07 June 2024 , 07:00
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As Taylor Swift fever sweeps the nation as she prepares to bring her record-breaking Eras tour to the UK, there's one thought that crosses my mind.
Her army of fans need not be shocked after discovering she's 'singing about Joe Alwyn' in her heart-break tracks on her genius The Tortured Poets Department album. For Taylor has been singing about her exes, well, forever.
As one of the first UK journalists to interview Taylor when she first burst onto our music scene in 2011 with her ground-breaking Fearless album, just like her ode to Romeo and Juliet in her 'Love Story' track, Taylor had already worked out that relationships did not all have fairytale endings. The then 21-year-old told me after the first night of her Speak Now tour in Birmingham, England: "My favourite songs are about love and break-ups. I love getting revenge after a bad break-up. The best way to get your own back is to write about how mean they are."
READ MORE: Taylor Swift Eras tour tickets - how to purchase and when tour starts
Taylor Swift's secret heartache led to her to success (AFP via Getty Images)She joked: “Another way is to stop taking their phone calls, and burn their pictures.” That's why Swifties adore her till this day. When it comes to romance, Taylor keeps it real and does not mince her words.
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Back then, Taylor was being wooed by Hollywood hunks including Jake Gyllenhaal, singer Joe Jonas and Twilight's Taylor Lautner to name but a few. Even then she warned her potential suitors they’d better be on their best behaviour – as if anyone hurt her, there would be Bad Blood.
Taylor was hot stuff at the LG Arena in Birmingham with her enchanting fairytale set – a perfect mix of girly anthems in her sparkly princess ballgown for Love Story and 15. She then switched up the pace with her hit Better Than Revenge.
As the hits rolled in over the years, the formula for this global success was revealed, her devastating heart-break. Eagle-eyed fans got into heated debates as to which of her ex-loves she is singing about in her new album, and perhaps there is a reference to more than one. An insider confirmed Taylor is speaking about her British ex Joe in her latest masterpiece though - after she name-checked the Black Dog pub in Vauxhall, where the former couple are said to have frequented together.
Taylor was hot stuff at the LG Arena in Birmingham (NBCU Photo Bank)Staff at the Black Dog pub confirmed, "we have a certain blonde regular." The pub in Vauxhall, London, has been mobbed by Swifties, who have bought pint glasses as souvenirs from the bar name-checked on track 17 of Swift's new record.
Lily Bottomley, 24, from S C Soho, the hospitality group that owns the Black Dog, has opened up about Taylor's track. In a chat with the South London Press, she gave the biggest hint yet that Joe was the subject of the track, saying: "We know the song is about one of her ex-boyfriends and without giving too much away, I will say we have had a certain blonde regular in a few times."
With just days before Taylor arrives in the UK, fresh from her Paris leg, no doubt queues will be forming around the block in case Taylor pops in to her favourite drinking hole for a, Swift, pint.