Ed Sheeran can’t get enough of The Darkness. The British glam rockers hosted a surprise pop-in from the “Eyes Closed” singer on Saturday (Dec. 9) during their set at London’s Roundhouse, where Sheeran played an unannounced six-song warm-up set, which, (according to setlist.fm) featuring Sheeran playing such hits as “Shivers,” “Thinking Out Loud,” “Bad Habits” and “Shape Of You,” as well as “Bloodstream” and a high-energy mash-up of “Don’t” and Blackstreet’s “No Diggity.”
Prefacing the latter, in fan video from the show, Sheeran told the audience, “The Darkness were one of my favorite bands growing up and it was always my dream as a kid to open up for them, so I’m living the dream.” Not only did Sheeran live his dream on Saturday, but in 2019 he got a preview of sharing the stage with the over-the-top rockers when they opened up for him on a leg of his Divide Tour.
The joy in Sheeran’s heart was palpable when he later returned to the stage to perform the Darkness’ 2003 hit “Love Is Only a Feeling” from the band’s landmark Permission to Land album. After hugging shirtless singer Justin Hawkins, Sheeran — who swapped his typical acoustic guitar for an electric one — strummed along to the song’s thumping beat, sang backup and added his falsetto to the track’s sky-high chorus while striking a classic back-to-back pose with guitarist Dan Hawkins; watch the performance here.
The band posted a clip of the special performance over the weekend with the caption, “Legendary stuff featuring @edsheeran.” Check it out below.
