English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, before moving to Framlingham, Suffolk. He began writing songs during his time at the local Thomas Mills High School. Sheeran began recording in 2005, and released his first EP, The Orange Room EP, that year. After moving to London in 2008, he concentrated on performing and the following year, he played 312 gigs over a space of 12 months. In February 2010 he released his fifth EP, Loose Change, which features the original recording of this dark story of a drug addict from a homeless shelter. Sheeran signed for Atlantic Records in January 2011 and released this song as the first single from his debut album on June 12, 2011.
The song is a true story and was written by Sheeran after meeting a girl called Angel whilst volunteering at a Crisis homeless shelter. The song became the highest selling debut single on the UK singles charts in the first half of 2011. He told The Sun July 15, 2011: "I wrote that song last year in a student flat in Guildford. I recorded it for less than £200 and made the video for under £20. In two weeks we'd sold 200,000 copies. I've made a song about a homeless prostitute who has been able to get on A-list radio."
When Sheeran made a video to accompany the original recording of this song in 2010, it cost him only £20 to make. Young photographer Ruskin Kyle shot the clip on location in Angel, London. in north London, and Camden, in the northwest. The video stars actresses Selina MacDonald, as "Angel," and Katy Brady, as her housemate.
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