British music legend Sir Rod Stewart has said that he doesn’t believe Ed Sheeran’s music will stand the test of time, even going so far as to claim he ‘doesn’t know any of his songs’.
Somehow ‘Shape of You’ and all the other number ones passed him by, apparently.
The rather surprising quote comes from a recent interview with The Times in which he talked about everything from his own music career, politics, collaborating with Jools Holland on a new swing album and his favourite songs of all time.
Highlighting tunes like ‘Uptown Funk’ by Bruno Mars and Prefab Sprout’s ‘Cars and Girls’, he was then asked if he thinks ‘timeless’ songs are still being made. Replying, “You mean like ‘Maggie May’? Songs that’ll be played in 50 years? I like whatshisname… British, really talented and his songs will be around.”
It was at this point that interviewer Jonathan Dean suggested Ed Sheeran, to which the 79-year-old simply responded, “No, not Ed — I don’t know any of his songs, old ginger b***cks. Jesus…”
All right, Rod, tell us how you really feel, why don’t you?
As the article goes on to detail, Stewart then began to sing “I’ll be riding shotgun…” and Dean quickly confirmed that George Ezra was the artist he’d been trying to think of.
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“Yes! I think he writes really tremendous songs”, Rod continues, “He’ll be around for quite a while.”
So, yeah, despite being one of the best-selling British music artists of all time himself, Rod seems to be fairly oblivious to the company he keeps in that bracket, as Ed Sheeran is also just outside of the top 50 best-selling artists of all time (57th) — even in the modern age of streaming.
While Rod Stewart ranks 16th in the charts with an EAS (equivalent album sales) total of 191,663,000, Ed isn’t too far behind him when it comes to the stats on 102.8m. Meanwhile, George Ezra — whether you and Rod might prefer him or not — isn’t in the top 100 and has several less number-one hits.
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Credit: Stephen Lavoie via iRocktographCredit: George Ezra (via YouTube)
Whether Rod Stewart truly doesn’t know any Ed Sheeran tracks or not, it goes without saying that most people do and the Halifax-born singer-songwriter has countless memorable tracks to his name.
‘A-Team’, ‘Thinking Out Loud’, ‘Bad Habits’, ‘Castle on the Hill’ — we could go on but unlike Rod you already now all the others.
What do you reckon, will Ed Sheeran’s music be remembered decades from now and, also, how many people will still remember Rod Stewart’s songs in the years to come?
Harry Styles announced as latest performer at the 2026 BRIT Awards
Danny Jones
Yes, in what is set to be his Co-op Live debut (yes, the venue he’s literally invested in), Harry Styles has been confirmed as the latest blockbuster performer at this year’s BRITs.
The lineup for the 2026 BRIT Awards was already pretty stacked, but this just takes the cake.
Not long after FINALLY announcing his fourth album, Kiss All the Time. Disco, Occasionally and releasing the new lead single, ‘Aperture’, the Cheshire-born singer-songwriter is coming to the Co-op Live arena for the very first time as part of the ceremony’s live music lineup.
Absolute scenes. Screaming, crying, throwing up.
we've got news… Harry's coming home 💋🪩@Harry_Styles will be making his live TV performance debut of music from his new album 'Kiss All The Time. Disco, Occasionally.' at The BRIT Awards 2026
Watch the performance live Saturday 28th February on ITV1 & ITVX in the UK and on… pic.twitter.com/Aax3lV03xM
The 31-year-old former One Direction member turned solo artist and global megastar recently revealed a raft of live shows this coming May (and there’s been plenty of discussion surrounding ticket prices), but he’s sadly overlooked Manchester for now.
However, anyone who already secured a seat at the first-ever BRITs here in Manchester will no doubt be doing cartwheels now following the announcement.
As if that wasn’t a mega enough name, he will be joining the likes of the wonderful, already award-winning and fellow multi-time nominee, Olivia Dean.
As quite literally two of the biggest musicians on the planet right now, we couldn’t pick a better roster if we dreamed it up ourselves.
Speaking of Ms Dean, she is also one of several acts confirmed to be playing a series of intimate acts across the country – and her’s is right here in Manchester.
You can see the full lineup of gigs HERE – all we’ll say is that there’s some seriously big hitters playing very small capacity venues on this list.
What a great few weeks for music, eh?
Taking place on Sunday, 28 February, public tickets for the show unfortunately sold out some time ago for what will also be his first-ever live musical TV performance.
Perhaps his booking is at least partly why we haven’t got a standalone Harry Styles Manchester gig on the ‘Together, Together’ tour, but we’re still keeping everything crossed that he’ll announce a second leg of shows here in the UK.
You’d think he’d fancy properly headlining the gaff he helped pay for, or maybe a return to the Etihad Stadium across the way, right?
Find the complete shortlist of nominees, as well as the rest of the live music lineup for the 2026 BRITs ceremony here in Manchester, down below; and if you see on screen trying to clutch at Harry’s ankles, we’re sure you’ll understand…
Featured Images — Leticia Moraes (via Flickr)/Press shots (supplied)
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Sounds From The Other City releases 2026 lineup with 100+ acts playing on 17 stages across Salford
Emily Sergeant
More than 100 exciting artists are set to perform on 17 stages dotted across Salford this spring.
In case you hadn’t heard, 2026 is the year Salford is celebrating 100 years since it was first declared its own city, and to celebrate such a monumental occasion, the popular Sounds From The Other City (SFTOC) festival has now released its full lineup ahead of its return on the early May Bank Holiday weekend.
Salford’s long-running independent festival of new music is known for its genre-spanning showcase of new artists from across the UK and beyond.
This year’s festival is curated by some of the most exciting promoters, record labels, radio stations, magazines, and tastemakers in the North.
Music lovers will get the chance to see artists in a wide range of independent venues and unconventional spaces across the city – with 17 stages around Chapel Street and The Crescent, from pubs and churches, to concert halls and galleries.
Artists announced today include the uncategorisable masked provocateur Lynks, South African ‘future ghetto funk’ trailblazer Moonchild Sanelly, Manchester-based artist jasmine.4.t, who has recently been named BBC 6 Music Artist of the Year 2025.
Other artists to look out for include Grey Lantern, FaT OuT, ambient pop artist Pollyfromthedirt, genre-straddling South London six-piece, Blue Bendy, South London trio ashnymph, and Manchester quartet Pyncher.
The Sounds From The Other City festival has released its 2026 lineup / Credit: Breige Cobane (Supplied)
One of the undeniable highlights of the lineup is that the spiritual home of the festival, Islington Mill, will be programmed day and night by the legendary Band on the Wall, multi-award-winning Reform Radio, Manchester’s infamous queer day-rave BENT, and the LGBTQ+ POC collective Swagga, with performances from Sorvina, Renee Stormz, and Chimpo.
“This year, we’re shining a spotlight on Salford’s independent venues and the selectors in the North who shape our programme,” commented Emma Thompson, Co-Director of From The Other, as the lineup was announced this week.
“Giving these organisations the space to showcase the artists they champion is vital, not just for discovering emerging talent, but to recognise how important these spaces are for our scene.”
Sounds From The Other City 2026 takes place on Sunday 3 May, and tickets go on sale this week – with Early Bird ticket access available to mailing list subscribers from tomorrow (Thursday 29 January) and the remaining tickets going on general sale from Friday 30 January.
Prices remain unchanged from 2025 with tiers at £30/35/40/45, and you can get tickets when they go live here.
Danny Jones -
13th February 2024 
