"Visiting Hours" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. It was released on 19 August 2021 as the first promotional single from his fourth studio album, '' ='', the same day he announced the album. The song was produced by Sheeran and

Johnny McDaid John McDaid (born 24 July 1976) is a singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer from Northern Ireland. He is a member of the band Snow Patrol and has written songs with other artists including Ed Sheeran, P!nk, and Robbie Williams. Early ...

Background and release

On 2 March 2021, Australian music promoter

Michael Gudinski Michael Solomon Gudinski AM (22 August 1952 – 2 March 2021) was an Australian record executive and promoter who was a leading figure in the Australian music industry. Born and raised in Melbourne to Jewish Russian immigrants, Gudinski formed ...

died in his sleep at the age of 68. Sheeran first performed "Visiting Hours" at Gudinski's funeral on 24 March 2021 as a tribute to him in Australia, delivering an emotional performance. Gudinski's close friends and fellow musicians,

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress. She is the highest-selling female Australian artist of all time, having sold over 80 million records worldwide. She has been recognised for reinve ...

and

Jimmy Barnes James Dixon "Jimmy" Barnes (née Swan; born 28 April 1956) is a Scottish-born Australian rock singer. His career, both as a solo performer and as the lead vocalist with the rock band Cold Chisel, has made him one of the most popular and best-s ...

, as well as comedian

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

, provide backing vocals on the song. He finished the song during his two weeks of mandatory quarantine because of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

rules due to his decision to travel to Australia. On 19 August 2021, Sheeran released the song as a promotional single and announced the album. A live performance video, which was filmed in St. Stephen's Church in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, was also released with the song. Sheeran stated that he "finished writing this song going through proper grief for the first time, and for me its one of the most important songs on ''=''".

Lyrics

Lyrically, "Visiting Hours" is an ode to the late

, an Australian music promoter. In the first verse, Sheeran makes a reference to his daughter, Lyra Seaborn Sheeran, wishing that Gudinski had got to meet her: "I wish that Heaven had visiting hours / So I could just show up and bring the news / That she's getting older and I wish that you'd met her / The things that she'll learn from me, I got them all from you".

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from

Tidal Tidal is the adjectival form of tide. Tidal may also refer to: * ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple * Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim * TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music * Tidal (servic ...

. *

– vocals, songwriting, production *

– production, songwriting, engineering, backing vocals * Parisi – additional production * Josh McDaid – backing vocals *

Courteney Cox Courteney Bass Cox (previously Courteney Cox Arquette; born June 15, 1964) is an American actress and filmmaker. She gained international recognition for her starring role as Monica Geller on the NBC sitcom '' Friends'', which aired from 1994 ...

- backing vocals * Aine McDaid – backing vocals * Pauline McDaid – backing vocals * Maev McDaid – backing vocals *

– backing vocals *

Ant Clemons Anthony Clemons Jr. (born September 26, 1991) is an American singer. He rose to prominence as a guest artist on Kanye West's 2018 single " All Mine". Clemons has since worked with a multitude of artists, including West, Ty Dolla Sign, Beyoncé, ...

– songwriting * Michael Pollack – songwriting *

Amy Wadge Amy Victoria Wadge (born ) is an English singer and songwriter. She has co-written tracks with Ed Sheeran, including "Thinking Out Loud" for which she won the 2016 Grammy Award for Song of the Year. Early life Wadge was born and brought up in B ...

– songwriting * Scott Carter – songwriting * Kim Lang Smith – songwriting * Graham Archer – engineering * Will Reynolds – engineering assistant *

Spike Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sh ...

– mixing * Charlie Holmes – mixing assistant * Kieran Beardmore – mixing assistant * Matt Wolach – mixing assistant * Stuart Hawkes – mastering

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2021 singles 2021 songs Ed Sheeran songs Folk ballads Pop ballads Songs about business people Songs based on real people Song recordings produced by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Amy Wadge Songs written by Ant Clemons Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Johnny McDaid Songs written by Michael Pollack (musician)