Friday highlights at Glastonbury - after the rain, came the sun and then came the music. N*E*R*D’s Pharrell Williams, Little Boots, Hot Chip, Gabriella Cilmi and Lily Allen all paid their tribute to Michael Jackson. The Specials offered their take on the Glastonbury lineup and revealed no love loss for Lady GaGa - Terry Hall called her ‘gross’ and ‘obnoxious’. Lady GaGa herself seemed to prefer to chat her way through her set rather than sing, Jack White’s The Dead Weather played a surprise set and headliner Neil Young proved there’s life in the dog yet…
Tag Archives: Lily Allen
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June 27th, 2009
While Glastonbury festival goers react to the news of Michael Jackson’s death, the music plays on. After a soggy start the sun comes out and Lily Allen treats the crowd to her cover version of Britney Spears’ Womanizer. While Lily later wore one white glove in tribute to Michael Jackson, Doves and Pharrell Williams of N*E*R*D offered their musings over the death of the ‘king of pop’…
May 1st, 2009
The second half of the acts to grace the Somerset House Summer Series have been announced. As we reported last week Here, Grace Jones, Lily Allen, The Ting Tings, Pendulum and Athlete had already been confirmed; we can now tell you that The Enemy, The Mars Volta, Bat For Lashes and Super Furry Animals will also be playing with one act still to be confirmed.
The full line-up is:
The Line-up so far is:
July 10 The Enemy (£22.50)
July 11 Lily Allen (£27.50)
July 12 TBC
July 13 The Mars Volta (£25)
July 14 The Ting Tings (22.50)
July 15 Pendulum (£27.50)
July 16 Bat For Lashes (£22.50)
July 17 Athlete (£25)
July 18 Super Furry Animals (£25)
(Plus booking fee)
Tickets for the Somerset House Summer Series are on sale now, available online and over the phone:
Online- www.somersethouse.org.uk Phone- (Ticketmaster) 0844 847 2461
To stay in touch with the latest events at Somerset House and for priority booking sign up at www.somersethouse.org.uk/music
For more information on the acts:
- Grace Jones’ MySpace
- Lily Allen’s MySpace
- The Ting Tings’ MySpace
- Pendulum’s MySpace
- Athlete’s MySpace
- Super Furry Animals’ MySpace
- The Mars Volta’s MySpace
- The Enemy’s MySpace
- Bat For Lashes’ MySpace
Photo taken from Alterna2’s Flickr
April 21st, 2009
We’re reaching that great time of year; the sun is properly out for the first time in months, the coats, scarves, gloves and hats are being left at home and we are facing a whole summer full of good times, festivals and (hopefully) great weather!
One of the nicest places to spend a sunny evening in London is Somerset house, which last year played host to Justice, We Are Scientists, Duffy and Adele during their Summer Series. This year, Somerset House have so far confirmed Grace Jones, Lily Allen, The Ting Tings, Pendulum and Athlete. The other headliners will be announced on 29th April for the event which runs from 9th – 18th July.
July 11 Lily Allen (£27.50)
July 14 The Ting Tings (22.50)
July 15 Pendulum (£27.50)
July 17 Athlete (£25)
Tickets for the Somerset House Summer Series will go on sale from 23rd April and will be available online and over the phone.
Online- www.somersethouse.org.uk Phone- (Ticketmaster) 0844 847 2461
To stay in touch with the latest events at Somerset House and for priority booking sign up at www.somersethouse.org.uk/music
For more information on the acts:
- Grace Jones’ MySpace
- Lily Allen’s MySpace
- The Ting Tings’ MySpace
- Pendulum’s MySpace
- Athlete’s MySpace
April 21st, 2009
Twisted love is seeping out of the singles this week. While Lily Allen is muttering on about bedroom antics the banjo in the background sounds more shocking, while the mushier side of relationships is dipped into by Tinchy Stryder and N-Dubz. Elsewhere, Patrick Wolf apparently has “some dodgy satanic sex games” to thank for his comeback track. We’re sure it does Patrick. Don’t ask what The Big Pink release is about; it’s pretty fine regardless.
