Fans were less than impressed when frontman Matty Healy claimed his band worked on a version of Swift's latest studio album but eventually decided against releasing it.
- Nov 30, 2022
AceShowbiz - Matty Healy reveals The 1975 "worked on" a version of Taylor Swift's "Midnights" that didn't come to fruition. When being interviewed in front of a live audience with his bandmates on Kroq's "DTS Sound Space", Matty was asked if he got to hear the pop megastar's latest album before it was released, to which he let slip, "Yeah. We actually worked a bit on that. But then [that] version of it never came out."
However, he was quick to set the record straight when his response was met with boos. "No, no, no - that's not how it works. It [didn't work out] for reasons that are not to be criticised. She's amazing," he swiftly explained.
The month prior to October's "Midnights" being released, a fake track-listing leaked online with The 1975 listed as a featured artist on the track "In My Dreams". However, Matty insisted it wasn't real and that they hadn't worked with the "Karma" hitmaker although they'd like to.
He said at the time, "We'd love to … love to work with Taylor Swift. [I] love Taylor Swift … think she's one of the best songwriters. Yeah, no … we haven't done that. We'd love to though, wouldn't we?" Drummer George Daniel added, "Yes please."
And Matty joked that Taylor was probably at home watching the interview and "pining" to appear on one of the pop rock band's songs. He quipped, "She's probably sat there watching this, pining for a feature on a 1975 track."
The 1975 released their fifth record "Being Funny in a Foreign Language" the same month as Taylor and the "I Knew You Were Trouble" singer thought their LP was "so funny."
Matty previously revealed he missed an opportunity to ask Taylor to collaborate with him - but believes "she will do it" eventually. He was inches away from the US superstar at the NME Awards in 2020, but admitted he didn't have the nerve to "pitch his post-rock Joni Mitchell project" to her.
He recalled at the time, "I went over to her. I was like, 'Taylor, we need to make the record.' No, I didn't. She said hello to every single person. Obviously, it's Taylor Swift so everyone was saying hello. She was just stood behind me. I mean, I haven't seen Taylor in years so it was actually a really nice room."
"But it, unfortunately, wasn't the time for me to pitch my post-rock Joni Mitchell project to [her]. She'll do it. She'll do it. She's smarter than both of us, mate. She knows what she's up to. I mean, I mean she's got stuff like 'Lover' knocking around as well, which she was already making. We think that she's going back there. That song's good."
The 33-year-old star previously revealed he wants to produce an acoustic album for Taylor. He took to Twitter to suggest the idea of the "ME!" hitmaker covering songs by Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen. Matty wrote, "Taylor Swift. With an acoustic guitar. Doing her 'Nebraska'. Doing her 'Blue'. Kill me (sic)."
