Ed Sheeran's career has been inspired by Coldplay.

The 'Thinking Out Loud' hitmaker has revealed the band's lead singer, Chris Martin, and their albums 'Parachutes' and 'A Rush of Blood to the Head' have been critical to his albums '+' and 'X'.

He told BBC Radio 2: ''I think Chris Martin is really interesting.

''I based the first half of my career off Coldplay. + is my Para chutes and X my Rush Of Blood so ... the next album will be X&Y.''

Ed, 23, recently revealed he didn't do his school homework because he was busy trying to make music.

In an extract from his new book 'Ed Sheeran: A Visual Journey', which is published in the Daily Mirror newspaper, he says: ''I was not stimulated by school whatsoever.

''In almost every lesson I thought, 'This is pointless. What am I going to do with Biology or Chemistry?' I was sure that I could find a job in music.

''I could make tea at Island Records or be a studio hand, or I could end up being a songwriter.

''I didn't do homework and I remember not turning up to school for a long time. I had a lot of detentions and suspensions, which didn't go down well.''