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Lily Allen · S9 E2
Dreamland
Moving to Brooklyn and starting over across the ocean
2020. Lily Allen packs up her London life and moves to a brownstone in Brooklyn with the man she married in Las Vegas two months earlier.
"Our Time" by Lily Allen (2014). The title captures everything about the Brooklyn move: after years of chaos in London, this is Lily's time. A fresh start in a city where nobody reads The Sun, nobody cares about BRIT Awards drama, and the tabloid culture that nearly destroyed her simply doesn't exist.
“London had become this place where I couldn't walk down the street without being reminded of everything that happened. New York was the opposite. Nobody knew, nobody cared, and that was exactly what I needed.”
— Lily Allen, Miss Me? podcast (2024)
The Move
Lily Allen's decision to leave London isn't just about David Harbour. It's about survival. Every corner of London holds a memory she's spent years trying to process: the stalker's break-in, the tabloid photographers, the industry that closed ranks against her. Brooklyn offers something London never could: anonymity.
TAP TO REVEAL: What surprised Lily most about living in New York?
Our Time, Lily Allen (2014)
'Our Time' is one of the most straightforward pop songs on Sheezus: a bright melody, a positive message, and a production that doesn't try to be anything other than enjoyable. Listen for how the chorus lifts without the tension or complexity that marks the rest of the album. During the Sheezus campaign, it was a deep cut nobody noticed. In the context of this episode, it sounds like the thesis statement for Lily's entire new chapter: no drama, no controversy, just living.
Brooklyn, New York
The New York borough where Lily Allen starts her new life with David Harbour. After Hammersmith, Camden, the Cotswolds, and every London postcode the tabloids ever staked out, Brooklyn is the first place that belongs entirely to the present tense.
The New Chapter
A Different Famous
In London, Lily Allen is a tabloid fixture. In New York, she's David Harbour's wife, and that distinction matters more than it sounds. American fame operates differently: the paparazzi culture is less aggressive, the tabloid press less personal, and the public less invested in punishing women for having opinions.
Lovely Day, Bill Withers
After years of British pop, British tabloids, and British institutions, the bonus listening comes from somewhere else entirely. 'Lovely Day' by Bill Withers is the sound of waking up in a new city where nobody wants anything from you except a good morning. After everything Lily Allen has been through, simple is enough.
Lovely Day, Bill Withers (1977)
Sometimes the right song has nothing to do with the artist's catalogue. After eight seasons of pain, these words are the exhale. Let Bill Withers hold you for three minutes. You've earned it.
Lily Allen has lived in how many distinct locations across her life story?
Lily Allen walks onto the stage of a West End theatre and delivers a performance that nobody, including the critics, saw coming. Next episode: 2:22 A Ghost Story, and the night Lily proves she can do more than sing.
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