Ed Sheeran has surprised fans at his Hamburg, Germany concert by reuniting his high school band and bringing out Wheatus frontman Brendan B. Brown for a special performance of the early 2000s anthem “Teenage Dirtbag”.
According to Rolling Stone, during Saturday’s show at the Volksparktadion, Sheeran prefaced the unexpected collaboration by telling the crowd, “I’ve got a cool surprise for you, it’s really quite cool, but bear with me.” He went on to explain the significance behind the reunion, sharing that he and his former bandmates had recently performed together at a friend’s wedding in April after splitting up decades ago.
“When we were playing, we played a song we used to play when we were 12. And I said, ‘Fucking hell, isn’t this a great song. I wanna play this live [in concert],” Sheeran recounted to the audience.
What made the moment truly special was Sheeran’s revelation that he had personally reached out to the original artist. “I’m gonna email the lead singer and see if he’ll come and sing it,” Sheeran told the crowd, before bringing out Brown who had “flown over especially from New York just for this.”
Before the performance, Ed Sheeran emphasised his personal connection to the track, describing “Teenage Dirtbag” as “one of my favourite songs of all time, I’d say top 10 favourite songs of all time.”
The unexpected collaboration clearly meant a great deal to Sheeran, who later took to social media to share behind-the-scenes footage of the performance, calling it “one of my fav moments ever on stage” and thanking Brown for the memorable experience.
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This special moment highlights Sheeran’s penchant for creating unique concert experiences that go beyond the standard setlist. By bringing together his past and present musical journeys—combining his early days as a young musician with his current global stardom—Sheeran delivered a genuine moment of nostalgia for both himself and fans alike.
The Wheatus track, which became a defining hit of the Y2K era, continues to resonate with audiences more than two decades after its release, demonstrating the enduring appeal of the coming-of-age anthem across generations of music fans.
