In late March, Ed Sheeran quietly commenced the ultimate archival photo dump. He started a new Instagram account, @TeddysOldPhone, and began sharing an array of old pictures — including one of him performing his first live gig — and even a few Notes App, text message, and email screenshots.
While the account gained some traction among Sheeran diehards, the singer-songwriter finally brought wide attention to it today, April 29. He explained that all the images came from a phone he stopped using in 2015 (choosing to switch to email “full time”) but was compelled to turn on again during the discovery process for the “Thinking Out Loud” copyright infringement lawsuit (which Sheeran won in 2023).
In a new note, Sheeran explained that when he turned his old phone back on, the first thing he encountered was a message from his late friend, Jamal Edwards, who died in 2022. Next was a note from an ex-girlfriend, and then one from an estranged family member.
“It felt like a time capsule, a time of life that I was in, and living at that time in 2015,” Sheeran wrote. “Turning it on really spun me out, I found myself scrolling messages and conversations with people who are no longer here. I found myself crying at messages to friends who are now dead, who I won’t get to speak to again. 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.”
The experience inspired Sheeran to write a new song, aptly titled “Old Phone,” which he’s set to release this Thursday, May 1. Sheeran said he penned the tune at 2 a.m. “whilst jet lagged in India finishing the album,” then recorded it later that morning.
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“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,” Sheeran said. “It makes me emotional to sing, I hope it finds some emotion in you too. Maybe it makes you switch on your old phone and have a look at where you were a decade ago too. Whatever it does, I’m glad I wrote it.”
“Old Phone” will mark Sheeran’s second single of the year, following “Azizam,” which was released earlier this month. Both songs are expected to appear on Sheeran’s upcoming album, Play, which doesn’t have a release date yet, but will be his first album since 2023’s double shot of – (Subtract) and Autumn Variations.