Lily Allen – It’s Not Fair
Three minutes of berating a bloke for sexually inadequacy? Yes,Lily’s back. The BBC sees “a kind of blog-pop, or blop, if you like - you can also take this song as a stern warning to all would-be love gods” and awards it 8/10. Music Unreality has ” a deep-seated loathing of this kind of kitsch countrified music”. Meanwhile, Brit Music Scene gives 7/10 because the combination of racy lyrics and twee country “shouldn’t work but it does”. Lily’s men have not been coming up with the goods, it seems, but neither is she here. 5/10.
Patrick Wolf - Vulture
Well, Patrick doesn’t stand still, no argument there. The Skinny notes he is “currently favouring sex-club synths and NiN-styled industrialism, Vulture is almost entirely unrecognisable” and worth 4/10. City Life “can barely stay seated; we’re shuffling our way through the gothic two-step to it as we type” but only gives it 6/10. Die Shellsuit Die spots “a definite chill to the proceedings, seemingly transposed straight from a John Carpenter night-stalker scene”. Dark, far more serious than in the past, but forgettable. 4/10.
Tinchy Stryder ft. N-Dubz - ‘Number 1′
“Nice lyrics about feelings taking you over when you least expect them to. We’ve all been there, right?” Who knew the BBC cared? It gives this 8/10. Digital Spy is underwhelmed by the “distinctively gritty vocals over shimmering disco beats” and marks it 6/10 despite enjoying “a few strings for good measure”. It has attracted the attention of the California Chronicle, which admits that “Prince of Grime Stryder shows a real flair for pop hooks”. It’s strident strings and catchy simplicity will see it sell well, if nothing else. 5/10.
The Big Pink – Velvet
Named after The Band album yet sadly sounding nothing like them, The Big Pink have work to do. But Gob Shout likes this – really likes this. “Tell me that it isn’t brilliant,” it dares. “Let’s hope there is justice and it is huge.” Artrocker is in agreement, proclaiming: “This slow motion electro-fuzzer has more soul than Barry White crooning at the gates of heaven.” Pitchfork adds: “Velvet is undeniably immense… it still manages to sound intimate.” It’s broody and gripping - the week’s best offering by a distance. 8/10.
April 4th, 2009
One of the world’s best loved and well known, if not muddy, festivals sold out this morning, as music lovers snapped up the last few remaining tickets.
Final sales started at 9am, enabled those who had registered in the intial stages with photographic information to deter to touts, to get their musical mitts on the gold dust tickets.
Acts officially confirmed by www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk include Lily Allen, Fleet Foxes, Neil Young, Blur, Bruce Springsteen, Doves and White Lies to name a few. It is anticipated that the remaining headline acts will be announced in the next few weeks.
March 27th, 2009
Lily Allen is the latest name to be announced at the top end of this year’s Bestival lineup. The cheeky singer will showcase her number one album It’s Not Me, It’s You at the Isle of Wight this summer.
She is joined by other new announcements including La Roux, Jack Penate and Just Jack, as well as a special DJ set from Orbital, with all of the acts set to be in Robin Hill Country Park on the Isle of Wight between September 11th and 13th.
Lily will not simply be doing her set and hopping back on the ferry home though, she is getting into the Bestival spirit by judging a new fancy dress competition very month in the run up to the event.
Festival supremo Rob da Bank stated: “Lily Allen chipped up at Bestival 2006 just as she was becoming massive, donned a full rabbit fancy dress outfit with massive pink ears, completely nailed the crowd and hung out all weekend having fun.
“So I’m delighted she’s coming back to do all it again with another brilliant number one album under her belt and not only that but she’s going to judge all your outfits before you even arrive in our Outer Space fancy dress comp!”
Kraftwerk and Massive Attack are the headliners already announced for the end of the festival season bash, but one huge act is still being kept under wraps by the Bestival team.
