This Past Weekend - E512 Ed Sheeran

Starting point is 00:00:00 I have some new tour dates to tell you about. I will be in Long Beach, California, July 10th, Los Angeles, California, July 11th, Bethel, New York, July 31, Albany, New York on August 1. Get your tickets early with code RATKING starting Tuesday, June 25th at 10 a.m. local time. June 25th at 10 a.m. local time. General On Sale starts Wednesday, June 26th at 10 a.m. local time. As well, we have shows in Salt Lake City, June 30th, Las Vegas, July 5th and 6th, and Bangor, Maine, August 9th.

Starting point is 00:00:40 As well as every other city that's on the tours, everything is still all good to go. You can get tickets at theovon.com slash T-O-U-R. And thank you guys so much for the support. Today's guest is one of the biggest musicians in the world. He's won all the awards. He's set attendance records everywhere. He's celebrating the 10th anniversary of his album, Multiply.

Starting point is 00:01:07 We get to catch up right here in London in his bar, Birdie Blossoms. And I'm grateful for his time. Today's guest is Mr. Ed Sheeran. I'll shine that light on me I'll sit and tell you my stories Shine on me And I will find a song I've been singing I'm on the stage Who's been your least favorite, I guess? Least favorite?

Starting point is 00:01:49 Oh, this guy. He was like a money guy. Oh, Wolf of Wall Street. Oh yeah. Jordan, Jordan Belfort. Jordan Belfort, yeah. I just didn't like his, his inner is like, I don't know. He seemed like a con artist and he wouldn't kind of say,

Starting point is 00:02:05 yes. It was like, you watched the movie though, right? Yeah. He seemed like a cool con artist. Like certainly one of the better, you're right. That's a good point. I guess he's kind of like Jesse James, maybe in a way, like one of those wild guys. Yeah. So what are you doing in London other than shows? That's it, man. Yeah. Just came over to you guys' country to do shows, man. I love that you flew from Manchester. Oh, yeah. It's like, because there's a train from central Manchester into central London. So you would have driven out of central Manchester, flown to out of central London, and then got it.

Starting point is 00:02:40 It's such a long trip. Could have just taken an hour and a half train. Really? Yeah. Oh, damn. I didn't even know that. Life hacks. Yeah, that's it. Yeah. I didn't damn. Probably would have been faster. Way faster. Yeah. Way, way, way faster. Yeah. I mean, yeah, I'm actually genuinely feeling bad about that right now. No, it's all right. It's all right. Planet's in crisis. Is it? More flights.

Starting point is 00:03:03 That's true. We'll do it that way. Good to see you today, Ed. Nice to be here. Nice to see you, man. Nice to be... Thanks for coming here as well. Thanks for making the effort to come here. You're welcome.

Starting point is 00:03:14 This is Bertie Bottoms. Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. Yeah. Bertie Bottoms. Bertie Bottoms. And how do you know if the bottoms are Bertie or not? So it's Blossoms. It's basically... Oh, sorry. I'm very sorry.

Starting point is 00:03:29 My manager's wife is called Liberty. My wife is called Cherry. And me and my manager set this bar up. And Blossom for Cherry, Bertie for Liberty, Bertie Blossoms. Oh, I love it. Yeah. Gives us an excuse to come drink here. Oh, yeah. I bet. Dude, and but sometimes like... So is this a place where people can meet their wife at?

Starting point is 00:03:47 Is that the kind of thing that we're? Yeah. Yeah. Oh, you know, husband. Oh yeah. Our husband. Yeah. But do you have like a wife husband meeting night?

Starting point is 00:03:56 Like a night where it's like, Hey, this is then like Tuesdays. It's like, spout all you can spouse. Yeah. They come in and they chuck the keys in and then it's just a massive orgy. Well, that's, I mean, that went a little far, but yeah, I was just thinking like, do they at least just get to meet somebody? You know what? I, when I come here, I come in this, this back room and that's kind of it. Yeah. I don't really, I don't really know.

Starting point is 00:04:19 Maybe, maybe you never know. Just kind of relax. Yeah. This is where like, if I'm having like a dinner or a meeting with someone, it will usually be back here. You can sort of like drink what you want, smoke, stay as long as you want. It's cool. At Bertie Blossoms. Yeah. At Bertie Blossoms. Yeah. Yeah. Sorry I got it wrong, man. It's been a... Some of the exchange rate on the language has been tough. Yeah. I liked that when I arrived, you kept calling me like, cheers mate, nice mate. Oh yeah. Yeah. It's good. Yeah. I liked that when I arrived, you kept calling me like, cheers mate, nice mate. Oh yeah.

Starting point is 00:04:46 Yeah, it's good. Yeah, I've been trying to get with it, man. I lived in Nashville for a couple of years and I got the drool, I think. Yeah? Being there, yeah. I owned a cowboy hat. Oh wow.

Starting point is 00:04:57 I had a camouflage hoodie as well. So yeah, you really, did you guys hunt anything? Do you know, so I lived on a lake for the first year and I bought a fishing rod from Walmart because I was like, I'm going to go fishing. I've never been fishing before. And I sat, I threw it in, and then after about an hour, my mate came up and was like, have you put bait on it? And I was like, I didn't know you wanted to do that.

Starting point is 00:05:19 So I just sat with a fishing rod in the lake. Yeah. Oh, like a panamime fishing. I just assumed the fish would like swim past and catch the hook. I don't know. I'd never fish before, you know? It wasn't something that I'd grown up doing. You got to have that... You got to put something on there.

Starting point is 00:05:35 I know that now. Yeah, yeah. I know that now. Wow, I've never heard of anybody doing that. Maybe a child or something or a blind fella. Well, I feel like in some ways, I am quite... I feel like your age freezes, the age that you become famous, I think. So I think in some ways, I am still a teenager.

Starting point is 00:05:53 Yeah. Oh, that's interesting. Yeah, I think it's like... And I think some creative people just grow... They kind of grow up slow, I feel like, in a way. Well, you sort of don't have the same... grow up slow, I feel like, in a way. Well, you sort of don't have the same, I don't know, brutal life lessons, I guess. When I was like, I moved to London when I was like 17 and I was having regular brutal life lessons of just like, no, this is what the real world is.

Starting point is 00:06:18 And then I think when you, you know, started doing well about 20, about 1920, and then you sort of like, if you make a mistake, it's kind of all right, you know? You don't have like the brutal real life lesson, I guess. So I think it's... When you're doing, when life is, when you have like a success and stuff going on, is that what you mean? Kind of? Well, yeah, I mean, you will know this with comedy, like a brutal life lesson of like, it's not going to be easy, is bombing or playing to an empty room or blah, blah, blah. That kind of stops happening when you have success.

Starting point is 00:06:52 There's definitely, you have peaks and troughs in your career where people are more interested or less interested, but you don't have the like, I don't know. I don't think you have as many normal life lessons. You still get quite abnormal life lessons, I think, because in the sort of celebrity sphere, it can be quite abnormal, but you don't have the like, I don't know, regular stuff. Yeah. Does that make sense?

Starting point is 00:07:17 Yeah, I think it does, dude. I don't know if... I am the worst person to ask if something makes sense or not, to be honest with you. Yeah, every time people ask... My mates are so excited that I'm doing this today, by the way. Who is? All of my friends. Oh, really?

Starting point is 00:07:30 Yeah, the guy that... There's a guy living at our house at the moment, and he was like trying to get off work to just come down and just say hi. Oh, and just mill around? Like a loitering, they call it. Yeah, yeah. I think you guys... Loitering must be a British thing, huh?

Starting point is 00:07:43 Because we wouldn't say that. Loitering. What would you say? Stalking. Oh, yeah guys loitering must be a British thing, because we wouldn't say that loitering. Edith Smith What would you say? Stalking? Paul B We'd be like, oh yeah, stalking. Well, stalking is more like once you've loitered and you see something in the window, you know, you see something, you see a bit of tits in the distance or something. But yeah, that's stalking. Yeah. And then it's breaking and entering, you know, and then it's marriage usually. If you have a way with words, I think.

Starting point is 00:08:09 But yeah, I think... Are you married? Loitering sounds very British. No, no, I'm not married. I would like to be kind of... I guess you have to loiter more for that to happen. Yeah, I need a bit more loitering. I need to bring the binoculars, you know, maybe bring a Red Bull. That's the loitering you got to really be aware of. The Red Bull loitering. Just standing there with the Red Bull. That's the loiterer you got to really do the wear out. The Red Bull loiterer.

Starting point is 00:08:26 Standing there with a Red Bull. Small sips. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Small sips. I don't know. I haven't had Red Bull in years, man. Oh, probably good for you. Oh, I can't.

Starting point is 00:08:34 Yeah. Yeah, there was a time when I was doing like loads and loads of like breakfast TVs and radios and stuff like that. It used to be those massive monster drinks. When you were touring, like to get your singles out there and stuff like that. It used to be those massive monster drinks. When you were touring, like to get your singles out there and stuff like that. You used to kind of like have to turn up at like 3.30 AM to a German weather program to play 30 seconds of your new singles. So like those stages, yeah.

Starting point is 00:08:54 Chance of rain, but chance of Ed Sheeran first. I remember so clearly playing. I got up at like, they were doing it in some like theme park in the middle of Germany and it was just obviously empty because it was like 4 a.m. And I start playing on this thing, on this weather program and then I can see the credits rolling underneath me like 10 seconds in and I'm like am I the fucking play out music? And then they just stopped it. So I played 10 seconds of my new single basically. Germany was a tough market for me for a while.

Starting point is 00:09:25 And then the egg was cracked and now we're good. You think they'd take a look at you and be like, oh, he could be one of us, you know? I feel like you look like a closet German. Is that fair to say to somebody? I don't even know. I'm just loitering. No, I think, well, the red hair is more Celtic, so I'd say the Scottish or Irish or like the Norwegians,

Starting point is 00:09:45 I think, would look at me and be like, you want to... There's some Viking, you got a bit of Viking in you. We'll take them. Yeah, I might have a little bit like off. You'll see me in like the frozen food area kind of like in the store, you know? Yeah. I'll mill about in there, you know? Loiter.

Starting point is 00:10:00 You know? What's your background heritage? Have you got European? I'm Polish, yeah. Nicaragua. My dad was from Nicaragua. His parents met down there and he was born there. And then my mother, I don't know dude, but wherever she's from, they have some real one of a kind type ladies. Do you have rage in you? Are you an angry guy? You seem a very chill guy. Can you have an argument with someone? Yeah. I don't know if I have an argument. I like have kind of trouble processing my feelings. So I'm like that I'm always like the start

Starting point is 00:10:33 and stop with, you know, I'm like the guy who like can't get like the gear shift to work or something. You're watching that guy drive. You don't like a student driver when it comes to my feelings. Do they have student drivers here? Yeah, yeah. I didn't learn to drive until I was 24, because like, as I said with the train thing, public transport here is actually really, really good. So I never learned to drive. And then, mate, on my first driving test, so I'd learned, I learned to drive for like eight months. And on the first test, I failed because I was going around a roundabout and my mom called me to see if I passed the test and I just quickly took it and like canceled the call. And then the driving instructor was just like,

Starting point is 00:11:12 you've just failed the test for that. And she was ringing to see if I'd... Done well. Passed, yeah. Oh, yeah. I failed. God, dude. That's when you got to just... Yeah, that's kind of the time I'm glad my mom didn't care that much. Yeah. You know, because, yeah, I passed immediately. But Americans can drive from like 16, right? That's when you got to just... Yeah, that's kind of the time I'm glad my mom didn't care that much.

