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It is interesting to consider the links between Lily's drug use and her families relationship to drugs. This 2020 article continues to link Allen's name and image to drugs, despite her being sober at this time. Her families ties to substance abuse are used by the media to push a wild image of Lily Allen to the public.

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(Image: Ex)

Keith Allen wrote his World Cup hit anthems high on a potentially deadly cocktail of class-A drugs.

The former wildman said he was so wasted on cocaine and ecstasy while creating chart-topping terrace classics World In Motion and Vindaloo that they were originally packed with X-rated references to drug abuse and sex.

The songs are loved by England fans who without footie in lockdown are now enjoying reruns of the entire Euro 96 tournament on ITV.

But he claimed World In Motion almost nearly didn't happen as he was so hammered when he was offered the job of writing its lyrics he whipped out his tackle and tried to urinate on the tune's legendary music producer.

The 66-year-old - dad of singer Lily Allen and Game Of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, and famed for starring in cult '90s heroin drama Trainspotting - confessed in Britpop book Don't Look Back In Anger: "I wrote Vindaloo and World In Motion on coke and E, together.

"Cocaine made you sexually active, loud, drink more.

"And for a while you think it makes you more interesting."

Keith had two smash World Cup anthems - 1990's World In Motion, created with dance act New Order, and Vindaloo, released in 1998 by his ironic 'supergroup' Fat Les.

Keith was asked to write the words for New Order's World In Motion by pioneering Manchester club promoter and record owner Tony Wilson - famously portrayed by Steve Coogan in the film 24 Hour Party People.

The actor was so drunk at the time he ended up exposing himself and trying to pee on Tony at the producer's iconic Manchester club the Haçienda.

Keith admitted: "Tony Wilson was approached by a guy called David Broomfield at the FA, who asked if he knew anybody who would be interested in writing the World Cup song.

"New Order didn't know a great deal about football, so Tony asked me to write the lyrics because I knew something about football.

"I was running around the basement of the Haçienda trying to p**s on him with my c**k out. He said, 'Stop it, Keith. I've got a proposal'."

Keith added Tony - killed by kidney cancer in 2007 aged 57 - rejected his first draft of the song's lyrics as they were filled with references to ecstasy and kinky sex.

The actor said: "The first thing I wrote was, 'E is for England / England starts with an E / We'll all be smiling when we're in Ital-y'.

"Tony said, 'F**k off, we're not having that'.

In 2012 Keith agreed to be filmed for a Channel 4 documentary taking an ecstasy-like substance for a "forensic" examination of its effects on the body and brain.

It emerged in Keith's 2007 autobiography Grow Up he used his now pop star daughter Lily, 34, to help him sell drugs at Glastonbury when she was just eight weeks old.

Welsh-born Keith said parading her angelic baby-face drummed up more business as he peddled amyl nitrate poppers and illicit booze at the rock festival.

He said: "I didn't see what was wrong with taking little Lily along with me as a sales tool, rather like the homeless lads do with dogs.

"Cute puppy guarantees punters will stop and stroke it and therefore give you money.

"Lil sat next to the stall gurgling in a pushchair while I cranked up the sales patter and knocked out the lager."

Twice-divorced Keith - who appeared in Blur's iconic Country House video directed by Damien Hirst - now lives in a farmhouse in the Cotswolds, Gloucestershire, with actress partner Tamzin Malleson, 46, with their three cats and two pigs Harrison and Fanny.

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Three Lines up his nose! Keith Allen: I wrote England hits tw*tted on coke and E

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TV's Keith Allen had two smash hit World Cup anthems - 1990's World In Motion and Vindaloo released in 1998 by his ironic 'supergroup' Fat Les. Now, he's confessed writing the songs while he was 'tw*tted' on cocaine and ecstasy

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This article describes how Lily joined Miley Cyrus on tour. It is interesting to consider how both artists are received in the media for being deviant and over sexualised. The language used in the article could be considered to be negative, representing how British tabloids 'love to hate' of strong female characters like Lily and see her not for her music but for her actions.

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But oh, how naive and wrong we were.

Lily Allen, possibly the first lady to ever to film herself dancing topless while wearing Spanx, has joined the twerking queen on the latest leg of her Bangerz tour.

The Sheezus singer will support Miley in New York, Pennsylvania, Tenessee, North Carolina, Kentucky and St Louis, Missouri next month.

Although Lily appeared to mock the twerking culture and scantily-clad nature promoted by Miss Cyrus in the video for Hard Out Here, the outspoken singers are big fans of each other, with Allen repeatedly defending and praising the 21-year-old.

On Loose Women, Lily stood up for the former Disney star, telling the hosts: "She's not running for president."

Lily confirmed the news of her latest gigs with an excited tweet aimed at Miley, reading: "CAN'T WAIT!"

Even if you haven't been to see the Bangerz tour, you have probably witnessed the debauchery that takes place on stage.

Miley has shocked by baring her booty while crawling on a car bonnet, pretending to act out oral sex on a Bill Clinton impersonator, simulating smoking a giant joint, and spitting water on the crowds.

But Lily has more than enough shock tactics under her belt to match up to her young colleague.

As well as dancing under balloons reading "Lily Allen has a baggy p****" in the HOH video, the 29-year-old caused quite a stir with her Glastonbury performance last weekend.

Before launching into a rendition of her hit F*** You, Lily said: "The next song is dedicated to possibly one of, actually not, the most corrupt, annoyingly corrupt, person there is in the world, Sepp f****** Blatter, you c***."

She also asked the crowd: "Is my camel toe that prominent?"

Looks like Miley and Lily are the perfect match, then.

