BENGALURU: British singer Ed Sheeran's live performance on Church Street was interrupted by the police on Sunday. Although his team claimed they had prior approval and the performance was meant to be brief, authorities disagreed.

In a video of the event, Ed starts off enthusiastically performing his hit "Shape of You." However, after less than a minute, the police intervene, cutting the cables as Ed watches. 

The British singer is currently on his Indian tour, having already performed in Hyderabad and Chennai. During his Chennai concert, he was joined by renowned composer AR Rahman, and the two performed a version of the iconic song "Urvashi." Before the concert, Ed met Rahman and his son, AR Ameen, with Rahman sharing photos of their meeting on Instagram. One photo showed them sitting on a couch, and another captured Rahman at his music console while Sheeran took a picture, with Rahman captioning it "Photos by Ed Sheeran." Ed is scheduled to perform in Karnataka tonight and will continue his tour in Shillong and Delhi NCR.

Later, Ed Sheeran addressed the incident on social media, explaining that he had received prior permission to perform on Church Street. In a message on his Instagram Story, he wrote, “We had permission to busk, by the way. Hence, us playing in that exact spot was planned out before. It wasn’t just us randomly turning up. All good though. See you at the show tonight x (sic).” However, the police stated that permission was requested but not granted.

Ed's concert in Chennai last Thursday became a memorable event when he invited AR Rahman on stage, delighting the crowd. The surprise collaboration featured an impressive mashup of Ed’s “Shape of You” and Rahman’s “Urvashi Urvashi,” with both artists performing together.