'I haven’t been on stage in a very long time': Taylor Swift makes surprise appearance at Haim gig

Taylor Swift on stage with Haim at London's O2 Arena on Thursday evening Credit: Twitter/@thinkzakklknows

Pop superstar Taylor Swift surprised Haim fans with an appearance at the band's sold-out London gig on Thursday.

The 32-year-old performed a mash-up of the American pop rock band’s anthem Gasoline with her 2008 song Love Story, at the 02 Arena.

“I haven’t been on stage in a very long time, it’s nice,” she told the crowd.

The singer's last large-scale performance was in December 2019 for Z100's iHeartRadio Jingle Ball in New York.

Before Thursday, her most recent onstage appearance in the UK was also in December 2019, at Capital FM's Jingle Bell Ball in London.

Most recently, Swift has been focused on her short film All Too Well, a screen adaptation of her 2012 track of the same name.

She released the short last year and performed the entire 10-minute acoustic track to a smaller crowd at the Tribeca Film Festival last month.

For Thursday's high-energy performance, Swift matched the band with black leather trousers paired with a black crop top.

She said: “Good evening London. You know I haven’t been on stage in a very long time. It’s nice, it’s nice, it’s very nice.

“But you know, I heard that my girls were playing in London at the O2, and I thought ‘I am going to have to see that’.

“And it looks like there’s about 20,000 other people that also think that.

“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.”

At the end of her appearance, Swift hugged the band and said: “Ladies and gentleman, please take care of my best ones for the rest of the evening.

“Thank you for having me, good evening.”

Haim, comprising three sisters Este, Danielle and Alana Haim, opened for Swift during her 1989 World Tour in 2015, and also featured on her 2020 album Evermore, on the track No Body, No Crime.

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...