Former One Direction star Liam Payne has died at the age of 31.
The singer was in Argentina when he was found dead by police.
How did Payne die?
Local police said Payne had fallen from the third floor of a hotel in the capital Buenos Aires on Wednesday evening.
He is said to have suffered “extremely serious injuries”.
Alberto Crescenti, head of the state emergency medical system, said on Argentinian television that Payne fell into a courtyard of the CasaSur Hotel in the trendy Palermo neighbourhood.
He declined to answer further questions about the incident, including whether Payne jumped from the balcony or fell by accident.
Pablo Policicchio, a spokesperson for the security ministry of Buenos Aires municipality, said police were called to the hotel in response to an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol”.
Tributes as Payne found dead at hotel – follow latest
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Fans gather outside the hotel where Liam Payne died
Payne’s social media post hours before death
Payne had posted on Snapchat in the last few hours, and in one video he said it was a “lovely day here in Argentina”.
“Just enjoying coffee and breakfast, even though it’s like 1pm,” he said. “Literally sleep in every day until like 12. We’re such losers.”
The star spoke about “going to ride some horses” and said: “Think I’m going to play polo again which is going to put me out of action for about six weeks.”
“It’s going to be a nice day,” he added.
It was not clear when the videos were filmed, but were posted hours before his death.
Why was Payne in Argentina?
Payne was in Buenos Aires to attend the concert of his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan.
He was seen dancing at his show two weeks ago at the Movistar Arena alongside his girlfriend Kate Cassidy.
:: Anyone feeling emotionally distressed can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
Gregg Wallace says he did not say “anything sexual” while appearing on a BBC game show more than half a decade ago.
The 59-year-old MasterChef UK judge was responding to reports that there was an alleged incident in 2018 when he appeared on Impossible Celebrities, which was investigated by the BBC.
The Saturday night quiz show, hosted by Rick Edwards, ran for eight series between 2017 and 2021.
The BBC’s review found he could continue working at the corporation, The Sun newspaper reported.
In an Instagram story following the front-page story on Monday, Wallace said: “The story that’s hitting the newspapers this morning was investigated promptly when it happened six years ago by the BBC.
“And the outcome of that was that I hadn’t said anything sexual. I’ll need to repeat this again. I didn’t say anything sexual.”
Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015 to 2023, when he stepped away and said he wanted to focus on taking care of his autistic and non-verbal son, Sid, who he shares with his wife, 39-year-old caterer Anne-Marie Sterpini.
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The couple married in 2016 in Haver Castle in Kent with MasterChef co-presenter John Torode as best man, after meeting three years earlier on Twitter when she asked him his opinion on pairing duck with rhubarb.
In a second short video, the former greengrocer said: “Despite what the newspapers are suggesting, nobody six years ago accused me of flirting with anybody or hitting on anybody.
“And the reason I say this is because of my wife Anna. I have always been true to my wife Anna and have never flirted or hit on anybody in the 12 years that I met her and fell in love with her.
“And it’s important that – so that people don’t misunderstand that – that I am true to my wife.”
A BBC spokesman said: “Whilst we do not comment on individuals, if issues are raised they are dealt with swiftly and appropriately at the time.
“We do not tolerate any form of inappropriate behaviour and have robust processes in place.”
The BBC’s been treading on eggshells of late, with complaints about welfare checks for contestants on Strictly Come Dancing, and the sacking of One Show presenter Jermaine Jenas, after he admitted sending inappropriate messages to female colleagues.
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Wallace, who has been married four times, has two children, Tom and Libby, from a former relationship.
In 2019, he co-wrote Gregg’s Italian Family Cookbook with his current wife Anna, who is a caterer.
Wallace has featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.
He was made an MBE for services to food and charity last year.
Sky News has contacted Wallace for further comment.
Coronation Street star Geoff Hinsliff has died aged 87, ITV has said.
The actor was best known for playing Don Brennan on the soap from 1987 to 1997. He died last weekend.
Helen Worth, who plays Gail Platt, paid tribute to Hinsliff on behalf of Coronation Street and ITV, saying: “Geoff was a lovely, quiet man who will be sadly missed by us all.
