The Fear (song) - Music Video

Music Video

The music video was principally at shot at Wrest Park in Bedfordshire and directed by Nez. It premiered on Channel 4 on 4 December 2008. It starts off with Allen singing from a caravan window, while a clothes line on the right has underwear and a teddybear hanging from it. As she exits, her clothes are revealed to be a smock dress with a big bow and high heels; upon returning through the caravan door, the interior changes to that of a luxurious mansion, in reality an English country estate. The chorus starts and she walks down the hall, surrounded by butlers, all making synchronized moves and starting a choreography with Allen. Afterwards, she climbes the stairs and the camera cuts to the next scene, where she is sitting down in front of the mirror in an extravagant bedroom, with dresses, lamps, toys and cupcakes. The scene changes once again, with Allen walking into a room with giant, brightly coloured presents. They suddenly stand up, having two human legs, and begin to spin around, with the singer joining them. After descending the stairs and walking through the same hall she entered, she exits the estate, and the video takes down a darker, more serious tone, while the verse "Forget about guns and forget ammunition/'Cause I'm killing them all on my own little mission/Now I’m not a saint but I’m not a sinner/Now everything is cool as long as I’m getting thinner" is sung. The euphoric visual effects appear once again soon after, as the chorus takes place. Allen walks down the estate stairs, being surrounded by dancing balloons, hopping butlers and coloured fog. The camera zooms out showing the estate tied in a giant ribbon, but also grey, melancholic clouds, which contrast the cheerful party from before. Allen stated that she hoped the music video would convey parts of the song's sarcasm.

The video reportedly cost £50,000. During the shoot, the video was documented by MTV; in the interview, Allen declared:

I wanted to do a dance routine, even though I'm not really doing a dance routine, other people are doing it, but I'm part of it. I think people are quite used to girls in this industry really being able to move in front of the camera, but I'm just rubbish at that kind of thing. I find it quite nerve-racking performing, actually. Because when you write songs, you don't really think about performing in a video. I think it's quite fun. Lots of colour and dancing, and it's about doing something that's in keeping with the song, actually.