Adele

Adele0:01

BBC sounds music

Presenter0:03

Hello, I'm Lauren Laverne, and this is the Desert Island Discs Podcast. Every week, I ask my guests to choose the eight tracks, book, and luxury they'd want to take with them if they were cast away to a desert island. And, for rights reasons, the music is shorter than the original broadcast. I hope you enjoy listening.

Presenter0:44

My castaway this week is the singer and songwriter Adele. She was born Adele Adkins and is, quite simply, the UK's best selling female album artist of the 21st century. Her treasure trove of awards includes fifteen Grammys, multiple Brits, a Golden Globe, and an Oscar. When she releases an album, it's a global event. Her fourth, Thirty, followed its predecessors in documenting her life at different ages and charted every lurch of her heart from her childhood in Tottenham to Beverly Hills, where she now lives.

Presenter1:17

On stage she combines charisma with an unpretentious chatty intimacy and power with raw vulnerability, qualities which have enabled her to pull off that rare feat of being the superstar next door.

Presenter1:29

She says, I'm confident, I'm loud. To be in any art, you have to crave love, you want approval. I hate people who play on being shy and reserved. Adele, welcome to Desert Island Discs. What an introduction.

Presenter1:43

I mean no old true Paris.

Speaker 11:44

Uh

Adele1:44

Well

Presenter1:46

So Dal, let's get straight into it. I mean, when your last album, Thirty, your latest, was released, you'd been out of the spotlight for about six years, and I think you said to friends at the time that you were having to kind of gear yourself up to be famous again. What does that gearing up process involve? Getting ready.

Adele2:02

Ready to step out into not really having very much control over, you know, the sort of attention on my life. And I'm so private, which isn't only because of my career. I've always been like that, even just as a person. It has to be like a good four-month build up to it, so I'm not shocked. Yeah, you know,

Presenter2:19

Yeah, you've got to take a good run up to the pommel horse kind of thing. Yeah, like, you know, slow and

Adele2:22

Yeah.

Presenter2:24

Steady, yeah. You're still only thirty four, but you have lived quite a life already, been through everything that you've sung about, you know, heartbreak, marriage, becoming a mum, divorce and the loss of a parent. I know that you said you're feeling more peaceful now lately than you have in a long time. What'd you put that down to?

Adele2:43

I think a lot of therapy, you know, which I'm very lucky that I'm able to have access to. But I also used to be so knee-jerk with all of my reactions and my decisions with things when I felt overwhelmed. And I think I just I'm tired now that I'm getting older. Like, you know, I ain't got time for drama. I ain't got time for arguing. I haven't got time for like not resolving anything.

Adele3:04

I'm just happy. Like I don't put myself in situations anymore that drain me. Like, you know, I'll just be like, I'm good. I'm chill. I'm going to walk away from it. And I choose people very, very carefully now who are in my life because of all of those things, you know?

Presenter3:17

When you are at home with no demands on your time, you must really slip into a different space. I can imagine that you treasure that time.

Adele3:25

Oh, I love it. Yeah. I love I'm a real homebody. Um, I love like pottering around and, you know, sorting out drawers and being with my son and my animals and being with my friends. Yeah, I love it. It's doesn't take much for me to be happy and content. Like, you know, it's really little things.

Adele3:41

Time for your first disc. What are we going to hear and why are you taking it with you today? We're going to hear Rome by the B52s and I think it's the intro to it is nothing like the rest of the song and I remember just being really like curious about it. Me and my mum used to sing it and dance around the living room in Tottenham. I love them so much and I remember it so clear. I remember the rug, I remember the couch we had, I remember the wallpaper she painted it.

Adele4:05

Ada yeah, I love this song, it makes me so happy.

Speaker 24:27

Down the third

Speaker 24:29

Detract

Speaker 24:32

Get head to head, rocket through the wind

Presenter4:37

Rome by the B fifty two s. Adele, you were born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins, which is a particularly great name. Uh your mum, Penny, was just eighteen when you were born. She was an art student, so always making things. And it sounds like you were a real tight little unit, the pair of you, when you were growing up. When you think back to those days, what do you picture?

Adele4:54

Back to those.

Adele4:57

Thick as thieves. We're both thick as thieves. And friends. We were always really good friends, me and my mum, like, you know.

Adele5:04

So she's she's a maker then? Yeah, she used to decorate the house and stuff.

Speaker 15:05

Yeah, she's decorating.

Adele5:07

Well, my earliest claim to fame was Mystic Meg on the lottery. And my mum made her chair. Ooh, that's her big gold. That's the throne thing. She threw herself into carpentry.

Presenter5:15

Her breakfast.

Adele5:20

And she used to make incred

Presenter5:23

Credible like Big wooden furniture. And it sounds like you were surrounded by music then, so your mum played the piano and guitar, I think. She took you to gigs as well. Oh, yeah. Well, she.

Adele5:31

She wanted to go to the gigs and she was a young mum. She didn't have any childcare. And so, yeah, she used to take me with her.

