Somewhere Only We Know

Album: Single Release Only (2013)
Charted: 1
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Songfacts®:

  • Lily Allen recorded this cover of the Keane song for an animated John Lewis Christmas advert. It marked Allen's solo return to the music world for the first time since the release of her second album It's Not Me, It's You in 2009. During her hiatus she did provide guest vocals on hit singles by T-Pain ("5 O'Clock") and Pink ("True Love").
  • John Lewis has employed similar music syncs for their festive ads since Ellie Goulding's recording of "Your Song" in 2010. The following two years saw Slow Moving Millie's "Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want" and Gabrielle Aplin's "The Power of Love" being selected to soundtrack the UK retail chain's Christmas advertising campaigns.
  • It was Keane themselves who suggested to John Lewis that Lily Allen should cover their song. "John Lewis did ask me if they could use the song, and we recommended Lily," Keane vocalist Tom Chaplin told the Daily Star. "She's a big fan, and we knew she'd do a great version. I think the cartoon advert is lovely. It's like Watership Down without the bloodshed."
  • Speaking to BBC Radio 1's Nick Grimshaw, Allen admitted that she tries to avoid hearing her version of Keane hit tune. "I can't listen to the song, I've gotta be honest," she said. "It's quite shrill."
  • Speaking to Beat magazine, Allen said her recording of this song didn't earn her as much as people may imagine. When asked how much one could expect to earn in the current music industry, she replied: "Nothing. Everyone assumes I made millions from the John Lewis ad - I probably made £8k."

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