The Story Behind Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles’ Matching Tattoos

We can’t think of a single situation that would cause tween girls to be more atwitter than when One Direction star Harry Styles and fellow pop singer and buddy Ed Sheeran getting matching tattoos. Well, it happened. It actually took place a while ago but no one knew any of the details about the inking until tattooist Kevin Paul recently revealed the details about the matching tattoos.

Smack dab in the middle of his sleeve tattoo Sheeran has a penguin named Pingu while Styles has the penguin’s name tattooed onto his arm. If you’re an American you are probably asking yourself, “Who the hell is Pingu the penguin?” Pingu was a children’s program that aired on the BBC from 1995-2006. The show was created via stop-motion animation and featured the titular penguin going on adventures with his sister and his seal best friend. It’s adorable with a capital A. Paul revealed that the show was especially dear to the hearts of both British heartthrobs.

“When [Styles] and Ed were drunk they discovered they both liked Pingu as kids,” Paul told the Daily Mirror. “So one had the word [tattooed] and the other had the picture.”

During that tattoo session Paul wasn’t the only one behind the machine. The tattooist showed Sheeran how to work the machine and in no time he was inking his buddy with a padlock.

While Paul had a bit of a falling out with Styles he continues to tattoo Sheeran on a regular basis. While people might not immediately think of the ginger-haired pop star as a tough guy Paul says that he sat like an absolute champ.

“Ed’s fucking hardcore,” Paul said. “I tattooed his sleeve for nine hours until 1 a.m. We were at his house and at Jamaican stew afterwards.”

How about that? Not only is Sheeran able to power through a lengthy session but he shows the finest hospitality by feeding his artist in the wee hours of morning. We tip our hat to you, Mr. Sheeran.

Now that the story of the Pingu tattoos between Styles and Sheeran is out it’s inevitable that tattoo artists all over the world will be inundated with requests for the cartoon penguin.