Starting point is 00:11:26 Because yeah, I passed. But you probably... Americans can drive from like 16, right? But they shouldn't all be allowed to drive and... I do think American drivers, man, like when I'm over there, I'm like, this is fucking sketchy. They drive to kill. Yeah. They drive to kill.

Starting point is 00:11:39 I sort of feel like here we have to learn how to like parallel park and do all these other things. I think in America, it it's like can you reverse? Good. Past. Well, it's I think people are... America just anything can be a weapon there. So what have you got hidden under your bed? What's your weapon? Weapon of choice.

Starting point is 00:11:57 I probably couple knives. A lot of my kitchen knives are in my room. Cool. Kind of strategically placed or whatever. You know, like, oh, I'll be here. I need a knife. You know. And you have kids.

Starting point is 00:12:08 So they're not like reaching under the bed and finding a huge... No, no, no. And I go small blade kind of, you know, I'm more of a... I think I'd be more terrified of you with a kitchen blade than... Yeah, I'm more of a chef than like a hatchet guy. You know, I'm more like a, I'll julienne a burglar.

Starting point is 00:12:22 But have you got a meat cleaver in the bedroom? That would be terrifying seeing you running down a corridor fully naked with a meat cleaver. Especially if somebody orders a small sausage, dude. Because I'll freaking cut one up right there. It'll be out of business in a moment. If you had a home invasion and you had a meat cleaver in there, that would be far more terrifying. Oh, I would yell I have a meat cleaver in there that would be far more terrifying than...

Starting point is 00:12:45 Oh, I would yell I have a meat cleaver. That's the first thing I would yell at them. I think that would be something else. Dude, what was something I was gonna tell you? Oh, what was I thinking? Yeah, dude, I don't know a ton. I know some British music. We've had a nice time over here. We went to Ireland. Not Britain though. And not, that's not Britain. No, and if you make that mistake in Ireland, they will boo you. We've had a nice time over here. We went to Ireland. Not Britain though. And not, that's not Britain. No, and if you make that mistake in Ireland,

Starting point is 00:13:08 they will boo you. They don't, yeah, if you say. If you say it's good to be back in the UK, you will get booed there. But if you say, fuck England, they will cheer. Yeah, I will. Actually, if you say that in Wales, Scotland and Ireland. They'll cheer?

Starting point is 00:13:20 Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Especially now, like Scotland now in the Euros. So I played the Euros launch, whatever, on Wednesday. I was in Germany and it's a... The Euros launch, what is it? A football game? Footballs, yeah. Okay, soccer.

Starting point is 00:13:32 Footballs. And I made the decision to wear an England shirt on stage in Germany, and it was mostly German and Scottish fans, because that's the first game. Didn't go down hugely well. Yeah, people... Then I was like, I'm not going to wear a German shirt. Right, because that's posing.

Starting point is 00:13:47 Yeah. I got given like five German shirts before the show as well to like take pictures with them, blah, blah, blah. And I was like, I'm just not going to wear these. Yeah. Yeah, people get so competitive about that kind of stuff, man. Who's your football team? Who are you supporting in the Euros?

Starting point is 00:14:03 You've got to like subscribe to some of it. Probably Scotland, probably. Yeah, they're playing today, playing Germany today. Of course they are. If they beat Germany, that's a big, big party in Scotland. Oh, they don't have a chance, I don't think, but... No, you would be surprised. You think so?

Starting point is 00:14:20 Anything can happen. I hope that they win today. We lost to Iceland the other day. Oh, God. Yeah. And they don. We lost to Iceland the other day. Oh God. Yeah. And they don't even have green grass, do they? That's fucking unbelievable, dude. I mean, that's a bit of a sad thing.

Starting point is 00:14:36 I like it though. I like the unpredictableness of football. I find like American sport, I find really, I love watching American sport, but there's no penalty for being bad. You just get given more money in first draft. So you have your teams, and then if someone's bad, they go to the bottom, they get first draft, they can get better again. Here, if you're bad, you're out of the league. You're just out.

Starting point is 00:14:59 And you go into a league that's not on television, and you have to like fight to get back up into the league that's on television. And if you're bad in that league, you go to a lower league. My football team, like for the past six years have not been on television until we were in the third division two years ago. And we've just finally got back up to the, the premier league, but it's more exciting. It's unpredictable. Whereas like I'm a big Tennessee Titans fan and they're kind of always here. Yeah. They're pretty mid. Yeah. Yeah. But you know what? Even in the game itself,

Starting point is 00:15:29 I didn't realize that till you just said that it's more unpredictable in the game. It's like with soccer, like you can get the ball back in a moment. So you could suddenly be an offense, but in the NFL it's like, it's very tactical. You know, it's going to be a little while before you get the ball back, you know, and then there's going to be some drop your guard in soccer for five minutes. Your team can be like, there was one, one world cup that was in Brazil and Brazil were arguably the best team at that time. And Germany ended up beating them seven one just because there was like 20 minutes of

Starting point is 00:16:03 them letting their guard down. Yeah, that was, that was insane, but I that. I was in Vegas actually when I was watching it. That's where I met you in Vegas. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Man, that was a crazy night. Fuckin' hell. What was that? Because like the Chainshokers were just supposed to be performing, right? I had gone, I was doing my final tour show. So we basically were meant to play the Allegiant

Starting point is 00:16:22 Stadium in August and we'd set up our whole set. I have an in the round stage and we have these massive pylons that basically hang up all the speakers and screens and stuff like that and it's weighted. So everything has to be exactly the same weight. In a regular stadium, it's a concrete floor. You put them in, they stay there. We didn't realize that Allegiant Stadium didn't have a concrete floor. You put them in, they stay there. We didn't realize that Allegiant Stadium didn't have a concrete floor.

Starting point is 00:16:46 I don't know where that misalignment happened. But anyways, we put it in, it has a rubber floor and the stage was slowly slipping. And these are like, you know, tons and tons and tons and tons of steel would have fallen on people. So we had to cancel the gig 20 minutes before it started. And Vegas isn't a place where like people, like 80,000 people that live in Vegas are going to go. People had flown in, they got hotels, and so hot. It was like one of the worst days on tour. It was just, it was grim. So we rescheduled the

Starting point is 00:17:17 Allegiant Stadium gig for then. So that was my final show of the tour. Um, and yeah, we, we got pretty fucking lit up afterwards. And, uh, that's where I saw you. I'd kind of, I know the chain smokers, so I'd sort of turned up and then, uh, yeah, it was kind of turned into karaoke. Yeah. Cause I was sort of thinking if you'd spent money on like a VIP table that night, see the chain smokers and then suddenly just drunk me on stage in a Avengers mask.

Starting point is 00:17:42 Yeah. And here's the thing, man. People knew it was you. Okay. Oh yeah Avengers mask. Yeah. And here's the thing, man. People knew it was you. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think at first, I was very aware that like I was just wearing the mask because they were wearing it.

Starting point is 00:17:53 It was Halloween. Remember? It was Halloween. Yeah. Let's say that. So do you know, do you know those guys? Yeah. I just know them from like seeing them at different shows and being around them and stuff like

Starting point is 00:18:01 that, but their energy is always fun and good, you know, and like, I just love getting to spend time with them. Their shows are always fun. Like I go to their show. Sometimes I'll go to Diplo. When I go to Fred again recently, I like going to see what some of the DJs are like, you know, but then you got up and it seemed like you were going to maybe do one song and I was like, how are they going to get,

Starting point is 00:18:21 are they going to go to like a little bit more ballad? What are they going to do? And then by the, by like four songs later, it's just a, it's your show, man. That was it, dude. Four songs later and it's just a, it's an itch here and people are just kissing and there's doves and stuff. So where'd we get a bunch of fucking doves?

Starting point is 00:18:41 You know, there's like, it was very interesting, I felt like. People making wishes and stuff and hugging their grandmothers. Are you going to go to any of the World Cup games in 26 in America? I probably will. And that's soccer, yeah. Yeah. Oh, yeah. I'll probably get over to some of them.

Starting point is 00:18:56 Our soccer has been pretty bad, man. Our country's going through a lot, I'll be honest with you. It's one of the reasons why I'm over here. Have you not noticed ours is too? Like, I feel like English people and Americans, they always, they're like, oh, do you know what? The other place is better. And then you go to the other place and you're like, oh, it's kind of... I feel like the world is going through quite a lot.

Starting point is 00:19:18 Like, we travel a lot and it's like election time all around the world. And everywhere I go, I'm like, oh, it's kind of the same here as well. I feel like everyone is going through a shift. Oh, that's a good point. You guys elections are happening right now, huh? Yeah. Yeah. It's pretty bonkers some of the shit that's coming out. You're sort of watching these interviews being like, does your brain connect to your mouth? I sometimes feel like people don't want to get elected, but they're saying stuff to just be like, now I'm done, man. I'm done. It's mad.

Starting point is 00:19:46 Well, I'm sure you probably, there's probably times you get halfway into something. You're like, I don't know about this. Like people get stage fright at the altar all the time sometimes, or sometimes you'll buy something at the market and you'll put it back on the like, with the gums or the candies or something. You'll put like just a pack of like sausages back there or something. And so I think that there's- If there's knocking, there's someone doing work next door, by the way.

Starting point is 00:20:09 As long as it's not an indentured servant, I think we're good. Just because Britain's had their history. But and I'm not saying America didn't polish it up a little, but we've all, you know, we've all sinned a little. Or we didn't, but forefathers definitely, you know, had some crazy plans, but yeah, dude, but yeah, it's nice to be over here. I like some, like I listen to James Blake. I like his music a lot, you know?

Starting point is 00:20:33 So I'll listen to some James Blake, and yeah, I'll listen to Fred again. What other kind of, I'm trying to think of, British music do I listen to? Oh, nice day for a wide wedding. Cool, yeah. That guy, you know him? No, I don't.

Starting point is 00:20:51 I mean, I know this song. I don't know him. Start again. Who's your every little sister? Maybe that's not the lyric. That seems a little bit perverse. Who's your NFL team then? Oh, sorry.

Starting point is 00:20:59 I'm a New Orleans Saints fan. Are you from New Orleans? Yeah, that's where I'm from out of Louisiana. So why move to Nashville? Well, I lived in Nashville for a while. I moved to Nashville for a while. I moved to Nashville for a while. I moved to Nashville for a while. I moved to Nashville for a while. I seems a little bit perverse. Who's your NFL team then? Oh, sorry. I'm a St. New Orleans Saints fan. Cool. Are you from New Orleans then?

Starting point is 00:21:07 Yeah, that's where I'm from out of Louisiana. So why move to Nashville? Well, I lived in LA for a while and then Nashville was open during the pandemic. Yeah. So you could do what you want. You could like, you know, spit on people and they were still okay with it, you know? So it definitely like... So good criteria is to move to a town.

Starting point is 00:21:24 Can I spit on people? Yeah. Or, you know, you could just, you know, I mean, you couldn't even... Yeah, it just... That mask, when you think about what the mask... It just like... You could, I will say this though, you could look at somebody and kind of lick your lips in a way that you wouldn't normally be able to.

