Liverpool author Frank Cottrell-Boyce claims Taylor Swift is bigger than The Beatles

Liverpool author Frank Cottrell-Boyce has heralded Taylor Swift as being "bigger than The Beatles” as she brings her Eras tour to the UK.

The singer begins her week of gigs in Edinburgh on Friday, before hosting three nights for fans at Liverpool FC’s Anfield stadium.

BBC Radio 4’s Today programme asked Cottrell-Boyce to write an essay comparing the impact of her arrival in the UK with the Fab Four's appearances in the United States in the 1960s.

He wrote, "There’s been no musical phenomenon on this scale since The Beatles invaded America.

"In fact on paper she is in many ways bigger than they were: a musical alexander bestriding the world with cities renaming themselves in honour of her visits."

Liverpool City Council, which is hosting a series of events branded Taylor Town, replied on social media saying, "Bigger than the fabs. Bold claim Mr C-B. Not sure how you're going to shake that one off..."

Swift’s billion-dollar blockbuster tour has created a frenzy of excitement amongst fans, known as Swifties.

British and Irish fans have waited more than a year for the show, which kicked off in Glendale, Arizona in March 2023.

Since then she has crossed the US, Asia and south America and made stops across Europe, often accompanied by her boyfriend, the NFL star Travis Kelce.

But the wait finally ends when she steps out onto the stage at Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh on Friday, ahead of shows in Liverpool, Cardiff, London and Dublin.

She will then return to London in August.

Swift filmed the video for her song I Can See You in Liverpool in April 2023.

Reading his essay on air, Cottrell-Boyce said Liverpool should “take it as a compliment” that Swift had chosen to return.

He referred to the difference between the baby boomers of The Beatles’ day and the challenges faced by those who have grown up loving Taylor Swift.

He said, "A generation, maybe two generations, who have been kept away form each other by digital distraction, by traumas like the pandemic or the Manchester bombing, are now out there in the street.

"How amazing for them to see a stadium whose crowds are normally overwhelmingly male, this time overwhelmingly full of girls and young women.

"In Anfield, dressed in the colours of their favourite Eras, they will see each other IRL at last."

Swift will perform a revamped Eras tour in the UK, featuring changes to her setlist, support acts and costumes.

The US superstar restructured the concert as she kicked off the European leg of her juggernaut tour in Paris at the beginning of May.

She cut several songs to showcase music from her new album, with tracks widely interpreted to be about her rumoured romance with The 1975 frontman Matty Healy from Cheshire.

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