Harry Styles created an adorable moment at his huge show at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground to find his first ever music teacher in the crowd. The pop icon asked the audience to hush as he walked around looking for his childhood teacher Ann Vernon. He then screamed with delight and sank to his knees once he found his teacher, thanking her for all she did for him.
Mrs. Vernon was clearly important to Styles, as he wouldn’t pause a concert at the 50,000 capacity venue for just anyone. After finding his teacher, Styles casually mentioned he heard she was retiring, getting a laugh from the crowd. He then told his former teacher “I’d just like to thank you for everything in those formative years. Thank you so much – it means a lot to me that you’re here tonight.” Check out the video below (if the video has been restricted in your country, scroll down to the next video).
At the start of the clip Styles tells the audience he’s “going to ask a favor” from them and requests their help in quieting down to assist him in finding Mrs. Vernon, and then gets lots of awws from the audience with his heartfelt thanks to her. Styles finished up by saying “Can you imagine dealing with me when I was 4?” and dedicating the next song, “Canyon Moon”, to Mrs. Vernon. The video was quite a hit online, attracting 4.1 million views on YouTube.
In an odd twist, a spokesperson for Styles’ former school, Hermitage Primary School, said that it was actually another of Styles’ former teachers that he waved to in the crowd, Mrs. Bailey, who had Tweeted to him before the concert. The popstar had mistaken her for Mrs. Vernon at the show. You can hear the studio recording of “Canyon Moon” below.
The press did actually manage to find Mrs. Vernon after the show however, and she told The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show that “I taught him when he was four and five and he was adorable. He was a little bit of a monkey, cheeky, and he had lots of friends so a lot of his personality that you see now was quite evident from an early age.”
Mrs. Vernon added that Styles frequently performed as a child and that his talent was evident even back then. She said that “in everything he was amazing. All the teachers here are just so proud of him and so excited about this and everything that he’s achieved. Thank you Harry for that lovely message; I was very touched by it.”
Styles’ performance at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground was part of his sprawling 42-date Love On Tour, which began in September 2021 and wrapped up in July 2023. The tour was delayed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but was eventually completed in seven legs across 22 months. The tour grossed $150 million and was held in support of the star’s second and third studio albums Fine Line and Harry’s House.
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