ED SHEERAN FOR GQ.CO.UK

Despite shifting over five million albums, selling out Madison Square Garden three nights in a row, touring with Taylor Swift and working with everyone from Sir Elton John to DJ Premier, Ed Sheeran still has the unmistakable air of someone who woke up this morning on a communal sofa. A genuine phenomenon from Framlingham, at the age of 23 he remains a singular talent in the charts right now - not least because his new LP X (pronounced "multiply") will undoubtedly be one of the biggest records of the year. Sitting in the Asylum Records press office over a cup of tea, he tellsGQ about awkward chats with Donatella Versace, ruining his Air Yeezys and the best canine hangover treatment you've ever heard.

GQ: You featured in our worst dressed list some time ago…
Ed Sheeran: Dude, at least I won it! It would have been more insulting if you'd put me at number two, trust me. Number one is like a nought star review in NME - it's so ridiculous. I didn't really care at the time - I dressed badly up until about six months ago when I met someone, who I'm currently with, who just bought me some shirts for my birthday and carried on getting me shirts. I'm just a little bit better dressed now.

We hear you're a big fan of watches…
The one I wear everyday is a Nautilus. It started off with this as I got gifted this from a Bar Mitzhvah I did by this Russian dude. I like Patek a lot - I'd say they're the main one. Styles? Chronograph and Day Date. I got into them three years ago when stuff blew up and I was booked for my first private gig. And then I met John Mayer and it all went downhill from there. I remember him sending me an email saying "Buy this watch now!" and I looked and it was just too much. He's a serious collector.

What's been your best recent fashion purchase?
I got an Alexander McQueen jumper that I really like. It's in my rucksack actually. I tend to lose them all the time - I get given them from TV shows, steal them from stylists or whatever (which I probably shouldn't do…) but because I move around so much they end up places. I have the opportunity to have a nice wardrobe I just keep losing things all the time.

Where do you stand on designer trainers?
I own a few pairs of designer trainers and I find them pretty uncomfortable to be honest. Nikes you know what you're going to get - quite comfortable, quite squishy. Jordans mainly but I really like the Yeezys because they are so comfortable. Whenever I wear them out sneakerheads think I'm a bit blasphemous - I won't just wear them for special occasions. I got thrown into a swimming pool on my birthday with the Yeezy 2's and they haven't been the same since. There are cases like that.

What question you bored of answering already?
I'm not bored of answering questions, I'm bored of people stating facts at me and being expectant of an answer. I did an interview for a German magazine yesterday and they literally wheeled off Wikipedia facts and then went "How does that make you feel?" Good, I guess!

You met Donatella Versace at an Elton John party. What's small talk with her like?
It was small. She was very friendly but I didn't really know what to say. I just said "Y'right?" and she said "Yeah". Worse was small talk with Jane Fonda. She was sitting next to Donatella and I went to say hi. I had a cough at the time and she said "Are you sick? I'm sorry but I just can't get sick." That was pretty much our conversation.

Morrissey said he once regretted rhyming "fender guitar" with "mascara" - is there a rhyme you regret?
Many, but they are in songs no one hears so it's alright. I feel like you need to get those rhymes out of you because you're going to end up using them at some point and it might be in a song that actually has potential.

You mentioned that unexpectedly rappers love your track "The A-Team". Which ones? 
Rick Ross. Actually most of the American dudes - people like Ty Dolla $ign, who you wouldn't expect to listen to your music. I got a phone call from The Game and he was like "Yo man we broke the tour bus speakers with your album!" It's just surprising hearing people from a separate genre from yourself are into your music. You'd expect Rick Ross to listen to quite Rick Ross type music but actually he's got quite wide music taste. 

What else do you like about Ross?
I really like that he's so himself. No-one else can be Rick Ross other than Rick Ross. A lot of people try. The couple of occasions I've met him he's such an animated person and has all these crazy, kooky ideas…and they all work. He does that little thing he does when he's listening to a song. He won't nod - he'll just stare at you and now and then will go [mimics a hand action similar to Crocodile Dundee bewitching a water buffalo]. I like that, it's quirky.

Which band do you wish would get back together?
Busted. Actual Busted. And I loved Fightstar and really liked Charlie [Simpson's] solo project but I feel like everyone wants it to happen. Everyone wants them all to get back together, even if it's just for one tour. God knows it won't hurt any of their pockets and it'll be fun! It's been ten years since they released their last album - it'll be like them getting back together and being mates again. I don't technically see the problem.

On X "Don't" has got the most attention so far [featuring Sheeran describing an ex in the music industry]. Has the reaction surprised you?
I knew it would get the reaction. The one thing that's upset me and I should have known it was coming - I feel like it's one of the best songs I've written musically and all the focus is on the story. Which I knew was going to happen but I like the song. I don't want it to be remembered because there was a news story about it. I want it to be remembered because it's a good tune.

Has the person in question heard it?
I'm not sure. I hear things - but I'm not sure.

Have you ever stolen anything?
Before Nando's put Nando's sauces in big supermarkets I stole one of the big bottles. I put it in my bag, got on the tube, the bottle smashed, covered my whole bag in extra hot sauce. Karma basically happened. 

What is your drink of choice?
I start the night with a Jagerbomb. Espresso Martinis are the way to end the night because you can just carry on. They are wicked. I only discovered them when we were in Berlin doing The Hobbit premiere. Loads of the actors were on them - I was up until 8am in the morning. I had seven or eight of them. It's better than doing coke. I think coke would be more damaging.

