Police pull plug as Sheeran busks before show in India

After selling millions of albums and winning four Grammys, Ed Sheeran has come a long way from playing to commuters at tube stations.

- Rachel Hall

But the world's most famous busker was stopped from performing on an Indian street corner on Sunday after police pulled the plug on him.

The songwriter was singing the hit single Shape of You on a pavement in the southern city of Bengaluru before his concert on Sunday night. But a viral video clip shows a police officer walking up to Sheeran and unplugging the microphone, as onlookers jeer. A dismayed Sheeran then puts down his guitar and walks off.

Police said event organisers had been refused permission for the street performance, which was in one of the busiest areas of Bengaluru.

The city, which has a population of 12 million, is notorious for its heavy traffic. A Bengaluru police official, Shekar T Tekkannanavar, told the news agency ANI: "I refused to give permission because Church Street gets very crowded. That is the reason he was asked to vacate the place."