Speaking to Rolling Stone before the four-part series release date in May, the singer revealed he vowed to quit drugs after the death of his best friend Jamal Edwards.
The A Team singer, 32, was so shattered by death of music producer Edwards – who died aged 31 in February last year after a cardiac arrest brought on by cocaine and alcohol – he said he decided never to “touch (drugs) again”.
Speaking to the magazine he said: “I would never, ever, ever touch anything again, because that’s how Jamal died. And that’s just disrespectful to his memory to even, like, go near.”
Ed Sheeran and his late friend Jamal Edwards. Photo / Instagram
Sheeran also opened up about falling into drug use: “I remember just being at a festival and being like, ‘Well, if all of my friends do it, it can’t be that bad.’
”And then sort of dabbling. And then it just turns into a habit that you do once a week and then once a day and then, like, twice a day and then, like, without booze. It just became bad vibes.”
Sheeran, who has daughters Lyra, two, and 10 month old Jupiter with his 30-year-old wife Cherry Seaborn, also said he stopped drinking hard liquor as he never wanted to be “p***ed” and holding one of his kids before adding that his decision to stop taking drugs and drinking hard liquor was also due to a wake-up call from his partner.
“I was always a drinker. I didn’t touch any sort of like, drug, until I was 24. Two months before Lyra was born, Cherry said, ‘If my waters break, do you really want someone else to drive me to the hospital?’ Because I was just drinking a lot. And that’s when it clicked. I was like, ‘No, actually, I really don’t.’ And I don’t ever want to be p***ed holding my kid. Ever, ever.
“Having a couple of beers is one thing. But having a bottle of vodka is another thing. It’s just a realization of, ‘I’m getting into my thirties. Grow up! You’ve partied, you’ve had this experience. Be happy with that and just be done.’
”I love red wine, and I love beer. I don’t know any old rockers that aren’t alcoholics or sober, and I didn’t want to be either.”
Sheeran is expected to open up about the death of his friend, Edwards, in his new Disney + docuseries that will be released globally on May 3.
Ed Sheeran and wife Cherry Seaborn. Photo / Instagram
He announced the project with a post on Instagram saying he’s ready to “let fans in” with the series set to include footage from Sheeran’s teenage years and how he and Edwards used the internet to launch his career, as well as the love story between the singer and his wife - including Seaborn’s receiving “life-altering news”.
The second episode, Loss, includes footage of Sheeran’s Divide tour and shines a spotlight on his close network of childhood friends, as well as his struggles following Edwards’ shock death last year.
In the third episode, Focus, Seaborn worries Sheeran - who also has Lyra, 2, with his wife - is throwing himself into work as a distraction from his grief over Edwards as the programme shows him giving his upcoming new album - his all.
The final episode sees the couple reflect on how they manage the challenges of juggling their family when they spend so much time apart, with the Castle on the Hill hitmaker in the US promoting his tour, as well as looking towards the future with a new outlook on life.
Ed Sheeran: The Sum Of It All is available to stream on Disney + on May 3.
