CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM LILY ALLEN’S SIDESHOW HERE.

Is there a less likely pop star than Lily Allen? In a chart dominated by blondes, she’s defiantly brunette. Not only does she write much of her own material, she deals in very non-pop subjects like the female orgasm, aging and uncertainty with wit and insight. She even smuggled a country bassline into a pop song and drove it to the top of the charts. If there’s a manual of pop star behaviour, surely Lily takes some pleasure in going the opposite way.

Perhaps that’s why it seems so out of character when she retreats to the safety of pop star moves. Costume changes, her name writ large at the rear of the stage – these are the gestures of shapeshifters like Britney and Madonna, seeming at odds with the more direct image Lily favours. Even as she achieved something Ms Spears couldn’t on her last tour (singing Womaniser live), it was a too-faithful rendition rather than the subtle stab that might’ve been expected from such a wry, witty woman.

These quibbles are small, though, and ignore the fact that Lily has one hell of a stage presence. Strutting out on stage dressed in an all-black outfit featuring a corset, knee-high boots and little else, she carried herself with an impeccable cool more Black Rebel Motorcycle Club than Britney.

As she switched from corset to demure nightie and on to a leopard-print dress, the one constant of the evening (apart from her drummer being set on – œauditioning for Zeppelin’ force) was the crowd’s enthusiasm for every lyric. In clusters they stood, friends arm-in-arm, laughing and singing every word to one another.

No other pop star could have this effect, but, given that Lily’s pithy lyrics are a huge part of her appeal, it seems only natural. And if many of the girls in attendance seem to have missed the satirical thrust of The Fear, they were thunderous as they belted out Not Fair’s demands for sexual satisfaction.

Lily Allen might be a strange fit for the pop world, but thank god there’s someone as strong and sophisticated as her for girls of the world to admire. Here’s hoping she sticks at it.