Last July, Ed Sheeran sold out three shows at Wembley Stadium in England as a part of his tour promoting x, his second studio album. Jumpers for Goalposts follows Sheeran and documents the three historic nights. He’ll be wrapping up the final dates on the second leg of his visit to Australia this December.
Attending the film will have you sit through some awkward “Ed Carpet” interviews with camera-shy fans, showing Sheeran autograph memorabilia or take selfies with fans for a grueling and silent four minutes. If you decide to attend a showing, go ahead and arrive 20 to 30 minutes late. You won’t miss anything.
Jumpers for Goalposts features performances of “The A Team,” “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You,” “I’m a Mess,” “Sing,” “Photograph,” “Bloodstream,” Tenerife Sea, ”Thinking Out Loud” and “I See Fire.”
In the film, Sir Elton John makes a surprise appearance and joins Sheeran on his second night of concerts to perform a duet of John’s hit “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” as well as Sheeran’s “I See Fire.”
The film has breaks after each concert night in order to squeeze in interviews with Sheeran, and those who have been traveling with him since he was promoting his first album, +. There, Sheeran reveals that playing at Wembley was his 23rd birthday wish, and that he intended on doing three shows when only one was scheduled.
Sir Elton John tells the audience in an interview that Sheeran is “the only solo artist to perform at Wembley all by himself.” He continues to say, “when I performed in 1975, I had a band.”
The most interesting moment came when Sheeran answered a fan’s question with information that might make fans jump for joy: “I have like six albums I want to release right now, but I have people sitting behind a desk telling me to calm down.” Sheeran continued on to say that “I got to get this album out of the way and go away for a while and then release more.”
It’s also no secret that Sheeran is a big fan of hip-hop and rappers. In the film he confirmed that he and The Game, who just released his new album The Documentary, finished making an album and that it will “hopefully be released soon.”
Certain qualities of Sheeran’s concerts, like him using the loop pedal, or hearing his wide vocal range is difficult to put into words; it’s better to see him do it than read it from someone else, and Jumpers For Goalposts gives people that opportunity. It’s still not as great at a live concert, but it’s certainly the next best thing.
Jumpers For Goalposts will be screened at Regal Valley River Center 15 from October 24-26 only.