Taylor Swift was ‘the most phenomenal house guest’ says Marcus Mumford

Marcus Mumford has revealed that pop superstar Taylor Swift was an "absolutely phenomenal house guest" when she used his home studio to record parts of her 2020 album, Evermore.

The 38-year-old Mumford & Sons frontman recounted how The National’s Aaron Dessner, a frequent collaborator with Swift, approached him during the pandemic about a discreet recording space in the UK.

Mumford initially joked about the mystery artist being "Beyonce or something," only to discover it was Swift, then 35, who subsequently recorded parts of Evermore there. He later featured on her track 'Cowboy Like Me'.

Speaking on the Table Manners with Jessie Ware podcast, Mumford shared: "She was the most phenomenal house guest and she brought a killer candle, her candle game was excellent, and she finished the second half of Evermore in our studio. Then she asked me to sing on one (track), and I said, ‘yes’."

open image in gallery

Beyond his unexpected collaboration with Swift, Mumford also reflected on a pivotal encounter with Oasis legend Noel Gallagher that profoundly reshaped his approach to songwriting, inspiring him to write more consistently.

The California-born singer recalled a bar meeting where Gallagher challenged his temporary break from writing. Mumford quoted Gallagher: "Noel Gallagher talks about songs like ‘they fall from the sky’, but you’ve got to have your hands out ready to catch them, otherwise f***** Bono or Chris Martin are going to catch them."

He continued, detailing Gallagher's direct counsel: "I saw Noel a few years ago at a bar, and we were off the road for a minute, and he was like, ‘what are you up to?’, I said, ‘I’m just taking a minute, I’m knackered, you know, been touring etc’, and he said, ‘no, sorry, mate, are you a songwriter?’ I was like, ‘yes’. He was like, ‘well, then you should be writing songs every day, because it’s a muscle that will go into atrophy, unless you’re writing’."

open image in gallery

This advice proved profoundly impactful, spurring Mumford & Sons to adopt a daily writing regimen in January 2023.

Mumford explained that upon the band's reunion, he shared Gallagher's wisdom, leading them to "start just writing every day, like whatever came out, didn’t care about the quality, just cared about the quantity, and we just started writing and writing, writing, writing."

Mumford & Sons have achieved significant success, boasting three UK number one albums and five top 40 singles, including hits like 'Little Lion Man', 'The Cave', and 'I Will Wait'.

The full interview with Marcus Mumford is available on the Table Manners podcast across various streaming platforms, including YouTube.