Ed Sheeran fell off a friend’s bike and made the headlines back in October, days before we were due to meet. Some speculated that he was drunk, off his head, riding dangerously; others that he was hit by a car. The truth turned out to be quite banal: it was a borrowed bike he wasn’t used to and he under­estimated how fierce the brakes were. He broke an elbow, a rib and a wrist.

It’s a classic Sheeran move: going fast and not knowing how to stop. But he turns up for our chat, the soldier, with a heart-­decorated black cast and scratches on his face. Is he OK? “I’ll heal,” he says, shrugging. He is only annoyed about the paparazzi outside his home —