Ed Sheeran - 'Visiting Hours' Single Review

There wasn't a dry eye in the house as Ed Sheeran performed a newly composed song for his dearly departed friend Michael Gudinski yesterday evening (24th March).

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran touched down in Australia on 15th March in order to play at the state funeral of his dear friend, Michael Gudinski, an Australian entrepreneur and businessman, who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry, having quarantined for several weeks with his wife, Cherry Seaborn and their new baby daughter, Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran, to ensure that their visit would not interfere with coronavirus restrictions in Australia, or indeed, the UK.

Taylor Swift, Billy Joel and Elton John were among a host of stars who led tributes at the memorial service. The memorial service was held on Wednesday night at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

Sheeran opened with one of the double lead singles from his last studio album, entitled '÷', (pronounced divide). Castle On The Hill went down a hit, as it always does when played live, despite the sombre occasion. He then followed the single with The A Team, a song which appeared on his first studio album, released in 2011, '+' (pronounced 'plus', finishing with the incredibly emotional ballad which he had penned in his isolation upon arriving in Australia, entitled 'Visiting Hours'. The song was incredibly heartfelt, and brought tears to all in the arena, not least to Sheeran on stage, who looked as if he was about to break down in the middle of his gorgeous song. It took a collaboration with Kylie Minogue on her 1987 hit, 'The Loco-Motion' to dry the tears of all present.

As yet, it is unclear whether 'Visiting Hours' will appear on Sheeran's teased upcoming album.

Visiting Hours is a song that I can deeply relate to. My dad died of pancreatic cancer when I was ten, and until now, I have never found a song that so perfectly encompasses the kind of pain which I felt then, and still do now. One of the wonderful, magical things about Ed Sheeran as a songwriter is that time and time again, he somehow finds the words which fit so perfectly to what people are feeling inside, and he has does it here again. The song is so beautiful and heartfelt that it is almost too personal to be heard by the public, and I seriously doubt that it will ever appear on an album; this is the sort of song that you play in your bluest hours, and not everytime you spin the record or need something to walk to the corner shop to.

Ed Sheeran has once again gone above and beyond in his songwriting, perfectly encompassing all of the emotions and thoughts that come with losing a loved one. He has put those feelings into a gorgeous ballad, one that is so raw and emotional that I could not bare to listen to it more than a few times. I cried, Ed cried, and a lot of other people have too, judging by how Twitter and Instagram looked last night as he played it.