  Radio 2 provides another chance to hear Adele performing exclusively for the Radio 2 Music Club (originally broadcast in December 2007).
Nineteen year old Londoner Adele has been songwriting and playing guitar since she was fourteen. Despite coming from an un-musical family Adele has always felt the desire to entertain. As a child she was a huge fan of the Spice Girls and Gabrielle and used to put on miniature concerts to entertain her Mum and her Mum’s friends. One of her Dad’s best friends, a dance producer thought that Adele had an amazing voice and invited her to record the cover ‘Heart of Glass’. As soon as Adele put the microphone in her hand she realised that this was definitely her calling.
At secondary school Adele was able to hang out with all the “the R&B kids” and “sit around the playground singing.” However it was a pretty rough place and pursuing music there was something of a challenge. So determined to follow her dreams Adele signed up to The Brit School.
During her second year, Adele’s resolve to be a singer was given a little extra boost – Shingai Shoniwa, from The Noisettes moved in next door. Adele and Shingai spent many jamming session together and it made Adele realised that she wanted to become a writer and not just sing Destiny’s Child songs.
In 2004 she set up her own MySpace page and by 2006 record companies had started to take an interest in her. She eventually signed up to XL Recordings who look after The White Stripes and for rappers, like Dizzee Rascal.
A fan of such diverse artists as Jill Scott, Etta James, Billy Bragg, Peggy Lee, Jeff Buckley and The Cure, Adele’s soul-tinged songs are about being eighteen and nineteen and dealing with love. She’s recently completed her first solo UK tour, having toured previously with the likes of Jack Penate, Jamie T, Raul Midon, Amos Lee and Devendra Banhart, and she released her first full single ‘Chasing Pavements’ in January.
Adele made it to the top of the BBC's Sound of 2008 poll - find out more.
6 MUSIC HUB SESSIONS |
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