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“His partnership with Lynne Perrie was something rather special and they gave the viewers huge pleasure for many years.”
Born in Leeds, Hinsliff studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and initially appeared on Coronation Street in 1963 and 1977 as different characters.
He joined the cast as taxi driver Don in 1987.
His 10-year stint on the cobbles saw him commit kidnap and attempted murder after several business deals went wrong before he was killed off when he crashed his car into a viaduct.
Read more from Sky News: Inside the simmering anger after the riots Starmer declares more freebies than any other MP since 2019 Serving governor’s brutal portrait of life in a crowded prison
Hinsliff made his television debut in an episode of Z-Cars and also appeared in Doctor Who, Brass and the film A Bridge Too Far.
He made his last TV appearance in Heartbeat in 2003.
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Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has been given a six-month driving ban for speeding in his Rolls-Royce.
The 26-year-old was reportedly caught going at 104mph on the M60 in Manchester in December last year.
A court official confirmed the ban and said he had been fined £1,666, ordered to pay £120 court costs and a £66 surcharge.
The footballer admitted the offence under the Single Justice Procedure.
Rashford, who wasn’t picked for England’s Euro 2024 squad, is believed to earn about £300,000 per week.
He was caught speeding less than three months after he crashed a different Rolls-Royce – worth £700,000 – after leaving the club’s training ground.
No ambulance was required after the collision, which involved another vehicle.
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Rashford also reportedly owns a McLaren 765LT and a £350,000 Lamborghini Urus Performante, but will now have to leave them in the garage until January.
After his omission from the England squad earlier this summer, Rashford told fans he wanted to reset mentally after a “challenging season” in which he scored just eight goals.
He told his followers on X he was taking a break from social media to “rest and reset”.
Fraser T Smith is the producer you want on speed dial to make a hit. His CV of collaborators reads like a who’s who of chart-toppers, award-winners and A-listers, from Adele, Sam Smith and Drake, to Britney Spears, Kylie Minogue and Idris Elba, while his work with Stormzy, Kano and Dave has helped push the sound of UK rap and grime.
We speak on Zoom, chatting about this year’s Glastonbury festival and the electric headline sets from both Dua Lipa and Coldplay. He worked with both during lockdown, when they were among 24 acts he brought together, along with Dave Grohl, to fundraise through a cover of Foo Fighters‘ Times Like These.
Looking at other British acts that have topped the bill in the past few years – Ed Sheeran, Florence And The Machine, Kasabian, as well as Stormzy and Adele, and you can see a Smith-shaped pattern.
He laughs a little at the suggestion. “I feel incredibly grateful to know so many of these great artists I have been working with,” he replies. Music’s most in-demand producer is softly spoken and unassuming, quick to credit others for their successes.
He describes the moment during Stormzy’s 2019 set, when the star was joined by Coldplay’s Chris Martin for Blinded By Your Grace, Pt 1, as one of many “pinch me” moments of his career.
“You never really write a song going, let’s envisage this doing this, or winning awards or going to number one. When you then fast-forward to moments like that… hang on a minute, we wrote this around like a simple keyboard and acoustic guitar, and now Chris Martin’s playing the chords to it and Stormzy’s singing it in front of, well, 100,000 people, but also millions around the world. It is just mind-blowing.”
For years, Smith has been the genius behind the scenes, quietly lending his talents as a producer and songwriter for the industry’s biggest stars, never hungry for the spotlight himself.
He has co-written, mixed and produced seven UK number one singles, two Billboard number ones in the US, and contributed to 18 chart-topping albums. He is also a Grammy winner thanks to his work on Adele’s second album, 21, and a three-time Ivor Novello winner through collaborations with Dave.
In 2020, he ventured out of the shadows as Future Utopia, releasing a concept album of collaborations titled 12 Questions, featuring the likes of Stormzy, Dave, Kano and Elba. For that one, he felt like “conductor of the orchestra”. Now, the follow-up, Django’s High, puts him front and centre stage as lead vocalist for the first time.
“As much as people know me for collaboration and know I’ve collaborated with a lot of great people in the past, I really felt like I wanted to this album to have the stamp, the identity on it, which was very much ours,” he says.
