ED Sheeran surprised fans in a small Scottish town today when he popped into a pub ahead of the its annual Hogmanay Festival.
The pop superstar, 28, revealed he was taking another break from music and social media on Christmas Eve after his record breaking Divide album and tour.
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And he’s now appeared days later in Aberfeldy’s Black Watch bar where he took selfies and enjoyed a drink before cheering on his singer pal Foy Vance, 45, at tonight’s festival.
A source said: “It was really low key. He blended in really well for someone so recognisable and famous.
“He was happy to have his picture taken and just sat down and had a few beers.”
The town is home to Harry Potter author JK Rowling who is also said to be throwing a star-studded bash tonight.
Just days ago Ed was pictured pushing luggage at Heathrow airport alongside wife Cherry.
In a farewell message to fans on Christmas Eve, Ed wrote: “Hello all. Gonna go on another break again.
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“The Divide era and tour changed my life in so many ways, but now it’s all over it’s time to go out and see some more of the world.”
The Shape Of You singer continued: “I’ve been a bit non stop since 2017 so I’m just gonna take a breather to travel, write and read. I’ll be off all social media until it’s time to come back.
“To my family and friends, see ya when I see ya – and to my fans, thank you for always being amazing, I promise to be back with some new music when the time is right and I’ve lived a little more to actually have something to write about”.
His decision came after The Sun revealed he paid himself a staggering £73.4million this year in earnings from his Divide tour.
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To put that in context, it’s £201,000 a day.
It is an enormous increase on the £17.1million he paid himself last year and means he has trousered more than £90million in total from the international tour.
Details of the windfall are laid out in accounts for his company, Nathan Cable Touring LLP.
It turned over £114million in the 12 months to the end of March this year and £70million the previous year.
The huge amount of cash generated meant there was more than enough for Ed to take out the massive payment.
The Divide tour has taken more than £607million in total — dwarfing the turnover by global superstar rivals such as Taylor Swift. And because Ed plays unaccompanied, his costs are a fraction of those of other performers and bands.
It means he can keep huge amounts of money that others spend on overheads.
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The singer signed off the paperwork for the accounts at the weekend, revealing that nearly £100million was earned in Europe.
The Divide tour took in 260 dates, starting in March 2017 in Turin, Italy, and ending in August this year with Ed’s homecoming gigs in Ipswich.
It is the highest-grossing tour ever.
