Ed Sheeran’s music appears to have hit the wrong note with Indian authorities, who stopped the British singer from busking in the tech capital of Bengaluru.
Videos circulating online show Sheeran, dressed in a white T-shirt and green shorts, playing guitar and singing his hit 2017 single “Shape of You” on a sidewalk in the city of 13 million people ahead of his concert there on Sunday.
A police officer then approaches Sheeran and unplugs his microphone to jeers from the crowd, which had been singing along.
Authorities in Bengaluru said Sheeran was playing on one of the busiest streets in the city. Though his staff had approached the police seeking permission, Sheeran had not been given approval to perform there, police said.
“I refused to give permission because Church Street gets very crowded,” Shekar T Tekkannanavar, police deputy commissioner for central Bengaluru, was quoted by ANI news agency as saying. “That is the reason he was asked to vacate the place.”
Sheeran, who spent the early years of his career in London playing in small venues and busking, confirmed he was busking in Bengaluru but said he had permission to perform.
“Us playing in that exact spot, was planned out before, it wasn’t just randomly turning up,” he wrote in an Instagram story Sunday. “All good though.”
Lawmakers in the city defended the police.
“Even global stars must follow local rules — no permit, no performance!” P. C. Mohan, a member of the Indian parliament from central Bengaluru, wrote on the social media platform X on Sunday.
Sheeran is a popular singer in India and is performing a series of concerts there as part of his worldwide “Mathematics” tour including two in Bengaluru, where a second show was added due to high ticket demand.
He was joined on stage in Bengaluru by Indian singer Shilpa Rao, singing with her the popular song “Chuttamalle” in its original language of Telugu.
