Ipswich (United Kingdom) (AFP)

The underrated town of Ipswich, in Suffolk (East of England), celebrates Ed Sheeran, the former local kid turned pop star, in an exhibition depicting the 28-year-old British singer's blazing career.

At the age of 14, Ed Sheeran made his first concert in Framlingham, about 100 kilometers north of London, in front of about thirty people. Fourteen years later, he returns to the region with four concerts this week in Ipswich, the capital of Suffolk, closing a two-year international tour during which he performed in front of nearly 9 million people.

A few days before his return to the country, an exhibition called "Made in Suffolk", retraces from Tuesday the course of the composer and performer of the global success "Shape of You" (2017) whose fortune is estimated at 160 million pounds .

It shows his determination to break into the music and the unfailing support of his parents, who sold the products during his concerts.

In a video montage compiling images from his first months to adulthood, we see the young boy with round hair and red hair trying on the piano, the drums and of course the guitar, always a slight smile floating on the lips.

- Intimate Ed -

Collégien, Edward Christopher Sheeran participates in the choir and plays the cello in his school's band in Framlingham, also animating the evenings of his classmates. He also plays in the street, guitar case placed in front of him to collect some coins, as shown in a photo taken in Galway, Ireland. He is only 13 years old.

Ian Johnson, who spotted Ed Sheeran when he was 16 and helped him break through, remembers being "very impressed by the ease with which he exchanged with the public" from that age, says he to AFP.

His career has flown from his first album, "+", released in 2011. Follow a slew of hits (Do not, Thinking Out Loud, Castle On The Hill) and awards including four Grammy awards.

The exhibition features both the superstar, immortalized by photographer Mark Surridge, inflaming the crowds at concerts in Germany, Australia or the United States, but also a more private side of the singer, with family memories in support.

A bronze sculpture representing Ed and his brother, children, hugging, is on display, as well as several drawings including a self-portrait inspired by Andy Warhol, in orange and black, his favorite colors.

A series of portraits made by the painter Colin Davidson, for which posed Queen Elizabeth II, show a "more intimate Ed, the Ed that can be seen when he does not realize that there is someone 'other in the room', describes the painter to AFP. "I like to think that this is the state of mind in which he is when he creates or writes his songs," he adds.

- A "humble" guy -

Among the masterpieces of this free exhibition organized until the spring of 2020 are two of his guitars, one of which he named "Cyril" and with which he played more than 300 concerts in 2009. Also on show is a puppet with his effigy, used in the clip of the song "Sing".

In Ipswich, the superstar acts as hero. In the city center, the Swan pub sells postcards and other by-products and even keeps a bottle of ketchup "just in case Ed comes" in a Plexiglas box, the star being, it seems, fond of it.

For the singer Barny Holmes, who was making oxen with him about ten years ago, the success of Ed Sheeran is explained in part because "everyone can identify" with this young man "humble" , he told AFP after a concert in this pub.

"We do not expect this adorable guy to have so much presence and talent so I think that's why he's inspired so many people, it's the Ed Sheeran + effect."

© 2019 AFP