Sheeran claims that he was inspired to pursue music by the 76-year-old rocker as a youth. Since then the two have become fast friends after meeting several years ago, so much so that Clapton gifted the "Bad Habits" singer-songwriter a signed guitar from his personal collection.
The instrument was reportedly one of Sheeran's prized possessions, though he nearly lost is during a freak fire at his personal recording studio.
Sheeran shared the anecdote with fans during his appearance on 'Hot Ones': "My hero is Eric. When I was 11 I heard 'Layla', picked up a guitar and went from there. I got to know him in 2015 and we've been friends ever since.
"I went to his house and he took his guitar off the wall and just gave it to me. He signed the back and said, 'Keep my guitar.' I was like, 'F***. Cool.'
"It was the only guitar in my studio at home and I was on tour and the person looking after my house phoned me up and said, 'Your music studio is on fire', and I was like, 'F***! The guitar is in that studio.'"
Luckily the guitar was rescued before sustaining any extensive damage. While it was banged up, Sheeran shared that he can still play it.
"He brought it back totally restored, but now it smells like a burnt house," Sheeran added.
Meanwhile, the pop-star expressed his interest in potentially venturing into heavy metal music in the future.
"I was really into death metal as a kid - I listened to Cradle of Filth and Slipknot and all that stuff. I'm not saying I could ever stop into that world, but I learnt all those riffs on guitar as a kid. That's something I've never thought about doing - but something I would not be opposed to creating," he revealed.