Starting point is 00:21:42 And that's something I miss. You know, just being point blank. I like the fact I can move. I really love public transport and I can move around easier now since COVID because wearing a ski mask is not seen as creepy. Yeah. People just, you're just sort of in a ski mask. Oh, that's a good point.

Starting point is 00:21:58 You're just still in one. Yeah. Yeah. Every now and then. Yeah. If I go in the airport now and I'll just wear like one of those long neck ones, you know, and I definitely feel like, oh, people are like I go in the airport now, and I'll just wear like one of those long neck ones, you know? And I definitely feel like, oh, people are like,

Starting point is 00:22:06 who's the weirdo still with the neck and the glasses and the hat? And I'll even put a wig on sometimes and like, who the hell is this lady trying to- Wigs a good idea. Yeah, trying to get laid or whatever. I sometimes, I said it's dressing up as Santa Claus when I went to the supermarket at Christmas.

Starting point is 00:22:23 Cause I was like, I was like, I really need to go and get Christmas supplies. But the supermarket's to the supermarket at Christmas. Because I was like, I really need to go and get Christmas supplies, but the supermarket is obviously really busy at Christmas and I'm not like... I don't blend in that well and I was like, if I dressed up as Santa Claus, maybe that'd be fine. You can get your Christmas supplies, everyone's like, Santa's here, you know. Did I see that? There's no way I saw you sharing a Santa Claus buying bagels.

Starting point is 00:22:44 Did you see that fighter that looked like you the other day? It was like on a UFC fight or something? Oh my God, yeah. Well, I mean he is a lookalike. He's... Oh, he is. Did you not see the thing where there was the Floyd Mayweather... No, the KSI Logan Paul fight, and I was like...

Starting point is 00:23:00 I was ringsized, but it was this lookalike. And some YouTubers had done a thing where they were like, let's try and fool them. And they got this lookalike and Eddie Hearn essentially just gave my lookalike ringside tickets. And he was only, the only way that he was found out was Justin Bieber turned up and was like, that's not it. Wow. And yeah.

Starting point is 00:23:20 But yeah, I did see it. I did see it. Did you see the Eddie Hall one? No, I didn't see it. What is it? Can we watch it? Can we get the Eddie Hall one up? Because look, I just, the other night I was going through, it was on TikTok or something. The other night.

Starting point is 00:23:32 So this is the same, the same. And it pulls up, you know? Just go on the shorter one, like the real. Down. Oh, sorry. The shorts. Just down there. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:23:41 One of them. Just two on one. Oh my gosh. Huh? And are those the Island Boys? Yeah, one of them. Just two on one. Oh my gosh, huh? And are those the island boys? Oh, what? Jedward? Who's he beating? Oh, they're who?

Starting point is 00:23:58 Oh, that guy's Irish for sure, the one he tossed. Damn, it's like, wow! Oh my god, huh? Just take a sleeping pill. So that was the same night, I think, that the... That my lookalike was doing the fight. Oh, well, this is what it's coming to. That's good, boys. We get it. I don't think...

Starting point is 00:24:13 This is what it's coming to. No, Ed, I'm just going to let you know. This is the kind of thing that it's coming to. People are going to... You're going to have like, you know, freckled stepmother versus like, you know, gambling addict Vietnamese or something, you know, it's going to, it's getting, that's where it's all going to be bad. It's just constant betting. I think you can feel it coming up in the world. It's like,

Starting point is 00:24:36 would you do one of them against a male or female you think? Against Caleb. Oh, against Caleb Presley? Yeah. Oh man, you and him both have the mischievous look in your eyes all the same time. So that's how you guys could be related. Had a good night with Caleb. Did you? I was just with him in Lisbon yesterday. Yeah, he's fun.

Starting point is 00:25:02 My friend got married and we went to Lisbon. I went over there to see him. Caleb came to a show in Dublin, and then we went over there. It was really cool. Lisbon's amazing. Lisbon is amazing. Lisbon's amazing. Caleb's great, though, dude.

Starting point is 00:25:14 He's very smart, mischievous. He likes to like. Who do you think wins? Between me and Caleb? Yeah. That's a great question. You and him both get in a cage. You put on those little gloves.

Starting point is 00:25:26 But how little the gloves? Here's what I think you should do. Gloves that are way too small. Not just gloves that are like weighted gloves, but like extra small. Yeah. And then your hands are like this, you know? And then you have to fight.

Starting point is 00:25:38 Like, oh, dang. Did you ever fight at school? Did you do wrestling and stuff? I've gotten beat. I got beaten a decent amount as a lad, I remember. I remember at our school, if you got in a fight during school, this is what they made you do. You had to stand in the hall, whoever you fought, and you had to put your hands on each other's shoulders for the rest of the day and just be there and looking at each other and talking.

Starting point is 00:25:59 So by the end of the day, you were friends with whoever you fought, you know? And all the kids would come down the hall between class and call you a wanker or whatever. You know, or, you know, if... That sounds actually quite a good way to solve problems. I thought it was. Yeah. Because it was no, by the end of the day, you had to make each other laugh or figure out what went on. And you realized that like, yeah, you're probably similar.

Starting point is 00:26:21 Similar, yeah. Well, you certainly didn't hate, like... Didn't hate each other by the end of the day. Yeah, or if you thought the guy was a bully, you got to kind of figure it out with him or. And you work out why he was being a bully or lashing out. Right. Yeah, yeah. What was going on, I thought,

Starting point is 00:26:33 it's just kind of an interesting program, man. Yeah, I don't have a wife, but I'm probably going to get one one of these days. And so do you, do you think it's hard? Cause you're like the love. A lot of your songs have a lot of love in them, you know? And so is it hard to still be like, does your wife ever

Starting point is 00:26:55 feel like, oh, you write all the good songs for the whole world? No. I think we went to high school together. So we've known each other 22 years now. And all of our mates are the same friends. So we're like, we have like a little Suffolk cohort and it's, she's very, she's very comfortable with, she's known me through everything. So she's not like, there's not really any self-consciousness that comes through it, I guess.

Starting point is 00:27:23 And we are, I mean, we're with each other. All that I'm going to see after this to have a little break, but like, yeah, we're with each other all the time. So we talk a lot. I find that small, lots of little, small, uncomfortable conversations save arguments. So you just like, if anything ever comes up and we'll just sort of nip it in the bud there rather than let like resentment build. Yeah, I struggle with that sometimes, man. Yeah, I'll just, I want to try and yeah, I

Starting point is 00:27:53 don't know. Sometimes I can feel like right now you should probably say this, that way everything will be smooth and there's a part of me that's like, fuck no homie. And then you just have to be like, and just say it. And then it's actually fine. I kind of do that with like everyone. I'm just trying to be like, and just say it. And then it's actually fine. I kind of do that with like everyone. I'm just trying to be like as honest as possible at all points. And then there's not really... You kind of see it as like bricks in a backpack. Like you've got loads of bricks in your backpack.

Starting point is 00:28:16 And if you can take a brick out quickly, it just lightens the load. So it's just getting the bricks out. Yeah. You know? Yeah, gosh. I wonder how many relationships for years, husbands and wives just sit on their words. You know what I'm saying?

Starting point is 00:28:29 Yeah, I think a lot. And just go through every, and just sitting on a sentence, just one sentence. Running at you with a meat cleaver. Yeah. Yeah, dude. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:28:39 And just serving the last sausage, brother, in the dark hallway. Yeah. Like a good man over there in Leeds or wherever. What's the most dangerous place to be around here? Here? I'd say every area of London has a, literally every area is sketchy.

Starting point is 00:28:58 Like I think that you cannot be anywhere. I love that. Yeah, it's not like a segregated city. There's like, it's very. be anywhere. I love that. Yeah. It's not like a segregated city. There's like, it's very... Everybody's scared. I mean, the nice areas are sketchy, the bad areas are sketchy, but you just have to not do stupid shit.

Starting point is 00:29:17 Like if you wander around with, I don't know, like a Louis Vuitton duffel bag and a 200 grand watch, you are going to get robbed. Like, but just don't do that. Yeah, don't do it. Yeah, I think, and y'all's robberies all have clues and stuff, that's what I like about London. Clues? Or like, if there's something that happens,

Starting point is 00:29:41 it's like, oh, he has a clue, you know? And the detectives or whatever, then they're hot on your trail. That's what I love. That's one of like the, I think the things that like you guys, I love that everything that you think about England is based on movies and like, cause it's the way that I used to view America as well. I used to, I remember going, I was, uh, my wife went to Duke and we went back to Duke. My mother went to Duke. Oh, good, good university. But I remember we were in town for something and we were driving past the frat houses and I was like, I've never been to a frat party.

Starting point is 00:30:12 Should we just knock on the door of one of them and they'll be having a frat party like the movies. And like, Terry was like, yeah, I guess so. It's not like that vibe. And we went up, I knocked on the door, one of them opened the door and was like, why are you knocking on our door and then we went in and it was just like three dudes and one guy who had his face super glued to the floor and it was like not the vibe and I was like this isn't like the movie. He was just literally like this face super glued down and they were just like yeah we

Starting point is 00:30:39 don't really know. Yeah I think well you it's hard to get that guy up, I bet. And then, yeah, there are this in there manufacturing rehypenols or something like that, a GHB or whatever. A lot of homemade GHB in those areas, but... Yeah, it's not like the movies. Yeah, it's not. Yeah, nothing's kind of ever like, I don't know. Like even today, we pulled up in a Notting Hill and I was like, we're going to be in love or whatever. Yeah. You know, because like...

Starting point is 00:31:04 Notting Hill is quite, this is quite like, if you're be in love or whatever. You know? Because like... Notting Hill is quite... This is quite like, if you're talking about like nice areas. Yeah, it just seemed romantic, you know? Like you'd meet like, you know, Paddington Bear is having a coffee with a woman or something over there, you know? Like... Vecality. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:31:19 Caffeine fuel Vecality, dude. That's our new... Have you ever... Yeah. Have we ever... No, yeah. Have we ever... No, have you ever considered a collab with Paddington Bear? Uh, I... Yeah, do you know what?

Starting point is 00:31:33 I would love to do a kids movie. Now that I have children, I'd love to do some form of animated something with music. I don't know if it's Paddington Bear or... Yeah, something. I love it. Because he's a famous British bear, isn't he? Very, well, he's actually from, where's Paddington Bear from? Peru, yeah.

Starting point is 00:31:53 No. He's from, well, but in the book, he's from Peru. He travels over to England. He's obsessed with jam, is it jam sandwiches or peanut butter sandwich? Jam. And was he allowed to stay after Brexit or was he? Well, this is, so I have an Irish passport and you can only spend 90 days in

Starting point is 00:32:09 Europe if you're English. So I was like, I'm, I have the Irish passport. I can tour more in Europe, but like none of my crew can spend more than 90 days there. And it used to be Brexit. I think everyone has agreed that Brexit didn't work. And I think there will be a time where we will try and backtrack it a little bit and get back into Europe. But yeah, it was such a divisive thing at the time. Oh, it was? Yeah, it was like 50% of the country thought we should leave, 50% of the country thought we should stay. And it was a very, very, very small margin that we left.

Starting point is 00:32:45 And I feel like the people that voted leave now were like, actually wasn't the best idea. Maybe we should have stayed. Yeah. That's how we're feeling, I think, after the Mayflower and everything. I think we might build another Mayflower. What is the Mayflower? The ship that we left on a long time ago.

