Robbie Williams declares Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’ “Like black Mirror Meets Smash Hits”
Lily Allen’s highly anticipated album, ‘West End Girl,’ released on October 24th, has captivated a prominent figure in the music industry: Robbie Williams.The record, Allen’s first since 2018’s ‘No shame,’ arrives following the confirmation of her separation from ‘Stranger Things’ star David Harbour, a split initially reported at the beginning of the year amid allegations of infidelity.
The personal turmoil surrounding Allen’s life is deeply interwoven into the fabric of ‘West End Girl.’ Following her marriage to Harbour in 2020, Allen sought treatment at a center to address the “emotional turmoil” stemming from the breakup, and has described the album as an exploration of her “deep-rooted issues with rejection and abandonment.” Williams reportedly told friends the album “stole my thoughts like this. It’s like Black Mirror meets Smash Hits,” characterizing the album as “insanely good, unsettling, and might have just predicted the next five years of pop culture.”
The song ‘Madeline’ features Allen reciting what appears to be a voice note from the titular character to Harbour, including the pointed lyrics: “I can’t trust anything that comes out of your mouth / I’m not convinced that he didn’t fuck you in our house.” Allen further referenced the track by dressing as the children’s book character Madeleine for Halloween. Following the album’s release,a woman named Natalie Tippett came forward claiming to be the inspiration for ‘Madeline,’ though Allen later clarified in an interview with The Sunday Times that the character is a “construct of others” – a fictional creation.
Critical reception for ‘West End Girl’ has been largely positive, with NME awarding it four stars and praising it as “a sleek, smart collection that sees Allen back at her very best.” The review highlighted the album’s vulnerability, noting that despite its exploration of “grief and misery,” it “never sounds depressing.” The reviewer further commented on Allen’s ability to make “devastation sound exciting,” pointing to tracks like ‘Ruminating’ and ‘Just Enough’ as examples of the album’s emotional depth.
Allen is set to embark on her first tour in seven years next spring, performing ‘West End Girl’ in its entirety at theaters across the UK. She will also headline the Mighty Hoopla festival in 2026, a performance that resulted in over 35,000 tickets being sold within 30 minutes. Tickets for her 2026 shows can be found here.
Meanwhile, Williams is preparing for the release of his own long-awaited album, ‘BRITPOP,’ in 2026. Originally slated for an October release,the album was postponed to avoid clashing with Taylor Swift’s new music. If ‘BRITPOP’ reaches the top of the charts, Williams will become the first British artist to achieve 16 Number One albums, surpassing his current tie with The Beatles, who also hold 15 chart-topping records.
In anticipation of the album,Williams released a music video for ‘Pretty Face,’ featuring a nostalgic trip back to the 1990s and an appearance on the television show The Word. He also recently performed both the tracklists of his debut album and ‘BRITPOP’ at his smallest-ever show in London. Williams will continue these intimate performances on his ‘Long 90’s Tour’ in February, with dates scheduled in Glasgow, Liverpool, and London. Tickets for the tour are available here, and ‘BRITPOP’ is available for pre-order here.
