Three months after one of the most closely guarded celebrity weddings in years, one of its most famous guests is finally talking. A little.
Paul McCartney said on Friday’s episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that the bride herself asked him to perform when Taylor Swift married Travis Kelce on July 3 at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. He performed “I Want to Hold Your Hand,” the Beatles’ first No. 1 hit in the United States.
‘She asked me to do it’
Host Jimmy Kimmel wanted to know whether McCartney walked in knowing he would perform. “Yep. She asked me to do it,” the 84-year-old said.
When Kimmel asked whether the song was Swift’s request, McCartney replied, “Yeah, it was, yeah.” According to Rolling Stone, he had not played the song live since 1964.
Because Swift was already on the stage, McCartney said, he suggested she join in. “You should sing along,” he recalled telling her, adding that she should sing it to “your man.” He appeared to lose the groom’s name for a moment, drawing laughs from the studio audience, before landing on it: “I know. Travis.”
Kimmel’s verdict: “Seems like reasonable advice.” Whether Swift took McCartney up on the duet remains a mystery.
A wedding wrapped in secrecy
Reports that McCartney performed surfaced soon after the wedding, but Friday’s interview was the first time he talked about it himself. Most guests have stayed quiet, and Billboard noted that the newlyweds have yet to share even one official wedding photo.
Don’t expect that to change soon. Swift’s close friend Dakota Johnson recently gave a one-word answer, “no,” when BBC Radio 1 host Greg James asked whether pictures from the big day would ever come out.
A few guests have offered small glimpses. Heidi Gardner, the “Saturday Night Live” alum and lifelong Kansas City Chiefs fan, said in an iHeartRadio interview that the love between the couple was “so palpable.” “It was such a beautiful wedding of two people that were so excited to marry each other,” she said, as reported by People.
Kelce has also shared a few thoughts. On “New Heights,” the podcast he hosts with his brother Jason, the Chiefs tight end said last month that he and Swift were “so thankful for everybody that showed up” and called the celebration a “night out we’ll never forget.” He said they picked the arena because they wanted “a very intimate and genuine setting without a lot of distractions.”
More from McCartney’s visit
The wedding wasn’t the only topic on the couch. McCartney also promoted “The Boys of Dungeon Lane: Special Edition” and talked about “Man on the Run,” the recent documentary about his years with Wings.
He also weighed in on a story Larry David told on Kimmel’s show in June: the comedian declined to join the “Hey Jude” singalong at one of McCartney’s concerts. McCartney said he later asked David why, and David told him he simply didn’t want to. Asked whether he would ever invite David to another show, McCartney answered with one word: “Never.”
What’s next
The newlyweds have a busy fall. Kelce is in the thick of the NFL season with the Chiefs. Swift’s album “The Life of a Showgirl” is back at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 after the Sept. 25 release of an expanded “Encore” edition, and Swift popped up unannounced on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, joining Johnson during her opening monologue as host.
As for the wedding photos fans keep hoping to see, Johnson’s answer was a flat “no.” For now, McCartney’s story may be as close as anyone outside the guest list gets to the dance floor.
