Bengaluru cops pull the plug on Ed Sheeran's surprise pavement gig
In a now-viral video, one of the officers was seen unplugging the microphone while the British singer was still performing
The Bengaluru police on Sunday (February 9) halted singer Ed Sheeran’s live performance on Church Street despite the singer claiming to have taken permission for it beforehand.
While his team insisted they had prior permission for the act that was brief, the authorities denied it. The police stated that the permission was requested but not granted.
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In a now-viral video, the Grammy winner begins his performance enthusiastically, singing his chartbuster ‘Shape of You’. However, hardly a minute into the performance, a policeman steps in. Subsequently, the officer cane be seen unplugging the microphone while the singer is still performing.
No permission, say police
"We had permission to busk, hence us playing in that exact spot, was planned our before, it wasn't just us randomly turning up. All good though. See ya at the show tonight x (sic)" Sheeran wrote on his Instagram Story hours ahead of his second show in Bengaluru.
A senior police official of the Cubbon Park police station said Sheeran was performing “without any permission so they had to stop”.
“The police got there because someone had complained of public nuisance,” he told PTI, adding if the musician and his team had the permit they could have shown it to the cops.
Church Street is a busy area in Bengaluru known for its nightlife and cultural events.
Rules same for all: Cops
While a section of social media users was unhappy about the outcome, Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan said rules are same for everyone.
“Shape of You... but not of permits. Ed Sheeran’s impromptu gig on Church Street hit a sour note as Bengaluru police pulled the plug over missing permissions. Even global stars must follow local rules—no permit, no performance!” Mohan wrote on X.
Performance with Rahman
The British singer is currently touring India as a part of his Mathematics (+-=÷x) Tour. He has already performed in Hyderabad and Chennai. During his Chennai event, he was joined on stage by the legendary composer AR Rahman as the two performed a rendition of the classic Urvashi song.
Ahead of the concert, Ed Sheeran met AR Rahman and his son AR Ameen. Rahman shared the pictures of their meeting on Instagram. A photo showed them sitting on a couch, while another captured Rahman at his music console as Sheeran took a picture. “Photos by Ed Sheeran,” Rahman wrote in the caption.
Additional concert today
The pop superstar performed in the city on Saturday and is scheduled to take the stage again at NICE Grounds on Sunday. He announced an additional concert date for Bengaluru following overwhelming demand for tickets after the initial tour dates were revealed. This made the IT capital the only city in India to host back-to-back performances as part of his record-breaking Mathematics Tour.
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Sheeran earlier said that he is always excited to perform in India. “Every time I come back to India, it feels more and more exciting. The metric that you would have measured success by back in 2014, I would have no idea that people liked my music here. It wasn't until coming here in 2015, that I realised for the first time that people really like my music here. Whereas now, it's clear that India is my biggest market.”
The Mathematics Tour—named after Ed Sheeran’s chart-topping albums ‘Plus,’ ‘Multiply,’ ‘Divide,’ ‘Equals,’ and ‘Subtract’—marks his return to India after his performances in 2015 and 2017.