Ed Sheeran Birmingham: why was singer in The Roost pub, who is his friend JayKae - and where is he from?

Any fan of Ed Sheeran who was enjoying a quiet pint in one Birmingham pub on Sunday evening would have had the shock of a lifetime.

The best selling artist dropped into the Roost pub, which is located near St Andrew’s Stadium, with friend and rapper JayKae.

It’s not often a Grammy nominated singer drops into your local, but those in the Roost pub were given a night to remember.

Why was Ed Sheeran in the pub?

Ed Sheeran visited the Cattell Road pub on Sunday afternoon with his friend and local rapper JayKae.

The pub is a place where JayKae often visits, but it’s not every day that he heads to the Small Heath local with one of the biggest names in world music.

Ed Sheeran visited the pub on the same night as a pool tournament was being hosted, but it can be assumed his playing in the tournament was more accident than design. .

What did Ed Sheeran get up to in the pub?

During his visit to the Roost pub, Ed Sheeran was welcomed with open arms, and locals had a night to remember.

As well as trying his hand at pool, the singer songwriter was also given the chance to pour some pints for customers behind the bar.

The atmosphere around the pool table was lively, with Sheeran pausing during games to enjoy a singsong with the punters.

Who is JayKae?

Ed Sheeran was taken to the pub by his friend and Brummie JayKae.

JayKae, whose birth name is Janum Khan, is a rapper who is originally from Small Heath, the same area of Birmingham as the Roost pub where the two artists visited last week.

JayKae is also a big fan of Birmingham City FC, many fans of the Blues would have been in the pub when the rapper entered with Ed Sheeran.

First active on the music scene in 2008, JayKae has released studio albums, compilation albums and appeared as a featured artist on several tracks alongside some of the biggest names in the industry.

Perhaps the most noticeable of these tracks was the 2019 Take Me Back To London remix where he featured alongside several huge names including Stormzy - and of course - Ed Sheeran himself.

Who is Ed Sheeran?

Ed Sheeran was born in Halifax, West Yorkshire in 1991 and was raised in Suffolk.

He has been active in the music industry since 2004, and shot to fame in 2011 with the release of his debut album ‘+’.

This album, which included his first number one ‘The A Team’, topped the UK album charts.

Sheeran has since released three more albums, all following the theme of being named after mathematical symbols, with the most recent being ‘=’ which was released in 2021.

Ed Sheeran has been nominated for and won countless awards during his career, including ‘Best Artist’ and ‘Best Song’ at the 2021 MTV Awards and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2018 Grammy Awards.

The 31-year-old has established himself as one of the top names in world music, but it is rare that he makes an appearance as venus as intimate as a Small Heath pub.