Starting point is 00:33:02 Right. And when you say we, a long time ago. Right. And when you say we. A lot of people. Yeah. I think a lot of people are going to be coming back. Yeah, yeah. I really do. Like we might mail the Juneflower, Julyflower.

Starting point is 00:33:14 I don't know, we're going to build one month, we're going to build a big boat and I think we're coming back. Cool. I just don't think it's panned out as well as we expected over there. It's just gotten kind of, like a lot of the tradition I think

Starting point is 00:33:24 is disappearing in America. And maybe that's good. It's just gotten kind of, like a lot of the tradition, I think, is disappearing in America. And maybe that's good. Like sometimes you just don't, I think that's the scary thing about when tradition goes away. What is the, because I see America as like lots and lots and lots of traditions and cultures. What is the one central tradition

Starting point is 00:33:40 that Americans can agree on? That's a good point. I think, or maybe we're just in a phase where there isn't really that. Right. And so that feels like scary. But you still celebrate July 4th and stuff like that. That's like, everyone will celebrate that. Right?

Starting point is 00:33:56 Some people now are seeing it as it's like a bad thing, you know, like, but then it's not like we, it's like. I turned up to my first July 4th in a red coat. Did you? Yeah. Let's go dude. And a flag. Because I was like... And the UK flag.

Starting point is 00:34:10 We're coming back. No. Yeah. Captain Jack. What is it? Union Jack. Union Jack. The flags are weird over here as well.

Starting point is 00:34:17 Because I don't think you can fly flags unless the football's on. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. If somebody's flying without the football, like, oh, that guy's, yeah, he's not doing as well. He's Scottish. And no offense if anybody's Scottish, dude. A lot of people are saying it's not even real.

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Starting point is 00:36:56 Then find and book a top rated doctor today. I've used ZocDoc, I find it more helpful than using my own insurance website. That's for sure. That's Zocdoc. Z-O-C-D-O-C dot com slash T-H-E-O. Zocdoc.com slash Theo. Did you get to go to like the Highlands or anything or try where they make scotch? No, we didn't. We didn't get to yet. We didn't get to do a lot of stuff like that, dude. We've been... Are you a whiskey guy?

Starting point is 00:37:27 Uh-uh. I don't drink right now. Really? Yeah. Because I'll buy drugs. Oh, my man. So... A clue!

Starting point is 00:37:35 What's your drug of choice? Are you like going mad prescription? No, I think my... I guess I'm probably more of pretty much a straight cocaine guy. You know, I would guess, yeah, I would just, I would definitely. Oh yeah. I will even, I remember even when I quit doing drugs, I would still, if my buddy of mine was doing a line of cocaine, which I don't recommend to anyone.

Starting point is 00:38:02 Um, but I've done it a lot, but I would hold the back of his neck while he did it. That's how close I still wanted to be to the action. And that's very, the back of your neck is a sentimental place. Yeah. Yeah, it's also like, that's quite like, I felt if someone grabbed the back of my neck, I'd be like, what is about to happen? Yeah, it feels, but if they cares, we just ride,

Starting point is 00:38:22 just, you know, just ride sharp. Still quiet, there's still a bit of predator in that. I agree. Okay. Really gentle, that's even worse. The gentle crest on the back of the neck. Oh yeah. It's very, just the loitering of the hand is just,

Starting point is 00:38:37 it's like riding shotgun on a line of cocaine really in a way. And it's, yeah, but yeah, so obviously I've, you know. So how long you've been sober for? Probably about two years right now. Congrats, man. Thanks yeah, so obviously I've, you know. So how long you been sober for? Probably about two years right now. Congrats, man. Thanks, man. It's amazing. Appreciate it.

Starting point is 00:38:50 I had a couple of years and it's just, yeah, cause I get all squirreled out, you know. I'll be in your yard, boy. You know what I'm saying? I'll be in your fucking yard. Loitering. Oh yeah, I'll be fucking out there. So now you are the guy with the red bull.

Starting point is 00:39:03 Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, I look like I'm making Bluetooth or something. I start, are the guy with the red bull. Oh, I look like I'm making Bluetooth or something. I start, you know, getting the jitters. People like, oh my God, that guy's showing up as a router. That guy's not doing well, you know? So that's kind of the stuff. What's like. Feels good. Is it, what's like a, since you've had, you've been obviously very gifted and had a lot of success and worked very hard, all those things. What are some stuff that you kind of wanted to do and you didn't, because touring and stuff takes a lot of time and touring and working and it's like when you're in-

Starting point is 00:39:40 I've never been to a water park in my life. Yeah. And that's something that I'm like, I'd love to do at some point, but I've never been to a water park in my life. And that's something that I'm like... I'd love to do at some point, but I've never been ever. And is it because like a sunshine thing is like a... No, it's... As I said, like I got... I left school before school finished.

Starting point is 00:39:59 No, that's not... That's not a... I just... I left. I went to be a singer. I became a singer. And in that time, I was working just flat out to become a singer, and then I became a singer, and then because I, people knew who I was,

Starting point is 00:40:11 it sort of limited things that I could do. But I never really did it in that I was so focused on my career that, you know, there were TV shows that were like massive cultural phenomenons at the time in my age group that I only discovered like five years ago or like I didn't watch any football. I didn't pay attention to this. It was just so I'm going to, I want to do this. So yeah, there were some things that I missed out on in that time. One of which being a war.

Starting point is 00:40:39 It's a, it's a silly thing, but it's something that I would love to do at some point. Oh, you should get a bet. You should get a bus full of, I don't want to say, ginger men or whatever, and take them to a water park. I think it would be, and I don't know if that's not an offensive term, it's not. Or I think you should get a bus full of- It's interesting though, isn't it? The ginger thing, because it's like, it is the last bastion of things that you can-

Starting point is 00:41:04 Racism. No, no, no.ion of things that you can't... No, not no. No, it's things that you can make fun of. Someone on a TV show picked up, they put a picture of a ginger cat on and they were like, this cat kind of looks like you. And in my head, I was like, if there was someone fat on this couch and you got up a picture of a fat cat, that would be really offensive. So when does the line start? It stops just right outside of Ginger, I think.

Starting point is 00:41:25 I think so too. Well, in America, it stops. The only people you can still make fun of are like redneck white people. And everybody else is kind of off limits. So it's like, you know. But I've always supported people that are really pale with red hair. Yeah. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:41:42 Till they come out with an SPF milkshake. I think you definitely, the amount of sort of fun that's made out of you as a kid makes for a good personality. I feel like I have more fun than the pretty kids that I grew up with. Oh yeah, dude. My best friend was the good looking kid, dude. Caleb. No, not him. He's pretty good looking kid, dude. Oh. Caleb. No, not him. He's pretty good looking too, dude.

Starting point is 00:42:06 He also looks like a really hot woman in some countries. Okay, I'm not going to name him, but a lot of Slavic areas. He's a nine, female nine, dude. And that's only if he's partially shaved. But, you know my buddy Scott when I was growing up, that's whose wedding I was at. He was like the handsomest guy, dude. And he's just got no chat. And he just, he, but now he was great.

Starting point is 00:42:34 He was just, but yeah, I always had to be the other guy. Yeah. You know, and... You probably, you feel like you've aged like a fine wine, right? I've aged. I've aged like a fine wine, right? I've aged. I've aged. I've aged like a decent provolone, I think.

Starting point is 00:42:51 I don't know if I'd say fine wine. Yeah, maybe a- Provolone age? Provolone, I'm sure it ages. Just get moldy, right? You just got to get tested every now and then. You know what I'm saying? You've got to get tested every now and then. You know what I'm saying? Keep your pH balance decent. But I was going to say, are there things you started to do like in your career that you started like it was another like thing you wanted to start to learn like learn a language?

Starting point is 00:43:16 You know, like Joe Rogan told me one day he's like, when I'm done with doing this job, I want to paint. And I never thought I would hear him say, I was like, huh? Yeah. Howard Stern paints really, really well. Howard Stern does like amazing watercolors. You see them and you're like, holy shit. Yeah. Dude, Silence of the Lambs paints, dude.

Starting point is 00:43:37 What's his name? Anthony Hopkins. Anthony Hopkins, dude. Bring him up. Oh, wow. He paints, brother. That's amazing. And the lambs stop painting? I paint as well. Oh really?

Starting point is 00:43:50 I didn't know that. At the front of the pub there's a painting that I did but it's less, it's more, it's more I just go into a studio with canvases on the floor and just splash loads of color and when it's done it's done. But that's more like, I started doing that when I finished, I did this tour that ended in 2019. And when it finished, I was like, I don't want to do music for like a month, but also I want to carry on being creative and do stuff. So I started painting then.

Starting point is 00:44:16 I learned Italian as well. And that was like a thing. I bought a place in Italy and no one speaks English there. So I was like, I have to learn Italian. But those are like the two things that if I wasn't doing music, I'd like to put more time into. And honestly, like, I love movies, discovering new things. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:44:37 Like movies, like different artists, albums. Will you listen to something or watch something to sometimes put you in like a mood to like create your own like a mood to like create your own music even or to write songs? No, my creative process is just basically like do it, like just get in and do it. And if it's bad, forget about it and move on. So I've tried to be creative every single day, write a song every single day or two songs every single day and not worry about whether it's good or not.

Starting point is 00:45:05 Like not be like... I feel like some people think that like writer's block is a thing where you're like, oh, I can't write songs. But you can write songs, you just can't write good songs. So just like keep writing. Get the bad ones out. Exactly, yeah. So Shape of You was written on a day and we wrote four other songs that day that no one's really heard.

Starting point is 00:45:23 And Shape of You came out of that. And if I hadn't written the four bad songs I wouldn't have got the one good song. So yeah, just a process of just constantly doing it. But I don't think I've ever really watched. The only movie that I've watched to create something was I did a song for The Hobbit and they showed me the movie and then they went, this is the point where the song comes in and your song has to convey this and bring the audience out of the movie and then they went, this is the point where the song comes in and your song has to convey this and bring the audience out of the movie.

Starting point is 00:45:47 And it was a point where Smaug's going to the big town at the end and he's going to destroy it and cover it in fire and flames and blah, blah, blah. So they were like, we need this chaotic bit and then a calm bit and you basically taking the audience out of the cinema. So that was the first time I've been like inspired by a movie, I guess.

Starting point is 00:46:05 Wow, that's a pretty cool task, huh? Yeah, really cool. And also in that process, you're essentially working in a creative medium that you don't really know anything about and you're so excited. Like I was so geeked out to be working with like Peter and Fran and then getting to do the press tour with all of the actors and stuff. And you're suddenly there in a world that you don't really belong in. But it's like, it's like the reason musicians are obsessed with sports players and sports

Starting point is 00:46:31 players are obsessed with musicians. And it's because each can do something that the other can't do, but there's still like a level of dedication you have to do to get to that point. And I love being on the other side of the coin. I went to my foot, like went to one of the Celtics games the other day and being like... Boston Celtics? Oh yeah, you get in free over there, I'm sure, dude. There's no way.

Starting point is 00:46:52 They're like, he made it. And no judgment, dude. It's all good, man. If I show up at a remedial reading center, I fucking get in immediately. You know? Yeah. Yeah. But my point is being on the... Watching it.