The lineup so far looks something like this:
Live acts:
65 Days Of Static / Alessi’s Ark /Altern8 / Bastila / Bat For Lashes / Bjorn Again / Blindfold / Bloco Electro / Blue Roses / Chase & Status / Chew Lips / dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip / Diplo Presents Mad Decent Soundsystem – Boy 8 Bit, Buraka Som Sistema, Major Lazer, Rusko / Dub Pistols / Eat Static / Ebony Bones / Efterklang / Fleet Foxes / Florence & The Machine / Free Peace / Friendly Fires / Frightened Rabbit / Fujiya & Miyagi / Future Sound Of London / Golden Silvers / Goldie Lookin’ Chain / Goodbye Stereo / Heartbreak / Hockey / Introducing / It Hugs Back / James Yuill / Joe Gideon & Shark / Kid Carpet / Kitty, Daisy & Lewis / Klaxons / Kraftwerk / Little Boots / Massive Attack / Metronomy / MGMT / Michael Nyman / Napoleon 111rd / Orkestra Del Sol / Passion Pit / Peggy Sue / Pivot / Pole / Seasick Steve / Soulwax / Sportsday Megaphone / Squarepusher / The Beat / The Cuban Brothers / The Ghost / VV Brown
DJs / MCs:
2manydjs / A1 Bassline / Alix Perez / Annie Mac Presents / Beardyman / Coley (Luv Jam) / Derrick Carter / Diplo / DJ Derek / DJ Yoda / Fabio & Grooverider / Fake Blood / Freemasons / Fear of Theydon / Friction / Gilles Peterson / Huw Stephens / Johnno (Bugged Out) / Krysko / London Elektricity / Monsters At Work DJs / Raffertie / Rob da Bank / Sombrero Sound System / Skream / Tayo / Zane Lowe
March 9th, 2009
V Festival has once again almost completely sold out across both sites only hours after tickets went on sale. Tickets to Hylands Park, Chelmsford sold out in under two hours and only coach packages now remain. The last remaining tickets to Weston Park, Staffordshire are going fast from www.vfestival.com. Tickets went on sale at 10am last Friday.
Virgin Media’s V Festival 2009 has two of the biggest and best live acts on the planet headlining in Oasis and The Killers. They will be joined on the 22/23 August by artists such as Razorlight, Fatboy Slim, Keane, The Specials, Elbow, Lily Allen, Pendulum, The Tings Tings, MGMT, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga.
The line up so far:
OASIS • THE KILLERS • RAZORLIGHT • SNOW PATROL • FATBOY SLIM • KEANE • THE SPECIALS • ELBOW • JAMES • LILY ALLEN • THE ENEMY • PENDULUM • THE SCRIPT • BIFFY CLYRO • THE TING TINGS • PAOLO NUTINI • MGMT • KATY PERRY • THE WOMBATS • JAMES MORRISON • TAYLOR SWIFT • PETER DOHERTY • DIZZEE RASCAL • THE STREETS • LADY GAGA • HAPPY MONDAYS • SEASICK STEVE • OCEAN COLOUR SCENE • ALESHA DIXON • BRITISH SEA POWER • THE SATURDAYS
February 9th, 2009
Although it’s been almost three years since Lily’s debut smash hit album Alright, Still, it feels like she hasn’t even been away. This is probably because she appears in gossip and fashion magazines most weeks, though her music remains the most important part of the style icon’s life. From the outside it is clear Lily has matured, leaving her trainers behind. However her new material seems to have changed much less.
Authentic London accent? Check. Cheeky lyrics? Check. Repetitive choruses? Check. Sound familiar? Don’t get me wrong though, just because she has used the same winning formula again, doesn’t mean it’s a bad album. The album starts off strong with Everyone’s At It, a very upbeat song which controversially discusses the use of drugs in society today, stating that apparently ‘everyone’s on it.’ The next song is her bouncy first single from the album, The Fear, which is just as catchy as the previous song. The next song, Not Fair really stands out for me. It is definitely one of the strongest on the album with its ridiculously catchy chorus and pumping beat, along with funny lyrics about her bedroom activities.
