Ed Sheeran Reveals He Writes Songs As A "Form Of Therapy"

His hits are some of the most riotously popular of the 2010s so far, but Ed Sheeran has revealed that songwriting holds another, much more utilitarian purpose for him than just for making money – he writes as a “form of therapy”.

The 26 year old English singer appeared on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Desert Island Discs’ programme this week, in an episode that will be broadcast on Sunday (May 7th), but a teaser clip ahead of the full show reveals that the flame-haired icon writes in order to pick himself up when he’s feeling down.

Ed Sheeran posing for photos with fans in Glasgow in April 2017

“I think [writing songs] is a form of therapy to be honest,” Sheeran told the show’s host Kirsty Young. “I think any time I’ve ever got down, or ever felt low, the one thing that picks me up from that is writing a song about it because at least you’ve got a positive experience out.”

His guest appearance on the show comes after an incredibly successful four months for Sheeran, in which his current hit single ‘Shape of You’ has been top of the charts for all but two weeks so far in 2017, and in which his third studio album Divide has steamrollered all competition, already going five times platinum.

He’s embarked on his massive Divide World Tour, which is currently in Europe and due to head back to the UK by the end of May.

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Sheeran, who grew up in Suffolk, will tell the story of his life as well as selecting eight songs that he would choose to be stranded with on a desert island, as well as a book and a luxury item.

Additionally, he gave an insight into his writing process when it comes to putting together an album, when he’ll be incredibly, deliberately industrious and write “four to five songs a day”.

He explained to Young: “There will be no thought process. It will be just get a guitar and just write a song. And you know 12 out of 100 might be good. So I write a bunch and scrap a bunch.”

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