What it's like inside The Black Dog, the London pub made famous by Taylor Swift
CTV
It's a midweek lunchtime on an unassuming residential street in Vauxhall, south London. There aren't many people about – the occasional dog walker, a few runners, a couple of delivery drivers. I'’s pretty much what you’d expect on a drizzly work day.
It’s a midweek lunchtime on an unassuming residential street in Vauxhall, south London. There aren’t many people about – the occasional dog walker, a few runners, a couple of delivery drivers. It’s pretty much what you’d expect on a drizzly work day.
But turning the corner, it’s a different story. A redbrick Victorian pub, draped in hanging flower baskets and mosaic tiling, is an unexpected hive of activity.
Despite the drizzle, people are sitting outside, nursing pints of beer and cups of coffee. Circling them are a handful of journalists – holding microphones, cameras, notepads. Passersby stop, point and pose for photos. Every few minutes, excited customers pour out of black cabs and head inside, where every table is taken.
Welcome to The Black Dog. A local London pub that’s been thrust into an unexpected spotlight and onto the tourist map, thanks to musician Taylor Swift.
Last Friday, Swift released her latest album, “The Tortured Poets Department,” along with a surprise additional 15 songs that make up “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.”
On Instagram, Swift described the music as chronicling a “fleeting and fatalistic moment in time - one that was both sensational and sorrowful in equal measure.” The record appears to be inspired by the aftermath of Swift’s break-up with her long term partner, British actor Joe Alwyn, which saw her dive into a short lived but intense relationship with another Londoner – 1975 singer Matty Healy.
Amid the 31 tracks – which range from upbeat synth pop masking heartbreak, to slower, folk-inspired songs that lean into the sadness – is a reflective, moody track called “The Black Dog,” in which Swift sings about an ex who left his cell phone location settings on after the break-up:
