by Lusiana Avalos
The Eras Tour has quickly become the world’s highest grossing tour of all time, according to data from Pollstar, skyrocketing Taylor Swift into eternal stardom. Rolling Stone has given her the title of “biggest popstar in the world”.
Swifties, Taylor’s fanbase, are notorious for going above and beyond for their idol, whether it’s through supporting her throughout the years, or turning into investigators any time she drops a potential clue about future projects.
So, it was no surprise that when the 34-year-old name-dropped a local pub, dozens of her fans began to flock to the The Black Dog Pub.
Once a quiet, little haven for residents of the area, now it has turned into a bustling must see attraction, even beating out the London Eye in Google search results.
The pub has decided to embrace this new surge of clientele by turning the area into a place that welcomes Swifties.
For example, they have added lyrics to their windows and walls.
The Blackdog Pub
The Black Dog in Vauxhall has been around since 2009, making it a newer establishment. However, the pub has tried to appear more vintage, for example, by adding an ornamental dog design on its wall.
With a traditional English look and a typical beer garden, this quaint pub adds charm to the residential area it abides in.
The Spanish-inspired bar has revealed that they’re having to turn guests away at the door as they’ve reached max capacity on several occasions.
Kirsty Savory, marketing consultant for the pub, said: “But the weekend was very busy. We had to turn people away because so many people wanted to come in. We needed extra security to deal with it all.”
The staff are urging the popstar to stop by the pub and have a drink as she’s set to perform in Wembley this summer.
The pub has also recently launched merchandise as they believe Swifties would love to be able to show that they’ve been there.
Lyrical References
Swift announced her 11th studio album in early 2024 during her acceptance speech at the Grammy’s.
A few weeks after her announcement she said: “I needed to make it”
As usual, the Pennsylvanian artist released a deluxe album, The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthropology that featured 31 songs in total, one of them being “The Blackdog Pub”. Her fans speculated that this song was written about her ex-boyfriend, Joe Alwyn who grew up in North London.
Fans were shocked when news broke out about Swift and Alwyn split in April 2023, around the time the singer set off for her Eras tour, after dating for six years.
“The relationship had just run its course,” a source had told Entertainment Tonight.
Due to his heritage, the couple had spent a lot of their time in the British capital, which helped listeners of TTPD narrow down the exact pub Swift mentions in her song.
This wouldn’t be the first time the Midnights singer referenced London in her music. Swift has a long history with the city. Joe wouldn’t be the first British boy that the artist has dated. Her British Boyfriend list includes Harry Styles, Tom Hiddleston and allegedly Matty Healy.
Swift released her fourth studio album, Red, in 2012 featuring a song called “Come Back … Be here” where she sings “I guess you’re in London today and I don’t wanna need you this way,” and “but you’re in London and I break down cause it’s not fair that you’re not around.”
In 2018, she begins working on her Lover album, which she recorded at Metropolis Studio in West London.
Her song, London Boy, references many locations:
“I enjoy walking Camden Market in the afternoon”
“I enjoy nights in Brixton, Shoreditch in the afternoon”
Celebrity Endorsements
The pub isn’t the only thing that Taylor Swift has had her magical touch on. In a recent TikTok video, Swift is seen dancing to her lead single from TTDD dressed in a purple pirouette skirt.
The skirt, from Popflex, has reportedly been sold out in Lavendar, the color that Taylor appears in during the short clip.
Swift’s influence on The Black Dog pub is not the first instance of celebrity endorsement we’ve seen.
London has a long history of celebrity “endorsement”, from Notting Hill becoming a hotspot for lovers of the movie by the same name, to the Beatle’s putting Abbey Road on the map.
The Barbican saw an increase in visitors after Harry Styles’ As It Was released in April of 2022.
However, this influx allowed a more sustainable approach to the conservatory as the area where he filmed his video is simply a large seating area.
Although having “the Taylor effect” boost sales up for one’s local business, it “isn’t an unequivocally good thing”, according to Forbes magazine online.
It wouldn’t be as sustainable as one may think due to possible staffing shortages or supply chain issues.
This would all lead to failure to supply product demand and can have a negative influence on die-hard fans that were excited to connect with their idols.
Another thing to note would be that attention could be taken away from the product or establishment itself due to the popularity of the celebrity endorsing it.
So Long, London
One of the songs featured on Swift’s deluxe album is called So Long, London. Many fans speculate that this is her way of saying goodbye to London as her home.
She still owns a mansion in North London that she completely renovated to make as her European base.
Now that she’s dating American football star Travis Kelce, the chances of her roaming around on this side of the pond are low.
Not to mention that The Eras Tour is set to end in December of this year in North America and she will likely be spending the holidays with Kelce and family.
However, with her domination on the music world, there is no doubt “the Taylor effect” won’t take another local gem into the limelight.
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