Ed Sheeran free Ipswich gig prompts guitar sales surge at local shop

Ed Sheeran posed with Matt, Stacey and John Fender after buying a guitar at Music World in Ipswich

The shop where Ed Sheeran announced to his 40 million Instagram followers that he was about to play an impromptu gig said it had a "really busy week" after the star bought his guitar there.

Sheeran rocked up at Music World in Ipswich and spent an hour in the shop choosing a guitar and amp for the gig on the town's Cornhill on 7 October.

Owner John Fender shut up shop early and walked to the site with Sheeran.

He said since the gig, trade was up and "lots" of guitars had been sold.

Ipswich Town fan Sheeran grew up in Framlingham in Suffolk and still has a home there.

Although his team had been in touch with Music World to tell them the singer would be turning up, Mr Fender said staff "just couldn't believe it" when he actually showed up.

"It was absolutely brilliant, we were all excited to see him and he spent an hour with us in the shop, chatting and trying gear," he said.

"He gave a lot of his time and he talked about his affection for the town, how much he loved Ipswich, and music, and it was always a plan to get a guitar and then to inspire a younger kid with it."

Once Sheeran had chosen his guitar, he signed a few others in the shop, as well as the store's wall, on which he wrote: "The world's best music shop 2022."

Sheeran - who had visited the shop with his mum as a young teenager - was keen for people to know how much he admired the store

Ed Sheeran did an impromptu gig in the centre of Ipswich

Ed Sheeran said he hoped people would show up - and they did

Mr Fender, his wife Stacey, and brother Matt walked to the Cornhill with Sheeran.

"We literally left with him and we locked the shop - we weren't going to miss that," Mr Fender said.

"When we got up there, we were the only ones - us, Ed, a couple of his crew.

"He just started opening the guitar case up and said, 'I hope a few people come' - and then after the first song, it just started building and building."

At the end of the gig, Ed gave the guitar and amp he had just purchased to a 10-year-old boy, who had abandoned his own guitar lesson that afternoon to watch Ed play.

"When [Sheeran] announced the gig, he was in the shop on his Instagram account, to 40 million people telling them that he was in Music World in Ipswich," Mr Fender said.

Sheeran posted about the free gig from the shop, on his Instagram account

Since then, "it's been a really busy week", he said.

Both the town and the shop were "buzzing" on the Saturday after the gig, and sales of guitars have since gone up by about 20 or 30 "above what we normally sell", he said.

Sheeran took a selfie while shopping for the new guitar

He noticed many of those sales were to children a similar age to the boy Sheeran gave the guitar to.

"It encourages music - it's so important at the moment - we all need a bit of cheer and some good news and positive vibes," said Mr Fender.

"It was a special moment - really good."