Starting point is 00:47:12 And I've never really had an appreciation for basketball before, because I've never really like... I've been to like a couple of games, but like something clicked on that game and I was like, this is so exciting and they're so skilled, and it's so fast. And like what I loved about it is in football, if you're losing 5-0 with 10 minutes to go, you've lost. And in basketball, you could be losing like by 20 or 30 points with the last two minutes to go. And it just could go bam bam bam bam bam and then win. It's like really exciting.

Starting point is 00:47:39 Yeah. Who's your basketball team? Um, basketball? Don't really follow it. I don't know. I don't know, dude. Actually, I like Caitlin Clark's team. I started following her in college and I'm a... I like, I'll watch her highlights and stuff, you know?

Starting point is 00:47:53 She plays for Indiana Fever now, but me and Caleb went to Iowa Hawkeyes game where she broke the record. Wow. Which was pretty cool, dude. I like Iowa a lot. We were pretty high. I like Iowa too, man. You know, in I like Iowa too man. You know in Iowa... I played IndyCar in Iowa. Really? Yeah. I remember... Did you race or no? No, I was just playing the

Starting point is 00:48:10 gig. I waved the flag. Not very well. But I remember walking... You bring the Union Jack to that and people will get a little teased I think. Someone there, as I was walking to stage, someone grabbed my arm and looked at me dead in the eyes and was like, welcome to God's country, Ed. Oh my God. I loved it. Oh yeah, that sounds like the ghost of high cholesterol found you, dude, like in a Charles Dickens novel or something. Damn, yeah, I'm trying to think.

Starting point is 00:48:38 Oh yeah, I'm trying to think of, yeah, have you ever gotten asked to go play for like a chic or anything over there in like a castle or anything like that? Where? Like in the desert or anything? No, probably, probably. My- What?

Starting point is 00:48:56 Yeah, we get private show requests. My thing is like, I never want to feel owned. Yes. Like I don't want someone to be like, you do this, you do this, because I paid you this. So like if I'm ever going to do a private show, it's usually for like a company's end of year party or something. And they're just like, just do a show.

Starting point is 00:49:17 And you turn up and you play the show. But I would feel weird if someone was like, you come and you sing this song at the time that we tell you to sing it and you just, I like touring, I like playing shows. So I do my shows and if I'm ever going to do a private gig, it's usually someone just saying, can you just do the show that you do there, but in a smaller place is what I would prefer to do. Right. Yeah. Not like, yeah, come perform it in this wet cage at six, four. Yeah. Come and play, come and play a cover of this song that isn't even your song to my daughter

Starting point is 00:49:47 while she eats breakfast. Like I'm not, that ain't me. Yeah, that's like kind of, that's almost a very expensive ASMR it sounds like as well. But one time I got offered to go to this place in the Middle East somewhere and it was like, like Ludo La Harta or somewhere, place you hadn't even heard of right? It could have just been in New Jersey or whatever

Starting point is 00:50:10 but they were and it was like there was like a chic and you had to be behind a Big plexiglass area you would come in perform there He would be eating there with like 90 of his girlfriends or whatever. You would perform and then... And then you lie down and he shits on your chest. There may have been an afters. I didn't know, but I didn't read the whole pamphlet either, but I do know that they were allowed to ask a few questions at the end. And then you got to eat, but you had to stay in this area by yourself through the plexiglass while they all had a great time. I didn't go. And what was the, what was the fee for that?

Starting point is 00:50:51 The fee was probably $1,500. And what is it like? Do you have a private fee? Like if someone goes, come play a bar mitzvah, you have a fee. Yeah. Now I would have a fee for sure. Cause it's like, what else do you want to do with your time? Are you already relaxed and are Are you gonna be missing something that's important? Because now I have to set up time where I'm Relaxing. It's like I had to set up time to watch baby reindeer. I had to put it on my calendar. Good show. You know, good. Oh, it was good. I hope they do it again You know, I'd hate to I hate to for them not to go through it all again

Starting point is 00:51:23 Especially the guy kind of with oh as in do like a sequel show. Yeah, or just both of them just figure it out. Didn't they talk about they are doing a season two and it's like from the perspective, isn't that like it's the court case or something? Apparently she's going to go her side of the story. Wow. Oh, I can't wait. Well, good, good.

Starting point is 00:51:39 It's balanced. Oh yeah, it's very fair. We need balanced news out there because yeah, we yeah, I love that lady That's the crazy thing. You almost start to fall in love with the lady Mmm, you didn't think no peers the way she was talking to peers Morgan Have you done the peers Morgan show, you know, he just asked me to do it you're gonna do it. I don't know I Don't know I don't know enough about... It's hard for me to know what British people are up to, you know? Like some

Starting point is 00:52:09 cultures you can kind of get a read on them and you're like what's going on? I think Britain's very direct. I think he'd ask you a lot of very direct questions and you wouldn't, but you don't strike me as the sort of person that like needs to navigate direct questions. So I think you'd be fine. I did his show like 2013 when he was on CNN, and I found it a great interview. Yeah? You enjoyed it? Yeah, he's like a research guy,

Starting point is 00:52:34 and he doesn't like... He just asks you the questions that I feel like people would want to hear, I think. Yeah, 100%, man. Do you feel like you'll make different music since you have like a family and stuff now? Does that start to like... I guess it's kind of a silly question, but it's like... I made an album that my fans weren't like over the moon about because I feel like I was in quite a happy point of my life and so the album didn't have much tension. It was just I made a record.

Starting point is 00:53:04 But yeah, I feel like my, you know, just because I'm married with kids doesn't mean that like you don't have tension in your life. I feel like even more so there's been things in my life that happened over the past two years. So I think the music that I'm making at the moment is more like the music I was making in my early 20s when there was a lot of tension going on in my life. But you definitely, you go through periods of time don't you? I'm sure you go through periods of time where you're like, things are good, yeah, I feel quite settled, quite happy,

Starting point is 00:53:29 and then suddenly a bombshell happens and then you have to... L I Yeah. D Yeah. So I feel like that's, for me, always creating music. I can see like back on my albums as like a lineage of like, this is where I was at this point, this is where I was at this point, and I feel like if all of the albums sounded the same, it'd be boring. L Yeah, you have to evolve in some sort. D And it's good to have like, this is the album where I was at this point. And I feel like if all of the albums sounded the same, it'd be boring. Yeah, you have to evolve in some sort. And it's good to have like,

Starting point is 00:53:47 this is the album when I was like, the album when I made an album in COVID, quite settled, quite happy. We had our first child and yeah, I listen to that now and it's not, there's no like heartbreak songs on it or sad songs. It's just kind of, it is what it is. Yeah, because a lot of times it's like rip my fucking heart out, Eddie. Yeah. I think I'm getting back. Okay, good. On this one. I think that's what we want, man.

Starting point is 00:54:10 But this is what you're saying about taking time off. You have to take time off to actually live life. Like if I'm on the road, I think this is another thing why people who get successful early have their age freeze. Because when I'm on the road, life does just pause. Because you like today you wake up, get on a plane, you fly here, we're doing an interview, you might go out for dinner tonight. You go through, there's no like actual real real life interaction in your actual

Starting point is 00:54:34 personal life being lived because you're constantly working. So you'll go back, I always found this, but you'll go back home and you'll press play on your life again. And then you'll be like, Holy fuck, so much has happened. How do I keep up with this? Your friend who was dating this person is now not dating this person. You've missed that whole thing. Your dad might be going through something.

Starting point is 00:54:50 You've missed that whole thing. Like your brother's doing this. It is weird. That's a really great way to say it too. Yeah. It's like you just put it on pause and you go and do your thing and you come back and you press play on you, but it's like the whole world has been pressing play. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:55:03 And I think, I think everybody can even relate to that too. I mean, going and touring and that kind of thing is a little separate, different, because you kind of get taken out of your life almost, and then go and then you just drop right back into your life, okay? Well, like, yeah, for me, it's like, well, was I dating somebody?

Starting point is 00:55:18 Oh shit, I never responded. My sister invited me to this, and that thing's over now. And it's like, why, yeah, just like, and then you look at old emails or sometimes like your thoughts processes will have changed and things you wanted to do and move forward with. Three months ago, you're like, I just don't, that's not the thing I need now.

Starting point is 00:55:34 Some things you're glad you didn't move forward with. Some things you're like, oh dang, I missed out. Yeah, yeah, exactly. But some of that's kind of fascinating. When I started podcasting, an online store was one of the furthest things from my imagination. Having a place to sell things or sell T-shirts or this or that.

Starting point is 00:55:50 And it started off, my buddy Ken was making our T-shirts in his basement and things started to grow. And as the business started to grow, we had to grow. And so did our store. And that's where Shopify showed up to help. From the launch your online shop stage to the first real life store stage, all the way to the, did we just hit a million orders stage? Shopify is there to help you grow.

Starting point is 00:56:20 And now thanks to Shopify, our website is able to fulfill the desires of things that people want. If they want a shirt, they want a hoodie or they want this and that. We're able to meet them where their wants are and I'm thankful for that. You can sign up for a $1 per month trial period at Shopify.com slash Theo, allcase just go to shopify s h o p i f y dot com slash t h e o now to grow your business no matter what stage you're in shopify.com slash Theo this episode is brought to you by better help if you are going through some moments in your life that are troubling or you're not feeling like yourself or you just

Starting point is 00:57:10 can't seem to meet your life where you need to be, then you may need to talk with someone. I've been there. I do it every week. Therapy is a part of my life. Better Help. If you're thinking of starting therapy, give Better Help a try. It's entirely online. It's designed to be convenient, flexible, and suited to your schedule. Just fill out a brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed therapist and switch therapists at any time for no additional charge. When life goes fast, it's important to take a moment and sometimes you need someone else to help you take that moment. Take a moment, visit betterhelp.com

Starting point is 00:57:57 slash t-h-e-o today to get 10% off your first month. That's better H-E-L-P, help.com slash T-H-E-O. Did you ever like, dude, I'll notice sometimes, like I get scared to like see people in person because I feel like I'm not going to be able to like live up to whoever they think I am. Does that make sense? Or is that like really egotistical thing to think? Do you think?

Starting point is 00:58:26 No, I think especially like the position that you're in and the kind of like cultural significance of who you are and what people perceive you to be. I definitely get that because you might be having an off day and people are like, hey, be the guy and you're like, fuck off. Like I just want to like chill out. So yeah, definitely. But I think that my way of moving through life is always just be like, always be completely honest of what it is at that point. So I remember being, I like, I will usually say yes to photographs.

Starting point is 00:58:57 If I'm with my kids, I'm like, look, I'm with my kids. I'm trying to be a dad. But like, sometimes if I'm feeling off, like my aunt died and I was at a train station and someone was like being really, you know, like I'm feeling off, like my aunt died and I was at a train station and someone was like being really, you know, like a fan and like, come on. I was like, my aunt just died. Please, I just need a fucking moment. And if you are honest like that, people get it. Like no one's, but if I'd just been like, fuck off, like suddenly it's a thing. But I think honesty throughout, this is what I was saying earlier about just like saying

Starting point is 00:59:26 But I think honesty throughout, this is what I was saying earlier about just like saying truthful things when they come into your brain. It's people get, people appreciate honesty, I think. Yeah. That's a good point. And maybe they can feel it too. That's always the thing I think that gets weird as you get older. If you even think about telling a lie, sometimes even a small lie, I'm like, it just feels like it's... The lies, if you tell lots of small lies, then you then have to keep up on like, who did I say this to and who did I do this to? If you go through life and you're just... Who did I tell I was a mime?