It took a while for Smith to believe in himself as a singer and frontman. The record, which he describes as “a psychedelic Spaghetti Western”, was executive-produced by Kasabian’s Serge Pizzorno, who gave Smith “confidence and tips on my vocals”.
“I started sketching vocal melody ideas, maybe for someone else to sing,” he says. “I’ve worked with so many great singers, like Adele and Sam Smith, I find it hard to think of myself as a singer at this point.” He checks himself quickly. “I don’t want to put people off because I’m really proud of my vocals on there and I definitely have got good melody ideas. But I also love this kind of multi-layered sound of harmonies and I worked with an amazing artist called Molly J, who sings backing vocals.”
The result is a “mesh of harmonies”, he says. “I’m not professing to be Lewis Capaldi, but… I’m very proud of this record and I really hope people enjoy it.”
After performing a 12 Questions show on stage with collaborators including Kojey Radical and Simon Armitage, Smith discovered a taste for being on stage in front of a crowd. He’s a fan of the immersive experience, performers communicating “with the audience as one, rather than it being the typical sort of icon on the stage and everyone else beneath”.
Crowd-surfing might be a step too far, though. “I don’t know about crowd-surfing necessarily,” he laughs, “but I’d love to feel that we could do a gig that was in the round, you know, the way Taylor Swift does those gigs and it just incorporates everyone into the whole journey. You never know, I might crowd surf… I dunno, it always looks a bit dangerous. What if people drop you?”
As someone who has worked in the background for so long, Smith is vocal about some of the biggest issues affecting the industry. On streaming and artists being paid enough for their work, he says this is an even bigger problem for songwriters and producers behind the scenes.
“Songwriters are typically not going out and touring, not getting the branding deals and not doing the corporate shows,” he says. “I feel very passionately that the songwriters of these amazing songs, the co-writers and the teams of writers, are looked after, or else this will become something of a dying art – or an art which is, equally as dangerous, excluding the working classes and it just becomes a privilege for the upper classes”.
Streaming has levelled the playing field and taken away industry “gatekeepers”, he says, which is “fantastic… I like the fact creativity is open and anybody can create”. However, if artists are being paid “pennies” it becomes “an untenable situation… we want to make sure new talented young bands can actually keep going and they’re not having to necessarily be in the back of a transit van [touring] for, like, 10 years before they’re even making minimum wage”.
On artificial intelligence, which has led to artists including Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj and Jon Bon Jovi demanding more protection in recent months, Smith describes it as “a really big wake-up call”, but believes it has led to many performers working harder to shift away from music that sounds synthetic.
“If we don’t start getting back to music which sounds more conscious and more organic, ie played by real people, then I think we are in danger of… it’s almost like pop will eat itself,” he says. “Certain techniques in the studio make it very easy for you to come up with music very quickly, but that just sounds like AI music.
“We can see through the popularity of artists like Taylor Swift – and Dua Lipa’s new album to me sounds way more organic and way more heartfelt than the albums before, which have been fantastic but have sounded quite airbrushed. I think there’s a rawness to this new record which people seem to be really resonating with, and people are still rushing out and buying vinyl, people are still into bands – not just bands that have had success in the past, new bands like Fontaines DC or Last Dinner Party, there’s a popularity within a rawer kind of more human sound.”
So AI could be a good thing, he says. “Because in the long-term, we’re all going to be making music which hopefully taps deeper into the well of human emotion, which is something AI will never be able to replicate.”
As well as Future Utopia, Smith is still producing. Current projects include “an incredible record” by spoken word performer and poet Kae Tempest – “which I don’t want to say too much about, but I think one of the incredible things for a producer is being able to join forces with an artist where it feels like that artist is just going to absolutely have their moment” – and music with Bridgerton star and “amazing” artist Simone Ashley.
“I think you are what you eat in a way and I think I grew up listening to so many different genres,” he says. “I love this melting pot of different influences and genre.”
Strictly Come Dancing star Graziano Di Prima has confirmed he is leaving the show amid reports of alleged misconduct.
The Italian dancer, 30, said in a statement that he “deeply regrets” the events that led to his exit.
It comes after reports Di Prima had been let go from the BBC One primetime show following allegations of gross misconduct towards one of his former dance partners.
