The first time we got to meet Ed was in November 2011 – shortly after his appearance at the Olympia for Arthur’s Day – when Celina Murphy met him in the penthouse of the Morrison.
"He wasn’t huge at the time," she recalls. “Certainly not as big as he’s become. But I was walking towards the interview, and there was a busker playing one of his songs. You could tell things were about to kick off.
“I had seen him play an interesting show; he would play rap songs, talking about smoking weed, and then play the lovely ballads that we all got to know from the radio. I was wondering which side was real; is he a rough-around-the-edges rapscallion, or is he an adorable, sweet boy-next-door? Somehow, he seemed to be both. He’ll swear, and tell stories that aren’t necessarily what everyone wants to hear, yet mums still love him!”
You can check out the full interview here.
The chinwag followed on from Ms. Murphy's review the previous month of +, which she afforded three out of five stars.