“We had permission to do this!”: Ed Sheeran gig shut down as police officer literally pulls the plug on his guitar
Ed Sheeran’s street performance in the south Indian city of Bengaluru last Sunday struck the wrong chord with local authorities, who quite literally pulled the plug on it, citing a lack of proper permissions.
Footage of the incident captures the moment a police officer cut Sheeran off mid-Shape of You by unplugging his microphone. “We have permission to be here, but this policeman is shutting it down,” the singer told the crowd. “See you later!”
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The 33-year-old was promoting his globe-trotting Mathematics tour in Bengaluru last weekend when he decided to do some busking on the city’s bustling Church Street.
Authorities later told CNN they had previously denied Sheeran permission to busk in the area, and that a citizen had called a helpline to report the infringement once he had started playing.
“We rejected it because Church Street is a very busy area and we try to keep the people moving there,” said Shekhar H. Tekkannavar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru Central division.
But Sheeran claimed the performance had been given the green light.
“We had permission to busk, by the way,” the musician wrote on his Instagram story. “Hence, us playing in that exact spot was planned out before. It wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good though. See you at the show tonight.”
Some fans have taken to social media to voice their frustration at the police intervention, with one commenting that India operates under an “uncleocracy”, and that “there’s nothing uncles love more than to stop young people from having fun.”
However, PC Mohan, a local MP from the ruling BJP party, countered that “even global stars must follow local rules – no permit, no performance!”
Sheeran is set to perform two more shows in India this week, before heading to China for six dates later this month.
Ed Sheeran seems like such an awesome guy
he was street busking in Bangalore and the police came and unplugged him pic.twitter.com/khWD9BACC9
— Sheel Mohnot (@pitdesi) February 9, 2025
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