The collaboration occurred mid-way through the set, following performances of fan favourites ‘Photograph’ and ‘Tenerife Sea’. Addressing the crowd, Sheeran teased a “cool surprise” and shared a personal story about the reunion of his high school band earlier this year. He explained that the band had reformed in April to play a wedding for a close friend—performing, among other tracks, the same song they used to cover as teenagers: ‘Teenage Dirtbag’.

Sheeran then invited his high school band to join him on stage before welcoming Brendan Brown to huge cheers from the audience. Together, they performed the 2000 hit single, creating a nostalgic full-circle moment that Sheeran later described as one of his favourite performances to date.

In a post shared via Instagram, Sheeran reflected on his long-standing connection to the song. He recalled playing ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ with his band at age 12 and said the wedding performance in April rekindled those memories. “We had so much fun playing it,” he wrote that he “cheekily asked Brendan from @wheatusofficial to come over and rock it with us, and being the ledge that he is, he did. One of my fav moments ever on stage, thank you, Brendan. What a night x”.

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A post shared by Ed Sheeran (@teddysphotos)

The original track appeared on Wheatus’ self-titled debut album, released in 2000. Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, the band has announced a commemorative tour that will see the full album performed live at each show, alongside other fan favourites from their catalogue. The band will be touring internationally before coming to the UK for 16 shows across November and December 2025. Tickets for the tour are currently available and can be accessed here.

Meanwhile, Ed Sheeran continues his run of live shows across Europe and is preparing for a homecoming series of concerts in the UK. He will perform three nights at Ipswich Town Football Club’s Portman Road Stadium from 11–13 July. The performances are expected to be a major event for the town, which has been decorated in pink bunting to mark the occasion. MXDWN’s earlier coverage of the Suffolk towns celebration of Sheeran’s homecoming performances can be read here.

Ed Sheeran’s Hamburg duet with Brendan Brown has already been widely shared across social media, with fans praising the heartfelt tribute to a beloved track that defined a generation.

Wheatus, famed for their anthem track ‘Teenage Dirtbag’ which reached Number Two in July 2000, also charted well with their Erasure cover ‘Little Respect’.

Busted are to release new material and their third studio album this autumn.

In an interview with Digital Spy, Busted said:

“There will hopefully be something to drop before the tour, and then the proper single in the summer afterwards,” said Matt.

“Busted is very different, but the thing is it’s still Busted. The essence of it is still us three.”

Busted also told BBC’s Newsbeat:

“The whole pigs can fly thing sums up how we feel about this,” said Matt Willis.

“There have been times that we thought Busted could never, ever possibly happen and we were quite right in thinking that.

“But this summarises that anything is possible.”

Some gigs have already Sold Out, here is a list of Busted’s available dates:

11/5 – SSE Arena – Wembley

13/5 – SSE Hydro – Glasgow

15/5 – Metro Arena – Newcastle

17/5 – Arena – Sheffield

18/5 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham

20/5 – Genting Arena – Birmingham

22/5 – Echo Arena – Liverpool

25/5 – Bic – Bournemouth

27/5 – The O2 – London

30/5 – SSE Arena – Belfast

31/5 – 3 Arena – Dublin

2/6 – Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff

3/6 – Arena – Manchester

4/6 – Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham

Featured on their website, the band confirm their nostalgic return:

“Why are we here?” ponders Simpson, the guitarist whose departure precipitated Busted’s demise after four Number One singles, two albums, five million record sales and that run of 12 sold-out Wembley Arena shows. “Because a year ago James and I got together and just started hanging out. It really has been 10 years since we hung out; we’d talked on the phone a few times, and met a couple of times. But there was this huge void of time where we just didn’t speak. Not because he had any issues but I was off doing my own thing, and he was busy, so we just drifted apart.

“And we just started… getting on,” he smiles. “And it felt really different, somehow, to how it had ten years ago. And the idea crept into my head after all that time apart: what would Busted look like today?”