Taylor Swift, her mum’s family and a glimpse of a bygone era in Singapore

SINGAPORE: She came, she thrilled thousands across six sold-out shows, and now, Taylor Swift has left Singapore – but leaves in her wake a lasting impact.

The celebrated American megastar filled the National Stadium and generated a spike in business for airlines, hotels and eateries here. She inspired MPs to pepper their Parliament speeches with references to her songs, and even inadvertently made Singapore the target of envy amid a diplomatic brouhaha over the Lion City being her only stop in South-East Asia.

Beyond that, the 34-year-old has unexpectedly sparked nostalgic fervour for a bygone era in Singapore – after she shared a slice of family history with her boisterous fans on the opening night of her Eras Tour here.

Amateur sleuths and heritage enthusiasts have since been poring over every clue to piece together a picture of her maternal family’s expat life in vintage Singapore. And in the process, many revel in the chance to cast their gaze back and rediscover the 1960s version of their homeland.

As early as 2010, a 20-year-old Swift had shared about her Singapore connection with The Straits Times when she plugged her Speak Now tour.

Her mother Andrea Swift, known lovingly as Mama Swift among legions of Swifties, grew up in tropical Singapore with her sister, after their father Robert Finlay relocated the family here for his engineering job.

It is not known in which year the Finlay family set foot in Singapore, but, according to ST’s news archive, Taylor Swift’s beloved grandmother Marjorie Finlay performed at the Victoria Theatre in 1968.

Marjorie also scored the lead role in a Singapore production of The Pirates Of Penzance, but the show was pulled, recalled Singapore-born American actress Julia Nickson, who was then about 10 years old and had a small part in the musical.

“It’s been 56 years and I still remember how much I wanted to hear Marjorie sing and to be on stage with her,” she told ST from her home in Los Angeles.

Nickson was in the same class as the young Andrea Finlay – Andrea Swift’s maiden name – in the Singapore American School (SAS) in 1968 and 1969.

She said the Finlay family left Singapore around the summer of 1969, when Robert Finlay had to return to Houston for work. Expats then would typically leave after a two-year stint.

While Majorie was a celebrity in her time, she probably never imagined that she would be made famous again by a song named after her, years after her passing.

In a few brief scenes in the Marjorie music video, a glamorous Marjorie, clad in a form-fitting yellow dress, is seen walking out of a colonial bungalow towards a Ford car with licence plate number SM 8860. In the background is a verdant lawn.

When local writer Koh Buck Song highlighted on Facebook that the old footage appeared to have been shot in Singapore, many jumped at the chance to flex their investigation skills.

The car plate number was a focal point for some (including punters), while others were obsessed with pinning the location of the Finlay abode.

Nickson told ST that the colonial bungalow is likely located near Mount Pleasant. Her other former SAS classmates concurred, saying the two-storey bungalow is up on a long slope on Mount Pleasant.

Nickson also shared with ST a photo of a young Andrea and her classmates at her home.

Checks by ST found that the 370sq m bungalow is still standing tall amid lush greenery in the quiet Mount Pleasant estate near Bukit Brown. It is currently tenanted out.

Heritage enthusiast Jerome Lim, who runs the award-winning local history blog The Long And Winding Road, said that the bungalow can be identified by several distinctive features.

For instance, the steps of the bungalow are of a green hue, which suggests it is made of terrazzo, comprising pieces of glass, marble, quartz or granite.

“The green grainy steps are unusual because most steps of black-and-white houses are cemented or painted,” he told ST.

A black-and-white bungalow opposite the former Finlay home also has similar window type, design and height, as well as wide columns in the car porch.

“This reaffirms our guess. Most of the black-and-white houses were built similarly or a mirror image of one house to fit the terrain,” Lim said.

Black-and-white colonial bungalows were first introduced by the British in the 1900s.

There are about 600 of them that are managed by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA). Those found at Mount Pleasant were built post-war, according to SLA’s records.

Lim said the bungalows used to be reserved for high-ranking government officials and military men from Europe.

“The black-and-white houses featured ample land and nice gardens, which gave the European expats a sense of being out in the countryside.

“These bungalows gave them a sense of home away from home,” he said.

During the 1942 Japanese occupation of Singapore, one of the last battle lines was along Mount Pleasant, where Allied forces continued to fight till Feb 15, the day the British surrendered to the Japanese.

Some black-and-white bungalows in the area were damaged during the war.

In 1960, the Singapore government began letting out these houses to the public for residential use.

Grand home, big car – the Finlay family likely lived a life steeped in wealth and privilege during their time here.

Visual clues aside, recollections from Andrea Swift’s childhood friends also added to a picture of the rarefied realm in which she was raised.

Nancy MacIntyre, who was in the same fifth-grade class in SAS as the young Andrea – which would have made them around 11 years old at the time – told ST that she used to hang out at the Finlay bungalow.

She recalled that the house had a lawn big enough for family and friends to play croquet.

MacIntyre said: “We attended sleepovers and birthday parties, played at recess together, played croquet at our respective houses, and she and I rode at the same stables.

“I have good memories of her and her family.”

The young Andrea was well-liked when she studied at SAS’ King’s Road campus from 1968 to 1969, said Nickson, who bonded quickly with Andrea over horseback rides.

“Andrea’s mother Marjorie and she took me to Bukit Timah Saddle Club for my first ride on a little Shetland pony named Candy. I was so thrilled,” she said.

She said the young Andrea was a “natural athlete”, who attended the Polo Club and excelled in horse riding.

She was also interested in music and had joined a school band playing ukuleles.

Nickson remembered Marjorie’s kindness, saying: “I ran away once at nine years old and went right to Andrea’s house. Her mother Marjorie was so kind, but of course, they returned me home.

“I’m sure the Finlay family was a little surprised (when I showed up at their home) but after making sure I had a cool drink and a little chat, I was driven home with love and laughter,” she said.

The late 1960s were an exciting time in Singapore, MacIntyre recalled, as “lots were happening” in newly independent Singapore.

The expats’ children attended private schools like SAS, but they knew about kampungs and had ventured into street and night markets, she said.

They always “marvelled at the tropical paradise”, she said.

“I remember Andrea fondly as one of the kids who shared those special experiences we all had together.” – The Straits Times/ANN