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BANGERZ & SMASHED: Lily Allen joins twerkaholic Miley Cyrus on wild world tour

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WITH sky-high leotards, simulated sex acts and straddling flying hot dogs, we didn't think Miley Cyrus' tour could get any wilder.

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This article presents Allen as down to earth and 'one of us' because she distinguishes herself as different from 'showbiz' and manipulates the reader to believe that she is does not fit in with her fellow celebrities. She consolidates her rebellious image, creating the sense that only she is brave enough to speak out against the 'showbiz' world.

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The celebrity scene is full of "Botoxed idiots", according to Lily Allen, the outspoken popstar, who said she was ostracised by famous friends as soon as she became pregnant and could no longer go to parties.

After three years away from the limelight, the 28-year-old singer recently returned to the public eye when her cover of Keane's S omewhere Only We Know went to No 1. She also released Hard Out Here, a single criticising sexism in the music industry, along with a controversial music video featuring twerking dancers.

"I thought the people in that showbiz circle were my friends," she told Esquire's editor, Alex Bilmes. "But almost the second I got pregnant and I wasn't able to go out and party, they were

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Showbiz is packed full of Botoxed idiots, says Lily Allen

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The celebrity scene is full of "Botoxed idiots", according to Lily Allen, the outspoken popstar, who said she was ostracised by famous friends as soon as she became pregnant and could no longer go to

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One of the many articles written by British Tabloids about her relationship with drugs.

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Lily Allen has revealed she was "addicted" to fame when she was "off her face" on alcohol and drugs.

The 38-year-old singer has opened up about her struggles and described the early years of her career as "a bit of a haze".

Now four years sober, she has given up music to pursue a future in acting.
READ MORE: Lily Allen says police were called when she lost virginity over fear she was 'missing'
She is currently starring in West End show The Pillowman after wowing fans during her stint in stage production 2:22: A Ghost Story.

Speaking to The New York Times, Lily said: "From 18 to about four or five years ago just feels like a bit of a haze, because I was literally just off my face the whole time.

"I was using fame as well - that was an addiction in itself."

It comes after the Smile hitmaker revealed the police were called after she lost her virginity while on holiday.

She was away with her actor dad Keith Allen and younger brother Alfie Allen when the first had sex.

Spilling the beans on the Life's A Beach podcast, Lily said: "I lost my virginity to a guy called Fernando in Brazil. When I was about 12, no I am joking!"

"I actually went missing," she told host Alan Carr.

"I went to his hotel room, and I was on holiday with my dad and brother, and obviously I didn't come back to my room.

"I sort of slept in the next morning," the star continued.

"I woke up the next day and there were police all over the hotel.

"They were literally combing the beach and they had T-shirts (asking) 'Is this what she was wearing?'
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"People thought I had drowned," Lily laughed as she recounted the tale for Alan.

"I didn't have the heart to say, no, I was just losing my virginity."

Lily now has two children and is married to Stranger Things actor David Harbour.

The pop star has been married to actor David, who plays Jim Hopper in the Netflix series, since 2020.
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here
She was previously married to Sam Cooper for seven years, and the pair share daughters Ethel, 11, and Marnie, 10.

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Lily Allen was 'off her face' and 'addicted to fame' before life transformation

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The Fear hitmaker Lily Allen has opened up about her struggles and described the early years of her career as "a bit of a haze" and admits she was "addicted" to fame

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Released in 2006 with Regal Records
The album includes hits such as 'LDN', 'Smile' and 'Alfie'.
The album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album at the 2008 Grammy Awards.
According to the UK Official Album Chart, the album peaked at number 2, spending 12 weeks in the Top 10 and 46 weeks in the Top 40.
According to the UK Official Singles Chart, 'Smile' sat at UK number 1 for 2 weeks.

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Released in 2009 with Regal Records.

The album includes hits like 'The Fear', 'Not Fair and '22'.

According to the UK Official Album Chart, the album reached UK Number 1 for one week, 17 weeks in the Top 10 and 55 weeks in the Top 40.

According to the UK Official Singles Chart, 'The Fear' sat at UK Number 1 for 4 weeks.

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Released in 2014 by Parlaphone.

Includes hits such as 'Hard Out Here', 'Air Balloon' and 'Somewhere Only We Know'.

According to the UK Official Album Chart, the album reached UK Number 1 for one week, but only 2 weeks in the Top 10 and only 8 weeks in the Top 40.

According to the Official Singles Chart, 'Somewhere Only We Know' was at UK Number 1 for 3 weeks.

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Released in 2018 by Parlaphone.

The album comes over 10 years after her first album release.

According to the Official Album Chart, it spent 1 week in the Top 10 and 3 Weeks in the Top 100.

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In 2013, Allen’s cover of ‘Somewhere Only We Know’, originally sung by Keane, was used for John Lewis’s infamous Christmas Advert. The John Lewis Christmas Advert has become a notorious part of the festive period in the UK with many Brits even saying that the holiday's don't begin until the advert is released. The 2013 instalment did not disappoint, with the advert gaining a great reaction from the public and sending Allen’s song to Number 1 for 3 weeks when it was released.

The John Lewis advert is synonymous with a wholesome and heart-warming story which appeals to all ages. It could be argued that the use of Lily Allen's song was an important for her building her star image. Whilst Allen was known typically for her rebellious nature at the time, by aligning herself with the family friendly advert, this meant that the publics potentially negative perception of her was challenged.

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Lily Allen | Somewhere Only We Know (John Lewis Christmas Advert)

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"For centuries, children born into rich, famous and otherwise powerful families have had a leg up in life, inheriting monarchies, business empires, wealth and star power."