He wrote in a statement posted on Instagram: “I deeply regret the events that led to my departure from Strictly. My intense passion and determination to win might have affected my training regime.
“Respecting the BBC HR process, I understand it’s best for the show that I step away.
“While there are aspects of this story involving external influences that I can’t discuss at this time, I remain committed to being strong for my family and friends.
“I wish the Strictly family and the BBC nothing but success in the future. I also want to thank everyone who has supported my career, both professionally and personally. When the time is right, I will share my story.”
Di Prima joined Strictly in 2018 and his celebrity partners have included radio DJ Vick Hope, Loose Women panellist Judi Love, TV presenter Kym Marsh, and Love Island star Zara McDermott.
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A BBC spokesperson said: “We can confirm that Graziano Di Prima is no longer a part of the line-up of professional dancers for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.
“While we would never comment on individual cases, it is well-known that the BBC has established robust duty of care procedures, and if issues are raised we will always take them seriously and act swiftly as appropriate.”
It comes after the broadcaster confirmed Giovanni Pernice would not be part of the line-up of professionals amid allegations about his teaching methods.
Read more: Alec Baldwin manslaughter case dismissed Princess of Wales to attend Wimbledon men’s final
The Italian dancer, 33, has previously dismissed the allegations he displayed “abusive or threatening behaviour” as “simply false” and said he is “cooperating fully” with an ongoing BBC investigation.
Strictly is set to mark its 20th year in the upcoming series, with professionals including 2023 winner Vito Coppola and Amy Dowden, who had missed last year’s series after she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
Aljaz Skorjanec, who won in his debut year in 2013 with model Abbey Clancy, is also set to return to the show following a two-year break.
Dua Lipa has set the bar high for this year’s Glastonbury headliners, performing a slick set of hits to an enormous crowd at the festival’s famous Pyramid Stage.
The 28-year-old star told fans she had manifested the moment, but watching her command the stage – hit after hit played, voice soaring, dance moves effortless – it seems her talent was always going to bring her here.
Starting with Training Season, from her latest album Radical Optimism, Lipa kept the energy levels high throughout for tracks including Be The One, Levitating, Hallucinate, One Kiss, Physical, New Rules and Don’t Start Now.
As is Glastonbury tradition, fireworks lit the sky, during and after the set, while several costume changes also added to the sense of occasion – which the singer described as “the maddest night of my life”.
Telling the crowd about manifesting the experience, she also hinted she would be staying on at the festival to enjoy the rest of the weekend (although probably not in a tent, I’m guessing).
“I have written this moment down. I’ve wished for it, I’ve dreamt, I’ve worked so hard in the hopes that maybe one day I’ll get to do it and I can’t believe I’m here,” she said.
“You know when I wrote it down, I was very specific, I said I really wanted to headline the Pyramid stage on a Friday night because then I knew I could party for the next two days in the best place on Earth.
“I’m so grateful, little me would just be beside herself right now.”
Read more: Full line-up for Glastonbury 2024 – with space for surprises
Lipa’s performance included Cold Heart, her Sir Elton John collaboration, which saw her greeting delighted fans at the front of the crowd, who had no doubt been there for hours beforehand to save the spot.
She followed another Glastonbury tradition by bringing out a surprise guest – Kevin Parker from Tame Impala, to perform The Less I Know The Better from his band’s 2015 album, Currents – and teased Barbie’s Dance The Night during one of her several costume changes.
The star also showed awareness of the festival audience, with 90s rave imagery on screens and confetti cannons blasting rainbows.
It’s something some big acts can get wrong – to go down in Glastonbury headlining history, it needs to be more than just an extra tour show.
At times, however, the set was so slick, it felt more geared to the TV audience than to the crowd – a couple of songs saw Lipa performing to the camera, back to the audience, for good chunks of time – but when the choreography is this good, it’s captivating to watch wherever you are. It’s a small complaint.
Festival organiser Emily Eavis had said beforehand that Lipa was “born” to headline.
By the time the star had closed the set with Houdini, she had proved her absolutely right.
