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The litmus test of whether they're really into it or not is whether or not they're prepared to travel up and down the country in a transit van, staying in crap b&b's, eating crap food, playing to small and sometimes indifferent audiences. To their credit U2 'paid their dues' in this respect ... call it an apprenticeship. Allen didn't and I dare say she wouldn't have countenanced it. People like Allen want marketing departments to pre-select their audience, give her a profile of a typical Lily Allen fan that she can visualise and understand and write material for, and then simply supply that market just as a corporation like Proctor & Gamble would.

Call it creativity if you must, but it's not what I would benchmark 'creativity' or 'art' against. Any endeavour she's involved with is, I would suggest, likely to lack inspiration because there's no feel for what she does. Admittedly this is kind of intangible and entirely a matter of opinion but in my view her and her retirement matter little.

There must still be some good singers out there, sadly Lilly Allen aint one of them so she wont be missed by too many same as the Spice Girls, where has all the talent gone !sad!!flush!

She wouldnt have got anywhere if it wasnt for the fact she has a famous father. What talent does she have exactly? Her career is based on a lie,she aint no cockney streetwise bird,she was privately educated and brought up in wealth,her whole act is a joke.

I imagine it all boils down to one thing: money. How much would a new LC album cost to make/promote? Would the public still be interested in her mockney comedy ska? Considering how many oh-so-fashionable, high-ranking acts have seen recent albums bomb on release, it might be the smart move to quit while still, relatively, ahead.

Mind you, she was a one-note, wretched contrivance anyway, and yes, her posho upbringing is probably coming to the fore here.

She's just won a Brit, quite an achievement given her fragile talent. She can go out on a high, whilst the nation mourns.

Reading all these comments, as heartfelt as they are makes me realise why this country is full of underachievers because us brits seem to be more comfortable with that than actually doing anyhting with any talent for fear of looking like a "cunt"

Anyone who gets up off their arse and does something with a modicum of talent is ok in my book.

I never bought any of her albums nor bought into her but there are very few artists i would actually say were total shite.

In fact, a lot of raw talent I see are not making any money and are struggling to get anywhere. Some talent choose not to even go the whole hog and settle for their normal jobs.

Gotta give credit to those that try. Im sure even Lilly Allen had to get some respect to get where she was regardless of her dads success.

Dross is dross and if it cant be sold it wont make any money. If it made money then yay. isnt that what being in the business is all about ?

The money being made now from music is way way less than a few years ago because of this epidemic of illegal downloads. Paul McGuinness, the manager of U2 (he's been their manager since the beginning), said last year that internet service providers have effectively created 'bulglary kits' to enable those not willing to legitimately buy music to just get it for free, very easily, online. I think touring is the only way to make money in the music business now, but many tours cost so much money to run that the profit is a very small slice of the pie. U2's current tour, which I saw at Wembley Stadium last year, has running costs of half a million pounds a day (including all the non-gig days). Imagine the entire cost of the tour, which is 2 years long! They have the biggest, and most complex, stage set ever constructed:

max_tranmere wrote:

> I think touring is the only way to make money
> in the music business now, but many tours cost so much money to
> run that the profit is a very small slice of the pie.

You're probably right - especially at the top end (see bottom link). However, it was nearly always the labels rather than the artist who made money from actual sales. These days, because of the shifting climate in music, many labels are looking at what's called 360 deals with their acts.
More here:

> U2's current tour, which I saw at Wembley Stadium last year, has
> running costs of half a million pounds a day (including all the
> non-gig days). Imagine the entire cost of the tour, which is 2
> years long! They have the biggest, and most complex, stage set
> ever constructed.

Doing all right out of it though, aren't they?
Here's the real money: US top grossers 2009

one eyed jack wrote:

(snip)
> Anyone who gets up off their arse and does something with a
> modicum of talent is ok in my book.
(snip)
> Gotta give credit to those that try. Im sure even Lilly Allen
> had to get some respect to get where she was regardless of her
> dads success.

I'm with the 'one eye' on this one. No one was ever forced to buy any of her albums or concert tickets and so if she's successful, well good luck to her. She's generated income for the UK and provided employment and experience for all the geezers behind the scenes.

Anyway, you could simply treat Lilly the same way as we want others to treat porn. That is - if you don't like it, don't watch it but don't try and stop others from doing so. It's fun to have Lilly Allens around though because they provide amusement without intending to AKA Amy Pisspot.

Startling news for some posters in this thread. Showbiz is an act.

Like when Judy Dench is on stage at the National Theatre. She doesn't necessarily believe in what she is saying. Like when Mick Jagger is wheeled on stage to sing Street Fighting Man, he isn't going to walk off stage and join a riot. Like when Lily Allen and others sing about aspects of council estate life, they don't need to have been brought up on a council estate. Like when Turner painted seascapes, he didn't have to be a sailor all his life.

Personally, I really like Lily Allen's stuff. Sharp lyrics, interesting beats. Couldn't care less about her background.

Look out for my next startling post. Pigs don't fly unless fired out of a cannon!

You heard it hear first.

D