Ed Sheeran surprised commuters and fans with an impromptu performance outside London’s King’s Cross station.
Dressed in a vibrant pink T-shirt, the 34-year-old singer-songwriter played his acoustic guitar against a backdrop of a large pink heart emblazoned with the word “Azizam” in white.
His new single is called “Azizam.”
Sheeran treated the gathering crowd to a selection of his popular hits, including “Perfect,” “Bad Habits,” and “Shivers.”
Fans described the unexpected concert as “incredible” and “super fun.” One commuter, pausing between train connections, expressed her delight, saying she “struck gold” by witnessing the performance.
Olivia Heathcote, 22, from Teesside, said she felt “lucky” to watch him play some of his most popular songs.
“I didn’t know he was going to be performing so I felt like I struck gold when I left King’s Cross station,” the legal secretary told the PA news agency.
“The atmosphere was amazing, everyone was singing along and it was a super fun experience. He played all of his most famous songs and I felt really lucky to be able to see it live.”
Some fans who follow Sheeran on social media were aware of his plans to perform at King’s Cross, including Ronnie Swan, 26, who “rushed over” at the chance of seeing the singer perform in an intimate setting.
Mr Swan, who is originally from Brisbane in Australia but now lives in Twickenham, was at King’s Cross at around 1pm on Friday and said it was his third time seeing the singer perform live.
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“It was a dream come true to see Ed perform in that setting. I’ve seen him a couple times play a stadium, but to watch him just play in the street in broad daylight was incredible,” Mr Swan, who works in sales, told PA.
He said he has been a fan of Sheeran since he released his Divide album in 2017 and described the singer as a “wholesome” person.
“I love that him and his music are so down to earth and pure. He’s just a normal wholesome guy who put in the hard work to become successful at doing what he loves,” he said.
“The new song is great. High energy, high octane. Summer vibes. Makes me very excited for the new album.”
Meanwhile, some dedicated fans travelled from afar to watch Sheeran perform his new song including Felix Stender who travelled from his home town of Kiel, near Hamburg, in Germany.
“I just travelled from Germany for the small gig at King’s Cross as I knew today was the release day from the song Azizam,” Mr Stender, 29, told PA.
“I’m a big fan of Ed and in general I’m travelling around the world to see Ed.
“I think Ed is one the best live artists of the world and every gig is more than worthy.”
Sheeran appeared as a guest on Scott Mills’ BBC Radio 2 breakfast show to unveil Azizam.
“It means ‘my love’ or ‘my dear’ in Farsi and the producer I made it with is Persian. It was something I’ve just never done before and it was exciting and new,” he said.
The Thinking Out Loud singer shared an Instagram post after his performance and described the atmosphere as “awesome”.
He wrote: “Painted a red London bus Pink and did a gig around the city today. I loved seeing all the reactions of people on the street bopping to Azizam.
“Play is playful and fun, and today was awesome. Thanks for all the love.”