After this strong album opening, the tempo starts to slow down slightly. There seems to be a lot more slow songs compared to her debut. This may not necessarily be a bad thing, though they are much less catchy on a first listen. This eagerly anticipated second album is definitely a grower in parts, but the same Lily Allen we all grew to know and love from the first is still very much here. Let’s just hope she doesn’t reuse the same formula again in the future.
January 26th, 2009
“To read a poem in January is as lovely as going for a walk in June,” said Sartre. Instead, we’ve got Lily Allen and friends (no, not the TV show, thank the lord – wasn’t it ghastly?) It’s the week’s singles, here to see the end of the start of the year off in a flash of rhythmic brilliance. Rock, pop and rap make it into the mix, let us know your favourite.
Lily Allen – The Fear
As she’s in the paper more often than the crossword, it doesn’t even feel like she’s been away. But Digital Spy is glad she’s back, giving 8/10 for this “smart, relevant, affecting pop music”. Suite101 notes that it “shows a maturity that could be risqué”, while Penny Black Music coarsely suggests it is “not so whiney-sounding” as past material. The lyrics are intelligent and slyly mocking and it manages to sound like right now – it’s a 7/10 from us.
MySpace / iTunes / last.fm / Amazon / Spotify
Bloc Party – One Month Off
There are some great tracks on Intimacy, but it isn’t dripping with singles like past albums. Rate Your Music users give it 7/10, with one spotting it is “very Bloc Party”. This is referring to the choppy guitars, but Pitchfork bemoans its “superfluous power-ballad key changes”. The Daily Tube describing it as a “driven punk track” and indicates the band’s ability to “force a political analogy into any song”. It’s lacking the bite of previous efforts, but is still punchy enough to inspire attention. It claims 6/10.
MySpace / iTunes / last.fm / Amazon / Spotify
Kanye West – Heartless
Having gained universal plaudits for his autotuned singing efforts on his new album, Kanye returns to rap verses here, with cringe-worthy lines like “How could you be so Dr Evil?” About believes its “bleak, cold atmosphere” is “above the ordinary” and awards 8/10. Urban Review calls it a “wicked tune, nice production style and well penned” and sends another 8/10 its way. New Music Review gives 8/10 and calls it both an “excellent song” and an “excellent track”. Well, it must be excellent then, we hand it 8/10.
MySpace / iTunes / last.fm / Amazon / Spotify
Ida Maria – Oh My God
The Norwegian rock chick returns with more infectious fluff, which This Is Fake DIY claims “rollicks, rolls and generally sounds as fine as a purely pop mess can”, marking 7/10. Unreality Music loves the “gravelly vocals and frantic crescendos Ida builds up to”, while City Life is equally friendly, giving 6/10 and calling it “simultaneously nervous and furious”. This is harmless stuff, but its attempted edginess ruins damages its fun factor and it only gets 5/10 here.
January 21st, 2009
Lily Allen lies somewhere in the same realm as Marmite, you either love her or hate her. Personally I couldn’t love her more right now. I will be the first to hold my hands high and declare truthfully that when Smile was released back in 2006 I wasn’t swayed. What a difference a live appearance can make and, post Glastonbury 2007 performance, I now truly appreciate Lily for the brilliant Brit talent she is.
The fantastic new single from the pop-ska popstrel The Fear is released this coming Monday, taken from the hotly anticipated album It’s Not You It’s Me - released on February 9. Despite all Allen’s tracks being inevitably catchy, a new lyrical dimension is explored in her latest offering. This track is blunt, honest and explicitly describes the celebrity rich and famous lifestyle that proves time and time again to its victims to to be emotionally damaging.