"The spread of the phrase also communicates a certain disillusionment with Hollywood and a rejection of the idea that anyone can make it in creative industries."

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What Is a 'Nepotism Baby'? (Published 2022)

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Gen Zers have turned a term of derision into one of admiration. That doesn't mean they're not jealous, though.

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Khanderao, G, Deosthale, S, Bhagat, M (2022) Nepotism, 1st edn, India: Booksclinic Publishing

"Several thinkers, including Aristotle, Valluvar and Confucious, have denounced nepotism from ancient times, calling it both wicked and imprudent."

"Nepotism is undeniably a moral problem that is both uncomfortable and damaging."

"The roots of nepotism have grown into enormous trees, a terrible reality of our industry."

Jaskiewicz, P, Uhlenbruck, K, Balkin, D, Reay, T (2013) ‘Is Nepotism Good or Bad? Types of Nepotism and Implications for Knowledge Management’, Family business review, 26(2).

"The family business literature has shown that altruism toward family members can have negative impacts on the parent-child relationship when it increases the child's feelings entitlement."

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Lily Allen is the child of actor Keith Allen and producer Alison Owen, and sister to Game of Thrones actor Alfie Allen.

Whilst they are not apart of the music scene, it could be argued that her families connections to the creative industry played apart n the success she has gained.

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Allen speaks out against the privilege of having famous parents.

"The singer said celebrity offspring benefit from nepotism and a privileged upbringing but were starved of love by their narcissistic parents".

This article supports her outspoken image. Whilst many would say that Allen's childhood has been one of extreme privilege, this article sheds light on the difficulties she has experienced in her childhood. This provides context behind the rebellious image of Allen and the audience can consider whether her rebellious persona is in fact a product of her turbulent adolescent family life. This further supports Allen's 'real and 'honest' image as the article looks at nepotism from an the angle of the child, an angle that is not typically considered, perhaps because of its sensitive nature. This could be because arguably the article could be perceived as tone deaf. Some may believe that she fails to acknowledge that many are not as fortunate as her, and consequently support the typical image of entitlement within children of nepotism.

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Allen is the daughter of Keith Allen, the actor, and Amanda Owen, the film producer. One of her first jobs as a teenager was playing a lady-in-waiting in Elizabeth, the Cate Blanchett film which Owen was producing.

In a series of posts on social media, Allen, 37, described herself as a "nepo baby" but did not criticise her own parents, instead describing them as "super talented".

She said: "I am nearly 40 years of age and am more than happy, in fact, I think it's important to disclose what a privileged upbringing I've had and how that has created so many opportunities for me.

"I mention my age because I haven't always been able to have that conversation. In my twenties I felt very defensive about it, I felt like I worked extremely hard and that I deserved the success I had, that people connected to my songs and that the songs came from me.

"I also had quite a fraught relationship with some of my family members so it felt difficult for me to attribute my successes to them, at the time. But we all know it's more complicated than that."

Celebrities who have been labelled as "nepo babies" include Brooklyn Beckham, who is currently trying to launch a career as a chef, and Lily-Rose Depp, the daughter of Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis.

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Lily Allen: 'Nepo babies' like me are scapegoats and deserve sympathy

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The singer said celebrity offspring benefit from nepotism and a privileged upbringing but were starved of love by their narcissistic parents

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After first being spotted together in 2019, Allen married American Actor David Harbour in September 2020.

Harbour's huge success in the series Stranger Things has meant that he has amassed a large following worldwide, and especially in the US. The marriage is advantageous to Lily Allen's star image as his relevance means there is an appeal from the younger generation, which brings the potential for new young fans for Allen.

Allen has begun to transition from music into acting and her respect as a new actor is aided by her husbands acting credibility. She is seen around elite acting circles due to him and is therefore making a name for herself in those spaces, and then consequently landing new and exciting acting roles.

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In this interview, Allen speaks about joining the 'Mile High Club' with Oasis singer Liam Gallagher. This is interesting for her star image as Gallagher is a music icon, known worldwide for his bad-boy image. This celebrity cross over consolidates Allen's rebellious image and proves her celebrity status as she is involved with high profile musicians.

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Lily Allen On Joining The Mile High Club With Liam Gallagher | The Big Narstie Show

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Lily Allen - a former notorious party girl - has reached out to all Glastonbury revellers who may be suffering today after the excesses of the weekend.

The Smile singer has been teetotal for four years so her hungover days are behind her - but it seems she can recall the horror or a mammoth hangover.

Lily took to Twitter and wrote: "Thoughts are with those starting their post-Glastonbury comedowns today, YOU WILL GET THROUGH THIS.
READ NEXT: Inside Lily Allen and David Harbour's romance - dating app meet and Vegas vows
"It will take somewhere between a week and a month depending on your age and what exactly you may have consumed, but you will get through this."

Lily, 38, has been open in the past about her boozing and drug taking and has even said she thinks she would be dead if she hadn't quit.

She told Glamour magazine that being sober has improved her life "immeasurably" and she wouldn't be married to her husband David Harbour if she was still drinking.

Lily said: "I don't think that my kids would be thriving in the way that they are. I don't think that I'd have gone into finding acting and how much I enjoy that. I definitely wouldn't be getting as much sleep.

"I go to the gym four times a week."

She added: "Pretty much every aspect of my life has changed as a result of my sobriety."

Lily is mum to Ethel, 11, and Marnie, 10, who she shares with her ex-husband Sam Cooper.

She is currently starring in the West End play The Pillowman and her former rival Cheryl was the latest face to show her support.

