Sheeran on 70 tracks, and counting, for next three discs

Ed Sheeran is planning to release three albums in three years.

The 22-year-old singer is set to treat his fans to a wealth of new material, including a long-awaited follow up to his 2011 debut studio album '+', in 2014 followed by albums in 2015 and 2016.

While he has already penned 70 tracks, he is yet to decide which direction his upcoming record will take.

He said: "I've demoed 70 songs. I'm hoping to release three [albums] in three years.

"I've got the whole months of October and November to decide what to do."

Ed has teamed up with legendary producer Rick Rubin - who has worked with the likes of LL Cool J, Eminem, Slipknot and Sir Mick Jagger - on his second studio album and is delighted with the amount of help he has got from the Def Jam Records co-founder.

He added to Rolling Stone magazine: "Rick had an idea of me recording it completely acoustic and then adding [more instrumentation later].

"There are just so many tunes and so many directions to go with the album that I don't really know.

"He's got one beanbag [chair] in [this big room] and two speakers by the beanbag, and you sit on the beanbag and play him tunes.

"It's completely sparse - there's nothing in it but a beanbag and two speakers. It's f***ing amazing.

"He's been a very, very helpful guy ... But as far as the record is concerned, production-wise, I don't really know where I'm gonna go with it yet."