On a drizzly Saturday night in Dundee, Scotland, the last thing anyone expected was a global pop superstar to stroll into a local pub. Yet that’s exactly what happened when Justin Bieber, the 31-year-old Canadian singer, made a surprise appearance at Abandon Ship, a city center bar, and proceeded to film an impromptu video for his latest single, “Bad Honey.” The whirlwind visit, which unfolded over the weekend of October 4-5, 2025, has since sent ripples through both the local community and Bieber’s vast online following.
Bieber’s trip to Scotland began with a private jet landing in Dundee on Thursday, October 2, 2025, according to multiple reports including the BBC. The singer wasted no time making the most of his visit north of the border. Over the weekend, he was spotted teeing off at two of Scotland’s most iconic golf courses: St Andrews and Gleneagles. But it was his unexpected foray into Dundee’s nightlife that truly captured the imagination of fans and locals alike.
The story of Bieber’s pub takeover is as serendipitous as it sounds. Rae Wright, the bar manager at Abandon Ship, recounted the night with a mix of disbelief and delight. “It was just a standard Saturday night and then he waltzes in with three or four people,” Wright told the BBC. “He put his speaker on, set the place up, put a couple of lights on and then he just started filming.” Initially skeptical about whether it was really Bieber, Wright recalled, “I’m used to the baby Justin Bieber with the hair flick and stuff, but obviously I’ve followed him a little bit. But no one walks around Dundee in a green beanie looking like that. And then my manager gave me the side eye that said, no this is really the Biebs.”
Wright, who also manages the adjoining Bird and Bear pub, revealed to the Daily Mail that Abandon Ship was actually closed at the time due to short staffing. Yet when Bieber asked if he could use some DJ equipment and create “club vibes,” she agreed to open up the nightspot for him and his entourage. “He literally just walked in like a guy off the street. It was around 7pm,” she recalled. “He asked if he could DJ and create some club vibes.” They didn’t have decks, but they made do with sound systems and a big speaker Bieber brought along. “One of the guys was just DJing the entire time, just on our little Spotify going through it all. He was quite happy with it all.”
Bieber’s night in Dundee was anything but low-key. According to Wright, the singer and his crew enjoyed shots of whisky, downed pints of Guinness, and even played drinking games like “Ring of Fire,” leaving a trail of playing cards throughout the venue. “They kept ordering shots, including picklebacks. It’s from the prohibition era. So you have a shot of whisky followed up by a shot of pickle juice. The pickle juice hides the smell of the alcohol. That was one thing they had, I don’t think he liked it. He had it then moved swiftly onto the Tequila again,” she explained. “He was loving the Guinness and drank quite a few of those. He was outside smoking a lot, the bodyguard just stood there next to him.”
Despite the party atmosphere, Wright described Bieber as “lovely,” both to the staff and the handful of customers who managed to make it inside. “He chatted to the bar staff like we were actually people, which a lot of people don’t seem to do,” she told the BBC. “It will be nice when we’ve actually processed it all and think, wow, Justin Bieber was here.”
The impromptu music video, shot by photographer Rory Kramer, features Bieber sitting in a booth and on the bar, sometimes clutching a pint glass, surrounded by the neon-lit, mural-adorned interior of Abandon Ship. On Monday night, October 6, 2025, Bieber posted the completed video to his social media channels with the message, “Bad Honey video for your headtops.” The video rapidly gained traction, amassing more than three million views on Instagram by the following day, according to the BBC and Bang Showbiz. The bar itself shared the video on Facebook, posting: “You might have heard we had a special visitor over the weekend. Enjoy Justin Bieber laying down a new video for Bad Honey live at Abandon Ship right here in Dundee, Scotland.”
Footage and photos of Bieber’s Scottish escapades quickly began circulating on social media. Clips emerged of the singer drinking in the pub with locals, and on Sunday morning, October 5, Bieber posted photos of himself enjoying a beer on the cobbled streets of St Andrews. He also made a stop at the award-winning Cromars fish and chip shop for a classic Scottish meal, further endearing himself to fans and residents.
Bieber’s Scottish adventure didn’t end in Dundee. He was also seen at the legendary Gleneagles Hotel, where he was filmed playing the piano and singing “Walking Away,” another track from his recently released album Swag II. Both “Bad Honey” and “Walking Away” are featured on this new album, which follows July’s Swag and marks Bieber’s musical comeback after a four-year hiatus, as noted by The Courier.
Photographer Rory Kramer, who documented the night, shared his own perspective on Instagram: “Shot this impromptu video when we went out in Scotland the other night. Then Justin and I cut the video together on the flight home.” The spontaneity of the shoot was evident in the relaxed, off-the-cuff feel of the final product, which captured Bieber’s interactions with both his entourage and the Dundee locals.
As news of Bieber’s visit spread, the reaction in Dundee was a mix of astonishment and pride. “People were turning up asking where he was. Some managed to get their way in and there was a little party going on,” Wright recalled to the Daily Mail. “He was totally amicable. The people he was with, his posse, were lovely as well. It was quite nice to see, they took care of us as much as we took care of them. They said whatever makes our lives easier we can do.”
After midnight, Bieber and his group moved on to a sister venue, Nola, continuing their tour of Dundee’s nightlife. For those who were there, the night was unforgettable. As Wright put it, “It was very odd for a Saturday night, I wasn’t ready for it.”
Bieber’s Scottish escapade, from golf at St Andrews to Guinness in a Dundee pub, and an impromptu music video shoot, has become a story that locals will be telling for years to come—and one that fans around the world have now witnessed, pint glass and all, through the power of social media.