It comes as music legend Elton John confirmed that he won't be playing in the UK again in an emotional post after headlining Glastonbury's Sunday night slot on the Pyramid Stage.

On his official Instagram account, he wrote: "Thank you, Glastonbury!

"The energy last night was like nothing else, and I couldn't be more grateful to the crowd and the people watching at home for all your love and support. You will be in my heart and soul forever."

Elton added: "UK, what a farewell. I love you," before adding a waving emoji and a union flag emoji.

For more of the latest showbiz and TV news from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.

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Ex-party girl Lily Allen sends message to Glastonbury revellers on 'comedowns'

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Sober singer Lily Allen has sent a tongue-in-cheek message of support to everyone who is hungover from their time at Glastonbury, saying it 'could take a month' to recover

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Whilst not performing her own set, Allen was brought out by current pop princess Olivia Rodrigo to perform one of Lily's songs at Glastonbury 2022. This appearance sparked a large amount of attention on social media due the great performance and unlikely collaboration.

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Olivia Rodrigo SLAMS SCOTUS Judges With 'F**k You' Performance

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Academic research on Celebrities and Drug Abuse  

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Academic research on Celebrities and Drug Abuse  

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Shaw, R L., Whitehead, C,  Giles, D C (2010) ‘“Crack down on the celebrity junkies”: Does media coverage of celebrity drug use pose a risk to young people?’, Health, risk & society, 12(6)

"Drug abuse has long been an integral component of the deviant lifestyle celebrated in many forms of popular music"

"There is a concern that young people will model their behaviour on celebrity personalities thereby increasing the chances that they themselves will indulge in health risk behaviours such as taking drugs."

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In this article Allen hits back at the way drugs are reported in the media, claiming that the dangers are in fact overstated. This article adds to her outspoken image but perhaps damages her credibility somewhat as the message is arguably not what someone with a platform should be promoting.

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Lily Allen was condemned last night for suggesting that the risks of cocaine are overstated.

The 24-year-old singer said: 'The only story is that drugs are bad and they will kill you - you will become a prostitute, a rapist or a dealer. But that's not true.

'I know lots of people that take cocaine three nights a week and get up and go to work everyday, no problem at all.

'But we never hear that side of the story. I have no statement to make, I just wish people wouldn't sensationalise this thing that just exists.'

In the interview for The Word magazine she admitted to taking drugs in the past but said she no longer did so.

But Miss Allen went on to say that she felt 'annoyed' that her record label was putting her in two-star hotels.

She said if she had been a musician 20 years ago 'I'd have been booked in at the Ritz with five grams of cocaine on my table'.

Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve yesterday said her comments were 'naïve'.

'There is no doubt that drugs fuel crime and wreck lives,' he said.

'It's naïve to assume there isn't human misery and suffering associated with every drug transaction somewhere along the line.'

David Raynes, head of the National Drugs Prevention Alliance, said: 'When someone like Lily Allen makes these remarks she is only harming young people who will at some point in their lives have to make a decision about taking drugs.

'We already have a major drug culture in the UK and she is affecting that.'

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'Drugs won't kill you', insists Lily Allen ('and yes, I've given up')

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Lily Allen has been condemned for suggesting that the risks of cocaine are overstated. The 24-year- old singer said: 'The only story is that drugs are bad and they will kill you. But that's not true.'

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Lily Allen's image has become synonymous with substance abuse and rebellion. Whilst she has been open with her drug struggles to the media, tabloid newspapers have often fixated with Allen, portraying the singer as a drug fuelled party animal. Newspapers such as The Sun, The Mirror and The Daily Mail have produced countless articles about Allen's antics, making it hard for the public not to associate her with drugs. However it can be argued that this has helped construct the star image that has made her so popular. This could be because her relationship with drugs embodied the fast paced and chaotic nature of the 2000's British music scene which the public were so fond of and so she was seen to be one of the iconic stars of the time.

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Allen has performed at Glastonbury Festival in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2014. Her sets have amassed millions of views on YouTube and are still watched today.

Glastonbury is an important part of Allen’s image as it could be argued that her carefree, British brand embodies the culture of the festival.

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Lily Allen - The Fear (Glastonbury 2009)

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The Sky Original 'Dreamland' is Allen's television debut, where she plays one of the lead characters, Mel. By diversifying herself and starting to branch into television, she not only brings her original fans with her, but will gain new fans too.

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2:22 A Ghost Story was Allen's debut to the West End. Despite little prior experience, she gained high praise from critics for her performance.

The career progression into theatre represents a shift in Allen's star image, from rebellious pop star into serious and mature actor.

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Fingernails dig into skin as we watch a neon red digital clock climb through the night. With a brilliant sense of mounting dread and just the right number of jump-scares, Danny Robins' new ghost story is a slick, chilling romp of a play.

Jenny ( Lily Allen) is convinced the big new house she and her husband Sam (Hadley Fraser) have bought - a beautiful naturalistic set by Anna Fleischle - is haunted. Every night, she hears footsteps around her baby's room at exactly the same time: 2:22am. She insists the sound is real while Sam infuriatingly tries to explain it all away. When the pair throw a dinner party for Sam's old friend Lauren (Julia Chan) and her new man Ben (EastEnders' Jake Wood), the four of them decide to wait up to see who's right.

You wouldn't know this is Allen's first time acting in the West End. She is strong as the frantic, afraid and exhausted Jen, though the constant paranoia of her part leans towards feeling strained. Director Matthew Dunster has her constantly moving - tidying, cooking, pacing - though it's in her moments of stillness that the fear best finds its way in.

