Photo: WENN
Never one for subtlety or playing by the rules, Lily Allen's festive gig at Brixton Academy will certainly go down as memorable.
The singer recreated the nativity scene on stage and, in bizarre circumstances, slipped out of the manger and launched straight into her now infamous track 'Sheezus' to start the show. Baby Sheezus dazzled in a blue dress and was supported by 2 wise men, a shepherd and various other festive characters for this Christmas themed show.
Strutting around on stage and flanked by giant baby bottles, the outspoken Allen showcased her career to date, much to the delight of her audience. Tracks from her latest album were a little underwhelming but when the mum of two (a fact she mentioned a few times) pulled out tracks from the early days, the ever enthusiastic crowd showed their appreciation.
The upbeat ‘LDN’ and cult classic ‘Smile’ certainly got the biggest reactions of the night, but Allen was keen to offer up her new material including ‘URL Badman.’ The song was preceded by the singer telling her loyal supporters to “stop being mean to each other on the internet”...despite being famed for her sometimes controversial online remarks.
With the Christmas theme in full flow, an all Girls’ choir, run by one of Allen's former school teachers, took to the stage to perform a very special rendition of ‘Somewhere Only We Know’. The song, which featured in last year’s John Lewis Christmas campaign, rounded off the festive theme and, complete with fake snow, provided a real sentimental moment.
Whatever sentimentality was left in the room was soon wiped out as Allen switched gears and exploded into ‘Hard Out Here’. Although one of the better songs from her latest album, you can't help but feel the timing of the song was ill advised, and before you knew, it she was inviting two fans on stage to help her with closing number ‘Fuck You’.
Leaving the stage triumphantly to a rapturous applause, she soon returned for an encore, which included a mass sing-along to ‘The Fear’ to round off a good night.
