Gareth Southgate reveals Stormzy makes him proud to be British

Former England manager chose an Ed Sheeran hit featuring the rapper as one of his ‘Desert Island Discs’

Gareth Southgate has given fans an insight into his music taste during the latest episode of Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs.

The former England manager, who was recently replaced by Thomas Tuchel, revealed to Lauren Laverne the eight tracks he would take with him should he ever be stranded on an island.

Among others, Southgate opted for “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, “The Whole of the Moon” by The Waterboys, Adele’s “Someone like You” and “Shape of You” by Ed Sheeran.

Speaking to Lauren Laverne about his choice for his sixth record, Southgate explained “Shape of You”, which was released in 2017, is still his favourite Sheeran track.

“I’ve gone for the version with Stormzy because I think he’s another amazing British artist,” he added.

“Reasons to be proud of our nation, music talent is one of those things,” he continued. “To see young people like these two able to be worldwide superstars is brilliant to watch.”

A month after Sheeran released “Shape of You” in January 2017, he dropped two remixes of the track – one with Stormzy and the other with Major Lazor – on the same day.

Former England manager Gareth Southgate has said rapper Stormzy makes him proud to be British (Getty)

In the same month, Stormzy released his debut album Gang Signs & Prayer, which went straight to number one and saw him win the Brit Award for Best Male Solo Artist a year later.

Sheeran and Stormzy have remained close friends and have continued to work together on tracks including Sheeran’s “Take Me Back to London” and Stormzy’s “Own It” in 2019.

Southgate’s Desert Island Discs selection comes months after fans questioned Sheeran’s “depressing” performance to the England squad during the Euros this summer.

The “Castle on the Hill” hitmaker visited the England camp in Blankenhain to perform an intimate live gig for the team, including star player Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane.

Ed Sheeran and Stormzy performing at the Brit Awards in 2017 (Getty)

Sheeran’s visit was one of many measures organised by Southgate to make the tournament as enjoyable as possible for the players.

However, fans commented that the athletes looked miserable during the Grammy winner’s performance.

Sheeran’s performance wasn’t the first time he’s played for the England team. Back in 2020, he visited the squad ahead of their final against Italy, which they lost on penalties.

Speaking to Laverne on Desert Island Discs, Southgate said of Sheeran’s private performances: “Both the last Euros tournaments we were very lucky to ask Ed Sheeran to come in and play for the players.

Sheeran is a big football fan and has performed for the squad for the past two Euros tournaments (Getty)

“That was a bit bizarre in ‘21 because we were still in slightly restricted Covid times,” he explained. “We were okay because we were outside but we had two players – Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell who… They’d been in the tunnel too long with another player.”

Southgate continued: “So, they had to watch from their bedroom in the hotel, looking out at the rest of us hearing Ed play his guitar. So, it was quite a bizarre thing really. But, I have to say, Ed was brilliant and his music connects with everybody in the team.”