Steadily growing tension ... Jake Wood, Julia Chan, Allen and Fraser in 22: A Ghost Story. Photograph: Helen Murray

Together, the cast are gleaming. Fraser's Sam is so realistic it's hard to believe he's acting. Wood's part is written more broadly - Ben is primarily there to challenge Sam - but he revels in it, drawing out the humour and diving into the mysticism. Chan does a brilliant balancing act, shifting Lauren's loyalties throughout the night.

Robins' script is sharp, quick, and cleverly layered with clues. While his handling of horror is nothing new, it's done smartly, toying with the tropes. In one of the most chilling scenes, absolutely nothing happens yet the grand old room is electric with the fear of expectation. There's an overuse of deafening fox screams, and the arguments occasionally escalate into one-note yelling, but neither of these things do much to detract from the steadily growing tension. All the while, the red clock glares at us, ticking closer to 2:22.

This show is not scary enough to cause nightmares, nor is it gruesome or graphic or gory; it's more human than the creepiest horror movies. But there are genuinely chilling moments, scary enough that the whole theatre is tense and pin-drop quiet. Scary enough that sections of the play have a beat afterwards for the audience to catch their breath. Scary enough, perhaps, to have you turn on the light the next time you hear an unusual sound at night, just to check the time.

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2:22: A Ghost Story review - Lily Allen gives you chills in slick, clever horror

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The pop star makes her West End debut in a contemporary haunted-house chiller that smartly plays with all the old tropes and leaves the room electric with fear

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The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh | Duke of York's Theatre

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With an all-star cast including Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton, Matthew Dunster directs the first major revival of Martin McDonagh's electrifying and savagely funny Olivier award-winning play, The Pillowman

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Allen is affiliated with Dior, often wearing their pieces for red carpets and featuring on their online platforms, such as YouTube. Her relationship with Dior is important for her star image as it both Lily Allen and Dior have strong brand values which work to compliment and promote each other. Dior symbolises wealth, desirability and beauty and so this is advantageous for Lily Allen’s image reinvention, representing her as sophisticated and elegant.  For Dior, they can use Lily Allen's large following to promote their brand to a diverse audience.

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So, Lily Allen Just Married ‘Stranger Things’ Actor David Harbour In Dior

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Lily Allen married David Harbour – best known as Chief of Police Jim Hopper in ‘Stranger Things’ – in a Dior dress in Las Vegas. Discover the details of Lily Allen’s wedding, from her shoes to her bouquet, here.

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What's inside Lily Allen's Lady Dior bag? - Episode 5

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Academic research on celebrity's and brands 

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Academic research on celebrity's and brands 

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Turner, G., Bonner, F. and Marshall, P.D., 2000. Fame games: The production of celebrity in Australia. Cambridge University Press.

"Celebrities are brand names as well as cultural icons or identities; they operate as marketing tools as well as sites where the agency of the audience is clearly evident; and they represent the achievement of individualism - the triumph of commercialisation."

Redmond, S. and Holmes, S. (2007) Stardom and Celebrity: A Reader, 1st edn. London: SAGE Publications.

"The point is not that celebrities can be reduced to an economic function, only that we need to pay attention to how they perform both economic and cultural functions simultaneously."

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Allen's outspoken and liberal image is consolidated through her product with German Sex Toy Company 'Womanizer'. Despite no longer producing music, this product tells audiences that the Lily Allen brand is still pushing boundaries and starting controversial conversations.

The product is aimed to empower women, which is important as she is not only selling a sex toy, but also a message to women that there should be challenges to the stigma that females face. As a result of this, whilst some audience will buy the product, many more women will be buying into Lily Allen as a person, and become a fan of her star image.

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The singer, 35, has been working on her device, which will be called Liberty, with German adult toy manufacturer Womanizer.

The mother-of-two, who recently married Stranger Things star David Harbour, 45, in a Las Vegas ceremony, said she started working with the brand as she wanted to "create a more open, sex positive society."

The singer said: "Sex toys are still seen as a taboo. Female pleasure in itself is a taboo subject. The only way to make subjects no longer taboo is to speak about them openly, frequently and without shame or guilt."

Allen has been named Chief Liberation Officer of the company and will lead the company's publicity campaign, encouraging women to talk more openly about self-pleasure.

Posting on Instagram this morning, Allen wrote: "I'm really excited to reveal something I've been working on with one of my favourite brands @womanizerglobal... My very own sex toy! The Liberty is available everywhere now.

"Womanizer changed my life, and I wanted to share my experience. Women shouldn't be ashamed of their sexuality, and we all deserve to own our pleasure. Hopefully this little toy will help you do that."

Allen teased her partnership with the brand on social media last night.

She told her 1.4million Instagram followers: "I've got a big announcement tomorrow... I can't tell you what yet, but if you want to feel empowered and give yourself a little self love, stay tuned."

The singer, who is the daughter of actor Keith Allen, was approached by Womanizer after she mentioned using their products in her Sunday Times bestselling memoir My Thoughts Exactly.

Speaking about having some alone time while on her Sheezus tour, she wrote: "And since you ask if I had to pick one vibrator above all the others, I recommend the Womanizer."

Allen has been busy in recent weeks. She has also been working on funding an independent comeback album. For £83-a-pop, she will create personalised messages for fans via the Cameo App. She said "send messages, birthday wishes... I'll 'do whatever it is that you want me to do."

Allen married Harbour in Vegas last month. It was attended by her two daughters - Ethel and Marnie - who she shares with ex-husband Sam Cooper. The bride wore Dior.

