LONDON — Oy! As a spotlight revealed Taylor Swift in her pink dress, the audience cheered. Fans near the end of the catwalk waved as she stepped up to the microphone to explain the rules of how she does one performance on the guitar and one on the piano.
“I never do the same thing twice,” Swift said to the back of the auditorium, and that rang true as the star performed a song never before heard live on the Eras Tour. “The whole night I’ve been thinking, ‘God, I love the English.'”
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She pulled away from the mic and immediately began strumming as fans reacted knowing she was going to play the “Lover” track “London Boy.”
Swift mentions her favorite spots across the English city in the pop bop like Camden Market, Highgate, West End, Brixton, Shoreditch, Hackney, Bond Street and the Heath. Different from other stops in 2024, Swift only played the song instead of mashing it up with another, although she did change up the lyrics to sing, “You know I love a London boy, I enjoy playing Wembley, sleep into the afternoon.”
The original track has a speaking intro from English actor Idris Elba who attended Thursday night’s show. Elba says, “We can go driving in, on my scooter. Uh, you know, just ’round London” and Swift chuckles.
After the guitar song, Swift mashed “Dear John” from “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” with “Sad Beautiful Tragic” from “Red (Taylor’s Version).”
It is believed the couple dated for more than six years and split last year. And for the first time during her tour which kicked off last March, she finally made reference to Joe by singing London Boy – which was written about him.
It is rumoured that her relationship with Joe had in fact inspired a few songs on the album the Tortured Poets Department Following the release of her album earlier this year, Joe reportedly received “abuse” from her fans. And in June, he decided to make his feelings known about her die-hard fans’ comments. He told Sunday Times Style magazine: “I try and dial that volume down. I was obviously made aware of it and think that mistreating anyone, whether it’s in person or behind the anonymity of a keyboard, is shameful.”
Taylor Swift references her ex boyfriend Joe Alwyn during London leg of Eras Tour ( Image: NBCU Photo Bank)
Meanwhile, according to People magazine he said that he is lucky enough to have a network of “brilliant, authentic people”, in his life as he moves on from his split. This comes after it was revealed that he has turned off comments on his Instagram account. It was claimed at the time of the album’s release that he was the subject of abuse from Swifties.
Shortly before both Joe and Taylor decided to call it quits he reportedly said that there are “difficulties” that comes with ending a “long, loving, fully committed relationship”. He described the end of their union as a “hard thing to navigate”, especially as being two well-known figures, they faced public scrutiny.
He reportedly said their separation was “speculated on” and “pulled out of shape beyond recognition” and”gap added there will “always” be a “gap between what is known and what is said.” But he claimed that he has since made peace with that. The actor said that there was a mutual agreement between him and Taylor to keep the more private details of their relationship, just that – private. And he sees “no reason to change that now.”
During the interview, Joe who has starred in films including Mary Queen of Scots, was open about his life post-Taylor, a year after the couple called time on their romance. He said that he is in a “really good place” both professionally and personally, for which he feels “fortunate” for. In her concert at Wembley this evening [Aug 16], her fans said that she “need that hug” after they witnessed an adorable moment with a fan.
Taylor returned to the stage in London after her shows were cancelled in Vienna due to an alleged terrorist plot. Usually a fan is plucked from the audience before being asked to stand at the front of the stage for a meet and greet with the global star.
And it seems during Taylor’s hug with the chosen fan, it was seemingly clear that she was enjoying the moment as much as her fan. One person wrote in social media: “Awwww Tay needed that hug.” A second person added: “She needed that hug from a fan.” And a third chimed in: “That hug was clearly needed, for both of them. Amazing.”
She only has 11 songs left from her studio albums that she hasn’t played this tour:
- “Fearless”: “Change,” “That’s When” and “Bye Bye Baby”
- “Red”: “Girl At Home,” “Ronan” and “Forever Winter”
- “Reputation”: “I Did Something Bad”
- “Lover”: “Soon You’ll Get Better”
- “The Tortured Poets Department”: “So Long, London,” “Florida!!!” and “Cassandra”
Fans anticipate she will play “So Long London” during her final night at Wembley Stadium on Tuesday.