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Sheeran's road to Wembley in 'Jumpers For Goalposts'
Dream concert: Britainâs biggest-selling artist, Ed Sheeran, performs in front of 80,000 people without a backing band at Londonâs Wembley Stadium as seen in the concert film Ed Sheeran: Jumpers for Goalposts
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Dream concert: Britainâs biggest-selling artist, Ed Sheeran, performs in front of 80,000 people without a backing band at Londonâs Wembley Stadium as seen in the concert film Ed Sheeran: Jumpers for Goalposts.(Courtesy of JA Digital) (Courtesy of JA Digital)
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span class="inline inline-center">Dream concert: Britain's biggest-selling artist, Ed Sheeran, performs in front of 80,000 people without a backing band at London's Wembley Stadium as seen in the concert film Ed Sheeran: Jumpers for Goalposts.(Courtesy of JA Digital)
English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran is, undeniably, one of the best talents of today's generation.
In July, Britain's biggest-selling artist, Ed Sheeran, rocked London's Wembley Stadium as he performed in front of 80,000 people without a backing band, only with his acoustic guitar and loop pedal.
His three-night concerts ' biggest in his music journey so far ' were recorded for the Jumpers For Goalposts concert film.
The film compiles the concerts' best moments, complete with backstage stories and testimony from those closest to him about Sheeran's rise to success from his early days.
The 98-minute film begins with Sheeran's preparation for the concerts, showing his anxiety over his first huge act.
Wearing a blue checkered shirt, Sheeran, who won as best male solo artists and for album of the year in the Brit Awards 2015 and has received several Grammy nominations, makes his entrance onto the stage, which is immediately welcomed by loud screams from the arena as he sings his first song, 'I'm A Mess', that was taken from his second studio album, X (pronounced: multiply).
He continues with 'Lego House' from his debut album, +, before he explains to the audience about what he does on the stage during concert.
'I got a complaint from my previous show in Canada. Someone wanted their money back because they thought that I have a secret band and backing track that the crowd couldn't see,' he said.
But he made assurances that all of the sounds are produced by his voice, guitar and the loop pedal that can record and repeat the sounds that he has made.
The live footage of his concert is intercut with the story of Sheeran who worked his way up to Wembley, which is considered as the highest landmark in the English concert music scene.
Sheeran says that although he loves the intimacy with the audience when he performs in smaller venues, Wembley has always been his ambition.
The film interviews his manager who has been with Sheeran since day one, his guitar technician and other crewmembers who all agree that the 24-year-old is still the same old guy as he was before.
And for them, Wembley is not just Sheeran's biggest achievement, but also theirs.
The film also presents footage of the X worldwide tours with some amusing scenes of Sheeran performing in an Indian kurta, or how he gets away from fans who mobbed him in an airport and how he greets his fans from his hotel room.
The special performance of Sir Elton John, who joined him on the stage to sing a rendition of John's 'Don't Go Breaking My Heart', is one of the film's highlights.
Sheeran then shows his vocal power again as he sings 'Afire Love' to the tunes of John's piano notes. The emotional song is his dedication to his grandfather who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.
When 'Thinking Out Loud' comes out, the crowd instantly sings along, turning the stadium into a big romantic hall with many couples slow dancing to the song, while some men are captured on camera proposing to their girlfriends.
'Thinking Out Loud' is the first single in history to spend one full year on the UK music charts as of June this year. It also becomes the most streamed single in the UK.
Another highlight of the film is when Sheeran shows off his skill to turn the stadium into a huge dance floor as he plays 'You Need Me, I Don't Need You' only with his guitar and a bit of mouth boombox.
Technically, Jumpers is filmed like most concert films have been, switching from stage performances to behind-the-stage stories.
Throughout the concert, it is amusing to see the audience behavior. It is interesting to watch as they allow the audience, especially fans who couldn't catch up on his concerts, to get close-up views while being able to see some of his personal sides.
For his fans in town, better to catch the movie before it's gone from theaters. Jumpers is being screened in 15 cinemas in Jakarta, Bandung, Bekasi, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Palembang, Banjarmasin, Manado and Makassar from Oct. 23 to 25.
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Ed Sheeran: Jumpers for Goalposts (JA Digital; 98 minutes)
Director: Paul Dugdale
Producer: Stefan Demetriou, Julie Jakobek, Jim Parsons
Cast: Ed Sheeran
