Four-time Grammy-winner Ed Sheeran was a surprise guest at a school assembly for pupils in Brighton, and chatted about the importance of a musical education
Ed Sheeran delighted kids – and their teachers – when he played a surprise gig at a primary school. The pop star showed up for assembly to perform hits Shape Of You, Bad Habits, and Perfect. Ed, 33, then chatted to pupils about his career and the importance of music education.
The four-time Grammy Award winner also donated five guitars to Fairlight Primary in Brighton, East Sussex. Head Damien Jordan said: “He was amazing with everyone. He took time to listen to children and encourage them.”
Sheeran has been known to randomly show up at pubs and play songs for punters. Last November, he put in an appearance at The Rumburgh Buck in Suffolk with his wife Cherry Seaborn. Landlady Stella Cattermole said he was a “really lovely, very polite, regular guy.”
Earlier in 2023 he turned up announced at the doorstep of some fans to surprise them with their own personal gig in their living room as part of the release of his seventh studio album Autumn Variations. Sheeran also once decided to do an impromptu bar crawl, declaring the “drinks are on me for the next six hours” as fans were left sharing a beer and chatting with their idol.
However troubadour Ed has previously said that touring was the “worst thing” for his health, as he would “drink every single day” but quit when when his first daughter Lyra was born in 2020, dropping more than 5st in the process.
“Since becoming a dad I’ve become quite clean-living,” Sheeran said. “I stopped three months before Lyra was born because I was determined I was going to be the person to drive my wife to the hospital. I was 15-and-a-half stone at my peak and I think I’m ten-and-a-half now – I was big, it really showed. I had a 36 waist – now I’m down to 28.”
The Thinking Out Loud singer also explained that he still does the things he loves, like drinking wine, because he fears cutting them out completely might tempt him back into bingeing. But he has massively reduced his consumption as he tries to live a more “clean” lifestyle.