Hello from the UK! The kind folks here at theinsound have asked me to pop in from time to time with a few updates from the land of poms and pop stars. Don’t worry though – the current Mrs John is Australian, meaning that I quite regularly use words like “pash” and “snags” (I have to draw the line at “dooner” though) in general conversation. I hope to fit in here nicely.

So on Saturday 11^th July, Lily Allen took to the stage at London’s Somerset House – by day the venue houses several different government offices – but by night its magnificent courtyard plays host to summer concerts, outdoor films (I caught Leon there last year – awesome) and at Christmas turns into a large ice rink.

However, unlike our friends at Wimbledon’s Centre Court, the 18^th century building is still(!) lacking a detractable roof, and thus I pretty much got pissed on for about an hour and a half. It was worth it though, and the constant drizzle never threatened to dampen the spirits of the crowd.

At exactly 9.30pm, Lily’s silhouette appeared along with the band’s on the white canvass that concealed the stage set – and after a few bars of album opener Everyone’s At It – the sheet dropped to the floor revealing the young songstress draped in a glittering shawl and poised for a glamorous performance.

The shawl didn’t stay on for long though, and is it transpires – neither did the jacket she was wearing underneath. By about the fourth song (Kaiser Chiefs’ Oh My God that featured on the Mark Ronson album Version), Lily’s top half was covered only by a revealing, but classy, negligee.

Highlights from the set included 22 and The Fear from current album It’s Not Me, It’s You, as well as crowd-pleasers LDN and Smile from her debut. A blazing cover of Britney Spears’ Womanizer set the tone for the last song – an extended, drum ‘n’ bass-infused version of Not Fair.

Check out some more shots right here: