AN ED SHEERAN show announced last week for the Plymouth Pavilions has proved a massive success for a small Truro-based music promoter.

The gig on October 22, booked by SW1 Productions, sold all 4,000 of its tickets within 80 minutes of being announced.

The statistics are staggering, even shocking the Pavilions, which is used to hosting huge artists.

More than 50,000 people called the Pavilions' box office number, 14,804 customers visited its website, where Sheeran's page received 99,106 views. Tickets sold out on plymouthpavilions.com within five minutes while some customers queued outside the venue for 19 hours, sleeping in tents.

Katy Thomas, of SW1 Productions, which is also responsible for the music bookings at the Boardmasters festival as well as many other gigs in Cornwall, said: "As relatively small regional promoters it's incredibly rewarding to work with a talent like Ed Sheeran from the start and to remain a part of the rise to the levels of success he is now achieving.

"The last time we saw sales like this on one of our shows was Jack Johnson's first Cornish show about six years ago. It is, of course, very exciting."

Sheeran enjoyed a phenomenal 2011 (including two sell-out SW1-promoted shows at the Princess Pavilion, Falmouth) and kicked off this year with four BRIT Award nominations, for British Solo Male, British Breakthrough Act, British Single for The A Team and British Album of the Year for +.

With over two million records and 100,000 live tickets sold he was also named as 2011's Breakthrough Artist by Q, MSN, iTunes and the Digital Music Awards.

Speaking about the success of the past 12 months, Ed said: "Exactly a year ago to the day I signed my record deal with Asylum/Atlantic Records. Today I have an album that's gone triple platinum, three sold-out tours and now four BRIT Award nominations. I'm over the moon. I really couldn't have hoped for a better start to 2012."

The video for his new single, Drunk, includes highlights from Ed's last year out on the road as he toured the UK relentlessly. The single is released on February 27.