Review: Lily Allen at Birmingham O2 Academy

Mar 24 2009 Review by Emily Bridgewater

IT’S been three years since Lily Allen released her acclaimed ska-pop debut album Alright Still.

Since then she’s achieved ubiquity in the gossip columns, becoming more famous for who she’s dating, or who she’s slating.

And it’s easy to forget that the girl who made a statement in prom dresses, trainers and oversized gold jewellery is also a Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter.

However, last night fans were reminded of exactly why this cheeky popstrel caught our imagination with her easy breezy style.

Petite and pretty in a floral minidress - but with hoop ear-rings big enough to wiggle around your hips - she was smaller than you’d imagine although her diminutive stature did not impair her commanding presence.

An opening track of Everyone’s At It received a raucous roar from an energetic crowd, although her sweet vocals on the following, less familiar tracks, were overpowered by a gutsy five-piece band.

Sensing the audience’s Monday blues, she demanded that it be Friday night, and as the band launched into the opening rifts of Oh My God, an almighty cheer broke out.