Ed Sheeran
New album about love, fatherhood and loss
Ed Sheeran’s new record contains 14 songs and is entitled “=” (“Equals”).
© WMG / Dan Martensen
Marriage, fatherhood, loss: Ed Sheeran has seen a lot in recent years that he has incorporated into his most personal album to date.
After around four years, Ed Sheeran (30) has published a new work. “=” (pronounced: “Equals”) is the name of his new studio album, which, like its predecessors, is named after a mathematical symbol. So “=” follows “+”, “x” and “÷”. His new record, released today October 29th, is the most personal in the singer-songwriter’s career.
In the four years since “÷” a lot has changed in the life of the Englishman. He married his long-time girlfriend Cherry Seaborn (29) in 2019, and a daughter was later born. In March 2021, a close friend of the singer, the music manager Michael Gudinski (1952-2021), died.
Marriage, birth, loss
According to Sheeran, these events are processed on the new album. “My life has changed profoundly in recent years: I got married, became a father, and experienced loss,” the singer explains in a press release. “I deal with all of these topics in the course of the album.” He deals with his role as a father in the songs “Sandman” and “Leave Your Life”. Meanwhile, the songs “The Joker And The Queen”, “First Times” and “2step” deal with different expressions of love. The album also features the song “Visiting Hours”. Sheeran wrote the song shortly after the death of his friend and mentor Gudinski. The Briton played the song for the first time as part of a tribute concert.
Sheeran is also planning several appearances in Germany in 2022. The “+ – = ÷ x” tour takes him to Gelsenkirchen, Munich and Frankfurt. There he will play on three evenings: from July 7th to 9th, 2022 (Gelsenkirchern), from September 10th to 12th (Munich) and from September 23rd to 25th (Frankfurt).