Lily Allen biography
Lily Allen can boast to being among the biggest artists to have emerged from the so-called MySpace generation, and after once being dismissed as a loudmouth brat with a famous dad, she earned genuine musical and lyrical respect with two hit albums, and a reputation for memorable festival appearances. But she gave up her music career in 2010 for one in fashion, and launched her clothes shop Lucy In Disguise, in the September of that year.
Early years and MySpace
Lily Allen was born in Hammersmith in West London to film producer Alison Owen, and comedian and actor Keith Allen. The family soon moved to Islington in North London, and although she has claimed to have had a typical working class upbringing, Lily went to some of the UK's most expensive private schools (though she was expelled from several of them for drinking and smoking). She went on to study the violin, the guitar and the trumpet, along with grade 5 piano and grade 8 singing.
Her formal studies didn't last too long, Lily quit school at 15, and after a family holiday in Ibiza she tricked her parents into thinking she was with friends, but actually stayed on the holiday island, working at a record store and allegedly dealing drugs.
But it was this troubled period that saw Lily take control of her destiny, and she focused herself onto writing and recording. It was in 2005 that she started her MySpace page, at a time when the social networking site was seen as a brave new world of potential talent. She had trouble getting signed by any of the big labels, perhaps partly because being Keith Allen's daughter, she was seen as something of a novelty act. Her drinking at the time also added to a perception of being erratic and unreliable.
Lily's MySpace experiment was yielding results though - with tens of thousands of people listening to her demos. Because of the effort she had put into promoting herself online, much of her first album was already planned by the time she was finally signed by Regal, and as she began to get more and more press coverage (partly because of the interest around her MySpace success), the label allowed her more creative control, and her first album was quickly finished.
Alright, Still
Lily's first single, 'Smile' hit number one in the UK in Summer 2006 and set the stage for the success of her first album Alright, Still. She snapped up Grammy, BRIT and MTV award nominations, and impressive debut album sales stacked up all over the world. 'LDN' was the other major track that came out of that first album, although 'Alfie', 'Knock 'Em Out' and 'Littlest Things' are also fan favourites.
In 2007, Lily's career took another right turn when she joined other stars on Mark Ronson's cover album Version, taking on the Kaiser Chief's song 'Oh My God.'
TV career
Lily's increasing popularity and perceived ability to connect with a new generation led to her signing a contract with BBC Three to present her own show, called Lily Allen and Friends. The first episode was transmitted in February 2008, and featured invited guests Lily made contact with through MySpace, as well as celebrity interviewees. However, the show did not take off in the way that some may have hoped, and although she signed for a second series, it has not happened.
Fashion work
Lily's passion away from music (and social networking) is fashion, and in 2007 she launched a range of dresses, shoes and accessories under the name 'Lily Loves'. She has been named in various best dressed lists, and although her ball-dress-and-trainers look was much ridiculed in her early public appearances, her style choices now command a fair amount of tabloid attention.
It's Not Me, It's You
Moving away from the bold ska and reggae themes that underpinned her first album, Lily's second record had much more of a dancy, even electropop feel. She said that she was intentionally moving away from the more retro sound of Alright, Still because so many other artists (including Amy Winehouse) were doing that already, and it was a bit of a crowded market.
'The Fear' was the first release from the record and helped It's Not Me, It's You enter the UK charts at number one, and the US chart at number 5. She was helped in America by the reception to another cut from the album 'Fuck You,' which was originally intended as a tirade against the BNP, but transformed into an attack on George W. Bush.
'Not Fair' was the second single, and its catchy tune, along with a typically raunchy and honest female perspective confirmed it as another huge Allen hit. Another single, '22,' is a more melancholy but equally catchy tune - concerning girls growing older and being seen by society as losing their value as they age.
Self-imposed exile
Having been nominated for four BRIT Awards back in 2007 and not receiving any, her year at the prestigious event came three years later when she won Best Female Solo Act. However she announced she was taking a two year break from the music industry to concentrate on a career in fashion.
In March 2011, Lily featured in a TV documentary called From Riches to Rags, which followed her every move in the run up to the launch of her clothes shop, Lucy In Disguise in September 2010. The programme, which revealed the sometimes difficult relationship with her older sister and business partner Sarah, also featured Lily talking about the tragic loss of her baby with then-boyfriend Sam Cooper, six months into her pregnancy.
She revealed on the programme that she wanted to become a mother more than anything in the world, including her career. Lily married Sam Cooper in July 2011 and announced she was pregnant soon after.