Read more on Sky News: Brian Cox reunites with D:Ream Meet Glastonbury’s State Of The Ground Guy Glastonbury ‘likely taking break in 2026’
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If Lipa is indeed staying on to enjoy the weekend, she’ll get to see for herself the huge array of brilliant acts on offer.
But as headline sets go, hers will be a hard act to beat – a masterclass from a world-class, proper pop star.
Giovanni Pernice will not return for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC has confirmed.
The 33-year-old Italian dancer has performed on the BBC 1 primetime show for nine years.
He was not announced as part of the show’s line-up of professional dancers for 2024 following reports he would not compete.
Pernice has rejected allegations he displayed “abusive or threatening behaviour” while working as a professional dancer on the show, following complaints about his conduct.
A legal firm acting on behalf of the complainants said the broadcaster is “evidence gathering” – but the BBC has not confirmed any probe has been launched.
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Are you ready for it? Because this week, Taylor Swift rolls into town for the first UK dates of her record-shattering Eras tour, to dominate front pages, social media, and a large proportion of the national conversation for the foreseeable.
Something has shifted in the Swiftverse in the past few years. She now transcends even the highest echelons of pop fame, massively boosting everything from music sales to, well, the entire global economy.
The Eras tour is a cultural and economic juggernaut; the first to cross the $1bn mark, according to Pollstar’s 2023 year-end charts, and already beating the record set by Sir Elton John and his Farewell Yellow Brick Road goodbye, which ran from 2018 to 2023 and grossed $939 million. Several experts predict it could generate more than $4bn by the time it finishes.
Swift is the first arts and entertainment star to be named Time’s Person of the Year. The first ever music billionaire to reach the milestone solely through her songwriting and recording. A slick pop star who understands the power of This. Sick. Beat, but also a songwriter and lyricist whose words are studied as poetry around the world. She has long been the biggest modern music star on the planet – but could she now be the biggest of all time?
To answer that question, you have to look to The Beatles. The band that changed the nature of the industry, long regarded as the most influential music act in music history.
In October last year, Swift re-released her fifth album, 1989, the record that really marked her crossover from incredibly successful country star to pop phenomenon. Featuring re-records of tracks that remain among her biggest hits to date, including Shake It Off, Blank Space and Bad Blood, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) inevitably followed all her others in skipping to the top of charts around the world.
Three weeks later came reissues of The Beatles’ classic Red and Blue album collections following the surprise release of Now And Then, the first original single in years, finally finished by Sir Paul McCartney and Sir Ringo Starr after more than four decades.
Now And Then topped the singles chart, naturally. But when it came to taking on Swift on the album chart, the star held her spot – denying the biggest and most influential band in history an extension to their record-breaking UK number one tally of 16.
The unstoppable force of Taylor Swift
Of course, The Beatles albums were reissues, but it’s worth noting Swift’s re-recordings are also not entirely new – she is re-recording much of her early work to reclaim her rights, with the addition of “from the vault” tracks – plus, fans had already been buying 1989 (Taylor’s Version) for three weeks by this point.
To Swifties, she is undoubtedly the biggest music artist of all time. To fans of the Fab Four, there will never be another act that comes close. Can their achievements be compared?
It’s tricky. Swift and The Beatles reached the height of their fame (and Swift might not even be there yet) in different – ahem – eras. There are multiple caveats – inflation, population growth, streaming and the affordability of music, live music becoming more lucrative, social media, do we include the individual Beatles’ solo output (we haven’t), and so on – that mean there is no exact science here.
But, we’ve given it a go…
Topping the charts
In the battle of the number ones, The Beatles get the points.
When it comes to singles, surprisingly, Swift hasn’t had as many as you might think topping the charts in the UK. Her first was Look What You Made Me Do in 2017 – Shake It Off, her biggest-selling hit, reached number one in the US, but number two here. Anti-Hero, from Midnights, became her second UK number one in 2022, with Is It Over Now? (Taylor’s Version) and Fortnight, her recent collaboration with Post Malone, adding to the pile in the last year.
The Beatles, on the other hand, started scoring number ones early on. The first, From Me To You, was their third single, released in 1963, and was followed by hits including She Loves You, I Want To Hold Your Hand, Can’t Buy Me Love, Help!, All You Need Is Love, Hey Jude… the list goes on.
