In his original post, Hawskley also criticised Allen for the lack of a support act on the tour – as there is no other band or singer who warms up for her in the traditional sense.
However, the tour does feature a small orchestra who start the evening by playing instrumental versions of Allen’s earlier hits.
The Dallas Minor trio perform orchestral versions of hits such as The Fear, Smile, LDN, Hard Out Here and Not Fair.
After 10 songs from the trio, who play live as lyrics to the songs are projected on a screen, Allen arrives on stage to begin West End Girl.
In her defence of the shows, Allen said “there is a support act” – likely referring to the three string musicians.
Her comments come a few days after she thanked a newspaper, external whose critic gave the show a rave review.
Jeremy Williams of the Yorkshire Times described, external the show as “top-tier art” and a “stunningly staged, thought-provoking visual feast”.
“This is not a gig,” he noted. “This is a live interpretation of a bold, brilliant narrative album that would win huge accolades as a piece of solo musical theatre.”
It has become much more common in recent years for groups and artists to take a single album on tour – often on the anniversary of an album considered a classic.
But such tours, despite being advertised accurately, often spark debate among fans, some of whom are disappointed when hits from other albums are not included.
In a later exchange, Hawksley acknowledged that Lily Allen’s show was presented as it had been advertised and he knew which songs Allen “would and wouldn’t play”.
“But no support act and not even a ‘thank you so much for coming’ was a bit weird,” he added.
Replying to that comment, Allen joked: “I’d happily concede that I’m a bit weird.”
