the road and the arrival of a baby, it's not hard to see why.

However, he hasn't stopped expressing his creativity, and recently transferred his talents to the canvas for a good cause.

Earlier this month, he announced he would be raffling off a painting called Splash Planet. Tickets cost £20 ($27) each, with the money raised going to Cancer Campaign in Suffolk (CCiS).

"The painting is one of mine, one of the big splashy ones that you saw in the Afterglow cover," Ed said in a video message.

"I hope you enter, it goes to a really fantastic cause and it's going to help a lot of people."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: UK News, Celebrity, concert, Money, UK Entertainment, Ed Sheeran, London