Who is Lily Allen’s Madeline about? Wait, I don’t actually want to know – pop needs its mysteries

Whether it’s Parton’s Jolene, Beyoncé’s Becky with the good hair and now Madeline on Allen’s new album, the ‘other woman’ is everywhere – but gossip risks spoiling these songsSo, to quote Lily Allen – who the fuck is Madeline? As mysteries go, this one didn’t seem to last long. On Friday, Allen released her new album West End Girl, which appears to concern her divorce from US actor David Harbour, with its highly detailed evisceration of an open marriage destroyed by a husband’s emotional affair with a woman called Madeline. By Sunday, the press had already declared they’d found Madeline: the Mail on Sunday printed an interview with a woman claiming she and Harbour had had a relationship. “Of course I’ve heard the song,” they reported her as saying. “But I have a family and things to protect … It’s a little bit scary for me.” (Harbour, for his part, has not responded to the album’s contents or to the Mail’s claims.)On the song Madeline, Allen (or her character) sings about messaging a woman her husband has been sleeping with, explaining her worries that emotions are now involved: “We had an arrangement / Be discreet and don’t be blatant / There had to be payment / It had to be with strangers / But you’re not a stranger, Madeline.” She then recites text messages sent by Madeline – “He told me you were aware this was going on and that he had your full consent / If he’s lying about that, then please let me know” – which the Mail claims were pulled from real messages. Continue reading...

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