Taylor Swift's links to Paul McCartney as Anfield speculation grows

Taylor Swift has praised Sir Paul McCartney amidst speculation he could join her on stage at Anfield next week.

Sir Paul and Taylor have a longstanding friendship. They performed together for the 40th anniversary of the American TV show Saturday Night Live in 2015 with Taylor’s hit Shake It Off and Beatles classic I Saw Her Standing There.

Sir Paul then revealed in 2018 that his song Who Cares, which addresses the brutality of internet bullying, was inspired by the Taylor Swift.

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Sir Paul said: "I was actually thinking about Taylor Swift and her relationship to her young fans and how it's sort of a sisterly thing.

"And I was imagining talking to one of these young fans and saying, 'Have you ever been bullied? Do you get bullied?'

"Then I say, 'Who cares about the idiots? Who cares about all this? Who cares about you? Well... I do.'"

Before the pair met up for Rolling Stone’s Musicians on Musicians series in 2020, Taylor listened to McCartney III while Paul listened to Folklore.

Sir Paul’s daughters Mary McCartney and Stella McCartney took the photos of the two to go with the article and designed Taylor’s clothes respectively.

In the discussion, Taylor spoke her regret they were due to be at Glastonbury 2020 at the same time before it was cancelled due to covid, adding: "I remember thinking it would have been so much fun because the times that I’ve run into you, I correlate with being some of the most fun nights of my life."

The pair talked about a party they had both been to with Hollywood stars such as Reese Witherspoon, who asked Sir Paul to sing. He then played with Woody Harrelson on the piano.

Taylor and Sir Paul went on to share their approach to song writing and gigs as well as their experiences of fame. It was also in this discussion that Taylor revealed her love of lucky numbers, which includes 13 as she was born December 13 1989.

Taylor told Sir Paul: “Yeah, it’s lucky for me. It’s my birthday. It’s all these weird coincidences of good things that have happened. Now, when I see it places, I look at it as a sign that things are going the way they’re supposed to. They may not be good now, they could be painful now, but things are on a track. I don’t know, I love the numerology.”

For her first two concert tours, Taylor would also draw the number 13 on her hand with eyeliner before each show. Some fans also believe the number six references to Taylor's 6th studio album, Reputation, which fans speculate might be the next to get a re-record.

Meanwhile, her first gig at Anfield will be on Thursday June 13, fueling speculation she could be planning something special for the gig. Other surprise guests at recent Taylor gigs include Sabrina Carpenter and Marcus Mumford.

After this interview was published, Taylor tweeted: “It only took one day to confirm what I had suspected for years: Paul McCartney is the loveliest person alive.”

Later in the year, Sir Paul shared a video of him and Taylor shortly after the release of her Evermore album with the caption: "Congratulations to my friend Taylor Swift on her wonderful ‘evermore’ album charting at number one in the UK this week and no doubt US on Sunday.”

Last year, Taylor revealed that one of her most prized possessions was a special handwritten note Sir Paul wrote for her. Being interviewed after being named TIME Magazine's Person of the Year in 2023, she showed the framed note, hung up on display in her bathroom.

The note featured an inspirational lyric from The Beatles song Blackbird, released in 1968 that read: "Take these broken wings and learn to fly."

Taylor has also been spotted hanging out with Stella. The fashion designer posted a picture of the Reputation singer wearing one of her dresses backstage with their friend Cara Delevingne at her last Cabaret show in London.

Taylor and Sir Paul reunited earlier this year at the Super Bowl in Las Vegas, chatting in the Allegiant Stadium as Taylor’s boyfriend Travis Kelce competed in the American Football match.

It remains to be seen whether they will be together again at Anfield.

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