Ed Sheeran given unusual secret code name ahead of Big Weekend surprise set
Ed Sheeran was given a secret code name ahead of his surprise appearance at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend today, we can reveal.
The announcement of his performance came just 45 minutes before the Shape of You singer, 34, took to the stage and security had to close the area after it reached capacity. Opening with Castle on the Hill, Ed performed old and new hit Shivers, A-Team, Don't, Old Phone and Photograph.
Insiders said the performance had been in the planning for two months - but only 10 people knew about it. And to keep Ed 's appearance secret, they would refer to the singer as John Smith up until today.
Radio 1 breakfast show host Greg James was one of the few people that knew about Ed's secret gig from the beginning. "I don't even tell anyone at work," revealed Greg. "I was sworn to secrecy. He wanted to do it as a surprise. He wanted to build that excitement.
"I saw him an hour before in his dressing room and he said 'I'm worried because no one knows I'm here, no one's going to turn up and the tent's going to be empty.' I said 'You're Ed Sheehan mate, the tent's not going to be empty.' Big Weekend throws up those surprises. The tent was full, people got turned away."
During his performance, Ed told fans he chose to sing on the new music stage as it's the only one he hadn't sang on and wanted to celebrate up and coming musicians. He told the audience at Sefton Park: "I'm glad you turned up. I know this was a secret.
"I'm gonna play some songs that hopefully you know; If you don't know, it's gonna be a long hour for you." The singer added that by using his loop station, his set would be unique: "Everything you hear today is completely live. There's no backing track whatsoever.
"It's made live on the spot - control of my feet - and at the end it's deleted and it won't be the same at the next show. The way that it works is you press record like this, and when you press play, it plays back and loops, and you can add layers on top of it."
During his performance of latest song Azizam, Ed stopped and restarted his loop recording, telling the crowd: "I'm going to have to do this again again. This is how you know it's live. One more time." Ed, who has 14 UK number one singles and eight UK number one albums and headlined the Big Weekend music festival in Coventry in 2022, finished his surprise set with Bad Habits.
A source at Big Weekend said: "The BBC knew Ed would draw in a huge crowd on the BBC New Music stage. The crowd were filled with hysteria as the Red head took to the stage. But just minutes after he took to the stage, the crowd was put on lockdown due to unprecedented demand meaning nobody else could get in until after his set."
Sam Fender, Wolf Alice, Blossoms, Myles Smith and the Sugababes all took the stage for the second day of the three day event. Haim and JADE are among those performing on Sunday.
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