Album chart-toppers are more evenly matched. The Beatles actually have more in the US than they have in the UK, as different versions and more records were released across the pond. All apart from one of their 12 studio albums topped the charts in the UK – Yellow Submarine peaked at number three in 1969 – and they have also reached the top spot with live and compilation albums.
Apart from her debut, Taylor Swift, released in 2006, all of Swift’s albums have reached number one in the US. In the UK it was her fourth album, Red, that became her first chart-topper, and all others since have followed.
Record sales
This one is a tricky one as not all sales are certified. According to Guinness (and we’ll come to world records later), The Beatles have amassed the greatest sales for any group, with all-time sales estimated by record label EMI at more than one billion discs and tapes to date. Note this is worldwide, and estimated.
So we’ve looked at certified sales of the music star’s studio albums – no compilations or live album sales – in the UK and US. In the UK, The Beatles take the win, with more platinum and gold sales than Swift. But in the US, she’s way ahead.
Interestingly, they both add up to just under 295 million certified sales in the UK and US.
In the UK, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) rates platinum sales for albums as those that reach 300,000 units, with gold sales at 100,000. In the US, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) rates diamond sales for albums at 10m units, while platinum is 1m and gold is 500,000.
The trophy cabinet
Swift wins this one – but there are a lot more awards up for grabs nowadays. She has 26 Teen Choice Awards, for example, and 40 American Music Awards, and neither were around in the 1960s.
The Grammy Awards were, though, and Swift is definitely the winner here – with 14 wins out of 52 nominations. Earlier this year, she became the first and only artist to win the Grammy for album of the year four times, for Midnights (2024), Folklore (2021), 1989 (2016), and Fearless (2010). She also has the most nominations for song of the year, with seven, but interestingly has never won in this category.
The Beatles have seven Grammy wins from 23 nominations, including best new artist and best performance by a vocal group, for A Hard Day’s Night, in 1964.
Despite her Grammys success, Swift is by no means the ceremony’s biggest winner – that accolade goes to Beyonce, who has 32 gongs from 88 nominations.
Deep space and earthquakes: Who’s the biggest record breaker?
In 2021, Swift’s re-recorded version of Fearless became the star’s third to top the UK charts in less than 12 months, breaking a long-held record by The Beatles.
In February, she surpassed their record for holding the most weeks in the Billboard 200’s Top 10 in the last 60 years. In April, she topped the UK album chart with The Tortured Poets Department, outselling the rest of the top 10 combined and beating The Beatles for the record of fastest artist to rack up 12 UK number ones.
And remember her billionaire status? Well, Sir Paul is also in the club – but having reached that point only earlier this year, a month after Swift, it’s taken him a lot longer to gain membership.
According to Guinness, Swift currently holds at least 77 records, while The Beatles hold at least 29. However, there is a chance there could be even more than this as records are constantly being set and broken – and it should be noted that with streaming, inflation and more awards shows now, it is easier to keep breaking records now than it was back in The Beatles’ day.
Some of Swift’s records include several for Spotify, such as being the most streamed act in 24 hours following the release of Midnights in 2022; most US singles chart entries (263); most million-selling weeks on the US albums chart; plus the greatest seismic activity caused by a music concert (equivalent to a 2.3 magnitude earthquake).
The Beatles’ records include the best-selling group ever worldwide; most consecutive weeks at number one on the UK albums chart – 30 weeks in 1963 for debut Please Please Me; most viewed Wikipedia page for a music group; and first song to be beamed into deep space with Across The Universe in 2008, courtesy of NASA.
Can’t Buy Me Love – but musicians can boost an economy
Now this one is pretty difficult to compare. So we won’t. But there are some impressive stats.
According to Barclays’ Swiftonomics report, released in May, the UK leg of the Eras tour is set to boost the UK economy by almost $1bn.
Eras Tour tickets sparked a 15.8% year-on-year increase in UK spending on entertainment when they were released last July, the bank says, and now the dates are here, nearly 1.2m fans attending 15 gigs taking place in Edinburgh, Cardiff, Liverpool and London are predicted to spend an average of £848 in total on tickets, travel, accommodation, outfits and other expenses.
