Ed Sheeran reveals posthumous album ‘Eject’ is in his will

Ed Sheeran has revealed that plans to release a posthumous album, ‘Eject’, are already in his will.

The singer-songwriter released his new studio record, ‘Play’, today (September 12). Following 2023’s ‘Autumn Variations’, it features the singles ‘A Little More’, ‘Azizam’, ‘Old Phone’ and ‘Sapphire’.

During a recent interview for Apple Music 1, Sheeran spoke to Zane Lowe about his vision for his next four LPs: ‘Pause’, ‘Fast Forward’, ‘Rewind’ and ‘Stop’.

When asked if the latter would mark his final full-length release, Sheeran replied: “Well, no. It actually would be ‘Stop’ and then ‘Eject.’ ‘Eject’ is the album in the will. It’s actually in my will, and [wife] Cherry gets to pick the tracks for it. It’s fully in there, if I were to go tomorrow.”

He continued: “My will of wishes is to make a record out of all the songs from the age of 18 [until his death]. So when I pass away, choose the 10 best. Imagine if Paul McCartney dies and there’s early 16-year-old Beatles recordings, and then right up to the 10 best of his entire career.

“Lots of people won’t like that of me, but there’ll be lots of my fans that would find that super-interesting.”

Sheeran said the material would only arrive “after I’m dead”, adding: “You know how posthumous albums come out, but they’re sort of unplanned? I want to sort of make a planned one.

“I’ll talk to Cherry throughout my life, [and be] like, ‘I really like this one’,” he continued. “I don’t want to go, and someone just to jumble up stuff and put it out. I want it to be planned.”

Sheeran went on to say that he would “take a long time” to create ‘Stop’. “I think ‘Rewind’ is sort of self-explanatory,” he told Lowe. “‘Pause’, I dunno – if I take a break, maybe that’ll be a nice one to put out. ‘Fast Forward’ can be anything fucking kooky and futuristic.

“‘Stop’, I feel, has to be kind of the way that Jay-Z did ‘The Black Album’ as if it’s your final [album]. I’m not saying that will be my final album. I think I’ll probably still make music from there, but I think it has to be made with the same level of care and attention. I love ‘The Black Album’ and it’s because he’s like, ‘This is my last thing I’m giving to the world’.”

You can watch the interview in full above.

Sheeran’s next batch of records will follow his collection inspired by mathematical symbols – comprising ‘Plus’, Multiply’, ‘Divide’, ‘Subtract’ and ‘Equals’.

He previously shared his idea for ‘Eject’ earlier this year, but didn’t confirm that it was in his will.

Sheeran recently revealed that he “made ‘Play’ and ‘Rewind’ at the same time”, adding that the latter was almost ready to go. “It’s two months off being totally locked and loaded,” he said.

As for when fans could expect his next record to arrive, Sheeran said: “I guess at some point in the next 18 months it will come out.”

In a three-star review of ‘Play’, NME called the project “a hasty retreat to the genre-spanning of old”. It added: “‘Play’, which apparently kicks off a groan-inducing new series of albums named after buttons on a remote control, just about makes the most of his bag of tricks.”

Earlier this year, Sheeran said ‘Play’ “was made as a direct response to the darkest period of my life”. Talking about its creation, he explained: “Coming out of all of that I just wanted to create joy and technicolour, and explore cultures in the countries I was touring.

“I made this record all over the world, finished it in Goa, India, and had some of the most fun, explorative, creative days of my life.”

Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran has announced a UK and European arena tour for this winter – including shows in Manchester and Dublin.