Ed Sheeran dazzled the streets of Bengaluru, India’s tech capital, with his street performance of his popular song Shape of You until the cops put the show to an abrupt halt.
The police’s actions caused outrage among the fans and baffled the Give Me Love singer as he didn’t understand why the cops killed the mood and demanded an explanation for their actions.
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Sheeran performed on the streets
Sheeran sang and jammed on his guitar on the pavement in the center of Bengaluru on Church Street, wearing a white T-shirt and shorts ahead of his Sunday night concert. A policeman suddenly unplugged the microphone, leaving the fans enraged.
Too good to be true
The crowd of fans was vibing with the superstar singer, singing along with him until a police officer walked up and had a brief conversation with another man who attempted to stop him but to no avail, and Sheeran left afterward.
Sheeran said he had permission
“We had permission to do this, but this policeman is shutting it down, but we’ll see you later,” the singer said in a video taken of the incident.
He told the fans that he was planning to perform more than one song, but unfortunately, he was only allowed to perform one — or less.
Sheeran insisted that it was planned
The singer uploaded an Instagram story, saying: “We had permission to busk btw, hence us playing in that exact spot, was planned out before, it wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good though. See ya at the show tonight x.”
Deputy commissioner of police for central Bengaluru begged to differ
Deputy Commissioner Shekar T Tekkannanavar told news agency ANI: “Chetan, a member of the organizing team, came to me seeking permission for the concert on Church Street. I clearly rejected it, saying that Church Street becomes too congested.”
He was just doing his job
“As per the high court order, many evacuations have been done from the area, so we did not permit Ed Sheeran to perform. That is why he was asked to vacate the place,” Deputy Commissioner Tekkannanavar continued.
Sheeran’s Indian tour
The incident took place hours before he was set to perform in NICE Grounds, and it was his first time performing in Bengaluru.
Sheeran is making a six-stop tour in India, having already performed in Hyderabad and Chennai. He is also going to perform in Shillong and Delhi NCR.
He had stars making guest appearances
Sheeran has brought several Indian stars to make guest appearances with him on tour, including Grammy-nominated Shilpa Rao at Sunday’s concert. They both sang a cover of the Telugu song Chuttamalle.
He met other superstars
Sheeran also met AR Rahman and his son AR Ameen. Rahman bragged about his meeting with Sheeran, posting photos on Instagram where Sheeran can be seen taking pictures and sitting at Rahman’s music console.
After his Indian tour, Sheeran plans on heading over to tour in China.