The Beatles’ economic impact is harder to quantify. But there is information available on the band’s continuing boost to Liverpool alone – £81.9m to their home city’s economy each year, according to a report commissioned by Liverpool City Council in 2016.
This was set to grow by up to 15% each year, the report found at the time, with the band’s legacy also supporting more than 2,300 jobs.
Help! Is Swift bigger than The Beatles?
We asked some experts for their thoughts.
Dave Fawbert, founder of the Swiftogeddon club nights playing Swift, and nothing but Swift, says she is unmatched at the moment.
“She really does have it all,” he says. “She’s incredibly gifted melodically… you listen to Shake It Off, there’s literally about eight incredible hooks in that song.
“Most of the tracks, you hear the choruses once or twice, they’re so well written, you’ll be able to sing along by the third chorus. The other thing about her songs is they’re arranged so brilliantly, there’s never any wasted space in them.”
And then there’s her lyrics, he says, her ability to pick out universal emotions, specific details, and express them in song. “And she’s done it across virtually every genre. She’s a genius and she’s got the genius to work with good people as well.”
He says he would compare her dominance now to that of Michael Jackson in the 1980s and 1990s. But what about The Beatles? “I mean, they’re the best, I’m not sure they’ll ever be surpassed,” he admits. “But Taylor’s close.”
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UK tribute band The Bootleg Beatles say it’s too early to make a call.
“The music of The Beatles has already stood the test of time. The reaction we get as we continually tour around the UK – we’re back this month – and indeed the world, is testament to that,” they say. “So, while Taylor Swift is undoubtedly a wonderful talent, it’s probably around 50 years too early to judge her against the Fab Four.”
Hits Radio presenter Tom Green says they are two artists that “owned the zeitgeist” of their times. So is the comparison fair? “Yes and no.”
He elaborates: “I think it was probably a bit easier to be the whole zeitgeist in the ’60s, because there was only so many media outlets. Everyone was watching the same thing.”
Now, it’s a lot harder to create something that everyone is looking at, but Swift is constantly keeping our attention, he says. “I think the comparisons are really hard to do and music is so subjective. But I think the interesting thing about The Beatles is they brought in a genre of music, they ushered in the genre of rock and roll into pop music.”
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Dr Clio Doyle, a lecturer in early modern literature at Queen Mary University of London, teaches a module on Swift’s lyrics as literature. In her field, she says she would draw comparisons with artists such as Bob Dylan rather than The Beatles.
“It’s this kind of body of work that is really self-examining and self-revising and revisiting in a way that feels very dynamic and alive and intellectually interesting,” she says of Swift’s music. “I also think that one thing Swift has always done throughout her career is, she’s often talking about literature – from a very early song like Love Story, which is rewriting Romeo And Juliet, to a later song like The Lakes, which is thinking about romantic poetry.”
Dylan became the first musician to win the Nobel Prize for literature in 2016, she points out, a decision deemed controversial due to arguments over whether lyrics count as literature. “I think we have to say they do because they’re written texts,” says Dr Doyle. “I think those are very interesting conversations. And I think we see some of those conversations also now around Taylor Swift.”
And Amy Skjerseth, a lecturer in audiovisual media and a member of the Institute of Popular Music at the University of Liverpool, says that like Swift, The Beatles also had different eras, but Swift’s experience in the industry will have been different to theirs, as four male stars.
“For women-identifying pop stars, eras often are about survival in a music industry that does not make space for them, especially for artists of colour and queer artists,” she says. “There are also significant differences in class between Swift and The Beatles – Swift’s family had the means to support her career.
“And while Beatlemania was heavily stereotyped back in the day, Swift’s fans have an increased ability to push for social justice and social change, connect with each other, and create a larger sense of community.
“Beyond Taylor Swift, the Eras concept might help attract wider attention to artists who have worked tirelessly under the radar to transform their musical messages across changing times.”
So are we any closer to saying whether Swift is the biggest artist of all time?
Some of the stats suggest she might be. Beatles fans will disagree.
Will there be an answer? Maybe in 50 years, as The Bootleg Beatles say. For now, we’ll let it be.