Ed Sheeran was left red-faced by Indian police (Image: Getty)
Singer Ed Sheeran was abruptly stopped from busking by Indian police during a surprise performance on Sunday (February 10).
In the viral video, the pop sensation was singing his 2017 hit Shape of You when a local police officer unplugged his microphone.
Ahead of his Mathematics Tour, Ed took to Bengaluru’s Church Street, a crowded shopping and entertainment area, to surprise fans when a khaki-uniformed policeman appeared.
Midway through the performance, he yanked out his guitar and microphone cables, prompting the singer to throw up his hands in frustration.
Local police said they had previously denied Ed permission to busk in the area and that a citizen had called a helpline to report the infringement once he had started playing.
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Indian police stopped his street performance (Image: ViralPress)
“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 Police, Bengaluru Central division, told CNN on Monday.
However, Ed has since hit back at the response and claimed he was granted permission for the pre-arranged gig.
Taking to shortly after, he clarified: “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 ya at the show tonight.”
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Indian police unplugged Ed Sheeran’s microphone (Image: Twitter/X/timesofindia)
The four-time Grammy winner had already performed in Bangalore on Saturday (February 9) and was scheduled to take the stage again that evening at the NICE grounds.
This is the second year in a row that Ed has included India on his tour schedule.
He has already played in Pune, Hyderabad, and Chennai, with more shows scheduled for Shillong in India’s northeast and the capital, Delhi.
At his Bengaluru show, the star surprised fans by singing two hit local songs in the Telugu language with singer Shilpa Rao on stage.
During his show in Hyderabad, Ed performed alongside Indian sensation Armaan Malik, which was an eagerly awaited reunion as the two had previously collaborated in 2022.