Music Interview

Watch Ed Sheeran play a surprise opening set for The Darkness

December 10, 2023

Ed Sheeran has made a surprise appearance with The Darkness, playing a surprise opening set and later joining them to perform their song ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’ – watch the footage below.

The global popstar has had a long relationship with The Darkness. Sheeran previously confessed his intentions to take Taylor Swift to the Suffolk band’s show: “I think she’d really dig The Darkness.” Meanwhile, the band opened for Sheeran on the UK leg of the 2019 ‘Divide Tour’ along with James Bay and Zara Larsson.

Now, Sheeran has repaid the favour by performing a surprise opening set for the band’s show at London’s Roundhouse last night (December 9). According to website setlist.fm, Sheeran played six of his megahits, including his mashup of ‘Don’t’ (from 2014 album ‘x‘) and Blackstreet‘s ‘No Diggity’. You can see a full setlist below.

After his opening set, Sheeran returned to the stage to join The Darkness in singing their 2003 hit ‘Love Is Only A Feeling’, taken from their classic album ‘Permission To Land‘. Watch footage of the concert below:

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Ed Sheeran played:

1. ‘Shivers’
2. ‘Thinking Out Loud’
3. ‘Bloodstream’
4. ‘Don’t / No Diggity’
5. ‘Shape of You’
6. ‘Bad Habits’

This is not the first surprise appearance Sheeran has made recently; last November, he starred alongside 50 Cent to play ‘Shape of You’ at the rap legend’s show.

In other news, The Darkness have released a new documentary. Sheeran praised them in the new film, saying that he had loved them since childhood as “they didn’t take themselves too seriously”.

Directed by Simon Emmett, the documentary was filmed over eight years, and said to be “a tongue-in-cheek reflection on fame, failure, friendship and forgiveness. At its heart, this is a unique account of a band of brothers who are still haunted by the demons that ripped them apart. A band who can defiantly laugh in the face of adversities in their ultimate quest for happiness and redemption.”

Recently, The Darkness also paid tribute to Shane MacGowan from The Pogues following the news of his death on November 30.