Lily Allen returns to Australia in February with Perth show at Metro City

BRITISH pop star Lily Allen has this morning announced she will return to Australia and New Zealand in February for a series of electric shows.

Fresh from the June release of her fourth record No Shame, the singer-songwriter will perform in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Auckland for her first Australian shows in four years and her first show in New Zealand since 2010.

Her 18+ Perth show, which will mark the end of the tour, will see her hit the stage at Metro City on February 12.

No Shame was a rebirth for Allen who went back to the drawing board after several tumultuous years, eventually producing the raw and truthful classic pop songs that take her back to the spirit of her first two albums Alright, Still (2006) and It’s Not Me, It’s You (2011).

“On album one and two, I had finally found an outlet in which to express who I was and who I thought I was,” Allen said.

“And then I had children and I got married, and I didn’t know any more.”

In the confusing period that followed the release of her third album Sheezus in 2014, Allen joked that she had her midlife crisis.

“When people say I grew up too quickly, I definitely did,” she said.

“Life begins at 40 – but at 32 for me.”

For No Shame, she knew it was time to take it back to basics.

Made across LA and London, Allen hit the reset button giving herself time and space to take the pressure off and get emotionally honest with herself.

“I can write half a great song then finish it off with some bulls*** and I’ve done that a lot of times,” she said.

“But I’ve been able to sit here and get the bulls*** away and make it as truthful as possible – that was my goal.”

With several guest artists, No Shame is a frank and confessional album filled with songs that address the end of her marriage, her feelings about being a mother, stories of partying too hard, making and losing friends and a sense of catharsis that she’s coming out on the other side.

“There’s no shame in anything I’m saying,” she said.

“When I started writing the record I was in a sad, dark place and this record could almost be starting at midnight and getting through to the end of the day.

“It starts in a dark place, for a reason, then ends up in a more optimistic place, for a reason.”

Allen first shot to fame with her debut record Alright, Still and its hit single Smile which earned her Grammy, VMA, and Brit Award nominations.

Her second album It’s Not Me, It’s You debuted at number one in Australia and the UK with singles The Fear and F*** You landing her the Brit Award for Best Female Solo Artist in 2010.

After a brief hiatus and the founding of her own record label, she released another UK number one album in Sheezus.

Frontier members pre-sale tickets go on sale September 6, with general public on sale from 11am on Tuesday, September 11.

THE ESSENTIALS Who: Lily Allen When: Tuesday, February 12 Where: Metro City (18+) Tickets: www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849