After carnival carnage we look at the debauched decade that’s turned Lily Allen from budding star to tortured soul
Mum-of-two pop star is partying harder than ever as her marriage falls apart — leaving pals fearing she's headed for an almighty fall
IT was the summer of 2006 and Lily Allen was making the world smile.
In her cute prom dresses and box-fresh trainers, the 21-year-old launched her debut album to a chorus of approval from critics and punters alike.
Catchy first single Smile hit No1, and the album, Alright, Still, went on to sell 2.6million copies across the globe.
Soon the bright young woman even had her own BBC3 chat show. She could do no wrong.
But fast-forward a decade and everything is anything but Alright for the one-time pop princess, whose career is crumbling along with her marriage.
The mum of two’s last No1 was the jingle for the 2013 John Lewis advert, and her most recent single, the following year, only managed to reach No93.
Likewise the marriage she counted on as a force of stability in her life is over.
Lily, 31, is partying harder than ever, having now turned her back on the wholesome family life in the country she once embraced.
Then yesterday came the pictures her anxious pals have been dreading.
She was snapped downing cider, lager, punch and whiskey and puffing on a suspicious-looking cigarette during a marathon booze session at London’s Notting Hill Carnival.
In disturbing scenes, revealed by The Sun, she passed out on stage while her new grime artist lover, MC Meridian Dan, and ex-boyfriend Seb Chew were performing.
The unresponsive singer had to be dragged off stage, then hoisted over boyfriend Dan’s shoulder. She was later seen vomiting.
It had echoes of last year’s very public collapse, when the singer pictured passed out in a field in Glastonbury after a wild weekend.
And yet again she dismissed the images as just another example of her being a “lightweight”.
But friends now fear their headstrong pal is heading for an almighty fall.
As one source close to the singer put it: “Everyone is really worried about her. If she carries on like this, her next bender could land her in hospital — or worse.”
They added: “Lily’s wilder than ever. When she gets time off from her kids she really goes for it, but she just doesn’t seem to know her limits. It is not a good look.”
So where did it all go wrong?
Pals point to the gradual disintegration of her marriage to property developer Sam Cooper, 37, who had proved the one rock-solid influence in her life, as a major cause.
Meeting him settled her down after a tumultuous and tragic few years.
After a miscarriage a few months into a relationship with DJ Ed Simons, of the Chemical Brothers, in early 2008, Lily underwent therapy but also hurled herself into partying hard.
One episode in 2009 saw her hit the headlines after an 11-hour bender with Oasis hellraiser Liam Gallagher on a Virgin jet to Japan.
Level-headed businessman Sam was a new beginning. She decamped to the Cotswolds in 2010 for a new life as a “farmer’s wife” and after losing their first child in 2010, she spoke of how Sam’s support had got her through.
After their 2011 wedding she even restyled herself as “Mrs Cooper” and announced her retirement from the music business.
Gone were the wild nights at London’s Groucho club and in came quiet nights in with her new man, reading Flashman novels aloud in bed.
Then along came first daughter Ethel, now five, followed by Marnie, now three.
Lily, whose party-mad actor dad Keith Allen had left home when she was four, was determined to make her own new family picture-perfect.
She said: “I’m a homemaker. People are really shocked when they come to my house because I’m literally like, candles everywhere, flower arranging and bottles of water next to everyone’s beds.”
Everyone is really worried about her. If she carries on like this, her next bender could land her in hospital — or worse
So far so serene. But Lily quickly tired of a life of rural domesticity. And a foray into retail, opening vintage clothes shop Lucy In Disguise in London with sister Sarah Owen, did not provide the buzz she was after.
So at the end of 2013 she recorded Somewhere Only We Know for John Lewis’s Christmas advert.
Then, while undoubtedly devoted to her kids, in early 2014 she announced that motherhood was “boring” and threw herself back into music with new album Sheezus.
The source added: “When Lily fell in love with Sam she was very caught up in the romance of it all.
“She loved the idea of being a wife and mother, it was a shot at the conventional life she hadn’t really had before. But she was only in her 20s and I think she quickly realised she had settled down too soon.
“Once the novelty wore off, the marriage and the sedate lifestyle that went with it seemed to lose its shine. She’s a wild child at heart.”
By the beginning of this year, Sam and Lily appeared to be living separate lives. In February she even told a radio phone-in she would add “the dangers of marriage” and “an introduction to divorce” to the national curriculum.
Slowly she has made her transition back to city party animal, returning to London for a series of boozy benders at celeb hang-out the Chiltern Firehouse, often lasting several days.
She also raised eyebrows by her “outrageous flirting” with a married household name during a trip to Los Angeles.
By last summer Lily was said to be living in London’s £1,000-a-night Claridge’s hotel and by December, Sam had left the family home.
The couple’s Cotswolds manor is now on the market for £4.2million and Lily confessed she needs the money, tweeting: “I’ve had a tough couple of years, I’m having to sell my home to pay my tax bill.” She later backtracked, claiming the bill had been paid.
Now it is MC Meridian Dan, real name Daniel London, who has her attention — and who seemingly offers her the exciting social life she so dearly missed. Sunday’s shenanigans in Notting Hill have just set the rumour mill off again.
Pals added that spending time on the road on tour after 2014’s Sheezus also made her remember how much she enjoyed the party scene.
A source said: “When she’s on tour, Lily goes mad. Away from the kids she can really let her hair down. It can be a struggle for her entourage to keep up with her, that’s how crazy she gets. She loves that life and finds it irresistible.”
On top of her partying, Lily’s drastic weight loss was also cause for concern. In July 2014 Lily, who in 2009 admitted to suffering bulimia, confessed that she had lost 3st since her return to the music scene.
She insisted it was the result of not having time to eat proper meals on tour.
By last year, Lily’s behaviour had got even more erratic. First there was the Glastonbury collapse then, at last year’s Carnival, she shared Snapchat videos of pals brandishing a suspicious white powder. She was also pictured in clothes with a cannabis design.
Although still presenting a united front with Sam, it was revealed she had a Tinder profile and had been receiving racy texts from former One Direction star Zayn Malik.
By September, Lily had split from her management team of Scott Rodger and Henry Village, amid claims her life was “spiralling out of control”.
An angry Lily hit back on Twitter, saying: “Rest assured, I am fine, very in control of my life. The harder you push me the more determined I am to prove you wrong.”
Lily has now joined forces with respected music agent Tim Clark, co-founder of IE Music, who is credited with turning around the career of Take That star Robbie Williams.
A music source said: “Tim is a no-nonsense operator and is used to handling big personalities — and difficult people. On paper he is the perfect manager for Lily.”
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On Twitter yesterday — after changing her handle to Dramatic Collapser — she insisted of the Notting Hill incident: “I had 2 cans of Strongbow on an empty stomach. I’m here now and I’m absolutely fine.” She also retweeted messages of support from fans saying mums should keep partying.
Still, last night friends suggested she would do well to heed some good advice.
One pointed out a particularly poignant quote which read: “People who are famous and successful and live in this mad world tend to die really early, or kill themselves, or die in a drugs overdose.”
And who was it who made that declaration back in 2012?
Her name is Lily Allen.