Harry Styles stops concert to pay tribute to former teacher
Singer Harry Styles stopped his concert in the United Kingdom on Wednesday to pay tribute to one of his first teachers.
“Can you imagine dealing with me when I was 4?” Styles, 28, told the crowd at the concert, which was held at Old Trafford in Manchester, according to ITV News.
The “As It Was” singer stopped during the concert near his hometown to give a shoutout to Ann Vernon and thanked all the “truly wonderful” teachers from Hermitage Primary School in Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, the BBC reported.
“There she is. Mrs. Vernon!” Styles said, falling to his knees. “How are you? I heard you’re retiring. I’d just like to thank you for everything in those formative years. And yeah, thank you so much, it means a lot to me that you’re here tonight.”
A fan in the crowd filmed the moment and posted part of the exchange on TikTok, CBS News reported.
While Vernon was not at the event, another colleague, Mrs. Bailey, was there, ITV News reported. The image of Bailey, who was Styles’ Year One teacher, was beamed onto the big screens at the concert, according to the news outlet.
Vernon later told the BBC that hearing praise from the singer “meant an awful lot.”
Vernon said Bailey called her and “told me what had happened and sent me a little clip of it,” Vernon told BBC Radio Manchester
“It was just so touching, so amazing, so lovely.”
“As a teacher, you remember all of the children that you’ve taught, all of them are amazing in their own way,” Mrs Vernon told BBC Radio Manchester.
After the shoutout, Styles dedicated his next song, “Canyon Moon,” to Vernon, according to the Manchester Evening News.
Here are some memorable photos of former One Direction singer Harry Styles through the years.
2010: Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles and Liam Payne of One Direction attend the Royal Film Performance and World Premiere of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader" at Odeon Leicester Square on November 30, 2010, in London.
2011: Harry Styles (left), Zayn Malik, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson and Liam Payne of One Direction attend the GQ Men of the Year Awards at the Royal Opera House on September 6, 2011, in London.
2012: Louis Tomlinson, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and Niall Horan of One Direction perform onstage during Z100’s Jingle Ball 2012, presented by Aeropostale, at Madison Square Garden on December 7, 2012, in New York City.
2013: Harry Styles attends the British Fashion Awards 2013 at London Coliseum on December 2, 2013, in London.
2014: Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Louis Tomlinson and Niall Horan of One Direction, winner of the British Video and Global Success BRIT awards, pose in the winners room at The BRIT Awards 2014 at 02 Arena on February 19, 2014, in London.
2015: Harry Styles, Liam Payne, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson of One Direction perform on ABC’s "Good Morning America" at Rumsey Playfield, Central Park on August 4, 2015, in New York City.
2016: Musician Joe Walsh, Marjorie Bach, singer Harry Styles, musician Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach attend the 2016 Pre-Grammy Gala and Salute to Industry Icons honoring Irving Azoff at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on February 14, 2016, in Beverly Hills, California.
2017: Singer Harry Styles performs on the runway during the 2017 Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show in Shanghai at Mercedes-Benz Arena on November 20, 2017, in Shanghai, China.
2018: Singer Harry Styles performs onstage during MusiCares Person of the Year honoring Fleetwood Mac at Radio City Music Hall on January 26, 2018, in New York City.
2019: Harry Styles attends the 2019 Met Gala Celebrating Camp: Notes on Fashion at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 06, 2019, in New York City.
2020: Harry Styles attends the BRIT Awards 2020 at the O2 Arena on February 18, 2020, in London.
2021: Harry Styles performs onstage during the 63rd annual Grammy Awards at Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles and broadcast on March 14, 2021.