The Fear is another piece of pop mastery, albeit for some fruity language, but these are the qualities that we have come to know and love about Allen. The success of 2006’s Alright Still proved Lily as a force to be reckoned with. The insane critical press and media coverage the singer receives seems ironic considering most young twenty-somethings are living their lives in the exact same way. The brilliance of The Fear is that not only does this song relate to the criticism Allen is plagued by, but also issues common to anyone listening to her music. Allen’s dogged determination and strength of character means she refuses to stand back and be publicly branded as another example of a celebrity breakdown, and in the process has produced mature quality music. She writes and sings what everyone thinks and isn’t afraid to speak her mind; her music has become real.
November 12th, 2008
Rapper Wale from Washington DC has just signed with Interscope. He is the next best thing in hip-hop with a debut album to be released Spring 2009. His mix-tapes are wonderful and I often listen to his music when I need that signal of hope. Jay-Z, Mark Ronson and Lily Allen have already worked with him and with production on his debut album by Kanye West we are sure to be in for a treat.
People - just watch the video and remember this artist!
(interview by Hip-Hop Official)
August 20th, 2008
Music? Bands? Eh? What? Isn’t it all about schmoozing and a-grooving with the celebs in the Virgin Mobile Louder Lounge? No? Oh you can keep your Muse and your Verve and your Kings Of Leon and your Amy Winehouse… For some - the beauty of the V Festival is about blagging your in to the Louder Lounge and then acting all nonchalant like as some supermodel brushes past with a plateful of complementary spicy sausages and a pint of Red Bull. Who’s that troubling the decks with their dirrrrty turntablism? Is it the one and only Coleen Rooney!? Erm, no it isn’t actually (contrary to reports - she didn’t get her fingers on the vinyl at all, shame really - would have loved to have seen that). Sorry non-UK types, Google her, you’ll see… well maybe you won’t but it’s worth a go.
While I took a well-earned break from traversing across the V Festival arena from stage to stage amid you lot, the mighty puntership, I happened upon a few likely suspects of the celebrity variety going about their celebrity business in the Louder Lounge. Did I pounce upon them with camera and microphone - paparazzi style - for that all exclusive soundbite about their lovelife? Nah - couldn’t be arsed. Downing my burger, chips, Bacardi & coke was my main priority… always. Keepin it real, me.
Although I did cozy up to the lovely Bryn Christopher on the hammock, but that’s a whole different story (I have video evidence which I promise to share with you when the mood takes me, so keep checking back for that).
Who else did I try my best to pretend to ignore? Girls Aloud graced the Louder Lounge after their triumphant set on the V Stage, striding past without a care in the world they were. And very pretty too. Jaime Winstone and her delightful beau Alfie Allen were seen to be chillin just to the left of me as I stuffed my face (they both have famous dads you know - spooky). The who came up and air kissed them with much grace and style? Jodie Harsh - that’s who. Ten minutes later (I kid you not - the frequency of these celebs was record breaking) Abigail Clancy and someone who might have been Peter Crouch bounced past all breezy like (yes it’s true, I watched Britain’s Next Model but I don’t watch football much… analyse that) . Then, coincidence of all coincidences, there’s that bonnie Lisa Snowden sat down with her mates across the way. Not too proud to slouch on an inflatable chair that one you know. Then it’s only bloomin Leah Wood posing her best side forward for the cameras while I tried to get past to the toilets.
Have to say though my most favourite of favourite famous types that I turned my back on was John Simm. Now that’s what I call top class variety of celeb. Then there was the fab Mathew Horne and Joanna Paige of Gavin & Stacey fame (she acts and sounds exactly the same as her comedy character on the telly - how funny. Didn’t see James Corden though, shame). Apparently Jamie Oliver was there but I didn’t see him, nor did I see Jodie Kidd, Kelly Osbourne or Lily Allen. Sorry. I could have lied just to get your attention, but would I do that you!?
So did any of you lot out there also make it in to the Virgin Mobile Louder Lounge and do a much better job of celeb spotting than me? Go on, be as smug as me and spill the beans then…
