In what is one of the most surreal collaborations of 2023, Ed Sheeran joined The Darkness on stage at London’s Roundhouse to play Love Is Only a Feeling.
The multiple-chart-topping singer-songwriter is often seen with an acoustic guitar and his trusty Chewie II loop pedal. It’s a far rarer sight, however, to see him going full electric.
A special guest as The Darkness brought up their 2023 tour in England's capital, he looked in his element as he crunched his way through the song’s classic rock-tinged riffs, even taking to the mic for a verse and backing vocal duties.
After the band had released backstage footage of Justin Hawkins and Ed Sheeran rehearsing the song on acoustics backstage, they’ve now unveiled the full pro-shot video of the song. Not only that, but Sheeran picked a Lowden GL-10 for the job, a guitar that tells a story unto itself.
Sheeran has had an affinity for Lowden guitars after Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody gifted him a Baby Lowden. What started as a one-time commission for the acoustic-focused luthier as Sheeran looked to repay Lightbody with a custom electric for his 40th birthday, the GL-10 has grown into much more.
The solidbody electric features Lollar Imperial humbuckers and a Gotoh bridge, along with an arched top and chambered cutaway. Now a fully-fledged production model, it makes sense that Sheeran, making the jump from acoustic to electric, continues to employ a Lowden guitar.
When needing an electric guitar, Sheeran often grabs his Fender Eric Clapton Crash 1 Stratocaster, featuring graffiti artwork by John "Crash" Matos. It's often used for the 2014 hit Thinking Out Loud.
Guitar-oglers wouldn’t have stopped there with this video, either. Justin Hawkins is seen playing an intriguing, Jaguar-esque guitar. After some digging, we can confirm it’s an Atkin Mindhorn.
Featuring pearl block inlays and hand-wound PAF-style humbuckers, it's an instrument which wouldn't look out of place in a math rock band, which Hawkins has been flaunting throughout the band’s latest tour. Like Lowden, Atkins is a brand better known for its acoustics, creating a nice parallel between the two guitarists’ weapons of choice.
It continues Hawkins’ tradition of wielding angular eye-catching builds, including the Burns Jet Sonic, which looks like something Gerry Anderson would have dreamed up.
