Ed Sheeran has gatecrashed the Sunday Times rich list of the wealthiest musicians in the UK thanks to a stellar year that saw him make more money than any other British musician.

The Shape of You star made it into the top 40 thanks to a huge money-spinner of a year, which saw his personal fortune grow a whopping £28m to £80m.

Performing 111 gigs – which included headlining Glastonbury – certainly helped his cause, and his Divide album was the biggest-selling record of 2017.

It also featured more top 10 singles than any album in UK chart history.

:: UK record labels see fastest growth since Britpop era

Image:Ed Sheeran headlined the 2017 Glastonbury Festival

The table – revealed ahead of the publication of the newspaper's full 1,000-person ranking on Sunday – features icons from across more than five decades of British pop and rock, including members of The Rolling Stones and Queen.

Former Beatles star Sir Paul McCartney tops the list, with he and wife Nancy Shevell sharing a fortune of £820m.

Sir Paul is now the richest musician in the history of the Sunday Times' rich list thanks to the never-ending royalty stream from The Beatles back catalogue, plus a 37-date international tour grossing £100m at the box office.

:: Sir Paul: The future of music is in danger

Paul McCartney performs in concert at American Airlines Arena on July 7, 2017 in Miami, Florida
Image:Sir Paul McCartney still benefits from The Beatles' back catalogue

Even second-placed Lord Lloyd-Webber is comfortably behind at £740m, with U2 in third with £569m.

The band made history in December by becoming the first group to top the US album charts in four consecutive decades, with 14th studio record Songs of Experience grabbing the number one spot.

No other artist has a personal wealth of more than the £300m held by Sir Elton John, with Sir Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Olivia and Dhani Harrison, Sir Ringo Starr, Michael Flatley and Sting rounding out the top 10 with hefty coffers of between £260m and £190m.

:: Adele celebrates turning 30 with Titanic-themed birthday party

Adele - $69 million
Image:Adele is the richest UK musician under the age of 35

Sheeran is not the only younger face to make the top 40, though, with Adele sharing 18th position with Calvin Harris and Charlie Watts thanks to 12 months which saw her personal wealth bumped up by £15m, taking her to a cool £140m.

Her album 25 is believed to have sold more than 20m copies globally and was one of the UK's top-selling records in 2017, even though it was released in 2015.

She and Sheeran are unsurprisingly well out in front on the Sunday Times' rich list dedicated to young musicians.

:: 1D: Is the former pop group heading in the same direction?

The pair became music icons after former the Rolling Stones
Image:Sir Mick Jagger and Keith Richards are both in the top 10

One Direction stars Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson follow with fortunes of between £50m and £42m, with former bandmate Zayn Malik sandwiched between Little Mix and Sam Smith on £35m.

More from Adele

Jessie J – who recently won a Chinese TV talent show – and Rita Ora are also in the top 10.

Original Article

[contf] [contfnew]

Sky News

[contfnewc] [contfnewc]