The singer's songwriter pal Amy Wadge went to see Ed to ask him to include an old track they had written together on the deluxe version of his album X to give her a cut of the royalties from sales of the record.

However, he went one better by engaging in an impromptu writing session with her which produced Thinking Out Loud, Ed's top selling single in the U.S.

"She was going through financial troubles about a year ago," Ed tells British newspaper the Daily Mirror. "She drove to my house - my album was nearly done - and she asked if I could put a song from when I was 17 on the deluxe album, so she could get a little bit of money and pay the mortgage and bills and stuff. While she was there, we wrote Thinking Out Loud. Now she never has to worry about money again."

The hit single helped turn Amy's life around and Ed is pleased to see her doing well.

"She's got a family and two kids and stuff and every time I speak to her, she's going on holiday," he adds. "It's really nice to see. It wouldn't have happened if she hadn't come down from Wales to see me."