Ed Sheeran: new album release date, song list alongside Visiting Hours and Bad Habits - and how to pre-order

Ed Sheeran has announced the release of a new “=” album and song Visiting Hours.

Equals - "=" - will be the British pop artist's fifth album and will feature chart topper Bad Habits.

Sheeran made the announcement on Instagram on Thursday 19 August after teasing fans of "big news".

When is "=" coming out?

Ed Sheeran's new album "=" will be released on 29 October 2021.

Is "=" available to order?

On Instagram, Ed Sheeran confirmed the album "=" was now available for pre-order.

He wrote: “I started writing and recording this album June 2017. Its been a long, long process. I’ve been through love, loss, new life, grief and everything in between during the whole period of writing it, and I feel like it’s really a coming of age record. I’ve never been more proud of a body of work, or more excited/nervous for you all to hear it.”

What songs are on "="?

There will be 14 songs on "=" including Ed Sheeran's big hit Bad Habits and new song Visiting Hours.

The next single, Visiting Hours, is dedicated to his friend and mentor Michael Gudinski who died in March.

Sheeran confirmed the name of other songs Tides, Shivers, First Times, Overpass Graffiti, The Joker and The Queen, Leave Your Life, Collide, 2step, Stop The Rain, Love In Slow Motion, Sandman and Be Right Now during the Insta announcement.

What has Ed Sheeran been doing lately?

Before the release of Bad Habits, Sheeran had been taking a break from music after his daughter Lyra Antarctica Seaborn Sheeran was born in August 2020.

He released the mellow acoustic song Afterglow in December but said it was a “Christmas present”, not a single.

His most recent album was the No.6 Collaborations Project in July 2019, which featured artists including Justin Bieber, Camila Cabello and Travis Scott.

His album Divide arrived in 2017 and included the songs Castle On The Hill, Galway Girl and Shape Of You.