Lily Allen marked the first anniversary of her comeback album West End Girl on Friday by posing in a revealing mini-dress.
The 41-year-old singer described her return to music, following her divorce from David Harbour, as a “dream”.
Holding up a copy of the album in new Instagram photographs, Lily showed off her figure in a tiny gold dress that revealed plenty of leg and cleavage.
The image also gave fans a first look at her darker hair and new fringe, photographed during her tour in support of the record.
Alongside the post, she wrote: “1 year of west end girl.. thanks for loving this record, and for coming on this ride with me. What a dream it’s been. X.”
The celebration came days after Lily was left “gutted” when a viral infection forced her to cancel a New Zealand performance with less than 24 hours’ notice.
She is currently performing across New Zealand and Australia as part of her worldwide West End Girl tour.
Lily Allen marked the first anniversary of her comeback album West End Girl by posing in a revealing mini-dress
The 41-year-old singer said returning to music after her divorce from David Harbour had been a “dream”
In an update shared last Tuesday evening, or Wednesday morning local time in New Zealand, Lily announced that she would not be appearing at Auckland’s Spark Arena that night.
Writing on Instagram, she said: “To my West End Girls in Auckland, I am so sorry to have to tell you that I have come down with a viral infection and am unable to perform tonight.
“I was really looking forward to seeing you all and am absolutely gutted to be letting you down.
“For those who traveled all the way here, please accept my apology. All tickets will be refunded and I hope to be able to come back to see you soon.
“Thank you so much for understanding. Love, Lily x.”
After selling out a run of theatre dates within minutes earlier this year, Lily has continued touring internationally with her latest album, West End Girl.
The shows represent the biggest headline tour of her career and feature the singer performing the entire record, which draws on her marriage to Stranger Things actor David Harbour.
The couple were married for four years after meeting on the dating app Raya. Across 14 tracks, Lily offers a fiercely candid account of the relationship’s collapse.
Earlier this month, Lily argued that the “music industry doesn’t know how to market women of a certain age” and vowed to continue addressing “real things” in her songs.
She criticised what she called a “scared” music business for failing to support women who want to sing about subjects including perimenopause and the school run.
Lily was left “gutted” after a viral infection forced her to cancel her New Zealand show with less than 24 hours’ notice
Speaking to The Times Magazine, Lily said: “The music industry doesn’t know how to market women of a certain age, myself included.
“You get to a point and you’re like, ‘OK, do people really want to hear about perimenopause and the school run and whatever we’re going through?’
“We’re scared of going there because there’s not much evidence there’s a market for it. But there probably is.”
She added that the album had been “really significant” to women of a similar age, saying: “It gives me hope that talking about real things works.”
Lily’s comments followed her response to David’s description of her “weird” break-up album, which explores the end of their marriage.
The 51-year-old Stranger Things star said he respected Lily’s right to discuss their relationship through her music, but added that he did not feel he had experienced the same version of events.
Months later, Lily addressed those remarks in an interview with The Cut, calling his view “generous” while praising his talent as an actor.
Asked about her former husband’s comments, she said: “I think that was a generous thing for him to say. He’s having a real moment of success as well, right?
“He’s been nominated for an Emmy, and it’s great. We’re all doing our own thing, and we’re all doing what we’re supposed to do. If there’s one thing I know about David Harbour, it’s that he’s an excellent actor.”
David gave his assessment of the album during a June interview with Variety.
The record includes lyrics about extramarital activity and emotional manipulation. While it is based on Lily’s split from David and includes some artistic licence, he said he did not recognise it as his own experience.
He said: “It was weird. I do believe that it is the privilege of every artist to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing that. I can’t really say that much more, because it’s my private life.
“In spite of the fact that a lot of people don’t allow me a private life — I value it. And I also value the lives of the people that I interact with privately. I just won’t speak about that.
“Stories are complex, and that’s why I say I respect her creation of art to channel her experience. It wasn’t my experience.”
