Support acts announced for Ed Sheeran’s UK and European stadium tour (including The Darkness)

Suffolk gentlemen, unite

Ed Sheeran has announced the support acts for his upcoming 2019 ‘Divide’ tour – with The Darkness set to join him on his UK leg.

Set to kick off in May, the singer-songwriter’s record-breaking tour will roll throughout continental Europe for a run of huge stadium shows, where he’ll be joined by special guests James Bay and Zara Larsson.

However, the somewhat more unlikely act The Darkness will play before Sheeran when the tour culminates at Roundhay Park in Leeds on August 16 and 17 and Ipswich’s Chantry Park between August 23 and 26.

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Ed Sheeran’s 2019 ‘Divide’ tour

The glam-rock veterans took to Twitter to celebrate the news, sharing a photo of frontman Justin Hawkins with “fellow Suffolk gentleman” Sheeran in a pub.

As well as dropping a surprise diss track against Southern Rail, The Darkness released fifth album ‘Pinewood Smile’ in 2017.

“Rock has always had a certain amount of humour attached to it,” guitarist Dan Hawkins told NME. “That’s never changed, has it? We’re a rock band and there aren’t many rock bands left. We’re part of a dying breed. What you’re really asking is ‘is there more of a need for rock?’ Yeah, there always is.

“There’s almost too much of a risk to not take yourself serious these days. It is harder for bands these days.”

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Last year, it was announced that Sheeran’s ‘Divide’ tour had made a staggering $432 million (£341.7 million) after selling an eye-watering 4,860,482 tickets across 53 cities and 94 shows – grossing more for a tour than any other artist in 30 years.

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