ONE of the biggest Taylor Swift fans in the world has been unmasked right here in north Shropshire – and it’s the headteacher of Ellesmere College.

With the eagerly-awaited arrival of online music streamer Spotify’s end-of-year stats – Spotify Wrapped – Brendan Wignall’s listening habits were unveiled on Hollywood scriptwriter daughter Catherine’s Instagram account.

Brendan says he is proud of being a hardcore ‘Swiftie’ – as her fans are known – and says she should be held in the same regard as the greatest musicians in history.

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He said: “Thanks to my daughter’s Instagram account, I’ve been outed – not that I mind – as a big Taylor Swift fan.

“According to my Spotify Wrapped, I’m in the top 0.5 per cent of listeners to Taylor Swift in the world.

“Apart from being a writer and performer of terrifically catchy pop tunes, Taylor Swift is a fantastic lyricist – and a much underrated one.

“Many of her song lyrics could be slightly modified and repackaged and published as poetry very successfully. Harvard University – hardly an insignificant institution – is now offering a course in Taylor Swift’s lyrics, focusing on her literary merit.

“If Bob Dylan can win the Nobel Prize for Literature then – once people get past their prejudices against pop music – I see no reason why Taylor Swift could not achieve this accolade one day.

“Although she’s probably best known for songs about her romantic relationships and the various permutations of those, she also writes great narrative songs – the ‘Cardigan’ trilogy being a case in point – and her song about her grandmother, ‘Marjorie’, is the best song that I know about grief and missing someone.

“It might seem strange that I can have so much time to listen to music, but when I’m not in meetings with people, I listen to music while I’m working.

“I work at home, of course, which adds up further music listening, and if on my own in the car I also listen to Spotify. I do listen to other artists, but Taylor Swift has been pretty dominant this year, as you might guess from my Spotify statistics.”

Brendan will be off to Anfield next summer with Catherine when Taylor Swift plays at the venue, allowing him to marry up his two great loves.

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He said: “Most people who know me know of my great enthusiasm for Liverpool Football Club, and I manage to get to virtually all their home games when they’re playing.

“I’m looking forward to going to Anfield for different purposes in the summer, when I’m going with my daughter to see Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert.

“We have, of course, already seen the Eras Tour concert movie.”