Not so wholesome now! Ed Sheeran unveils his 60 elaborate tattoos after spending hours being inked - and he plans 30 more on his back

  • Ed Sheeran has spent 40 hours in a tattoo parlour chair in the past year
  • Among the inkings are a pair of Rolling Stones lips and the crest of his old school 
  • Celebrity tattoo artist Kevin Paul was the man behind the elaborate etchings

By Clemmie Moodie, Associate Showbusiness Editor For The Daily Mail

Published: 17:25 EST, 31 January 2017 | Updated: 23:05 EST, 31 January 2017

He is the wholesome, ginger-haired, middleclass popstar who has charmed the world.

But beneath the chunky-knit jumpers and hooded jumpers, Ed Sheeran is hiding a rather astonishing secret – more than 60 multi-coloured tattoos.

Whilst the 25-year-old Suffolk-born singer’s parents are likely to be less than thrilled with his new body art, the Grammy-winner could not be happier, and is planning on having another 30 or so on his back.

Despite his wholesome image, Ed Sheeran has more than 60 tattoos on his body, pictured

The singer revealed the extent of his 'ink' in his recent music video Shape of You

He has spent a painstaking – quite literally - 40 hours in the tattooist’s chair over the past 12 months.

The multi-platinum selling star, whose latest singles are currently sitting at numbers one and two in the charts, is set to officially unveil his incredible inkings when he goes on tour next month [19th March].

Sheeran, pictured without his ink in 2011, spent more than 40 hours in a tattoo parlour chair in the past year

Celebrity tattoo artist Kevin Paul – who has also inked Rihanna and Harry Styles - was the man behind the elaborate etchings, and the pair spent their evenings getting Sheeran’s body covered during the performer’s recent sabbatical.

Among the drawings are a pair of Rolling Stones lips in a tribute to his icon, Sir Mick Jagger, a dinosaur in a nod to his favourite childhood cartoon, and the crest of his old junior school. 

He also has a Grammy gong inked on, in recognition of his win last year.

Derby-based Paul said: ‘We’ve spent about 40 hours on Ed over the past year, and keeping it a secret was probably the hardest bit.

‘Sometimes he’d travel to me but usually we’d go round to his house, put on a boxset and order Nando’s, and do a bit of tattooing. It was all very chilled.

‘Ed now has thirty tattoos on his front, plus countless ones down his arms. 

'Every single one recently involved horrific pain, especially around the ribs and I remember one time he had to fly out to Italy the next day, and had this awful, weeping tattoo seeping through the clingfilm used to protect it. It wasn’t an ideal situation.’

All of the singer’s tattoos have meaning. They are either connected to his family, achievements or memories.

He has previously revealed some of his tattoos on social media, including a lion on his chest

The star, said to be worth around £38 million, recently spoke about his tattoo obsession, explaining: ‘They say: “But what about when you’re an old man?”, and I think “Well, I’ll look f****** cool when I’m old”.

‘I might look wrinkly but have you ever seen your granddad with his top off? Because I haven’t. 

'I get one done for anything I’m proud of or for something I want to remember.

‘People say when they see my tattoos that I look like a melted crayon, so that’ s interesting. I guess this is just my eight year-old self coming out.’ 

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