Artist Inspiration

Pop sensation. Voice of her generation. Fashion designer. Political activist. Queen of MySpace. Lily Allen has been called all of these things and much much more and at 23 is Britain's most consistently engaged and engaging pop star, as well as one of our must successful. Lily Allen was born in May 1985 in Hammersmith, west London, the daughter of film producer Alison Owen and actor Keith Allen. It was an uncoventional childhood but not one without its compensations, and it made Allen wise beyond her years and tremendously motivated to carve her own place in the world. Raised alongside her sister and brother in Bloomsbury, Shepherd's Bush, Primrose Hill and Islington, she attended 13 different schools in total before abandoning her formal education at 15 and embarking on a teenage odyssey of innocence and experience: clubbing in Ibiza, studying to be a florist, always hoping to break into the entertainment industry.

She knocked on record company doors from the age of 16, and her first deal came in 2002 with Warners, who pushed her in an uncomfortably folky direction. It was two years later, working with producers Future Cut, when Allen began to find her feet as a songwriter. In 2005 she signed to Regal, and frustrated by the slow pace of the music industry, began to post demos on her MySpace page. Meanwhile, a series of live appearances at the Notting Hill nightclub Yo-Yo in the spring of 2006 whetted press and public appetites.

"Smile" was her first compostition, a song so appealing it prompted the producer Mark Ronson to fly her to New York where they collaborated on "The Littlest Things". "Smile" later won a BMI songwriting award. Ronson and Greg Kurstin were the crucial collaborators on "Alright, Still", which eventually sold 2.5 million records, broke into the Billboard top 20 in America , earned Allen 5 BRIT nominations and a spot on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury in 2007.

It wasn't all plain sailing. The backlash, when it came was ferocious. Allen has been frequently and somewhat hysterically pilloried in the tabloids and on gossip websites for her peceived misbehaviour. She has had spats with fellow popstars. Her relationship with the papparazzi might be politely described as fraught. Her private life has been made public. Meanwhile, a series of personal traumas have occasionally threatened to overwhelm her.

Her second album, "Its Not Me, Its You", written and recorded by her and Greg Kurstin began its life in 2007. After a week and a half they had six songs and a new sound had emerged: darker perhaps, definitely dancier, clearly more mature. The album debuted at number 1 in the UK charts.

Allen signed a one year contract to present her own BBC Three TV show entitled Lily Allen and Friends based on the social networking phenomenon that helped to launch her music career. In May 2007 she launched a line of shoes, dresses and accessories called Lily Loves. Lily has taken an interest in environmental and social concerns. She performed at a benefit concert for War Child.

Due to her outspokeness, Allen has been the subject of many controversies. Disparaging remarks about musicians Bob Geldof, Amy Winehouse and Katy Perry have all garnered major press attention. She later said that making fun of other pop stars was due to a lack of confidence. Photos of her drunk and topless at the Cannes Film Festival were also widely covered in the press.