The singer-songwriter gets personal about family life with Cherry and their daughters Lyra, 5, and Jupiter, 3, on 'Play'

A new Ed Sheeran album, Play, is out on Friday. Depending on taste and temperament, you will soon either be cursing the Suffolk minstrel’s hook-laden inescapability or bellowing along at the top of your voice.

Like Sheeran, Drake also finds himself going back in time, in a way. In his new track "Dog House" featuring Yeat and Julia Wolf, the rapper not only rhymes about money, sex and power, but also references the chorus of his Hot 100 10-week No. 1 hit "One Dance" in his verse: "Just like Drizzy said, I just need one dance, baby."

The South-Asian percussion and sitar from Indian artist Arijit Singh combines for the rich sonic backdrop of “Sapphire,” while the first single from “Play,” the chanting “Azizam” (“my beloved”) is rooted in Persian music.

Ed Sheeran has been all over the world. The singer-songwriter—one of the best-selling musicians of all time, with multiple Grammy and BRIT Awards, an Ivor Novello, an Emmy and even an MBE for services to music—has spent the last three and a half years touring the world for his Mathematics Tour.

Ed Sheeran’s new album Play is out tomorrow (September 12). Sheeran is thinking much further into the future than that, though, as per his will, fans will one day have a posthumous album titled Eject. Sheeran talked Apple Music’s Zane Lowe through it in an interview shared yesterday (September 10), saying:

By contrast, A Little More finds Sheeran baring his teeth. Over an ironically jaunty R&B groove he destroys a friend who's exploited their relationship, calling them a "prick" whose hollow apologies belong "in a bin".

He is set to release his eighth album to his adoring fans - but many have only just learned the reason behind their short and simple name. Ed Sheeran's album Play is available from September 12, with it marking a fresh chapter in the singer-songwriter's creative journey.