How could he possibly be well enough to perform in Bangkok in a little over a month, they asked? The mood become darker as announcements of cancellations of his shows in Taipei, Osaka, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong were made but lifted again when the singer announced he was resuming the tour in Singapore and Malaysia, and yes, he would play Bangkok.

The concert went ahead as planned on Thursday night with a blowout show at Impact Arena, Muang Thong Thani and Thai fans were delighted to see for themselves that his guitar work hadn’t suffered as a result of his injuries.

American new-wave pop singer Lauv opened the show, performing his hits “I Like Me Better” and “The Other” to a colourful backdrop of graphics on the huge screen.

Sheeran attired in his usual simple attire of black T-shirt and jeans appeared on stage at 9.05pm and opened his set with “Castle on the Hill”, a track from his latest album “Divide”. He then greeted fans with a “Sawasdee” and thanked them for coming before evoking childhood memories with the acoustic rap number “Eraser”, which talks about his days of singing in church.

He then invited fans to create a sea of stars with their mobile phones as he swung into “A Team” from his first album “Plus”. It took us back to the first day when he did a gig at a homeless shelter, where a girl named Angle inspired him.

Asking “how loud can Bangkok can sing?” Sheeran upped the tempo with popular songs “Don’t/New Man”, “Dive”, “Happier”, “Bloodstream” and “Galway Girls”, and seemed surprised that everyone knew the lyrics.

Teasing fans with the comment “I think you have never heard this old song”, he launched into “Tenerife Sea” from his “Multiply” album, which he co-wrote with Johnny McDaid and Foy Vance of Snow Patrol. Once again, the singer looked amazed that fans could sing along with every single word.

A friend of Sheeran’s appeared on stage – though he was never introduced – and played the piano on hit track “How Would You Feel (Paen)” from the “Divide” album, a song inspired by his girlfriend.

The concert wrapped with a non-stop medley of number one hits including “Photograph”, “Perfect”, “Nancy Mulligan”, “Thinking Out Loud” and “Sing”.

After a short break, Sheeran returned to the stage to screams and cries for more, performing hip-hop-infused songs “Shape of You” and “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” before bidding a fond farewell to Bangkok.

He continues his Asia tour with stops in Mumbai and Dubai. The cancelled shows in Manila, Osaka and Tokyo have been rescheduled for April but Seoul, Taipei, Hong Kong and Jakarta have been unable to accommodate the new dates.   Source: Asia Nation