In a new interview with American Songwriter, Beatles drummer Ringo Starr shared his thoughts on Taylor Swift and how she is this generation’s Beatlemania.
“I do. I think Taylor Swift is great anyway,” Starr responded when asked if he thinks Swift’s fame is the closest to Beatlemania. “She’s pulling them in. When we talk about her, I always have to mention that the first time I met her, she was 14 and she was at the Grammy’s with her mother. Then I saw a photo just yesterday of her and her mother. Mom’s still at it.”
This is not the first time the drummer praised the pop singer. “There are several great bands out there, girl singers out there. I mean, the biggest star in the world, Taylor [Swift]. We used to meet her when she was, like, 5, at the Grammys with her mother. And the beat goes on.”
The drummer also talked about the Beatles’ legacy and highlighted that Taylor Swift has taken a similar route as her audience has expanded with each new album. The rocker described the influence both acts have had in this way: “That’s what’s great. We’re blessed, as the Beatles, because each generation has a listen to us. They see, ‘What does that mean to those guys?’ So we’re still selling records, can you believe it? And we’re still remastering them, and we’re still putting them in different orders and putting out outtakes. Life is good.”
Taylor Swift released her 11th studio album, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ on April this year. The album shattered multiple streaming records on Spotify from the very first day. It achieved the highest number of pre-saves in the platform’s history and became the most streamed album in a single day for 2024.