Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has announced a surprise UK and Europe “mini tour” set to begin later this month, with just one date for Scottish fans.
It comes ahead of the multi-platinum selling artist’s new album – (Subtract), which is due to be released on May 5.
Subtract is the latest instalment in Sheeran’s mathematical symbol series, which has progressed through albums including + (Plus), = (Equals) and ÷ (Divide).
The 32-year-old announced his new album and “mini tour” to his millions of supporters on Wednesday, revealing he had “spiralled through fear, depression and anxiety” while writing it after his wife was diagnosed with a tumour and his close friend Jamal Edwards died.
The “mini tour” will kick off on March 23, at Manchester’s AO Arena before heading to London’s O2 Arena for two nights, then landing in Glasgow.
Sheeran will take the stage at the OVO Hydro for just one night on March 28, before moving on to Dublin and then Paris.
Where and when will tickets go on sale?
Fans can access the “mini tour” pre-sale by pre-ordering Subtract before 1pm on Tuesday, March 7 here.
An email with pre-sale codes will be sent to eligible fans from 4pm on Tuesday, March 7.
The pre-sale will begin at 9am on Wednesday, March 8, with tickets going on general sale on Friday, March 10 at 9am on the Ticketmaster website.
‘Subtract is like opening the trapdoor into my soul’
Cherry Seaborn, who Sheeran married in 2019, was told by doctors she had a tumour while pregnant with their second child, who was born in May, “with no route to treatment until after the birth”.
Sheeran said his latest songs had been influenced by the difficult events he had faced.
He said: “I had been working on Subtract for a decade, trying to sculpt the perfect acoustic album, writing and recording hundreds of songs with a clear vision of what I thought it should be.
“Then at the start of 2022, a series of events changed my life, my mental health, and ultimately the way I viewed music and art.
“Writing songs is my therapy. It helps me make sense of my feelings. I wrote without thought of what the songs would be, I just wrote whatever tumbled out.
“And in just over a week, I replaced a decade’s worth of work with my deepest darkest thoughts.”
Sheeran added that he did not feel he could release an album that did not “accurately represent” his current situation and the challenges he has faced.
Describing the record as “opening the trapdoor into my soul”, he added: “For the first time I’m not trying to craft an album people will like; I’m merely putting something out that’s honest and true to where I am in my adult life.
“This is last February’s diary entry and my way of making sense of it. This is Subtract.”
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