Elton row put Allen off drink

Lily has put her decision to quit booze down to a public row with Elton John at an awards ceremony last year.

The singer recently vowed to stop drinking and curb her partying ways, and she credits a much-publicised incident at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards in London with opening her eyes to her bad behaviour.

The odd couple was co-hosting the prizegiving when Elton John criticised tipsy Allen's drinking onstage. His comments sparked a war of words between the duo.

And Allen now admits the row put her off alcohol for the next few months.

She says: "I did stop drinking pretty much the day after that. I was really upset and angry about it all. I felt like I’d done a good thing for charity, for Elton, and it had spun out of control.

“Someone said to me, ‘Look, if you’d not had a bottle of champagne in your hand then people wouldn’t have made such a big deal of it.’

"That’s when I decided if I ever got angry again I’d make sure I was never pictured with a drink in my hand as well."

Allen admits she's still drinking, but just to steady her nerves before concerts.

She adds: "There’s no way I can get on stage without a drink."