Sir Paul McCartney has drawn a striking comparison between Taylor Swift’s global popularity and the level of worldwide fame The Beatles experienced at their peak, saying he can see a clear parallel between the two eras.
Speaking in an interview with BBC Radio 2, McCartney said he has admired a wave of modern female pop stars and singled out Swift’s talent and he called her “very good” and “clever.”
McCartney went further when discussing the scale of Swift’s celebrity, saying the “amount of fame” and “worldwide fame” she has today reminded him of what The Beatles lived through in the 1960s. Despite that acknowledgement, he added that Swift likely does not need guidance from him, though he said he would offer advice if she ever asked.
“Coming more to modern day, there’s a lot of girl singers and I mean that was there wasn’t when we were kids was like all guys for a long time,” McCartney said. “So yeah, I’ve met a few of these girls and you know admired what they’re doing. I think they’re good singers. Taylor Swift’s very good. She’s you know clever.”
He also described socialising with Swift and other major artists at a party, naming Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, and Sabrina Carpenter as people he ended up chatting with. McCartney characterised himself as a kind of older relative figure to the current generation, while emphasising that he respects their voices and what they are achieving.
“And you do see the parallel, you know, like fame and the amount of fame and the worldwide fame that Taylor Swift has and that we had,” he continued. “But I don’t think she needs any advice, tell you the truth.”
“But, you know, if she asked for advice, I definitely would, you know, because I’m like the older brother to that generation, you know, or more like the granddad, actually,” McCartney said. “But you know, I do meet them. We had a party. My wife and my daughter Stella are very good at getting cool people to a party.”
“So, a lot of those girls were at this party. And I ended up chatting to them all cuz you know there was Taylor, there was uh Billie Eilish, there was Olivia Rodrigo, there was Sabrina Carpenter, you know, and they’re really cool people,” he continued. “They’re very good. So basically answering your question, I like their voices. If they needed any advice, yeah, I would be happy to give it, but I don’t think they do.”
McCartney’s comments come amid his continued public appearances and media moments, including the recent late-night segment where he helped Stephen Colbert end his show.
While the pop landscape has changed dramatically since Beatlemania, McCartney’s comparison underlines how rare it is for any artist to attain true worldwide saturation. By putting Swift in the same conversation as The Beatles’ peak, he highlighted the scale of her cultural impact rather than any attempt to rank legacies.
