Ed Sheeran 'Unplugged' On Bengaluru Streets: Karnataka Home Minister Justifies Police Action, Says 'They Prevented Chaos'

Bengaluru Police on Sunday morning halted British musician Ed Sheeran's live street performance in the city, citing lack of permission by the popular singer-songwriter. Later, Sheeran said he and his team had the permission "to busk" and that they didn't turn up "randomly" at the spot.

Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara said in the matter, “No, we have permitted him to perform in the International Exhibition Centre but all of a sudden, he started performing at Church Street. He is a very famous singer, naturally, there will be a lot of people and there will be chaos. Police prevented it. Nothing beyond that.”

Ed Sheeran unplugged: What happened with the Grammy winner in Bengaluru

On Sunday, police pulled the plug on the gig, which was being held at Church Street, when the Grammy winner was midway into the performance of his chartbuster Shape of You. A cop came in and unplugged the singer's console, prompting him to stop. The video went viral on social media and Sheraan claimed to have permission for the street jamming session. While a section of social media users were unhappy about the outcome, Bangalore Central MP PC Mohan said rules are the same for everyone.

A senior police official of the Cubbon Park police station said Sheeran was performing "without any permission so they had to stop". "The police got there because someone had complained of public nuisance," he told PTI, adding if the musician and his team had the permit they could have shown it to the cops. Church Street is a busy area in Bengaluru known for its nightlife and cultural events.

Ed Sheeran collaborates with Shilpa Rao, AR Rahman on India tour

During his second Bengaluru jam session, Ed Sheeran jammed on the popular Telugu song Chuttamalle with Indian singer Shilpa Rao at his Bengaluru concert. 

At his Chennai show, the singer-songwriter was joined by music maestro AR Rahman where they sang a mash-up of Shape Of You x Urvasi Urvasi receiving loud cheers from the audience. Sheeran will conclude his tour in India on February 15 with his performance in Delhi. He is currently on the India leg of his Mathematics (+-=÷x) Tour, which began on January 30 in Pune.