Taylor Swift joins HAIM on stage in London for surprise mash-up performance

Taylor Swift made a surprise appearance at HAIM’s London O2 show last night, joining the band on stage for a mashed-up performance of the LA trio’s 2021 single, Gasoline, and her own 2008 song, Love Story.

Swift was greeted with rapturous applause, telling the audience: “I haven’t been on stage in a very long time. It’s nice - it’s very nice.”

She went on to say: “When I heard my girls were playing in London at the O2, I thought, ‘I’m going to have to see that’. And it looks like there’s about 20,000 other people who also thought that.

“So we had a thought, that if we were to do some sort of mash-up, we could possibly maybe get you to sing the loudest that you have sung all night. Which is a big challenge because you have been singing very loudly - it’s extraordinary work. Would you be up for it - would you sing with us?”

The answer, unsurprisingly, was yes.

Swift’s last major tour, in support of her Reputation album, ended in 2018. A headline appearance at Glastonbury, scheduled for 2020, didn’t happen due to the festival’s COVID-enforced cancellation.

The star has collaborated with HAIM a couple of times before. Her appearance on the remix of Gasoline, which was released as a single, followed the Californian sisters’ guest spot on No Body, No Crime, which featured on Swift’s 2020 album Evermore.

HAIM also supported Swift during her 1989 tour in 2015.

Ben Rogerson

I’m the Deputy Editor of MusicRadar, having worked on the site since its launch in 2007. I previously spent eight years working on our sister magazine, Computer Music. I’ve been playing the piano, gigging in bands and failing to finish tracks at home for more than 30 years, 24 of which I’ve also spent writing about music and the ever-changing technology used to make it.