Ed Sheeran has revealed an incident in which he got ‘hammered’ and ‘cracked Justin Bieber right in the cheek with a golf club’.

Sheeran, who famously wrote Bieber’s hit ‘Love Yourself’, is set to release his third album ‘÷’ tomorrow. Speaking to The Guardian, he told the story of how a trip to Japan took a rather unfortunate turn.

“We’d been out to a dive bar. He just drank water and I got hammered,” recalled Sheeran. “Then we went to a golf course, and he lay on the floor and put a golf ball in his mouth and told me to hit it out of his mouth. I was like, ‘Fuck, I need to aim this properly,’ and I swung. And you know in films when someone gets punched, and you hear that fake sound, like a slap? But in real life when someone gets punched, you hear that dull thud, a bit sickening? I heard a sound like the last one, and saw his security guard looking at me like…


Sheeran added: “I’d cracked Justin Bieber right in the cheek with a golf club. That was,” he concludes, “one of those ‘What the fuck?’ moments.”

Dave Benett/WireImage

Browse Ed Sheeran Merch in the NME Store.

After appearing with Stormzy for a huge performance at the Brit Awards 2017, Sheeran remains a favourite to headline Glastonbury this summer alongside Radiohead and Foo Fighters.

Pick up this week’s free NME for our cover story – ‘Everything You Need To Know About Ed Sheeran’

In this week's free magazine: Super Ed Sheeran – 50 things you never knew about music's all-conquering boy wonder. Out Friday. Find your nearest stockist > http://trib.al/8iRSRON Posted by NME on Wednesday, March 1, 2017


Meanwhile, his upcoming UK and Ireland tour dates are below. Tickets are on sale here.

London, Royal Albert Hall (March 28)

Dublin, 3 Arena (April 12, 13)

Glasgow, The SSE Hydro (16, 17)

Newcastle, Metro Radio Arena (19, 20)

Manchester, Arena (22, 23)

Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena (25, 26)

Birmingham, Barclaycard Arena (28, 29)

London, The O2 (May 1, 2)