Officious Cop Pulls Plug on Ed Sheeran Street Performance

An officious Indian policeman brought Ed Sheeran’s street performance to an abrupt end, unplugging his microphone as fans sang along with the touring British star.

The singer, playing his acoustic guitar, was in the middle of his global hit “Shape of You” in Bengaluru’s busy Church Street when a cop arrived to close down the performance on Sunday.

“We had permission to do this and this policeman is shutting it down,” Sheeran told his fans who were left in despair. “I’ll see you later.”

The “Thinking Out Loud” singer later vented his frustrations on an Instagram post.

“We had permission to busk, by the way. Hence, us playing in that exact spot was planned out before. It wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good though. See you at the show tonight.”

But local police insisted that an application for Sheeran to busk in the area had actually been turned down.

“We rejected it because Church Street is a very busy area and we try to keep the people moving there,” Shekhar H. Tekkannavar, deputy commissioner of Bengaluru police, told CNN.

And a local lawmaker with the ruling BJP Party, PC Mohan, said that “even global stars must follow local rules - no permit, no performance!”

Sheeran, who is currently on the Indian leg of a global tour, began his career as a busker and likes to surprise fans with impromptu gigs at bars in England and small venues around the world.

In late 2023, he crashed a wedding in Las Vegas and performed a new song from an unreleased album, leaving the bride stunned.

He also signed the couple’s marriage license, the “first time” he had acted as a witness.

He also likes to introduce surprise guest stars at his concerts, including Taylor Swift, Eminem, and the Thor actor Chris Hemsworth.