Some of the songs on Lily Allen’s new album have been inspired by the painful aftermath of her breakup with her husband, David Harbour, who has spoken about how the painful aftermath left her feeling “rejected and abandoned.”
Lily Allen has revealed that her split from Stranger Things actor David Harbour served as inspiration for her most intimate album to date, West End Girl, which was the result of “deep-rooted issues with rejection and abandonment.”
The 39-year-old singer-songwriter BMG released her long-awaited album yesterday (October 24). Since her 2018 album No Shame, she hasn’t released any music in seven years.
In that time, Lily stepped away from the spotlight to focus on theatre and acting. She earned critical acclaim for her performances in 2:22 A Ghost Story and The Pillowman, as well as appearing in the film How To Build A Girl and the Sky comedy Dreamland.
She also hosts the well-known podcast Miss Me? with long-time friend Miquita Oliver, but she claims that the breakdown of her marriage to David left her feeling destabilized and vulnerable over the past few years.
Lily reflected on the suffering that gave birth to West End Girl in a statement to Perfect magazine, calling it an “album of sorrow and pain.”
She said, “I have deep-rooted issues with rejection and abandonment that I’ve been tussling with for most of my adult life and probably quite a lot of my childhood as well.” And at the time, I was reacting violently to various things.
She continued, “It’s difficult for me to not have my person, you know,” after confirming that “things” had spoken of the end of her marriage. And I’m a remarkably dependent person. When I’m missing the comfort and stability of what is not available, I find it difficult to lean on those who are.
The mother-of-two added that she felt pressured to “do the work” of healing. “I am aware that what I have to do is to make myself happy, and that makes me very irritable.” It means doing the work, which I believe I’ve been doing for a long time. It’s exhausting to me. And I believed it was finished. I assumed, “Oh, I thought it would be happily ever after”?
After meeting on the celebrity dating app Raya, Lily and David tied the knot in Las Vegas in 2020. However, months of speculation about infidelity led to their announcement to end their engagement earlier this year.
Lily later admitted she entered treatment to cope with the “emotional turmoil” of the split. Since leaving their Brooklyn townhouse the singer has gotten settled in London, buying an ex-council flat in Notting Hill that she’s been decorating herself.
She previously told The Mirror: “I’ve obviously had quite a hard time and that’s really helped me.” The emotional fallout of the breakup is explored in depth in West End Girl.
Relapse explores her struggle to stay sober while her songs Ruminating and Madeline explore themes of jealousy and infidelity. Just Enough, a track about moving on and accepting yourself, closes the album.
Source: Mirror
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