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Lily Allen launches new sex toy as she calls for 'more open society'

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The singer, 35, has been working on her device, which will be called Liberty, with German adult toy manufacturer Womanizer. The mother-of-two, who recently married Stranger Things star David Harbour, 45, in a Las Vegas ceremony, said she started working with the brand as she wanted to "create a more open, sex positive society."

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Lily is known for her outspoken nature onstage, in her lyrics and online. Whether that be antagonising celebrities or putting her opinion forward on controversial topics, Allen is known to cause a stir with her opinions. She does not conform to the typical media trained image that celebrities put up to distinguish their personal versus public personality. Instead her image makes the audience feel as though she is being her true authentic self by saying things that could seemingly damage her career. However we must consider whether this 'true self' is in fact mediated, and whether her outspoken personality is a choice in order to aid her star image. The shock factor of her actions could be seen as advantageous to her brand as it provokes distain from older generations and subsequently respect from the younger generation, therefore building her fan base.

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Allen is very open about the struggles which she has faced in her life. Her honesty and willingness to talk about topics which are not commonly discussed in the media means that she uses her platform effectively to represent women and give them a voice.

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Lily Allen opens up about devastating loss after suffering

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Lily Allen lives in Brooklyn, New York, these days, in an elegant Carroll Gardens brownstone, with her husband since 2020, the actor David Harbour, and her daughters from her first marriage, Ethel, 11, and Marnie, 10. Now 38, the millennial pop sensation and perennial tabloid magnet has become a svelte and sober star of stage and screen, comfortably domiciled in the land of the oat-matcha-latte slurpers, where the hysterical notoriety she first attracted in her 20s does not pursue her with anything like the doggedness it does elsewhere.

Happily for us Brits who miss her, this summer Allen is in London to take on the lead role in The Pillowman, a West End revival of Martin McDonagh's pitch-black, Olivier Award-winning comedy set in a unnamed totalitarian state, about a writer whose macabre fairy tales appear to have directly inspired a series of grisly child murders. Even without Allen's involvement, The Pillowman would be a white-hot ticket. With her participation, it's likely to be the most talked-about play of the season.

No pressure, then. "Fucking terrifying," is her characteristically bald assessment of the situation.

It's getting to be a habit with Allen, frustrating the tall poppy pruners by landing lead roles in high-profile productions. What started as a side-hustle - and Allen is an inveterate side-hustler (chat-show host, Chanel model, sex-toy tycoon) - has become, at least for now, her primary professional focus. In 2021, Allen made her theatrical debut in Danny Robins' supernatural thriller, 2:22, A Ghost Story, playing a young woman convinced her house is haunted. The show was a hit. Allen was nominated for Best Actress at the Olivier Awards, and she won a Whatsonstage award. Not bad for a first effort. Although, no stranger to slings and arrows, she deflects praise with a wary brush-off. The Olivier nomination was "very nice, but I will say there were not a lot of other plays on that year because it was Covid".

Last summer was spent shuttling between the capital and the Kent seaside, filming her scenes in Sky Original's Dreamland, a candyfloss-light confection about life and love set in the seaside town of Margate. Now, while Harbour - star of Netflix's megahit Stranger Things - cools his heels in New York with the girls, his wife continues her adventures on the London stage.

So it is that on a wet Tuesday evening in early May, Allen gives me a brief tour of the expensively fragranced digs where she is billeted during rehearsals. She's wearing a black knit top, jeans and grey Nikes, her hair in a short platinum bob. Ten days into rehearsing, she cautiously allows that it's going well.

An instant success when it premiered at the National Theatre in 2003, and again on Broadway in 2005, The Pillowman seems, if anything, still more timely today. Allen plays Katurian, the writer under interrogation. According to at least one preview I've read, the casting of a woman in a role previously taken by David Tennant in London, and Billy Crudup in New York, changes little, since Katurian's gender is not germane to the action of the play. Allen feels it changes everything. It will, she thinks, be fascinating to see how audiences respond to the spectacle of a frightened young woman being viciously worked over by a pair of malevolent middle-aged policemen (played by Steve Pemberton and Paul Kaye). Matthew Dunster, the same director who first took a chance on her with 2:22, is directing.

"The dialogue is really funny," she says. "It's dark and sick and twisted in the way that I am. And there are things I related to in terms of being an artist who has faced scrutiny and felt the weight of constant interrogation. Socially and politically there is something going on in this play that is important for our time, in terms of freedom of expression and cancel culture. I certainly feel stifled, creatively, in terms of my own writing."

Allen has not studied acting: "I haven't studied anything!" She wasn't even in school plays. But theatre arrived at an opportune moment. She was recently clean and sober (she had her last drink in July 2019; I know this because she had it with me), she was newly remarried and relocated to the US, and she was uncertain of her next move. After the dizzying early success, her pop career had fizzled. "I felt completely rejected by the music industry," she says.

In Atlanta one night, where Harbour was wrapping a season of Stranger Things, "I got a bit weepy. Like, 'What the fuck am I going to do with my days when we move to New York? Who will I be?' And then we drove to New York, and it was the day we were moving into our house and as I walked up the steps to put my key in the door for the first time, the phone rang." It was a casting agent. "She said she was doing a play in London over the summer... Four weeks later I was in rehearsals."

"I thought there was absolutely no way there was going to be any good response to it," she says of the terror she felt before the first night. "I was convinced it was going to be awful. When the first positive review came out, I was just flabbergasted. The whole thing was bizarre." Following that success, Dunster cast Allen in The Pillowman with Martin McDonagh's enthusiastic support. "They share a similar punk-rock spirit," says the director. He also says that Allen already seems far more confident than the first time they worked together. "With 2:22 I had to be much more instructional. And she was brilliant at following those instructions. This time, she's offering stuff up."

