Ed Sheeran busted by Indian police for busking without permission

Ed Sheeran poses on the red carpet at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, on Feb. 4, 2024. (Mario Anzuoni/Reuters/File via CNN Newsource)

Ed Sheeran took to a busy street in southern India this weekend to surprise fans with a live performance but police soon swooped and pulled the plug on the British singer, saying he hadn’t received permission.

The four-time Grammy winner was in between shows in the southern city of Bangalore when he decided to do some busking on the city’s Church Street.

But midway through Sheeran’s rendition of “Shape of You,” a khaki-uniformed policeman yanked out his guitar and microphone cables, according to images published on social media, prompting the singer to throw up his hands in frustration.

Local police said they had previously denied Sheeran permission to busk in the area, and that a citizen had called a helpline to report the infringement once he had started playing.

“We rejected it because Church Street is a very busy area and we try to keep the people moving there,” Shekhar H. Tekkannavar, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Bengaluru Central division, told CNN on Monday.

But Sheeran claimed the street gig had been given the all-clear.

“We had permission to busk,” Sheeran said on Instagram shortly after the incident on Sunday. (The street performance) was planned out before, it wasn’t just us randomly turning up.”

CNN has reached out to Sheeran’s representatives for comment.

The incident went viral on social media, with one user posting part of Sheeran’s performance on X.

“Went for a casual walk on Church street and stumbled upon Ed Sheeran performing live. What a city!”

Other online reaction was critical of local authorities, with some saying the performance was unlikely to cause any trouble and they should focus on more important issues, including traffic congestion and water scarcity in the city of around 14 million.

Sheeran is a popular artist in India and played a sold-out gig in Mumbai last year.

He is set to perform two more shows in India before heading to China and the United Arab Emirates.

By Jay Ganglani, CNN