Former Millfield Student Lily Allen thanks her lucky stars for Somerset as it helped start her musical career
Born in London and famous throughout the world for her music, Lily Allen is no stranger to Somerset and has enjoyed some of her happiest moments in the county.
‘I like Somerset – always have done,’ she said. ‘I have special memories of going to Millfield School because that was one of the few places that really encouraged me to sing. I think it is fair to say that Somerset helped me to lay the foundations of my career.
‘I remember singing with Ben Knopfler, son of Mark. He was at Millfield at the same time as me and we did some recordings.’
It was the start of something big for young Lily Allen but it was not her first visit to Somerset and neither would it be her last.
‘I enjoyed being at Millfield school. In part, it was because of where it was situated. Street was and still is a nice town and Somerset is just a super county where you can find peace if you want but also there is plenty going on if you want to be in the middle of things happening.’
Lily is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and her mother Alison Owen was a film producer so it was always likely that she would have some kind of a career in show business. However, few people guessed she would become an international singing star.
‘I was in one of the Comic Strip TV shows when I was four so acting was always a possibility,’ says Lily. ‘That said, I might also have been influenced by my very first visit to Somerset because I was only a few weeks old when my mum and dad took me to Glastonbury. I’m told – I don’t remember it of course - that we were there with about 40,000 people there in 1985. Tickets to get in were £16 and among those on stage were The Boomtown Rats, Joe Cocker, Aswad, Style Council and Echo and the Bunnymen. That was a pretty good line-up and maybe even though I had no idea what was going on just being there with live music going on was exciting enough even at a few weeks of age to inspire my career. It’s a good notion even if it wasn’t quite like that. I am still pleased it was in Somerset.’
Lily has no problem with the fact that her growing-up years were not like those of most other people. She actually attended 13 schools and was in trouble for a variety of reasons at most of them.
‘It was never a normal childhood, how could it be?’ she says. ‘I was always a bit non-conformist and did my own thing, earned where I could and learned where I could. I wasn’t exactly a rebel but I liked to be an individual and I mostly mixed with people who were the same. It was all a bit crazy really.’
Lily was actually ‘discovered’ at the age of 11 by Canadian soprano Rachel Santesso who had a part-time job as music teacher at Lily’s then school.
‘She heard me singing to myself – I think it was an Oasis song – and she talked to me a bit about singing and music,’ Lily recalls. ‘She asked if I would like some extra singing lessons and it seemed like a good idea to me so we did and she helped me quite a lot.’
Lily also enjoyed acting and appeared in many local pantos and other productions when she was quite young and also as she started her teens.
‘I think that all helped me a lot and later when I started recording and making appearances many of the things I had learned came into play,’ she said.
Since those days Lily Allen has become famous throughout the world and, of course, her world went full circle when she returned to Glastonbury in 2014.
‘That was such a great experience and I loved it,’ she recalled. ‘It’s no wonder that I like Somerset so much. I was on the Pyramid Stage and that same year there was Ed Sheeran, Metallica, Robert Plant and the brilliant Dolly Parton among many others.
‘I know that Somerset is famous for Wells Cathedral and places like that – not forgetting cider of course, but I think everyone in the world has heard of Glastonbury and that means they all know Somerset too.’
Today Lily is still at the top of her profession with a string of hit singles and albums and a huge fan following. She is also a mum of two and she devotes quite a bit of time to conservation issues.
‘I take a great interest in the planet and how it has been treated,’ she says. ‘I think it is so important that we take much better care of it before it really is too late. Maybe it is already, I don’t know but you have to try and do your bit, don’t you? I try to campaign a bit to draw attention to the problems.’
Sadly the rest of the world is not as nice as Somerset. Former wild-child Lily Allen was almost born here. She went to school here and has been back many times including starring at the world’s biggest music festival. What a great career she is having and how sensible she is to watch out for the latest cricket score from Somerset.
