British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran took his fans on a nostalgic trip by unlocking a decade-old treasure: his old phone. On a new Instagram handle, Teddy’s Old Phone, he has shared glimpses of the years gone by, giving both longtime fans and new ones a peek into his world from over ten years ago.
The initiative, seen as a promotional move for his upcoming song Old Phone from the album Play, showcasing moments like Sheeran’s first prom, golf matches with friends, appearances on Ellen’s show, and encounters with artists like Taylor Swift and Robert De Niro.
Some of the photos capture moments from concert days, awards, Sheeran’s first Grammy nomination, and date moments with his wife Cherry Seaborn.
“It felt like a time capsule, a time of life that I was in, and living at that time in 2015,” the Photograph singer captioned one of his posts on the new account.
“Turning it on really spun me out. I found myself scrolling through messages and conversations with people who are no longer here. … I found old photos of me with people I was so close to then, but we’ve lost touch since. The whole experience was such an emotional journey,” he added.
Sheeran shared an image flaunting one of his tattooed arms. He got the tattoo before the release of Taylor Swift’s album Red in 2012.
The Dive singer also shared a glimpse from his first prom day. Before the event, he posed with his classmates outside the event venue. Sheeran was 16 years old then.
For his new track Old Phone, the 34-year-old singer found inspiration while digging through his old phone during the plagiarism lawsuit surrounding Thinking Out Loud.
He was accused of copying elements from Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On, but was ultimately cleared in November 2024 after a jury determined he created the song independently.
He shared a selfie with the former British pop band One Direction member Harry Styles from the 2012 London Olympics. “Me, Haz and Richard at the Olympic closing ceremony. I chose getting a kebab afterwards over going to George Michael's house for a party. live and learn,” the singer wrote alongside the selfie.
Sheeran shared a picture with American actor-director Robert De Niro from a hotel in Vegas.
Ed Sheeran and Taylor Swift shared a close friendship since their first collaboration on the song Everything Has Changed. He also joined Swift on her Red musical tour in 2013, and in the later years, the duo often performed together.
The singer had a fun moment with singers Bruno Mars and Ellie Goulding at a party.
Sheeran shared a behind-the-scenes picture from the shooting days of his song Thinking Out Loud. He also shared videos of practice sessions with American dancer Brittany Cherry.
Sheeran posed with Taylor Swift, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson backstage during the 2015 Billboard award show.
In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Ed Sheeran revealed that he wrote his new song, Old Phone, at 2 in the morning while he was jet lagged in India. He recorded the song the very next morning.
“I wrote the song Old Phone on my own at 2 am whilst jet lagged in India finishing the album, and recorded it that morning. It feels like a song that should’ve been on my debut album, but also a song I couldn’t have written until I experienced real-life things happening to me. It makes me emotional to sing, I hope it finds some emotion in you too,” Sheeran wrote.
Ed Sheeran performed in India as part of his Mathematics Tour in 2025. The tour included performances in Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Bengaluru, Shillong, and Delhi NCR. The tour kicked off in Pune on January 30 and concluded in Delhi NCR on February 15.