Starting point is 00:59:51 And then you're fucking... Everybody you meet, you're like... Now that's it. That should be something that in your spare time, when you're training to do something, Joe's going to be an artist, you should train to be a mime. I would love to see you be a mime. Fully painted, just be fucking great.

Starting point is 01:00:09 And they're always stuck in the smallest apartment. It's like, first of all, get a better job, you know? And fucking get out of that rat trap. That's what I always think about those guys. But that's a lost art, isn't it? Miming. Yeah, what else is a lost art? Dude, there used to be a lot of mimes, Ed.

Starting point is 01:00:27 Yeah. Pull that up, dude. How many mimes were there probably in 2010? Or 2005, let's fucking go back, since we have access to all this online. And mimes were some of the first mixed people as well. Nobody wanted to kind of see it like that. I'm not sure there's much records of mimes.

Starting point is 01:00:50 Yeah, it's quite a niche subject, Theo. It's quite like... This is another thing. When you are trained to be a mime, you got to make the mime archives, because then we can rely on you to... When we Google, we're like, Theo's got us. Isn't it? It's kind of perfect, isn't it? Niche. We can rely on you to get, when we Google, we're like, Theo's got us. Isn't it? It's kind of perfect, dude.

Starting point is 01:01:09 Yeah, why don't they have a fucking, first of all, I'll say this about mimes, they're lazy. I'll straight up say that right now, bro. And mimes, well, magicians are comedians, arch-nemesis, right, and that's been since like the beginning of time, dude. But I'll say this also, mimes can suck it. I'll go ahead and say that right now, bro. If you're a mime, dude, bring it, bro.

Starting point is 01:01:37 I think the day that you learn to be a mime, you'll actually learn a bit of appreciation for it. You'd be like, actually, this is way harder than I thought. And then you'd be making, you make the m the My Markov. That can be your side hustle. Edith. There should be. Who was the most famous mom? Oh, well, there was Charlie Chaplin, wasn't there? He's British. Marcel Marceau. Marcel Marceau. Was he British? Edith. No, I think he's French. Edith. Yeah, sure. I'm sure the Brits commandeered him. I'm sure they put a flag on his back at some point and said he was British.

Starting point is 01:02:08 Bip the Clown, his name was. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who, Marcel Marceau? Yeah. Let me look a little bit about him. Marcel Marceau, can you zoom in on that so I can read that there, brother? You go up to the top. Marcel Marceau, 22nd of March, he was born.

Starting point is 01:02:23 Oh, he lived for a long time. 2007 was a French mime artist actor most famous for his stage persona, Bip the Clown. He referred to mime as the art of silence. You know Mr. Bean was kind of like that, wasn't he, the artist? Mr. Bean, I think. It's fascinating.

Starting point is 01:02:40 Well, it's fascinating because he, essentially every country understands Mr. Bean because there's no talking in it. I heard a rumor that he, when he did the show, it got them to agree to never show it in Italy because he liked holidaying in Italy. So that's the one place that I think they had the movie, but they didn't have the TV show. So it wasn't just constant.

Starting point is 01:03:02 So you wouldn't remember him as much. Did you ever get to meet him? There was a period, he was going to be in a music video for a bit. So we were actually in touch on email and it was, I think the idea I had was very vague. And I think that was the problem. It wasn't like, this is what it is.

Starting point is 01:03:22 This is when it's happening. And it was basically, I was kind of like, would you be interested in this? It might be this. And he was just like, it needs to be more solid than that. But we had a good exchange. The guy who I did, did you watch the movie yesterday? Yesterday? No. No. Anyway, the guy that made that movie, I'm in the movie. I play myself in the movie, but the guy that made that movie who wrote Notting Hill and Love Actually and Four Weddings and the funeral,

Starting point is 01:03:47 he wrote Mr. Bean. So he's very close with... So that was a... It wasn't just that guy made it up? No. Well, they did it together, I think. I think it was a stage show to begin with. So they did a show called Blackadder, which was... I think it's the best British comedy ever. Black Hatter? Black Hatter. And it's set in, it's the same characters, but set in different periods of time. So there would be somewhere there in the,

Starting point is 01:04:14 is it the Tudor time with, and then there's one in the Georgian time, there's one in World War- Black Hatter. One. Oh, Mr. Bean's in it. Yeah, he's the main guy. So they did that first, and then they did Mr. Bean.

Starting point is 01:04:26 I need to go back and watch this then. Blackadder is like an all-time classic. Really, really good. They do a Christmas Carol and that's my like Christmas routine as I always watch Blackadder Christmas Carol. Oh yeah. I watch Family Man. Have you seen that? With Nicolas Cage. Cool. You and the wife should watch it this year. I've got a massive cardboard cast out of Nicolas Cage in my house.

Starting point is 01:04:48 Really? Oh, then you'll love it. You should put it up. I watched Mandy and was just like, I'm sold. I got to have some of that. Have you seen Mandy? It's fucking bonkers. Can you pull up the scene of him just type in, Nicholas Cage, Mandy, toilet scene.

Starting point is 01:05:06 Mr. Bean, what a great man. Wonder if his children are loud and he's like, oh, this isn't what I wanted. Right. Yeah. Oh. Oh. Oh.

Starting point is 01:05:22 Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. Oh. wow. It's a great movie. Yeah. God, that alone, that even just that much of a moment of something that feels so real. That is our political system right now in America. Somebody said that you used to

Starting point is 01:05:54 do like open, go to comedy mics. Did you ever? Not for me to do comedy, but I used to do it to actually, no, I did actually. I did a, I used to play with this, They're an improvisational rap group called The Bander Man and he was a comedian who rapped and made... He basically would be like, they had a song called What's in Your Pocket and he would rap about what was in everyone's pockets and make it funny. So I played with them for a bit, but no, for me it was more the scene that I was a part of was very cliquey and very like the cool kids over here and I was always part of the misfits and you would go and play these gigs where everyone on the lineup would have an acoustic guitar and they'd all be singing love songs and I'd

Starting point is 01:06:35 just be another one of them just not as good. I wasn't, I was 17, not 25. I had my songs were very rudimentary and like not great and I found like this guy actually, my best mate Jamal, ran a YouTube channel that was primarily rap. And he put me on that channel. And then suddenly there was a whole group of people that were like, oh, we actually quite like this acoustic music. So I would turn up at hip hop nights first and grime nights and soul nights. And I would play and I would get a better reaction because it was just different. It was something that would stand out.

Starting point is 01:07:11 Whereas I did not stand out in the acoustic scene because it was just the same as everyone else. Oh, that's interesting. And so, and then I started playing comedy nights, poetry nights. I would turn up at different things. I used to get roasted whilst the toughest gig I ever played. It was an all black comedy night in central London called The Sunday Show and I was booked for this show and as I was setting up my guitar, the guy on stage was roasting me being like, what the fuck is this white kid doing with this tiny guitar

Starting point is 01:07:40 and blah, blah, blah. And it was probably one of the best gigs of my life. I got on stage, I instantly went into a rap tune, I dropped this song and this song and this song. And the reaction was better than anywhere, because I think people were expecting me to fail, and because I didn't, it was even better. And yeah, and those, I think that is what gave me my first bit of success my first buzz the buzz within The kind of grime and rap community in in the the UK I think that was the first place I felt welcomed and accepted and

Starting point is 01:08:17 celebrated and still and still it's like I still feel more love and appreciation from the misfits. No, from the, from the grime and rap community. Yeah. In, in the UK. Interesting. Yeah. You know, that's such a good idea, dude, like to take whatever your thing is and put it into go to the space that's different because then you're the different thing. It wasn't, to be honest, it wasn't like an idea. It wasn't like a light bulb moment where I was like, but even when you say it though, it makes me think like honest, it wasn't like an idea. It wasn't like a light bulb moment where I was like, this is what I was doing. But even when you say it though, it makes me think like that's,

Starting point is 01:08:46 it really is like, there's no way you can't help but stand out, right? So like... I think it has to happen organically though, because I feel like if Jamal hadn't put me on his channel, and he put me on his channel, the Sunday show booked me for their comedy night. I did that. And then whilst at the comedy night, it's a very organic thing.

Starting point is 01:09:00 I think had I just turned up at the Sunday show, they'd be like... Yeah, and maybe it wouldn't have gone the same way. Right. That's a good point. That's a good point. But you have to change up the environment that you're in and really challenge yourself. That's pretty brave. Yeah. I used to do some black shows, like predominantly black shows in the States, dude. It was hard sometimes, but when you killed it, you killed it. Oh, you killed it, dude. Yeah. And people would stop basically very, but I bet it's either like you kill it, dude. Yeah, and people would stop. Basically, but I bet it's either like, you kill it or you bomb.

Starting point is 01:09:28 There's no pain. There's no like, all right shows. And when you don't do good in front of a black audience as a white guy, you feel the pain of hundreds of years. You feel, I mean, my pain traveled all the way back to England in a boat. And then got off and experienced more pain. I was like, how much pain is inside of me?

Starting point is 01:09:54 Dude, I remember tears coming out of like the inside of my throat. And I was like, I didn't know I had tear ducts in my fucking. Is that the worst that you've bumped? No, I fucking bum pretty good over the years, Eddie. I've had some bad ones. I've had one where you came out, it was like the battle of the bands at a school,

Starting point is 01:10:15 you had to come out between all the bands. They didn't know, they just thought you had to come out in the beginning. They booed me off stage. They don't have to go out six more times, dude. Wow. And every time it just... It hurts a bit.

Starting point is 01:10:27 My eyebrows started to erupt, but one time, I was so shocked, one of my fucking eyebrows fell out of my head. From like, it's called... So it makes you appreciate it though. I feel like anyone that has had success on stage has had to have been booed, have things chucked at them, have moments where... The shock, the trauma. Some girls like, something's on your shirt

Starting point is 01:10:51 and it was my fucking eyebrow, dude. Like... I was like, oh shit. That's bad. Yeah, so that kind of stuff, to not be able to protect your tear ducts from the wind, just because you had a bad set, dude, that's the kind of shit that people do

Starting point is 01:11:08 that we do not need to be going through. Yeah, I think sometimes the tough parts are like, sometimes I'll drift out of what I'm actually doing when I'm on stage. I don't even know what it is. It's not like I'm daydreaming, but sometimes you'll just, I don't know, I'll kind of go on autopilot.

Starting point is 01:11:25 Not because I want to, it just sort of happens. And you have to drop back in, you know? I do that sometimes. I did that. I do it quite regularly on Perfect because it's just... I'm not having to think about what I'm doing with my feet. And occasionally I just drop the second verse by accident and I just kind of come to and I'm like, oh, I've just not sung the second verse

Starting point is 01:11:42 and the song's now like a minute and a half long. But you do, you get in a... There's certain things, I'm sure there's certain routines that you just know so well that your mind just sort of wanders. Cain Yeah. And then how do you make them feel new and surprise yourself too, you know? Lennon Yeah. I think it's good every now and then to completely rip up the rule book of what your performance is

Starting point is 01:12:00 and just add to it as well. Cain Yeah. That's a good point. Do you... Was being a father something that really kind of, like people talk about it all the time, that it does so much for them. Was it as much of a surprise for you? It seemed like you had a lot of love in your life with your spouse. So it wasn't like a...

