Neil Diamond went back to school in Brooklyn Monday night.
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter held an impromptu concert in advance of a new album at Erasmus Hall High School, the Flatbush school where he attended and learned to play piano more than five decades ago.
The legendary singer who gained lasting fame when his hit song “Sweet Caroline” became a sports arena standby performed to a standing-room only crowd in the school’s auditorium at about 6 p.m.
Diamond announced the concert Thursday with a tweet saying, “Back to Brooklyn, back to school…” followed by a second one announcing when doors would open.
Word got out quickly, and lines soon snaked from the school with fans from across the region hoping to get tickets.
Those who did make it into the show were treated to some of the 73-year-old’s greatest hits along with stories from his time at school. Each concertgoer also got to leave with a keepsake poster commemorating the surprise concert.
One attendee, Burt Mazo, said the concert brought him back to when he and Diamond were classmates.
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“He told stories that I forgot about being in Erasmus,” Mazo said.
Diamond isn’t the only musician to make it big after attending Erasmus Hall High School. Barbra Streisand and record mogul Clive Davis also went to class at the Flatbush Avenue School.
Fans who didn’t make it into the jam-packed auditorium could have another chance to see Diamond in his home borough early next year. He announced a new tour Monday on Facebook, which will include a show at Barclays Center in March.
