Ed Sheeran has made UK chart history. The English singer/songwriter released not one but two new singles on the same day. Shape of You and Castle on the Hill debuted at numbers one and two making Ed the first artist to enter the UK chart listings in the top two positions with brand new songs.
Both tracks also set new one-week UK streaming records. The previous mark was held by Canadian hip hop star Drake. His song, One Dance, notched up 8.9 million streams in seven days last summer. But both of Ed’s songs easily surpassed this figure. Castle on the Hill registered 11.07 streams while Shape of You set the new record of 13.4 million streams.
“I’m incredibly chuffed that both songs have gone straight into the chart at numbers one and two,” smiled 25-year-old Ed. “Both tracks mean a huge amount to me. That’s why they were released together.
“I love both songs so much that I didn’t want to choose one as the lead single from my new album and then have the other as the follow-up. Releasing them together definitely seemed like the best idea. It’s absolutely amazing to see them at the top of the chart.”
They are the first tracks from Ed’s eagerly awaited third album. His first two albums have taken their titles from the mathematical symbols for plus and multiply. Scheduled for release on March 3, the title of Ed’s third album is the mathematical symbol for divide.
Minus and equal are still available but might Ed have to get into less frequently used symbols such as infinity or is not equal to if he releases more than five albums?
“I could have thought of something else by then,” he laughed. “The idea of having a link between my album titles does appeal to me. Adele has done it through her age when she creates the albums, 19, 21 and 25. I thought I’d use the symbols we’ve all known since our first maths lessons at school.”
Although he certainly seems happy and relaxed, Ed’s year away from the music scene has seen him return with something not so good which he didn’t previously have.
“I needed to take a break. It seemed like I’d been working continuously either writing songs, recording or performing concerts. I wanted some down time to spend relaxing with my family and friends.
“I didn’t just do nothing for very long before I got back into writing the songs for my new album. But I’ve found myself with feelings of anxiety. I’m not sure why. I’ve not had it addressed professionally. Maybe the success of my singles will make the anxiety disappear.”
A scar on his right cheek is something else Ed didn’t have before he began his musical sabbatical.
“Everybody keeps asking me about that. I didn’t want to answer at first but finally realised I’d have to tell the story so that it can hopefully become a non-item as quickly as possible.
“It happened last November when I was at a party hosted by Princess Beatrice at her home in Royal Lodge, Windsor. We were all laughing and joking and [British singer/songwriter] James Blunt said he’d love to have a knighthood. Princess Beatrice said she could arrange this, got a ceremonial sword, had James bend down on one knee, tapped him on both shoulders and said ‘arise Sir James.’
“We were all having a great laugh about this but Princess Beatrice didn’t realise I was behind her. After ‘knighting’ James, she swung the sword back over her shoulder and caught me in the face. I didn’t realise I’d been cut until I noticed my shirt was covered in blood.
“Princess Beatrice was terribly upset and apologetic. But things sometimes happen when you’re having a laugh and joke. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. They stitched me up at the hospital and everything was okay. I’ve just been left with a permanent reminder of what, otherwise, was a great fun evening.”
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Spice Girls-Gem
The much vaunted Spice Girls reunion concert is off. Although missing the participation of Melanie Chisholm and Victoria Beckham, Geri Horner, Emma Bunting and Melanie Brown were seemingly set to perform a 21st anniversary concert as Spice Girls-GEM in London’s Hyde Park this July. They had also been in the studio working on new material for an accompanying album.
At the time of the announcement last summer, there were critics who suggested it was like three mothers with school-age children devising a project to occupy their spare time. But the mothers seemingly don’t have as much time as is necessary and one is shortly to have what would have been her spare time fully occupied with the arrival of a new baby.
The news of Geri Horner’s pregnancy threw a spanner into the works of any Spice Girls reunion. This was denied at the time. Geri insisted it was still full steam ahead with the concert and album.
But realism has finally kicked in with Geri appreciating she needs to concentrate on personal matters rather than continuing with the reunion plans.
Geri’s pregnancy is not the only factor. The girls had struggled to find time to be in the recording studio together. This meant work on their new material was nothing like as far advanced as had been expected.
All things considered, it seemed wiser to pull the plug on any Spice Girls reunion for 2017. This is not to say the reunion idea has been permanently shelved. It is simply postponed until a later date.
Blaenavon
Harris McMillan, Frank Wright and Benjamin Gregory, collectively known as Blaenavon, release their debut album, That’s Your Lot, on April 7.
The Hampshire-based indie-guitar band describe the album as being five years of their lives wrapped up in 59 minutes. It has been preceded by four singles the latest of which, Orthodox Man, is available now. The accompanying video can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VxmbYaNUDY
Videos for previous singles, My Bark Is Your Bite, Let’s Pray and I Will Be The World, can all be found at www.youtube.com/user/BlaenavonVEVO/videos
Also here is the video for an earlier single, Hell Is My Head, and their collaboration with Elliott Smith on Everything Reminds Me Of Her.
The band established their reputation through three EPs released in 2013 and 2015 respectively. The nine tracks on these recordings are all available to hear at (no www.) soundcloud.com/blaenavon
Slowdive
Anyone who didn’t catch a show on their 2014 reunion tour will probably struggle to recognise the members of dream pop quintet Slowdive. It is 22 years since they disbanded following the release of their third studio album, Pygmalion.
The reunion tour brought forth no new material. Indeed, some of the band members openly admitted their uncertainty about continuing involvement with Slowdive.
But it seems any doubts have been laid to rest. The band have been working on a collection of songs for a new album and have just released the single, Star Roving, as the first fruit of their labour.
A video for the track can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogCih4OavoY
Slowdive’s first three albums can all be heard in full online. Their 1991 debut, Just for a Day, is at www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2AFDB07bzs
The 1993’s Souvlaki is posted at www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZJrC8X91io while Pygmalion is available to hear at www.youtube.com/watch?v=b07n8GST2LQ
Not an official album but another collection of Slowdive songs entitled I Saw The Sun can be found at www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz4joc_fc4s
These tracks were recorded during the time between their first two albums.
Some of the band’s EPs, live performances and videos to accompany singles are also posted on YouTube.
Fabolous/Trey Songz
Rap star Fabolous and R&B/hip hop singer Trey Songz recently released a free six-song collaborative EP.
Created as a New Year gift for their fans, Trappy New Years was made available on December 31, 2016.
It can be heard and downloaded at www.datpiff.com/Fabolous-Trey-Songz-Trappy-New-Years-mixtape.820652.html
Ed Sheeran has simultaneously released two singles from his upcoming third album. Photo by Eva Rinaldi/Wikipedia
