WATCH | Bengaluru cops stop singer Ed Sheeran's surprise performance on Church Street

CHENNAI: British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who is currently on his Mathematics +–=÷x tour in India, was in for a surprise when the police stopped him during his surprise street performance at a pavement on Church Street in Bengaluru.

In a viral clip, Sheeran can be seen arriving with his security personnel at the venue when he was greeted by cheering onlookers. "We were going to play more than one song but we're being asked to play one song," he said on the microphone, before he started strumming the prelude of "Shape of You" on his guitar.

Just before he could finish the refrain of the song, a policeman stepped in and pulled the cables attached to the microphone and musical instruments.

Another video from a different angle shows an unidentified person attempting to explain and intervene, but the officer proceeds to unplug the wires.

While Ed’s team claimed that they had obtained prior permission to perform on the street for a few minutes, the police have denied this, according to reports.

A senior police official of the Cubbon Park police station told news agency PTI that Sheeran was performing "without any permission so they had to stop" and that someone had complained of public nuisance, adding if the musician and his team had the permit they could have shown it to the cops.

Sheeran is on a six-city concert tour across India. His performance in Chennai on February 5 featuring a special appearance by renowned composer-singer AR Rahman had delighted local audiences.

The singer had performed in Bengaluru on February 8 at the NICE grounds. There is another concert of his in the city today.

The last two concerts are in Shillong (February 12) and in Delhi NCR (February 15).

(With PTI inputs)