AND so the troubled troubadour has repented. Opening a concert in Philadelphia – the city of brotherly love – Ed Sheeran broke his silence on the genocide in Gaza after a troubled week which upended his US tour.

He told concertgoers: “My heart has been broken by the scale of devastation and loss of civilians’ lives, of children’s lives.”

Well. More joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, and all that.

I suppose we must take Sheeran’s sincerity at face value. His about-turn surely had nothing to do with protecting his brand and his millions. Not even his greatest enemy would think that.

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Aoife Moore: By putting money before morals, Ed Sheeran has lost Ireland

I must admit that Ed Sheeran has never been much on my radar. But with his boy-next-door persona and maudlin songs, he clearly cuts through to many.

His brand has been built around an image of a down-to-earth lad with a guitar, the sort of pop star who wouldn’t trouble your granny.

Bland will take you so far in life. Don’t give offence, be all things to all men.

But as Sheeran has discovered, it’s........

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