Ed Sheeran is a ‘whirling dervish of a talent,’ says his latest duet partner, U2’s Bono

Ed Sheeran unexpectedly popped up on one of the songs on U2’s new EP, Days of Ash, which arrived Wednesday. In an online magazine that the band released at the same time, U2’s Bono talks about what it was like working with Ed on the song “Yours Eternally.”

Bono says that he’s gotten to know Ed and his wife, Cherry Seaborn, in the last few years, and praises her as “a serious climate activist, really walks the talk.” As for Ed, Bono says he’s “a whirling dervish of a talent,” adding, “I see a lot of my younger self in Ed, although he takes himself a little less seriously than I took myself at his age.” He notes, “He’s even more impatient in the studio than me.”

When it came to persuading Ed to sing on “Yours Eternally,” Bono says Ed told him, “I love the song, I love Ukraine, but I’d rather not be part of any political polemic right now.” When Bono assured him, “You’re not,” Ed responded, “You’re not gonna get me involved in politics, are you?”

“No, ‘course not Ed,” Bono claims he responded. “I might have been bluffing there.”

Bono also reveals that he, Ed and Ed’s songwriting partner Johnny McDaid, fueled by Guinness, “wrote songs into the small hours.” “There’s some gems in there,” he adds. “We might even have a folk album in us if U2 ever wanted to put one out! Ed Sheeran is well versed in Irish folk music!”