What was the best record in your parent's collection?
I really liked Irish Heartbeat, a Van Morrison album. Just because it was the only album we had in the car and we used to listen to it all of the time. That, Rubber Soul, The Times They Are A-Changin' and my dad introduced me to David Gray's White Ladder. That was on repeat for a while.

Describe the way you dance.
It depends what state I'm in. If I've drunk quite a lot it's just a lot of hand movements and shouting.

Have you worked out how to behave if your song comes on in a club?
I've got to be honest I usually walk out. I find it really embarrassing because they're looking at you like "Hey!" and you're feeling "Oh no, this is really awkward."

What's the worst thing a critic has ever said about you?
That I was a "twelve bore shitgun". He actually reviewed the new single very positively though - he just hated the first album. I think I got maybe two good main press reviews for the first album. The rest were mixed, if not bad. And that album sold five million copies. So I don't know if it matters - but that "twelve bore shitgun" thing was a quotable I'd like to have put on the poster.

If all the people on your twitter feed met up - say Arg from TOWIE, Ty Dolla $ign, Ricky Gervais and Courtney Cox - do you think they would all get along?
Yes because they're all sound people. I expected Ricky Gervais to rip into me when he met me just because of the character I see of him presenting Golden Globes. I was expecting he was going to have a pop. But he was so friendly - a proper gentleman and it kind of threw me a little. He's definitely safe. Ty Dolla $ign definitely safe, Courtney Cox definitely safe. I haven't met Arg but he seems really sound…

Do you get chatted up a lot?
If I do I don't notice it. Sometimes I clock it but I don't know. Going to school with ginger hair is obviously not the most attractive thing for a young person. I guess you grow into it or whatever - Prince Harry: killed it. But I guess that threw my perception of whether women were interested or not because they never were.

What's an Ed Sheeran groupie like?
That's one thing I've never done. I've always stayed friends of friends. People I know of or know. I think that's the safest way.

What would "Ed Sheeran: The Fragrance" smell like?
Stale beer, cigarettes and shame. You can imagine that on the advert!  I wear Paco Rabanne Million which actually smells alright - if you looked at me in a picture you'd think he doesn't look like he smells that nice. But I'm a clean freak, I shower twice a day and I carry around hand sanitizer… but my overall look is dishevelled because I mess my hair up and don't really shave. So if I had a fragrance, it's not going to sell. Usher looks like he smells alright, you know?

According to New York magazine, Taylor Swift has a framed picture of Kanye West at the MTV Awards in her apartment with the motto "Life is full of little interruptions". Anything else strange you've seen there?
Really? I've never seen that and I've been to her Nashville place. That would seem like something I would remember as it's quite funny. What I find strange is that if I'd won a Grammy I'd have it placed pristinely on a shelf with loads of lights with underneath written "Grammy Motherf***er" or something like that. Whereas she's won so many there's one chilling in the toilet on a little ledge, there's one in the kitchen and there's one in the living room. There's Grammys scattered everywhere. I find that really cool. If I'd won as much as that, I'd scatter them everywhere.

When you read stuff about Taylor, is there something people specifically get wrong?
I think being a female in the public spotlight, not even just the music industry, whenever you're pictured with a boy or there's talk of you being with a boy it instantly means you've been with them romantically if not sexually. That's the biggest misconception with Taylor. She's a good girl, in ever sense. She's great - I'd say 0.01 per cent of the stories written about her are actually true.

What's your hangover cure?
It was my girlfriend's birthday the other day and I rented five three week old pug puppies. We were hungover the night before. We woke up at 1pm, at 2pm these puppies showed up and just fell asleep on the bed. That's the best hangover cure.

What's your karaoke song - by any chance is it "Everytime" by Britney Spears?
No that's the song that's always in my head. It just won't go - that song is always there, it will never leave. I went to do karaoke the other day and I sang "Pony" by Ginuwine.

What is the most ridiculous business proposal you've had?
I haven't had many. My mate asked me if I wanted to go into business with him in a coffee shop but he's never come back to me about that. I've only ever done one advert. I've stayed well clear of stuff I don't do myself. We got offered a games console advert for a hell of a lot of money and I don't play games. The concept was me sitting in a room playing the game with my mates and I don't do that - whereas I do use Beats headphones, even before the [ad], so that did feel like something I could do. I haven't had any weird business proposals - you'd think I would! Maybe people just don't think I'm that business savvy. Someone wanted me to invest in a charity app where you do a concert for them and people can bid to watch the concert. But then the app takes 30 per cent. I was like "I'd prefer for the charity to have all of it."

What musical trend needs to die out?
I quite like all the musical trends because they go in and out. Even something like EDM which I wasn't a big fan of to begin with. The first EDM song that I loved was Calvin Harris "I'm Not Alone". As soon as Martin Garrix and Avicii started doing stuff that's when I really started digging it. Dubstep in pop songs - that was a short lived trend. When it was coming from the right place and the right producers it was great. If Skream made a pop song or like when Benga did Katy B it was wicked. But not when Joe Bloggs who is signed to Joe Bloggs publishing gets asked to do a song for Joe Bloggs pop band and he goes "I'm going to put on a dubstep wob and see how it goes"…

You realise the Mail Online will now lead with "Ed Sheeran slams Joe Bloggs".
I've got to be careful. People make a story out of anything these days.

Originally published on GQ.co.uk in June 2014. Read the original here.