Ed Sheeran's first demo was recorded years ago, and now it's been sold in a prestigious auction for $80,000! As People shares, Sheeran made the self-released CD— titled Spinning Man— while he was still in school, and hand sold copies of it locally!
Sheeran recorded Spinning Man back in 2005
Sheeran wrote and recorded Spinning Man in 2005, back when he attended Thomas Mills School in Framlingham, Suffolk. Nine of the songs on the demo have never been released, but that's not the only reason people were willing to pay $80,000 for it! Omega Auctions' Karen Fairweather told People what makes this particular item so special.
"It was the very first demo tape that he did, and he sold them at school for £5 ($6) each," she shared. And since the auction house— which is based out of Lancaster, England— estimated the CD would go for between £5,000 and £10,000, Fairweather said they were "completely blown away" when it sold for a whopping £50,000! The winning bidder placed their bid by telephone, and Fairweather intends to keep their identity private.
Sheeran "probably embarrassed" by his first demo CD
Sheeran attempted to recover as many copies of Spinning Man as he could after gaining international success. "When he became famous, I think he tried to get them all back," she explained. "According to Ed there were around 20 of them and he's quoted as saying that he's now got 19."
"But I think there's a couple more still out there somewhere," Fairweather continued. "Five tracks were released a few years later, so of the 14 tracks, there's nine that have never been heard. That's why it's such an interesting piece." As for why Sheeran was trying to take the CD out of circulation, Fairweather has her thoughts.
Give it a listen!
"Ed didn't want it to come out because he's probably embarrassed by it. But it's actually a really good effort for a 12-13-year-old schoolboy," she said. "Considering his age, it's really very good. It's very different from his music now though — it's very rocky and heavier."
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Sheeran calls music "a direct line to my thoughts and feelings"
Sheeran credits his "inspiration" as being "Damien Rice, Eric Clapton and Jimmy H" inside the demo's cover, which notes that he created the entire album himself. It also contains a segment dedicated to thanking various people in his life, as well as a personal message. "Songwriting and playing the guitar are like having a direct line to my thoughts and feelings," the singer wrote inside his Spinning Man CD.
"Everyone has strong feelings whatever their age. We can all feel love, joy, longing, pain and hate," he continued. "I hope young people can get into my stuff and find something which they can identify with." Given Sheeran's popularity today, it's safe to say he's succeeded in creating music that young people (and people of all ages!) can connect with!
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How well did you score?!
Bonnie Wright, who plays "Ginny Weasley", was in a relationship with the actor playing which character?