When the first positive review came out, I was just flabbergasted

I first met Allen in 2006, when she was 21. We've been friends ever since. She is funny, smart and original, as widely advertised. Also kind, thoughtful and generous, as less widely advertised. She's extremely good company. Although I do wish she would stop looking at her phone when I'm talking.

She comes from a family of entertainers. Her father is the comedian and actor Keith Allen. Her mother, Alison Owen, is a successful film producer. Her brother, Alfie, is a famous actor. She once described her childhood and teenage years to me as "confusing and chaotic". She left school - or, rather, schools - at 15, with no formal qualifications. And her initial success was exhilarating. Her first two albums, Alright, Still and It's Not Me, It's You, released in 2006 and 2009, sold in their millions. But the backlash was ferocious. This was a time when young women like her or Amy Winehouse were routinely vilified for having the temerity to be popular, wealthy, pretty, clever and apparently enjoying themselves. How does she feel when she looks back on those years?

"I feel sad about some parts of it but then I'll see a picture of me onstage at Glastonbury and think, 'God, that was incredible. I wish I hadn't been so high, so I could remember it.' But also there were dark forces at work, trying to undermine everything. My phones were hacked. My medical records were intercepted. Proper dark-arts stuff. I'm not being a conspiracy theorist. That shit happened, and it happened to me. And I felt the negative effects of all that."

She still feels them. "I talk to my therapist about this. I think that in my 20s, everything I put out into the world would always come back at me. Everything I did, even the most positive thing I thought about through the prism of 'how does a tabloid journalist take this and twist it to hurt me?' I don't think I've ever really lost that. And I think the only way to escape it, at that time, was drugs and alcohol. I did my fair share of those, for a long time. I don't have those crutches any more."

As I tiptoe gingerly through her distant tribulations, she brings me up short. "I'm OK with saying I was a car crash," she says. "You don't have to skirt around it. I know how I felt, and how I looked. I looked like a fucking mess. I had, like, weirdly pale, mottled skin and crazy hair and I was wearing some really mad clothes."

She was photographed falling out of taxis into nightclubs, and vice versa. "But there's no shame in any of those things," she continues. "Lots of 22-year-olds have vomited in the back of a cab but most of them weren't being chased by 20 grown men with long-lens cameras, and the photos weren't published in the national press." After a time, "It just got too much. They broke me."

In 2010, at the height of her fame, Allen became unwell while pregnant. Her son, George, was stillborn at six months. Recovering in hospital, she contracted septicaemia and was gravely ill. The following year, now pregnant with Ethel, she married the builder Sam Cooper. The reception was held at their 17th-century manor house in rural Gloucestershire. "I loved that house in the country," she says. "I loved the cooking and the entertaining. There was a feeling of safety there that I hadn't had for a long time. But it didn't make me happy, really, in the long term." She offers a comic sob here, conscious as ever that celebrities moaning about their hard luck can't fail to come across as spoilt and ungrateful.

Sheezus, her 2014 album, didn't do well, and its 2018 follow-up, , fared even worse commercially - although it was nominated for the Mercury Prize and creatively it felt like a success. "I think I did something with that record that I hadn't done with the others, which was to be really vulnerable and honest without undercutting the sentiment with humour. It was, 'I am desperately sad and I'm going to write music about it.' And it was the most critically acclaimed of anything I'd done."

Throughout this period, she was the victim of a stalker. The legal case against him took years to resolve. And her first marriage broke up. "I think I struggled to write music after George," she says. "And also after the stalker thing. And the divorce. Those were huge events and they just consumed me for such a long time, and when I sat down to write songs, how could I not write about those things? They were obviously dying to come out, but no one wants to hear songs about that." She thinks for a moment. "I mean, I could write an album about still-birth. Or about having a stalker. But - really?"

She's in a better place now, but still, as a songwriter who draws from her own life, "the things I could write about are not necessarily the things that people want to hear about. The kids' packed lunches? Their visa applications?" Also: "I'm a bit of a whinger. And we live in a period where we're meant to acknowledge our privilege all the time, and I'm not really going to do that, in a song."

She doesn't imagine that No Shame will be the last we hear from her as a songwriter. She already has two so‑far unproduced musicals to her name: an adaptation of Bridget Jones's Diary, and a show based on an episode of Charlie Brooker's sci-fi series Black Mirror. She likes the idea that there may be more. And she does not necessarily believe that success as an actor means she is forever committed to that as a career.

"Acting is what I'm doing at the moment," Allen says. "It's a big thing in recovery that you take one day at a time and you don't try to have any grand aspirations too far down the line, because that's what gets you into trouble. I do think I'll do music again. But I think I can do it on my own terms now. I'm not in a space where I can write yet, but I think that'll reveal itself at some point."

Last summer, Allen was a surprise guest at Glastonbury, invited on stage by the newly minted American superstar Olivia Rodrigo for a duet of Allen's 2009 rabble-rouser "Fuck You", performed in protest at the overturning of Roe vs Wade in the US. "That was a big eye-opener for me," she says. "I really thought [Rodrigo] was going to introduce me and no one would know who I am. Or I'd get booed. And it was not like that at all."

Rodrigo was six years old when "Fuck You" was released. A new generation of young women - fans and fellow musicians - has discovered Allen's music. And Allen's own kids were in the Worthy Farm crowd, seeing for the first time what their mum's music means to so many people. "It was an amazing moment," she says.

There is something going on in terms of cancel culture. I certainly feel stifled in my own writing

Now that she's clean and serene - the woman doesn't even vape! - it's Allen's weight that the haters focus on. She does look different, I say. "It's all the surgery I've had," she says, deadpan. (For the record: this is a joke.)

