I grew up in a drug-ridden social housing estate, but now I’m at the top of the charts
Lily Dee sat on the couch in her council home, barely able to believe that the song she was hearing on the radio was her own.
For Lily, it was a huge pinch-me moment, as she had never trained as a full-fledged singer. But against all odds, her newfound fame was a far cry from her troubled childhood.
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But the 36-year-old singer, who is currently single, is proof that dreams can come true, regardless of your background, having become a chart-topper and a social media star.
Within just 24 hours of her August 16 release, her song “Playing for Time” reached number six on the UK iTunes chart, number three on the dance chart and number seventeen on the singles chart.
But her road to fame wasn’t easy and in an exclusive interview she tells Fabulous: “I didn’t have the best start in life and didn’t have the best opportunities because I grew up in social housing in a deprived area.
“I was sitting at home without food, sometimes without warm clothes, and I was just trying to survive, survive and provide food for me and my brothers and sisters.
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“To have all these opportunities later in life… I just try to take advantage of them and make the most of them.”
The success was a mixed bag for Lily, who grew up in poverty with drug-addicted parents and wasn’t given the chance to figure out what her passions were in life.
She explains: “When I was young, I wasn’t exposed to music, dancing, singing, you know. People went to cheerleading, people went to football, people went to drama school.
“I never got the chance to express myself, to figure out what I’m good at and to see if I can create change in my life.”
Poverty wasn’t Lily’s only obstacle. Her home life was also dangerous because of her parents’ lifestyle.
“My parents were both on drugs, it was obvious. They tried to go to parents’ evenings and stuff, but it was a lot of drama and trauma,” she adds.
“Sometimes we had drug dealers throwing Molotov cocktails through the windows.
“My parents weren’t bad people, they didn’t choose to have children and become addicted to drugs.”
As a child I was oppressed, you know, ‘You’ll never amount to anything… When I was old enough, I jumped right into the rat race and had to work three jobs to pay the bills. I swore I would never go hungry again.’
Lily Dee
Lily now helps care for her father after he was randomly attacked in a park last year.
But Lily, who is from Manchester and still lives there, knew from an early age that she did not want to follow in her parents’ footsteps. She refused to be drawn into drug dealing, which was the norm in her environment.
The reality of living in social housing
LEANNE Hall, digital writer at Fabulous, spoke about what it was like growing up in social housing and why people living in such homes are often judged…
As a child I grew up in social housing and was not aware of the discrimination that came with it until I became an adult.
In my younger years I would run up and down the stairs of my apartment, meet other friends who lived there and enjoy the communal garden.
But now it seems that regardless of circumstances, everyone has something to say about why you shouldn’t be there.
Living just outside London, rents are still high and with my mother at home raising three children at the time, it wasn’t easy to find a job that suited that.
People in social housing are often portrayed as ‘profiteers’ or ‘lazy’, but that is absolutely not the case.
Most families in social housing struggle with overcrowding, and that’s not even mentioning the enormous amount of damp and mould that results from living in old social housing that has not been renovated for 50 years.
For many people it is not ideal, but it does provide a safe home without the fear of the rent going up every year, which I think is essential for children growing up below the poverty line.
Instead, she had her sights firmly set on success and she reveals: “As soon as I was old enough, I jumped straight into the rat race. race and had to work three jobs, first as a mechanic and then working at TKMaxx and in a pub to pay the bills. He vowed never to go hungry again.
“As a child I was oppressed and told I would never amount to anything.”
But at the age of 25, Lily left England to work as a fire dancer all over the world, including Egypt And Spainan opportunity she got through a friend.
Four days later she was on a plane.
However, when she returned to the UK after the holidays, Lily found herself in an abusive relationship and was moved to another ward by the local council.
Four years ago she found her way and made online comedy sketches about life in social housing.
She came up with the nickname, the Council Estate Queenand also started making music.
When Covid hit, Lily focused on producing content for TikTok – recreating dance videos she saw on the app.
But after a few months, Lily started making comedy videos, showing what life is like growing up in social housing.
Just three videos later, Lily went from a few hundred followers to over 100,000 – and now she has over a million followers on social media.
“I still live in my social housing, I’m still humble,” smiles Lily, who has no plans to move.
Meanwhile, six million of the UK’s poorest people would need more than double their income to lift themselves out of poverty, reports the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
And Lily isn’t the only one breaking the cycle. Many of our favourite celebrities come from social housing, including singer Adele, Love Island queen Maya Jama and TV favourite Alison Hammond.
According to the government, 17% of British households currently live in social housing, the modern term for a council property. facts.
Although living in these types of homes may have had negative connotations in the past, many residents have purchased their homes through the Right To Buy program, and for a very reasonable price.
Every local authority in the country operates a ‘waiting list’ for social housing. Currently, more people are applying for housing than are available.
But Lily knows all too well that it’s not just money that makes it hard to leave a life of deprivation behind.
Poverty can cause problems with Self-confidence and stressmeaning many feel unable to break the cycle.
Lily knows the feeling well: “It’s easier to live your whole life in social housing without putting yourself out there, without taking chances. You think you’re not good enough, because your environment has told you you’re not,” she reveals.
“When you grow up with drug users or gamblers, you’re encouraged to become a product of your environment and you don’t see those opportunities.
“Growing up, I didn’t know that you had to go to school, work hard and save your life. futureor just go to dance lessons, eat brownies and go to scouts.
“It’s these kinds of things that give you opportunities.”
Now Lily, also an aspiring actress, hopes her fame continues to grow and hopes to land a role in her favorite TV show Coronation Streetand she swears that she will take every opportunity offered to her.
She remains true to her roots and hopes to one day set up a foundation for children living in social housing, giving them the opportunity to develop life skills, hobbies and self-confidence.
“My long-term goal is to help people in social housing and deprived areas,” she adds.
“I want to set up my own foundation, like the Prince‘s Trust, but a little more entertainment oriented and creating more opportunities for their future.”
