Ed Sheeran lived on the streets of London before he became famous

Los Angeles - Ed Sheeran slept outside Buckingham Palace before he found fame.

The 23-year-old hitmaker has revealed in his new book, A Visual Journey that he was forced to "sofa-surf" and sleep on the streets of London for over two and a half years before he found success with his debut album, Plus in 2011.

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My first book, with Phillip Butah, A Visual Journey is out 9th of October. Very exciting

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Ed documented his tragic living arrangements. He wrote: "There was an arch outside Buckingham Palace that has a heating duct and I spent a couple of nights there.

"I didn't have anywhere to live for much of 2008 and the whole of 2009 and 2010, but somehow I made it work. I knew where I could get a bed at a certain time of night and I knew who I could call at any time to get a floor to sleep on. Being sociable helped. Drinking helped."

The Don't singer-songwriter also admitted that he spent a lot of his time trying to sleep on the London Underground to keep him sane.

He wrote: "I spent a week catching up on sleep on the Circle line trains. I'd go out and play a gig, wait until 5am when the Underground opened, sleep on the Circle Line until 12, go to a session - and then repeat. It wasn't that bad."

Ed - who has won two Brit Awards and three Teen Choice Awards - also noted that his homeless lifestyle had some unexpected side effects.

He shared: "I didn't have the best personal hygiene at that point because I didn't get a chance to shower. It was just: sleep on the train, session, sweat on stage, drink, sleep on the train. I had 23 dreads on one side of my head from not washing my hair."