Lily Allen: ‘Rage is powerful’

By Jenny Garnsworthy, PA

Lily Allen has described her latest album as a “really angry record”.

In an interview with Elle UK, the singer said she was “terrified” of the reaction she would get from West End Girl, which she wrote in the wake of the breakdown of her marriage to US actor David Harbour.

She told the magazine: “I was processing things that were happening at quite a traumatic period of time.

“I don’t think that it’s a particularly self-aware record. It’s a really angry record.

“And it’s a lot more about rage directed towards other people. It’s not really about self-reflection.”

All I can do is write some music that hopefully they identify with and makes them feel less alone

She said she now realised it was good to get her feelings out, adding: “I think that if I’ve learnt anything about myself from it, it’s that rage is powerful and necessary, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing to express.

“In fact, repressed rage is arguably more damaging.”

And she said that the positive reaction to her fifth studio album had given her a boost.

“I don’t know if it’s great for the soul, but it’s good for the ego,” she added.

Allen, who is due to go on tour next month when she will perform West End Girl in its entirety each night, said it will “feel more like a Broadway-esque one-woman show, with really interesting set design”.

“There’ll be no band and no dancers,” she added.

The mother-of-two, who appears on the cover of Elle UK, said she now receives lots of messages from women who have been cheated on.

“In my Instagram DMs, I get loads of women telling me really graphic stuff,” she said.

“All I can do is write some music that hopefully they identify with and makes them feel less alone.”

The Madeline singer also said the parents of her daughters’ friends are “happy for me” after seeing her suffer following her marriage split.

She told the magazine: “They were there when I was in a really tough spot – they could see how drawn I was and how withdrawn I became and how skinny I got and how sad I was.

“They’d come and pick up their kids from play dates and I wouldn’t come downstairs. I’d be in my bedroom crying.”

The March issue of Elle UK is on sale from February 5th.