An 11-year-old Ed Sheeran fan had the surprise of her life when she was gifted the superstar's top at the end of his gig in Cardiff's Principality Stadium on Thursday, which happened to be the first concert she's ever been to. Kacey Parry, who was "absolutely buzzing" when she was handed over the Welsh Rugby Union top by the singer's bodyguard Kevin Myers, said it was was the "best night" of her life and she will forever cherish the remarkable souvenir.
Her mother, Rhian Jones, 30, said they will be framing the top and hope to contact Ed Sheeran and his team to try and get an autograph to go with it. Explaining how her daughter got the shirt, she said: "We were stood by the fence and we had a bit of trouble from other girls who pushed Kacey into the bar. Security saw it and everything, and she got a bit upset."
Sheeran had closed the show wearing the rugby top, and at the end of the concert, a security guard approached them. "I thought, 'Oh God, what's going on?'" said Rhian. "Then Kevin came behind him and gave the top to my daughter. He said, 'Keep that safe, it's off Ed Sheeran.' We were like: 'What the hell'. Everyone around us was like: 'Oh my God, look how lucky she is.'" You can read all our What's On news here.
"They said to Kacey, 'don't smell it, it stinks,'" laughed Rhian. "I remember a security woman said: 'Make sure you hide that now. If you've got a loose top, stuff it up your top - make sure no-one sees it."
Though Rhian is unsure whether Sheeran intended for Kevin to hand over his top specifically to her daughter, she said it's an experience both of them will remember for the rest of their lives.
"Kacey was absolutely ecstatic. It was absolutely amazing," she said, adding that it was in fact her daughter's first ever concert. The youngster, who has been a long-time fan of the Bad Habits singer, has vowed to go back and see him if he tours again.
Kacey's grandfather bought a glass frame to put the top in. "We're hoping, fingers crossed, we're going to try and get an autograph - on a piece of paper, anything - just to put it in the frame with it," said Rhian. "She's absolutely buzzing so that would be the cherry on the cake." You can sign up for our CardiffOnline newsletter here.
