Ed Sheeran said it felt right to perform at an intimate venue when he appeared at the Steamboat Tavern in Ipswich yesterday.

As part of the publicity for his new album ‘X’, or Multiply, the 23-year-old put on three gigs in different locations.

And the first, kept secret until after the event, was at the pub where he performed before becoming a global superstar.

The set was just half an hour long and only 50 pairs of tickets were available, but Sheeran said he thought this was nicer than going straight into massive arenas.

“I think it would have been wrong to go straight into big venues this time round,” he said as he sat in the pub’s patio area before the gig started.

“I think it’s nice to bring it back to the intimacy, we’ve done this in a lot of other countries.”

The Framlingham-raised singer-songwriter also said he felt relaxed about playing at he Steamboat because it was so familiar to him.

“Playing this venue for me, I feel very comfortable here, I’ve played it a bunch of times.”

And after a trip halfway across the world to Australia and New Zealand Sheeran was happy to be back in his home county.

“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I got to go to the pub with my mum and dad and brother yesterday and see my family friends when I was back.

“It’s nice to be back in Ipswich.”

Asked about how the secret location (it was only revealed to ticket holders at 4pm on Sunday and not to the general public), Sheeran said: “I didn’t know how many people would find out about it.

“Everyone kept the location very quiet. It’s a very chilled out atmosphere.”

The Steamboat show was part of a one day tour scheduled to take in Ipswich, London and Dublin, with tickets for all three selling out in minutes.

Click here to see a video and gallery of Ed’s appearance at the Steamboat and here to read his fans’ reactions.