Starting point is 01:12:17 Yeah, I think it's you just, selfishness ceases to exist, I think, because suddenly all your decisions are made based on... I've got two daughters now and it's made based on what's best for them, you know, rather than what's best for me or what's best for my wife. And that sort of simplifies life in a way because you... There's not as many questions. It's just like, well, what's right for these guys and then cool, done. But yeah, I think, you know, I was a real party boy, like real...

Starting point is 01:12:44 Like I loved getting on it. Oh yeah. In all aspects. Break out the gear. I think probably like five years ago, me and you would have had a lot of fun together. Yeah. But I think having kids really, really dialed that down.

Starting point is 01:12:59 I stopped drinking spirits. I stopped like smoking and doing all these, you know, having wild nights. Like I don't think I've seen the sunrise since having kids. But obviously you're sober when you see the sunrise with kids, but I don't, you know, I go to bed at like midnight now. Even if I'm having, I drink wine and I drink like one or two beers.

Starting point is 01:13:20 And that's my advice, I guess. We have to be a proper parent. You have to be a parent. You have to be a parent. You have to be a leader or whatever. Or you have to feed this when it wakes up. Yeah. You know? Totally.

Starting point is 01:13:33 I think... It's like being in college a bit with like a roommate that can't cook or whatever. And you're like... Do you know what I see it as? It's your drunk mate at college that you need to get home from the bar and you're feeding them bread constantly and water.

Starting point is 01:13:47 It's kind of that. And they sort of fall asleep. It's kind of like that. You sort of waking them up, like feeding them bread and stuff like that. And then they're sort of falling asleep in their chair. It's kind of like that. Dude, one time I got in a taxi to leave a bar when I was in Charleston. I used to live in Charleston and I forgot to, I guess I was drunk.

Starting point is 01:14:04 I just passed out. The guy drove around, dude, he drove like $190 worth. I finally fucking wake up, dude. He's just driving, bro. We were like still like about 12 minutes from my house. So I get home, I owed him like $220, dude. It took me like two weeks to pay that guy. Jesus.

Starting point is 01:14:22 God, man, just things like that that I just don't miss about. Sometimes just being wasted, dude, or hiding out in somebody's yard. Do you find you have better conversations now? Like if you're having a conversation with your mate and you're sober, it's more like... Yeah, I find I don't waste time in bullshit. Like I'm not out at one, you know, like in the wee hour, but shit doesn't get as weird either, you know? You know? I feel like I say it in one of my songs, but I feel like past 2 AM, it's like nothing's happening. You're like all sitting around a screen watching YouTube videos

Starting point is 01:14:57 and like chatting about the YouTube videos. Whereas I think like, I feel like my friends call me the sparkler because I shine bright for a very short period of time. So I'll go out at eight and I'll be home at 11, but in those three hours, like I'll have fun. Yeah. Oh, that's a good guy to be. Yeah. I'm going to start working on that. I'm going to save up all my good stuff for eight to 11. Eight to 11 is a great time as well.

Starting point is 01:15:22 And then you're in bed by midnight. I usually get up at like 5 a.m. anyway. So you're like in bed by midnight and then you're fresh-ish in the morning. You work out, guy? Yeah, I like to work out, man. It's fun. Nothing too crazy, but I do like it.

Starting point is 01:15:34 But like every morning you'll do a bit of exercise. Yeah, four days a week I'll work out. Pretty swell. I like doing a sauna. Yeah. Ice bath. And I like doing the ice bath, man. I don't know if they work or not, but they tricked me into believing they do.

Starting point is 01:15:47 For me, it's less... I like... I don't mind if they work or not, but it gets my core body temperature down. I'm a big sweater. Oh, you really? Yeah. I sweat. Like, if I'm on stage, I just drip, drip, drip. You're just leaking, huh?

Starting point is 01:16:00 Yeah. Well, I think it's... I think there's something in the Irish blood where I heat just does not agree with me. You know, and... Because you brought your own heat. Of course the sun would be like, who the fuck is this? You know what I'm saying? Stepping on my turf right here. But if I go in a sauna, I'll usually be sweating for like three, four hours off.

Starting point is 01:16:24 So getting in an ice bath almost, it be sweating for like three, four hours off. So getting in an ice bath almost, it's kind of like cauterizing a wound. You just, it's done. Yeah. I like, dude, Ireland was so, I never had seen, I did, I grew up in New Orleans, right? In that area in Louisiana, like Mardi Gras, people being drunk, right? I never said, it's a different thing of drunkenness. It's just in the, it's like, people, we went into a bar, it's people in there, there's no furniture, right? Just people holding

Starting point is 01:16:52 each other up. Drinking. It's like, you can't even let the guy stop drinking. They won't fucking let. Dude, I remember we're in the bar, outside of the bar, they built another bar around the exit door. You open the exit to the bar, you're in another fucking bar, outside of the bar, they built another bar around the exit door. You open the exit to the bar, you're in another fucking bar, dude. But drinking culture here is different than America. Like, I found when I lived in Nashville, it was like sports bars. You go to a sports bar to watch a game, to drink, and you would see people there on their own drinking a huge Vodka Tonic, just like, I'm here to get fucking drunk.

Starting point is 01:17:26 There's Irish bars on the motorway in America. I'm like, who the fuck is driving to an Irish bar? But here, if I'm like, for instance, I saw my best mate Nick yesterday and I was like, oh, let's go out for a couple of pints. And we would go out and we caught up and we had three pints of beer and then that was it. And that it's our culture here is very much built around, you know, I'm generalizing not everyone loves drinking, but I would say like 80% of the people in England love a beer every now and then.

Starting point is 01:17:58 So then you would go out and instead of getting shit canned every time you go out, you know, like I would go to these sports bars and it was basically like everyone in the sports bar in America would be going with the sole purpose to be dribbly drunk by the end of the night, taken home in an Uber. Whereas in England it's very much, and Ireland and Scotland and Wales, it's a regular, with my friendship group anyway, a regular thing to have maybe like one or two pints at the end of a work day, and then maybe on a Friday, you'll have like six pints and a bottle of wine, you'll go out and do the shots and blah, blah, blah.

Starting point is 01:18:32 But it's far more just part of the culture to do it regularly. Yeah. Yeah, it seems like they wear it better here. It's not alcoholism to drink every day here. Whereas in America, if you drunk every day, it'd be alcoholism. Because obviously people take it too far here as well, but the general thing I think is... Am I right in saying that, lads?

Starting point is 01:18:53 You would go out for a couple of pints after this and it wouldn't be like... Well, I think we treat every event with beer. You're sad, have a beer. Are you happy, have a beer. Is it a wedding, have a beer. Is it a funeral, have a beer. But it's not alcoholism, it's Is it a funeral? Have a beer. Yeah. Everything is... But it's not alcoholism. It's the culture.

Starting point is 01:19:08 It's just the culture, yeah. It's not like I wake up every morning and I'm like, I need a beer tonight. It's like you get to the end of the day and your mate will be like, oh, I'm in central London. Do you want to go for a beer? Rather than like, I need a beer. It just sort of... Right.

Starting point is 01:19:21 Yeah, that's interesting, dude, because a lot like... By the definition of alcoholism, I mean, everybody can decide sort of himself if they're an alcoholic. That's one thing I know about that program. You have to decide. There can be the rules that kind of help you decide, but it's a personal decision, right? But yeah, people would look at a lot of people in Ireland and be like, oh, everybody here is an alcoholic, nine out of 10 people. Even some people in comas or whatever drinking and you're like, that's new.

Starting point is 01:19:53 But yeah, but like that, but that's not the same because it's part of the culture. Oh, I agree. I, when you say that it's like, because I don't, I actually don't like the, the culture of like people viewing Ireland as like an alcoholic country. It's like it's not. We can have a good time, but it's not like... It's the same in England. Like it's just the culture.

Starting point is 01:20:20 Yeah, I agree. But they're good. Germany is the same. It surprises me how good at it they are. I think that's what surprised me. Just that like, wow. But also we drink from a very young age, irresponsibly or responsibly,

Starting point is 01:20:33 but like I had my first beer when I was like 12, 13, and you learn how to manage your alcohol by the age of 16. You know, if I drink this many cans of Strongbow, I'm probably going to throw up. So I'll drink this many cans of Strongbow. Whereas I think in America, it's very much like 17, 18, 19. Maybe it's even just getting to college for the first time where you're then finding out what your boundaries are.

Starting point is 01:20:57 France, they start drinking wine from like five. Oh God. They give tiny glass of wine to their kids and it makes them respect alcohol by... I'd watch that online if they had that To be honest no judgment or anything and I don't know any of the children but And I wouldn't want to know any of them, but I would watch them drink a little bit of wine Just especially you can't you know do you do anything bad to the screen or whatever. There's a YouTube video.

Starting point is 01:21:26 I actually wanted to do it for one of my songs, Bloodstream was to have a video of compilations of babies trying lemons. Get up, get up babies trying lemons for the first time. Here we go. This is so good. Oh, whoa, he couldn't handle it. Anyway, we're good. We're good.

Starting point is 01:22:01 We're good. Oh, that's remarkable. Do you think about like, what else you want to do in life? Yeah. Or just like, yeah, do you start thinking about like, oh, what's something new you want to do? Getting to do that movie thing sounded really cool to me. I'm going to segue into, I've been doing probably for the last seven years, stuff with music in high schools, because the, in my area, so area, so basically in like 2017, 2018, my old music teacher came to me and he was like, look, the government is currently in charge do not value art at all, like arts, drama, music, and they cut all the funding

Starting point is 01:22:38 for comprehensive high schools. Oh my God. So my music teacher came to me and he was like, look, we're going, I think they had to share like between art, music and drama, like 700 pounds per year, like for all three subjects. So I started funding that at my local high school and then you see like massive uptick in like kids doing production, kids doing songwriting, kids doing this. So then I just started keep putting it. I built a recording studio there.

Starting point is 01:23:03 There's like loads of like proper instruments that aren't broken. And you just see the school getting better at music. So then I started doing that in the county that I'm from. And we've just now changed it to do it nationwide. And I'm now visiting more high schools and places that really need music funding. And you see what a difference it makes too. Because I'm not an academic person. And in the real world, I would be viewed as stupid.

Starting point is 01:23:33 But I excelled at music. And therefore, people think that I'm good at something. And so I found it massively helpful to be in a state-funded school that really encouraged that. And they've basically cut funding in England for it. So I'm doing what I can to get funding for it. But I think getting the government, the new government will be better at it, I think. That's remarkable.

Starting point is 01:23:58 But the thing that like that's kind of what I want to segue into is music education, because it worked so well for me and I know it can work so well for other kids. I'm kind of like proof that normal kids can just pick up guitars, work hard and do it. And our country as well like what we're famous for is our art. We're famous for music, with The Beatles, we're famous for painting, Damien Hirst, we're famous for movies. You've got like Danny Ball coming out of here, Christopher Nolan. And the government is just putting importance on maths and banking.

Starting point is 01:24:33 And, you know, we make arms, but no one is proud that we make arms. And no one is proud that our banking is really good, but they are proud of our art. And so for a government to be like, the art doesn't matter. Like, where do you think the art's going to come from? So I think that for me is the next part of my career is getting proper, proper, proper funding in art, music, drama, back into schools. And actually, Ireland do a very good job of it.

