Ed Sheeran speaks ahead of Birmingham gig

Ed's bringing his worldwide tour to the Second City after kicking-off 2017 by delivering one of the biggest comebacks in recent years.

His dual singles Shape Of You and Castle On The Hill have taken the world by storm, hitting the number one and number two spots across the charts worldwide.

Castle On The Hill has featured at recent shows, where typical set lists have also included Eraser, The A Team, Don't/New Man, Dive, Bloodstream, Happier, Galway Girl, How Would You Feel (Paean), Photograph, Lego House, Perfect, Nancy Mulligan, Thinking Out Loud and Sing before encores of Shape of You and You Need Me, I Don't Need You.

The Ivor Novello-winning Halifax singer released his third album, divide, in March. It debuted at number one in the UK and the US and broke a number of records. It was his first record since playing three sold-out concerts at London's Wembley Stadium, in July 2015 – his biggest shows to date.

The album was three years in the making and kicked off with Eraser, a song about removing himself from social media. The idea worked and gave Ed a calmer mind.

"I didn't have as much anxiety, because I didn't have as many people wanting things from me. Or I wasn't aware of the people who wanted things from me. Also, I started having conversations with people, rather than just going into my phone.

"I was at a house party the other day and 50 per cent of the people were either Snapchatting or watching Snapchat. Someone said: 'Why don't you have a phone anymore?' and I was like: 'Look around you. This is exactly why I don't have a phone.'"

Ed tries to keep in shape, despite spending his life on the road. He does, however, succumb to the occasional cheeky beer.

"Beer is my biggest poison because beer puts on the most weight, and I can really guzzle beer. But now I tend to have one beer then move to spirits, rather than drinking beer all night.

"My hangovers are quite bad. I find if you smoke cigarettes, your hangovers are horrendous.

"I've been told to down a pint of water before you go to bed, and then you'll feel fine. Apparently, flat Sprite in the morning is a good cure too."

He decided to release his album early in the year so that he wasn't competing with other big stars at Christmas, when they release their records.

"I think this year is going to be the high point. I have a feeling about it. Seventeen is my lucky number, and everyone I was scared of releasing of albums around me released them all last year – people such as Beyoncé and The Weeknd and Bruno Mars.

"Taylor Swift isn't going to be releasing until probably the end of this year – Christmas is the smartest time to release because that's when everyone buys records. So I've got a full year of just all Ed, all the time.

"Adele is the one person I need to sell more records than.

"That's a big feat because her last album sold 20 million. But if I don't set her as the benchmark then I'm selling myself short.

"I love my album. It's the best album I could have made – so why not want to win? Why not want to sell 20 million?"

But success has had its downside. Selling so many records and concert tickets has made Ed a rich man and some fans have been resentful of that. It was compounded when divide sold 432,000 copies in its first three days of sale – 63 per cent of all sales.

"I was getting texts from people with pictures of cars going, 'I'd like this for my birthday, please. This one's only a tiny per cent of your annual income'."

Ed's a genuine phenomenon and his previous album, x, was streamed more than 3.4 billion times, selling 14 million copies. His biggest hit, 2014's Thinking Out Loud, sold two million UK copies and four million in the UK. His videos have been watched more than 3.5 billion times on YouTube. He tries not to let it affect him.

"I still wear skater hoodies, jeans and skater shoes. I haven't changed."

Some of his friends have, however, and he remains best buddies with Taylor Swift.

"Look at Taylor; she's exactly like me. Taylor is someone who was put down for the whole of her teenage years and now she's got the opportunity to win and she's constantly winning."

The two have toured together and Taylor was one of the first to hear the Grammy-winning Thinking Out Loud.

He's delighted with the way things have panned out – despite a recent 'I'll quit the music business' controversy, that came to nought. "I was a typical teenager. Angry at life but with no reason to be. I had regular angst. But I look back and think it was a good time."