"You mean I'm thinner?" she says. Exactly. How has she done it? "Not drinking, and exercising. I know that's what people always say when they lose a lot of weight. But I really used to drink a lot, and self-medicate. And there is a lot of sugar in alcohol, and also in what I used to eat when I was hungover: chocolate, crisps, fizzy drinks."

I tell her that people suspect she must be injecting Ozempic, the new slimming drug. "I got thin before Ozempic," she says. In that case, she must surely suffer from an eating disorder. "Yeah. I don't know." What does she mean? "I mean I'm not sticking my fingers down my throat, but I don't comfort-eat in the same way I used to. I don't know if that's healthy or unhealthy." Does she have a weird diet? "I don't know what a weird diet is. I eat two meals a day, I don't really eat breakfast.

"I'm not as thin as I was two years ago," she says. "I'm nearly two stone heavier than I was when I was doing 2:22. I think I did have an unhealthy relationship with food then. I remember getting to a point where I could wear size 23 waist jeans and I would feel quite panicked if they started to feel tight, and I think I did probably change my eating habits when that happened." But, she says, "I do love food! I go out and eat a lot. You've seen me eat. I don't not eat!" Allen and I have off-the-record dinners together frequently enough for me to be able to confirm that she eats like a - relatively - normal person. In any case, she feels good about her weight.

Her life in Brooklyn, she says, is "pretty damn good. I do think that cutting out alcohol and drugs has been hugely beneficial. I'm hesitant to be like, 'It's all thanks to David.' But he is a big part of it. And living in America is great. Because there is an anonymity there for me."

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In New York, Allen is no longer even the most famous person in her family, let alone on the street. "When we're out," she says, "everyone stops David. And I kind of enjoy that. We do have the odd laugh when we'll be walking around and someone will approach us and David's hat will go down [expecting to be accosted by a fan], and then they'll be, 'Oh my God! Lily!' And me and the girls will get round David and rub him on the back and go [in voices full of mock concern], 'Aw, David! Are you OK?'"
The Pillowman Hair, Naomi Regan at C/O Management using Sisley Paris and BaByliss PRO. Make-up, Gina Kane at Caren using Lancôme. Photographer's assistant, Philip Banks. Hair stylist's assistant, Anastasiia Gryniuka. Special thanks to Kettner's and Soho House runs from 10 June to 2 September at the Duke of York's, London. Alex Bilmes is editor-in-chief of Esquire
Of course, I say, if she carries on as she has been lately, this situation may no longer pertain. It'll be Harbour offering her condolences on the infrequent occasions when she is recognised after him. She's OK with that too.

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How the pop princess survived success, and then found it all over again

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Throughout her career, Allen has been candid about her relationship with drugs. Her openness about her journey to sobriety consolidates her tendency to talk about taboo topics. For many fans, they will have seen Allen grown and so this will be a poignant moment in the stars reinvention for them.

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Lily Allen has opened up about her sobriety, admitting she doesn't know if she'd still "be alive" if she hadn't quit drugs and alcohol.

The British star has spoken candidly about her experience of addiction in the past, and wrote extensively about her use of drugs and alcohol in her 2018 autobiography My Thoughts Exactly.

In a new interview with Glamour, the Smile singer described how being sober has changed her life "immeasurably".

David M. Benett via Getty Images

"I actually don't even know if I'd be alive if I'm honest if I hadn't got sober," Lily told the outlet. "Sobriety has just changed my life immeasurably.

"I don't think I'd be married to my husband. I don't think that my kids would be thriving in the way that they are. I don't think that I'd have gone into finding acting and how much I enjoy that. I definitely wouldn't be getting as much sleep.

"I go to the gym four times a week. Pretty much every aspect of my life has changed as a result of my sobriety.

"So that's definitely at the top of my gratitude list when I go to bed every night is my sobriety."

Lily tied the knot with Stranger Things star David Harbour in a Las Vegas ceremony in 2020.

David M. Benett via Getty Images

The 37-year-old recently admitted she had no idea who the US actor was when they first met on the members-only dating app Raya.

While discussing the possibility of working with her husband in the future, Lily said: "We talk about it sometimes. We talk about doing plays together.

"We really love each other and like spending time with each other, funnily enough. And we don't get to do enough of it. He's always off filming and I'm always doing stuff too.

"But yes, we would love to do something together at some point because we would get to work together and then go home together and that would be nice."

Reflecting on her role as a public figure, and the resulting commentary on her physical appearance, Lily said: "Yes, people do like to comment on the way that people look on social media.

"Yeah, it's so destructive and I wish that I didn't interact with it. But sometimes I'm not very good at not reacting. I'm a reactive person. I wish I wasn't.

"I'm hoping I get to the stage where I can just have somebody else do all of that interaction for me.

"I probably am at that stage, I just haven't found the person yet. But yeah, I don't know. It's all nonsense, isn't it?"

The full interview with Lily Allen is available at www.glamourmagazine.co.uk now.

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Lily Allen: 'I Don't Know If I'd Be Alive If I Hadn't Got Sober'

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The British star has spoken openly about her experience of addiction and her use of drugs and alcohol.

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Lily Allen is best known for her career as a singer and songwriter. Entering the music scene in 2006 with her first album 'Alright, Still', Allen's songs are renowned for their wit and sometimes controversial topics. The singer has become an icon in British music, with her famously charismatic personality being used as a brand to promote her music. She has amassed great success in her career.

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In recent times, Lily has moved away from the music industry and into TV and theatre.