Musical awareness has entered a new Era in the age of Taylor Swift - Susan Dalgety

“That’s that bloke you like,” he said. “But he’s not a proper bloke you know. He wears (expletive deleted) make-up, and look he’s in a (expletive deleted) frock. You’re a weird kid.”

It was 1973, back in a long-forgotten time when parents did not share their musical taste with their children. My dad loved Andy Stewart so much we played A Scottish Soldier at his funeral.

The very idea of him accompanying me to a David Bowie concert – if I had been so lucky – would have filled me, and him, with absolute dread.

The generation gap was as deep as it was wide, and that is the way we both liked it.

Not today. Lots of mums and dads share their kids’ Spotify playlist, cheerfully discussing the relative merits of K-pop and grime over the dinner table.

And even those with no interest in what their teenage brood are listening to seem happy to accompany them to gigs.

I lost count of the number of mother and daughter selfies posted on my social media feed when Harry Styles played Murrayfield last year.

In a month’s time, around 215,000 Swifties – the nickname for Taylor Swift fans – will descend on Edinburgh to enjoy one, or maybe even all three, depending how rich and lucky they are, of Taylor Swift’s eagerly awaited concerts. And many will be accompanied by their parents.

Taylor Swift, for those who like me prefer women singers like Nina Simone and Aretha Franklin and are only faintly aware of the young(ish) American, is a cultural phenomenon.

She started her musical career aged 14, and now 20 years later she is a billionaire, has sold 200 million records, won countless awards and was Time magazine’s ‘Person of the Year’.

Her emotional lyrics and catchy tunes are loved by millions of young women who, it seems, worship her every move.

She is so famous that the phrase the ‘Swift Effect’ was coined to describe the impact she has on the music industry as well as the wider economy.

And now the Swift Effect has struck a Scottish FE college. Glasgow Clyde College will host a free Taylor Swift masterclass this week to help those parents and other plus-ones who are accompanying their Swifties to Murrayfield understand what makes Taylor tick.

The course sold out in minutes, and those lucky enough to get a place will learn all about Swift’s hair and make-up routine, as well as the words to the chants her fans use during her concerts.

One of the most popular is during the song All Too Well. Apparently, just before Swift sings the line “and that made me want to die”, fans shout “how did that make you feel?”

I shouldn’t mock. On Thursday night, I will be standing in a field in Belfast singing along to Bruce Springsteen.

The Boss and his fans have their own traditions, built up over his 50-year career. The first time you hear 50,000 people shout Br-u-u-u-u-u-ce in unison is quite a moment.

But I doubt anyone had to go to college to find out how to do it.