Ed Sheeran jets to Australia to perform at friend Michael Gudinski’s state funeral in Melbourne
Ed Sheeran is self-isolating in Australia and preparing to perform at the state funeral of his friend Michael Gudinski – the legendary Australian music executive who helped him break the record for most tickets sold for a single concert tour in 2018.
Gudinski, the founder of Mushroom Records and Frontier Touring, died unexpectedly on Monday, March 1. He was 68.
He shared a close friendship with Sheeran, having promoted the singer’s highly successful Australasian tour three years ago, which saw more than a million tickets sold, shattering the previous record set by Dire Straits in 1986.
Sheeran, 30, is believed to have quietly flown into the country days ago and is now quarantining at a private estate in Byron Bay.
He will travel to Melbourne for Gudinski’s state memorial on March 24.
Performance: Ed Sheeran (left) is self-isolating in Australia and preparing to perform at the state funeral of his friend Michael Gudinski (right) – the legendary Australian music executive who helped him break the record for most tickets sold for a single concert tour in 2018
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Sheeran’s manager, Stuart Camp, for comment.
Sheeran had paid tribute to Gudinski in a lengthy Instagram post on March 5, and described the late Mushroom Group boss as a ‘father figure and a mentor’.
He said Gudinski was a ‘tornado of joy’ and that it was ‘hard to put into words’ the impact the promoter had on him.
Gone, but not forgotten: Gudinski, the founder of Mushroom Records and Frontier Touring, died unexpectedly on the night of Monday, March 1. He was 68
‘Michael was a tornado of joy. You would know he arrived in the building just by hearing the chaotic bark of his, and you could feel the room get excited about the arrival of his presence,’ he said.
‘He was such a force and would make everyone feel like they were the most important person to him.
‘He had a way with words, that most people couldn’t understand. We always joked he needed a translator because of the pure speed in which he would talk in a thick growling Aussie accent. But his passion was always the thing you never needed translating, as you could feel it whenever he spoke.’
He added: ‘To me, and many others, he is the heart of Australian music, and always will be.
‘We were, first and foremost, friends. He was a father figure and mentor to me, but also we enjoyed the peaks of our touring career together in 2018, breaking the record for most tickets sold in Australia.’
More to come.