Ed Sheeran thrills fans by making surprise appearance at music festival

DESPITE previously claiming that he was taking time out from music, Ed Sheeran made a surprise appearance at Latitude Festival.

The 25-year-old Thinking Out Loud singer-songwriter joined Foy Vance during his set on the BBC 6 Music Stage today (July 17).

Ed and Northern Irish star Foy go a long way back with the 41-year-old previously supporting him on tour.

Speaking about what he terms as a “bromance” with the Grammy Award-winning ginger-haired star, Foy – whose songs have featured on the soundtracks for top US TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy and Vampire Diaries – said: “I still can’t get my head around how he gets away with being this ginger-haired white English kid that raps, but it works – maybe as he’s not trying to be England’s Eminem.”

He added to the : “He’s a wise fellow and he’s been very supportive, which is a beautiful quality.”

Tattoo-loving Ed and Foy also share a matching inkings.

Foy explained: “We’ve duetted on [track] Guiding Light on  some shows [in America], but I also sang it at the funeral of [Derry community leader] John McDaid, as Ed and I are close to his son, [Snow Patrol musician] Johnny McDaid.

“It became a family anthem, with the lyrics written in Old Irish on the gravestone. Ed said we should each get  this “Guiding Light” tattoo, written in Gaelic.

“So one afternoon in Pittsburgh, we took the afternoon off and found a tattooist: I wrote  out Ed’s and he wrote out mine. That’s when  I realised, it’s become a bit of a bromance.”