Glastonbury 2022: The history of Lily Allen's F**k You following her surprise Olivia Rodrigo duet
27.06.2022 - 13:18
/ officialcharts.com
It may have took many by surprise this weekend when Olivia Rodrigo (taking a cue from her beloved idol, Taylor Swift) paused her first-ever set at Glastonbury to welcome to the stage another artist, one who she deemed "someone I absolutely adore" and an "incredible" songwriter.
That artist was Lily Allen, the equally-beloved British pop queen who, decked head to toe in Chanel, led the vast Other Stage audience in a rendition of her quirky 2009 track F**k You, taken from her graceful second album It's Not Me, It's You.
Olivia dedicated the explicit kiss-off track to the five US Supreme Court justices who last week voted to overturn Roe v. Wade, in a widely criticised move. Naming each by name, Olivia deftly re-purposed F**k You's original political message (which criticises the far-right politician's views on gender, sexuality and race) for 2022, allowing old fans to re-experience it and for new ones to discover it (and Lily herself) for the first time.
Going widely viral over the weekend, Olivia's performance proved that the magic of Lily Allen's music career is still fondly remembered by many both in the UK and beyond. F**k You was never actually released as a single in the UK, but it still forms an intrinsic part of It's Not You, It's Me and its modern-day resurgence is only further proof that the explicit lambast - originally written to dunk on former BNP head Nick Griffin and US President George W Bush - is totally malleable in its deployment.
Written by Lily and the song's producer, Greg Kurstin (who worked on the entirety of It's Not Me, It's You and proved to be her most valued collaborator) F**k You's jaunty, kitschy production, all piano and jagged synths, is a merry juxtaposition to its lyrics. The main hook