This Ed Sheeran lookalike keeps getting mobbed in the street

Daily Mail

5 Sep, 2017 05:00 AM4 mins to read

Ed Sheeran and his lookalike Bryan McGowan. Photos / Getty Images, Lookalikes.co.uk

A lift engineer is such a dead ringer for Ed Sheeran he keeps getting mobbed in the street and his girlfriend hates it.

Bryan McGowan, 26, who says he's been overwhelmed with attention from die-hard supporters of the superstar - but his girlfriend, Nicola Kelly, 24, is not a fan, the Daily Mail reports.

For the last six years Bryan, of Glasgow, has been inundated with daily picture and autograph requests from fans of the chart-topper - and has even been asked to sign a wedding card for a fan's relative.

He says: "Usually my strong Scottish accent gives me away that I'm not Ed Sheeran. I'm quite a reserved, shy guy but I do love the attention that I receive. Everyone loves Ed, he's well known for being a nice guy so I could look like a worse celebrity."

The daily comparisons began in 2011 when a colleague of Bryan's noticed his uncanny resemblance to Ed Sheeran who, at the time, had just released his first song, A Team.

Bryan says: "I'd actually never heard of Ed at this time, so I just thought he was a random guy. After that, I had people coming up to me in the pub asking for selfies and saying how much I looked like him. I just laughed off the attention - I had no idea how big he was going to get."

Then, a year later in September 2012, Bryan attended one of Ed's gigs in Glasgow.

He says: "I walked past the crowds with my hood up, and people started running towards me. I had about 20 people following me. It was a bit scary at first. As I didn't have a ticket, I asked security if I could buy one on the door - they told me to wait with them until the queue had gone down and then I could go in.

"But when fans spotted me standing next to security, they believed I was Ed and, suddenly, there was a queue of around 500 people waiting to get a picture with me. It was surreal. The next day, a local radio station commented that Ed was a lovely guy and was getting pics with the crowd outside the gig."

Since then, Bryan receives constant comparisons to his doppelganger - and claims people even take sneaky pictures of him in the street.

Bryan says: "If I'm walking to the shops with Nicola, people take pictures on their phones and I can see the flash going off in my face. It does make me feel awkward. I'd rather people come up to me and ask for a picture instead.

"I get dozens of comments every night, especially if I'm in the pub and people are drunk. That's probably the worst part about looking like Ed, I never get any privacy. People even take snaps while I'm driving but I just concentrate on the road and face forward.

"But I'd never dye my hair to stop the attention, people would claim I was dying it so I was no longer be ginger so I couldn't win."

Unfortunately, Bryan's girlfriend, Nicola, a PhD student at University of West Scotland, hates the attention he receives as the couple never get any privacy.

Bryan says: "Nicola likes Ed and his songs but she hates it when I get compared to him. She wants me to cut my hair short as she reckons I'd get fewer comments. If we're trying to have a date night or a quiet meal at a restaurant, we're always interrupted by people wanting pictures or autographs.

"We've been together since before I started receiving the attention so I think she misses the old days. But I really enjoy the attention that I get. I'm quite a shy guy so it helps me to meet people."

Girlfriend of seven years, Nicola, adds: "I don't enjoy all the attention that Bryan gets for looking like Ed Sheeran, I can't imagine what his real-life girlfriend feels like."