STACK November Issue 68

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The singer-songwriter is solidifying
her place in music history with her
third album, 25, out this month.
By Zoë Radas
HOLA, ADELE
W hen you’re speaking about Adele
Laurie Blue Adkins, you can’t get
away with omitting the modifier
‘independent.’ She might now be one of the
brightest and most adored stars in the whole
of the musical industry – with myriad awards,
honours and critical glory in her hatband – but
her story makes clear that without being born
into any kind of musical family fanaticism or
industry position, it’s possible to make it if
you assert your independence.
At 14, Adele Laurie Blue Adkins – a
Tottenham gal with a single mother who
was, although supportive of her child, not
connected with music in any way – already
loved singing. She replicated tunes by
Destiny’s Child, The Spice Girls and Mary
J Blige, putting on loungeroom shows for
her mum’s friends. One day while flipping
through the CD racks of a music store,
Adele came across two artists who would
launch her imagination: Etta James and Ella
Fitzgerald. Until that point, Adele’s musical
interest had been mostly focused on pursuing
Artist Relations – that art of catapulting
others’ careers – but now a new possibility
had opened up: songwriting and singing.
She applied for and graduated from the BRIT
School for Performing Arts & Technology
(whose notable alumni include The Kooks,
Imogen Heap, Jessie J, King Krule, Leona
Lewis and Amy Winehouse) in 2006, with a
vague but galvanised dream of performing
her own music.
A few months later, after a friend posted a
three-track demo of the vocalist’s songs on
MySpace, Adele was receiving emails from
XL Recordings. She began by ignoring them,
visit FEATURE MUSIC
28 NOVEMBER 2015
One day ... Adele
came across
two artists who
would launch her
imagination