Here come the girls... Lily Allen and Gloria Estefan to play Liverpool ECHO Arena

May 14 2009 by Jade Wright, Maghull and Aintree Star

Lily Allen

The ECHO Arena is to play host to some of the biggest acts in the music business yet again, as Lily Allen and Gloria Estefan both announce showstopping gigs.

Having recently returned to UK soil after a sell-out US tour, Lily has signed up to play her first Liverpool gig in three years on December 9.

The daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen, Lily made her name by posting her demos on MySpace in 2005.

A year later she hit the charts with a song that would help define that summer, the hugely infectious Smile, her first CD single and her first UK number one.

She quickly made the leap from singer to out and out celebrity, thanks to her outspoken blog postings, pink prom dresses and box-fresh Nike trainers.

Now, at the ripe old age of 24, her current album It’s Not Me, It’s You topped the charts, giving her a second number one single with The Fear.

Gloria Estefan is the latest act to sign up for this year’s Liverpool Summer Pops Festival, with an Echo arena date on Monday, July 27.