Ed Sheeran plays surprise set at BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend

Ed Sheeran has joined the BBC Radio 1 Big Weekend line-up in Liverpool for a secret set.

The Thinking Out Loud singer, 34, surprised fans on Saturday with a live set on the New Music Stage in which he used his trademark loop station to build up layers of his songs rather than play to a backing track.

The set opened with Castle On The Hill and included hit songs Perfect, The A Team and Shape Of You.

He told the audience at Sefton Park: “I’m glad you turned up. I know this was a secret.

“I’m gonna play some songs that hopefully you know; If you don’t know, it’s gonna be a long hour for you.

The singer added that by using his loop station, his set would be unique: “Everything you hear today is completely live. There’s no backing track whatsoever.

“It’s made live on the spot – control of my feet – and at the end it’s deleted and it won’t be the same at the next show.

“The way that it works is you press record like this, and when you press play, it plays back and loops, and you can add layers on top of it.”

Tom Odell performs on the main stage during BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend at Sefton Park (Peter Byrne/PA)PA Wire/PA Images - Peter Byrne

During his performance of latest song Azizam, Sheeran stopped and restarted his loop recording, telling the crowd: “I’m going to have to do this again again. This is how you know it’s live. One more time.”

Sheeran, who has 14 UK number one singles and eight UK number one albums and headlined the Big Weekend music festival in Coventry in 2022, finished his surprise set with Bad Habits.

Also on Saturday’s line-up in Sefton Park are Sam Fender, Sugababes, Tom Odell and Blossoms, with Jade, Mumford & Sons, Haim, Wet Leg and Tate McRae playing on Sunday.