STACK March 2017 Issue 149

THE

MARCH

2017

visit

MUSIC

FEATURE

Ahead of the release of Ed Sheeran's hugely anticipated third album

(divide)

, we get a special insight into the singer-songwriter's rise courtesy

of Tony Harlow, the music executive behind the talent.

Words

Zoë Radas

d Sheeran’s very first public gig in

Australia was held under the kind

of glaring silver sky that makes

you squint up to see where the purple

thunderclouds are going to crawl from. “We

were outside on Circular Quay, and as Ed

played we could see the southerly coming

in, and so could he,” says Tony Harlow. “We

knew we had something because the whole

crowd was kids in school uniforms, so we

couldn’t cancel… It became a race against

time, and [Ed] sang ‘F–k the rain’ until the

first drops fell, then everyone ran for cover –

or stayed singing and got soaked.”

There’s footage of those moments from

2011 preserved on YouTube: Channel [V]’s

cameras rolling as people squash as close

to the Guerilla Gig carpet as they can get,

eager faces peeking over shoulders right

back to the wrought iron fencing, and

Ed Sheeran in a bright red Duffer of St.

George shirt – possibly the most deliberate

clash with his hair you could imagine –

encouraging his rapt audience to cuss out

the rain along with him, in between acoustic

performances of

Lego House

Gimme Love

The A Team

and more.