DUBLIN – "Ed Sheeran? You mean the pretend Irishman?"
So quipped a cab driver on the way to Sheeran's secret show at the Royal Dublin Society, a thank you of sorts to fans who made him a 14-time member of Spotify's Billions Club.
But while the born and bred Englishman has endured plenty of teasing from Irish cynics, his Emerald Isle bona fides are legit.
At Monday night's gathering of about 2,000 of Sheeran's "top fans" based on Spotify's listening data, Sheeran reminded them of his family tree branches in the country. His father, John, is a native of Belfast, while his mother's family hails from County Wexford.
But more importantly, Ireland is a "special place for me musically. I feel this is where it all began," Sheeran, 34, said from the intimate stage set in front of phone-wielding devotees, many of them sporting forest green baseball caps handed out by Spotify, signifying Sheeran's Billions Club membership.
