WORLD renowned singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran wowed crowds in Coventry with his gig for HMV’s centenary celebration gig.
The Bad Habits singer performed in front of 500 people at the official launch of the HMV Empire Coventry and the concert was streamed to a further 3,000 at the city’s Assembly Festival Garden.
It was a massive coup for Coventry in its UK City of Culture year.
The recently opened HMV Empire has had £500,000 investment to make it a top performance venue.
Alongside classics such as ‘Shape of You’ and ‘Perfect’, Ed performed number one hit ‘Bad Habits’ from new album =, as well as ‘Visiting Hours’, ‘First Times’ and ‘Overpass Graffiti’.
At the gig, Ed told fans: “I love having a crowd here, this is great and getting to play rooms like this again, it’s been quite a long time since I’ve played something that has a roof – if that makes sense – and I really, really love it.
“This is where I spent so many nights of my life on my first album and second album, playing theatres and academies, and it is always the best buzz.”
Fans began queueing for the gig at around 4.30am, a full 17 hours before Ed took to the stage.
Maisie Peters, whose highly anticipated debut album You Signed Up For This comes out today on Sheeran’s record label Gingerbread Man Records, entertained the crowds as support act.
HMV, in partnership with Coventry City Council, also hosted a free live-stream of the Centenary Concert at Assembly Festival Garden as part of Coventry’s City of Culture 2021 Celebrations. Some 3,000 fans snapped up tickets to the live-stream in just over 30 minutes last week.
Phil Halliday, Managing Director at HMV and Fopp, said: “Ed put on an amazing show tonight for HMV’s 100th birthday. It was brilliant to see such a huge superstar perform such an intimate gig – it’s something the lucky fans there will never forget.”
hmv currently operates 107 stores across the UK and is marking its centenary year with exclusive vinyl releases, further store openings and a return to in-store signings and live performances from both top artists and local grassroots bands.
