Lily Allen Details Relationship Struggles on New Album ’West End Girl’ Following Split from David Harbour
NEW YORK – Lily AllenS latest album, “West End Girl,” released last Friday, offers a raw and revealing look into the complexities of her four-year marriage to actor David Harbour, which ended in separation last February. Written in just 10 days last December, the album chronicles Allen’s relocation to New York in 2020 with her two daughters and then-husband, following their Las Vegas wedding.
The album’s opening track references a 2021 West End production, “2:22 – A Ghost Story,” in which Allen made her stage debut, marking a turning point in the couple’s relationship. Tracks reveal accusations of infidelity, explorations of an open marriage, and references to a woman identified by the pseudonym “Madeline.” Allen details discovering sex toys and love letters, and directly calls her partner a “sex addict” on the track “P- Palace.”
While the album presents a candid portrayal of the relationship’s decline, Allen has clarified that it is not a completely factual account. In an interview with The Times, she stated, “I don’t think I could say it’s all true – I have artistic license. … But yes, there are definitely things I experienced within my relationship that have ended up on this album.” She further described the work as “autofiction” to Perfect Magazine, suggesting an “alter ego” is the voice behind the lyrics, and told British Vogue the album is “inspired by” the relationship but “that’s not to say that it’s all gospel.”
Harbour has remained largely silent on the matter, disabling comments on his Instagram page and declining to engage with tabloid coverage. In an April interview with GQ, he said, “There’s no use in that form of engaging [with tabloid news] because it’s all based on hysterical hyperbole.”
Harbour is currently preparing for the release of the final season of Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” where he plays Jim Hopper,scheduled for November 27.Allen finalized her divorce from Sam Cooper, with whom she shares her children, prior to beginning her relationship with Harbour in 2019.
