Lily Allen, 41, insists the 'music industry doesn't know how to market women of a certain age' as she promises to keep talking about 'real things' in her songs

Lily Allen has insisted the 'music industry doesn't know how to market women of a certain age' as she promised to keep talking about 'real things' in her songs.

The singer, 41, criticised the 'scared' music business for its inability to support women speaking about 'perimenopause and the school run'.

Speaking to The Times Magazine, Lily said: 'The music industry doesn't know how to market women of a certain age, myself included. 

'You get to a point and you're like, "OK, do people really want to hear about perimenopause and the school run and whatever we're going through?" 

'We're scared of going there because there's not much evidence there's a market for it. But there probably is.'

Lily went on to add that her record has been 'really significant' to women of a similar age, adding: 'It gives me hope that talking about real things works.' 

It comes after Lily responded to her ex-husband David Harbour's remarks about her 'weird' break-up album West End Girl, which details their marriage breakdown.

The Stranger Things actor, 51, said that while he 'respects' Lily's right to talk about their relationship in her music, he did not feel like he 'had the same experience'.

Months on, Lily has had her say on the comments in an interview with The Cut, where she branded his opinion 'generous' and complimented his acting ability.

When asked about her former partner's comments, she said: 'I think that was a generous thing for him to say. He's having a real moment of success as well, right?

'He's been nominated for an Emmy, and it's great. We're all doing our own thing, and we're all doing what we're supposed to do. If there's one thing I know about David Harbour, it's that he's an excellent actor.'

David offered his verdict on his ex-wife's break-up album during an interview with Variety in June.

The album, which has lyrics on extramarital activity and emotional manipulation, is meant to tell the story of her break-up with David, with a bit of artistic license, but he doesn't see it that way.

He said: 'It was weird. I do believe that it is the privilege of every artist to use their experience to create art, and so I respect her for doing that. I can't really say that much more, because it's my private life.

'In spite of the fact that a lot of people don't allow me a private life — I value it. And I also value the lives of the people that I interact with privately. I just won't speak about that.

'Stories are complex, and that's why I say I respect her creation of art to channel her experience. It wasn't my experience.'

Lily previously stressed that her 14-track album, which was written in ten days last December, consists of a 'mixture of fact and fiction', adding that fans shouldn't take the lyrics and their meaning as 'gospel'.

Most notably her hit Madeline saw Lily accuse David of having a three-year affair with a younger costume designer as she appeared to suggest the couple had an open arrangement in regards to sex, as long as it was discreet and not based on emotional connection.

Meanwhile in the song Tennis, Lily uses the racket sport as a metaphor for sex as she sings: 'So I read your text, and now I regret it.

'I can't get my head round how you've been playing tennis/ If it was just sex I wouldn't be jealous. You won't play with me and who the f**k is Madeline?'

The song ends with an outro repeating: 'Da, da-da, da-da, who's Madeline? (Who's Madeline?)' before it ends with: 'No, but who is Madeline, actually?'

Lily and David met on Raya and married in Vegas in 2020 but legally separated in early 2025 after four years of marriage and their divorce proceedings followed shortly after.

West End Girl explores the emotional fallout of the split. Before her marriage to Harbour, Lily was married to builder Sam Cooper from 2011 until their divorce in 2018.