industry is fighting to get back on its feet , with many considerable hurdles remaining , a tour of this magnitude is a hugely significant boost for the sector .
The A Team The stadium shows in Wales and England are being co-promoted by Kilimanjaro Live and FKP Scorpio , which hired longtime Sheeran co-promoter Daniel Ealam , alongside Scott O ’ Neill , from DHP Family in September last year . Meanwhile , the two dates at Glasgow ’ s Hampden Park ( 58,000 ) are being promoted by Simon Jones at AEG Presents .
Like the majority of Sheeran ’ s core team , Ealam has worked with the Suffolk singer-songwriter from the early days . He first booked Sheeran to play a 700-capacity club show at Stealth in Nottingham in 2010 .
Another key early gig for Sheeran and his Boss loop pedal was a show supporting Just Jack at the O2 Academy ( 2,300 ) in Leeds on 4 November the previous year . Stuart Camp was in the audience that night and soon after approached Sheeran to offer him a management deal . Just five days later , Sheeran ’ s performance at the O2 Shepherd ’ s Bush Empire ( 2,000 ) in London convinced Jon Ollier , then a booker at Free Trade Agency , that he should become the singer ’ s agent . Also blown away by Sheeran ’ s performance at the Shepherd ’ s Bush Empire was Kilimanjaro Live ’ s Steve Tilley , who would soon become his UK promoter alongside Ealam . The
Sheeran backstage on tour
promoters , agent and manager have worked with Sheeran ever since , with the artist continuing to demonstrate a loyalty all too rare in the industry .
“ Working with Ed has not only been a hugely rewarding experience and allowed me to build a career , but his approach to others is something we can all learn from ,” says Ollier . “ What is often forgotten in this industry is that you don ’ t get the best out of people by bullying them . If you treat people right they will go the extra mile for you , and that ’ s what we have seen with Ed .”
Kilimanjaro Live CEO Stuart Galbraith adds , “ The reason that Ed ’ s team have had such longevity and are all such a pleasure to work with stems from Ed himself . He is a fair person , very measured , and fiercely loyal .”
The Perfect Plan A key development for Ollier during the pandemic was the launch of his Londonbased independent booking agency One Fiinix Live , which he founded in November last year just one month after leaving the Creative Artists Agency
“ Working with Ed has not only been a hugely rewarding experience and allowed me to build a career , but his approach to others is something we can all learn from .” - Jon Ollier
( CAA ). Aside from Sheeran , the agency ’ s acts include Anne-Marie , Lauv , 2Cellos and JC Stewart .
Sheeran ’ s agent says planning a project the size of the Mathematics Tour during a pandemic was not without its challenges , with people being furloughed and others not as “ match fit ” as usual . However , he says the project was an enormously welcome distraction from the drudgery of the pandemic lockdowns : “ During the last 12 to 18 months , the tour has given everyone something very positive to focus on , it has given people energy . The impact of the project on mental health , my own mental health , has been considerable – to be able to work on something that is moving forward has been hugely important .”
While the pandemic left no stone unturned in terms of its impact on the events industry , the Mathematics Tour plan and timing was largely unaffected , according to Galbraith .
He says , “ We did our last shows with Ed in August 2019 , and it was always intended that he would then have time off after we finished the Divide world tour with four homecoming shows at Chantry Park [ 40,000 ] in Ipswich . By luck , judgement , or fortuitous timing , whatever you want to call it , Ed ’ s career has hardly missed a beat because of the pandemic as it was always the plan that he would have that time off from social media , writing , recording , releasing and touring .”
The Mathematics Tour will support Sheeran ’ s = ( Equals ) album . Released
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