Ed Sheeran's Lawsuit Revelation: 'Old Phone' Inspiration and Australian Love
Ed Sheeran reveals how a copyright lawsuit and revisiting an old phone led to a deeply personal song during his Sydney show on the Loop Tour.
Ed Sheeran kicked off the Sydney leg of his Loop Tour on Friday, February 14th, captivating a crowd of 70,000 fans at Accor Stadium. During the show, he shared a surprising story about how a copyright lawsuit unexpectedly inspired one of his most personal songs.
Addressing the audience, Sheeran opened up about the $100 million copyright lawsuit filed in 2015, which alleged that his 2014 hit “Thinking Out Loud” copied elements of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On.” After an eight-year legal battle, a New York jury ruled in 2023 that Sheeran did not infringe on Gaye's classic.
Sheeran reflected on the toll the case took and the unusual circumstances it created. He recounted being required to hand over his electronic devices as part of the legal process. "In the last 10 years, if you have seen my name in the news it might be related to a lawsuit – a copyright lawsuit in 2015," he explained. "I got sued for a song by someone else that had said I had stolen their song, and the only thing I could do in that situation, because I hadn’t done it, was take it to court and prove that I hadn’t done it."
He humorously added, “All I’ll say is that I’m glad there’s nothing weird on them, you know.”
Interestingly, Sheeran revealed that he stopped using mobile phones during his 2015 Australian tour. The phone was later rediscovered when it was requested as evidence in court.
"I did a tour down here [in Australia] for Multiply in 2015 and I remember at the end of that tour, I switched that phone off and going, ‘I do not want to use a mobile phone again,’” he said. “I moved to email and I’ve used email since then.”
Powering the phone back on years later proved to be an emotional experience.
"I opened it again for this lawsuit and I switched it on to go through the emails and text messages and that sort of stuff and it was like going through a time machine to right back to 2015. But not only back to 2015 but to 2007, when I started texting on this number," Sheeran shared.
He described feeling “spun out” as he rediscovered old conversations with deceased friends and estranged family members. This experience ultimately inspired “Old Phone,” a track from his 2025 album Play, which he performed for the Sydney crowd.
"I find whenever anything negative happens in my life, I write a song about it and it somehow makes sense of that bad thing that’s happened. And it also works with something good that happens in my life – I write a song about it," he told fans. "Any song you hear of mine is basically like two-minute extremities. Either I feel a lot of this or I feel a lot of this … I find when the bad days happen, good songs come from it."
During the show, Sheeran also expressed his deep affection for Australian audiences. He recalled that Australia was one of the first countries outside the U.K. to embrace his music.
"This is why I love coming back to Australia. When I first came here when I was like 19 or 20, the crowds have always been nuts,” he said. “No matter the occasion, no matter the day, the crowd has always been nuts.”
He added, “Sydney, it feels amazing to be back. If you haven’t lost your voice tomorrow, I haven’t done my job. Australia was the first place I had a hit outside of the UK … so I am super happy to start the tour here. It means a lot and I hope you know that.”
Sheeran is scheduled to perform two more dates in Sydney before taking his tour to Brisbane, Melbourne, and Adelaide.
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