Music

Lily Allen

King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut

Glasgow, four stars

FOR someone with nearly six million Twitter followers and three successful albums to her name, Lily Allen’s decision to play at the 300-person capacity King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut may have surprised some. But with a new album coming out in June, Allen used the intimate gig to test drive a chunk of her new material – and if the reaction of the crowd was anything to go by it should be a success.

Despite reports that she had been nervous at her earlier London gig, Allen seemed eased by the warm Glaswegian welcome and the cries of ‘on yersel, Lily!’ that peppered her performance.

She told the crowd “these gigs are so special, seeing your faces and watching you mouthing the lyrics, it really means the world”– with a broad smile suggesting that she was genuinely enjoying herself.

The new songs were a lot slower than you might expect, tackling her recent divorce, motherhood and her tumultuous relationship with the media under a minimalist electronic production. In Come On Then she seems to taunt the tabloids that have so often criticised her, inciting their headlines through lyrics like “I’m a bad mother and a bad wife”.

Apples charts her divorce from husband Sam Cooper and her failed move to the countryside, with the emotion of the song giving Allen a platform to showcase her surprisingly versatile vocals.

She did venture into politics at one point between songs when declaring “F*ck the Tories, Donald Trump and Cambridge Analytica” – much to the crowd’s delight.

But for someone who has gained a reputation for her controversial statements as much as for her music, Allen used this small stage to prove that she is, after all, a truly talented performer.