British singer Lily Allen was forced to stick to her maiden name for her music comeback after record label bosses banned her from changing her stage moniker.

The Smile star wanted to adopt her husband's last name for her return to the charts, but plans to relaunch herself as Lily Rose Cooper were rejected by label executives.

She tells Britain's NME magazine, "Sadly, in this day and age, I still need their support. They're the bank manager, and if they don't get their money out, then I'm not going to get anywhere. I understand that my name is quite big, but it's about picking your battles..."

Allen married Sam Cooper in 2011 and took a break from the music industry to start a family with him before returning to the charts late last year (13).