Starting point is 01:25:01 Ireland are very, very pro their arts because they know that that's their cultural currency. You know, you too travel the world and they see that. Bernshu's of Inishearing comes out, everyone goes to watch that movie and they're, Ireland are very, very good at recognizing that and funding. There's lots of Irish... Eilidh Mairiak The Sun's a pride there too still. Lennon Because people travel around the world as Irish superstars in all aspects and they spread, people are like, oh, Ireland's awesome because so and so comes from Ireland, so and so comes from Ireland.

Starting point is 01:25:31 And it's the same in England, like British music, there's Adele, there's Harry Styles, there's Stormzy, there's me. There's like, musicians travel the world and we, people are like, oh, that's a British musician or that's a, you know, British artist or a British actor or actress. And that's what we as a country are proud of. We're proud of our football as well, but in terms of like art. And it's so weird that no importance is being put on it. It's not even that importance isn't being put on it.

Starting point is 01:25:58 It's like completely stripping the importance of it and just being like, this doesn't matter. I'm sorry to get all... No, but when you kill that in a culture, it's horrible, man. Even like you said, like when you said earlier about like going to that NBA game, right? You don't realize till you sit there at the front row or until you get close to something.

Starting point is 01:26:16 How important it is, yeah. How important it is or if you could even be good at it. Like I remember standup comedy, I'd seen it, like videos, people had like DVDs would get passed around the neighborhood, like Chris Rock and stuff like that. And I'm like, oh, this is cool. But until I was in college and actually went to a show, not then, until that moment, did it hit me like... This is what I could do. Oh, that this is even a thing that you could do.

Starting point is 01:26:39 Like just seeing it on a screen, it just didn't really tabulate. Am I right to assume that in school, you would probably be like, I don't know what I want to do. What am I good at? I'm not very good at history. I'm not very good at English. I'm not very good at this. And then suddenly you find comedy and you go, this is something that I can really excel in. I think unless you give kids that opportunity, and also I feel like you can destroy a kid's confidence at age 12 by just being like, yeah, you're not very good at that.

Starting point is 01:27:07 And if you give a kid... I was given confidence by my music teacher, by my dad, by my friends, when I wasn't very good at all. I listened back to the music that I was making when I was like 14. And my friends were nice. Yeah, I listened back and I go, I go fucking out. My dad was not honest at all. Because he was just like, this is fucking hell, my dad was not honest. Because he was just like, this is great. And my confidence was built and it's got to a point where I then was like,

Starting point is 01:27:30 I'm going to release my first single and I'm going to make a music video. And then that was the song that got successful. And had I been like, I don't know what people are going to think about that. I think that's also like changing the culture of that of like, like I went up to Sheffield the other day to do a couple of school and music course visits. And they were amazing, like way better than I was at 14. And I feel like all it takes is for someone to be like, you're really, really good at

Starting point is 01:27:58 this. And then they go, oh, well then I should carry on. And well, having the equipment, like you're saying, like putting that equipment in schools, dude, that's so cool because, um, if you have a camera and you have like a podcast set up or something, you can record something and you can see how it looks. The second you do that one step, now you're in a whole new purview or whatever. Yeah. And then you're like, now what's possible? It's like, but until you can get that first step. Yeah. Your first show. Right. Well well I've done one, wasn't that good.

Starting point is 01:28:26 I'll go and do it again, I'll make it better. And then it just improves. And you don't know what part of you wants to do until you like, it's almost like a metal detector. You're like a metal detector. And until you kind of go over that little, whatever that is and something inside you kind of goes off, you know.

Starting point is 01:28:42 Well, because all you need to do, that's the thing as well that I say to kids. I'm like, you only need one thing that you're good at. You just find the one thing that you enjoy that you're good at, and you just work really hard at that, and then it will work. You go, like, the music industry is... If you want to work in the music industry, you can. Like, I was...

Starting point is 01:29:01 The day that I made it in my mind was I was gigging around, gigging around, not getting paid. I got booked for a wedding and I played this wedding for like £200. And I remember getting that £200 cash being like, oh my God, this is half my rent for playing a gig. Looks like we made it. Exactly. And in my mind then I was like, I could just play weddings for the rest of my life and I'm fine.

Starting point is 01:29:22 I can do music. And it's about finding the, you know, me getting 200 pounds for playing covers at a wedding isn't me playing Wembley Stadium and making my albums and stuff like that. So it's not necessarily the dream, but it is doing music as a career. So you can find, if you said tomorrow, like, right,

Starting point is 01:29:40 I want to be a chocolate taster and I'm going to be the best fucking chocolate taster. You could potentially make that career if you just worked harder than other chocolate tasters, or gamer, or I don't know. Especially in the UK. Willy Wonka is from here. He is, right? Did you ever meet him?

Starting point is 01:29:58 Willy Wonka? No. Did I meet... I think I might have met Timothy Chalamet. Somebody must have. I'm sure Croft has. I'm sure someone's met him eventually. Yeah. Fuck lucky. That's the kind of people that you just... Some people you don't get to me. You know, some people the government hides them.

Starting point is 01:30:19 What about the Queen or anything? Can you text her or whatever? Oh, she's dead. Well... Oh, the new queen. Oh, is there a new one? I didn't know. Did they get a new one? Sorry. I didn't know and I'm sorry that she's deceased too.

Starting point is 01:30:32 I did not know that. She died in 2022. Oh, yeah. And then King Charles is now the king. I did like her jubilee. I played her gig and there's an amazing picture of her shaking my hand and smiling and people are like, oh she was pleased to meet you and actually a comedian had just told her a joke so it looks like she's really happy to meet me

Starting point is 01:30:53 but she had no idea who I was at all. But the picture says a thousand words. There you go. Do the Queen, do the royal people, what are they do? What is it really like over there when you go over there? I don't think it's... I don't envy it at all. I wouldn't want to live that lifestyle. I remember being in Japan once for the Rugby World Cup, and I met one of them, and he was like, you know, he's six, seven years older than me, and he was like,

Starting point is 01:31:21 this is my first time in Japan. And in my mind, I'm like, I would have just assumed that you go everywhere all the time, but I think it's very much like it's a working job. They go and open hospitals, open care centers, go and do this, go and do this. And it's, I wouldn't envy the lifestyle at all. I think it is quite restrictive.

Starting point is 01:31:38 I don't think you can just be like, I'm going to go do this. I think like, have you seen The Crown, the show? Because like, even when they go on holiday, they go on holiday and they have to do like a press shoot before the holiday. And then people just take photos of them for the whole holiday. It's kind of like you allow, because you are funded by the public, the public own your life. Yeah, it's kind of like we are, don't we? Yeah, so it's not something that I would necessarily envy.

Starting point is 01:32:02 It's something that it's a big debate in this country whether people agree with it or not. I personally like think it gives a certain like grounding for the there's like a historical aspect of it. And when things happen, it's like Americans love seeing the ceremony that's that's that's over here. Like when the Queen passed away, the funeral is like very impressive. And it much, I don't know, represents England for the world. You know, England, look at it. Yeah, because I think England is something, there are a lot of great things. It's like very proper and it's like...

Starting point is 01:32:34 There's a lot of things that I would not agree with as well. I think it is very like... It's rigid almost. It's a very polarizing subject. But yeah, but I definitely wouldn't envy the lifestyle. Oh, yeah, it seems like it would be tough. Like you're such a con and you have to be a concierge to your own country and you have to be such a representative. I never talk about anything negatively.

Starting point is 01:32:57 Their thing, they say never complain, never explain. So anything that happens, they just... Right, you're just a middleman. Yeah, you can't show any emotion. Like even at funerals and stuff, you're not meant to cry and stuff. It's like really quite hardcore. Yeah, gosh, I remember my first funeral, dude. Not fun, are they?

Starting point is 01:33:18 I was not good at funerals. I was the worst, dude. I feel like they then needed to mark it though. I missed my grandmother's funeral. I was the worst dude. I feel like they then needed to mark it though. I missed my grandmother's funeral. I was doing, did you see that court case last year that I was in? You know about that? I was in a court case last year. All my friends are criminals to be honest with you.

Starting point is 01:33:35 She died at the start of the court case and the funeral was like midway through it. Because she had to be buried. And you couldn't go? I couldn't and I still feel weird about it that there was no marking of the like, you know, seeing a coffin be put into a grave and covered. And I don't know, there's something in me that's like even like visiting her grave now. There's not, it still feels like an open book. Yeah. Open door, I guess.

Starting point is 01:34:02 I think funerals are important for the ceremony of like marking it. It's kind of like the first day of grief as well, because before you go to a funeral, there's like a weird month or whatever where everything's like really fucking intense and grief stricken. And then kind of the funeral is the day that you go, now we start processing it. Yeah. Yeah. It is kind of wild, dude.

Starting point is 01:34:24 Does any of your music get played at funerals too or not? Yeah. I've got a song that I wrote about my grandmother called Supermarket Flowers, which is a popular funeral song. If that's like a thing to be proud of, like I've got a popular funeral song, but yeah. It's such an important, it's a song that it's a, it's a moment that people don't think of that much that needs a song kind of in a way, maybe, or I don't know, maybe as as a songwriter maybe people do think about specific moments that need songs but... I definitely do. Like I definitely know what I would have at my funeral. Same as I would have at my wedding. You know, you know what... What tunes you want? There's an Irish folk song which is like always the final song that is sung on a folk night which

Starting point is 01:35:03 is called The Parting Glass, where it's like... Are the Pogues or no? No, it's like traditional. All right. It's like... It's... Of all the money that I had, I spent it in good company, and all the harm that I had done, alas it was to none but me.

Starting point is 01:35:24 And it's basically like all of the things I did. It's basically the last drink of the night. This is... I sort of feel weird that I just sung on. But yeah, it's the last drink of the night. And it's basically everything that's happened, it's happened. And let's have this final drink and then get on with our lives. And I think that's quite a nice way to like go out of this world.

Starting point is 01:35:59 Basically being like of all the comrades that ever I've had, I'm sorry that I'm going away. You know, like it's like, it's just a message to people. I like it. No, man, I appreciate you sharing that too. Yeah, it's nice. It's nice, man. That from everyone that's ever spoken about you,

Starting point is 01:36:16 I've heard you always seem like a person that just shares the gift of who you are with the world as clearly as you know how to and navigate that the best you can, man. So I appreciate you singing. That's nice, dude. And yeah, I appreciate you spending time with me, man. Thanks for coming as well, man. I really, really have enjoyed this. I feel bad that I call, that I reference the term Ginger,

Starting point is 01:36:34 and I feel bad that I mispronounced the name of this place, man. Oh, that's all right. I thought you were doing it on purpose. Okay, I was. All good. No, no, the Ginger thing... And I wasn't. The Ginger thing, I'm actually like, I have a good sense of humor, so I'm fun with being... Yeah, I just shouldn't have said it though. No, but I'm like, my point is if this is on limits, then, you know, other things should be too.

Starting point is 01:36:57 Yeah. You know, it shouldn't be the only thing that's on limits. Oh, I agree, brother, and let me tell you this. we're turning on all the limits. Okay. I don't doubt it. We'll get you out to a live show and turning on all the limits. I hope you make a million more wonderful songs and just keep blessing us with your gifts. Thank you so much, Ed Sheeran. Nice one. Thank you.

Starting point is 01:37:18 Cheers, man. I'm just floating on the breeze and I feel I'm falling like these leaves I must be cornerstone Oh, but when I reach that ground I'll share this piece of mind I found I can feel it in my bones But it's gonna take a little

This Past Weekend - E512 Ed Sheeran

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