Adele5:38

She sneaked me in under her trench coat.

Adele5:43

My earliest memory of a show was The Beautiful South.

Presenter5:43

You say

Adele5:48

at Brixton Academy, there was this bodybuilder there, some random guy.

Adele5:52

um, who was like really loving it and and he became friends with my mum and her friend and he just picked me up and put me on his shoulders so I got to see the whole show'cause obviously I was tiny'cause I was only little, I couldn't see anything. How old were you at that point?

Presenter6:03

Three or four. And music for you, you've described it as a friend in those days. Can you remember when you first started to play yourself? My mum always had.

Adele6:10

Had a keyboard or a piano in the house and she used to twinkle around the guitar and stuff like that. Every day when I got home from school, I would sit down at the piano.

Adele6:19

And would teach myself random, not even, I wouldn't even call them chords, really, because they're not officially chords, they're just random things that sounded nice. And then I started writing and writing them in a book. So I was probably about 13. Yeah. And what were you writing about? Were you writing about your life? Do you remember? I remember one of the first songs, like, I didn't, and it was never like a full-blown song or anything, like, you know, but it was called This Is My Life. And.

Adele6:44

Like I really do believe that I channel something from somewhere else'cause I have something of a s I'm a sad person, you know, and I don't always know why. But it was deep. It was I was talking about being in pain. Like, you know, my grandpa died when I was ten and I was really traumatized by that. So maybe it was from that and I just hadn't figured that out.

Presenter7:05

Well, at the time? So, Grampy was your dad's dad. I know you spent a lot of time with him and your nana at their house in Wales. What was he like? He was a plumber, my Grampy.

Adele7:12

And he used to go to work, um, you know, all day and he'd come back and he'd be s smelling of like being a plumber and I loved it. And um, you know, we'd cuddle, we'd make me watch six o'clock news, which was a bit dry, but, you know, I was baking with my nana and just yeah, I was just spoilt, rotten and smothered with love. I don't know, it just felt like a really great routine, you know, which I've always like.

Presenter7:32

Which I

Presenter7:33

Acted most of my life.

Presenter7:34

Sounds like you and your Grampy in particular were incredibly close. And I think you dedicated a song to him at Glastonbury, didn't you? My whole set. I don't remember.

Adele7:42

I remember much of it'cause it was it was such an overwhelming experience, but I just imagined him there.

Adele7:51

He would have been proud as punch. I bet he would. He would have hated Glastonbury, though, but I mean, he loved Awelly, but like all that mud, and then Peter would be like, oh, you know, what the bloody hell's going on. But it was.

Adele8:01

I just think he would have.

Adele8:03

Been so proud of me.

Presenter8:06

Adele, it's time for your second disc. What are we going to hear?

Adele8:08

What are we going to hear?

Adele8:10

Dreams by Gabrielle

Adele8:13

It's the very f it's the very, very, very first song I remember in my life. I was four or five. And I think the lyric dreams can come true. It's so like infectious for like a little four'cause you know, we're watching Disney movies and all of those things and it's easy to sing along, but I remember being like mesmerized by her.

Adele8:30

so like pure and so like delicate and gentle with her voice and the way she moves, she had that eye patch on. I was like, oh my God, what the hell? She had a kind of sequinned eye patch. She had the sequin eye patch, yeah. I conjunctivitis.

Presenter8:37

She has a kind of

Presenter8:39

Shed the sea and iPad.

Speaker 28:40

Uh

Adele8:43

And um so, you know, you get all the gooey eyes. And my mum and the pharmacist was like, just you know, just wear a um an eye patch and my mum sewed sequins onto it for me to be like Gabrielle. How did you go to school? How did that look go on the streets? Well, she was massive. She was number one, you know, so it was an obvious nod.

Presenter8:54

How's your cat?

Speaker 29:01

I want you here forever.

Presenter9:03

Do you hear what I'm saying?

Presenter9:05

Gotta say how I feel

Presenter9:08

I can't believe it, but I know that you're real.

Presenter9:12

I know what I want

Speaker 19:13

And baby, it's you.

Speaker 19:17

Can't deny my dearness because they

Presenter9:19

Look at me, babe, I'm with the two. You know you got to have home, you know you got to be strong.

Presenter9:31

Dreams by Gabrielle. So Adele, your parents had separated, I think, when you were very little and your dad, Mark, moved back to Wales. He was from there originally. How do you look back on your relationship with him now?

Adele9:44

Um I remember always being very excited to see him whenever I did, but it was always a bit of a letdown. I definitely had a yearning for him because he didn't really deliver for me, like, you know.

Presenter9:56

So what was

Adele9:56

What's going on with him?

Presenter9:56

What's going on with him? You said it was it was a bit of a let down when you did see him.

Adele10:00

Well, when I was a kid, yeah, just because, you know, I didn't really have his attention or he, you know.

Adele10:05

He'd say he would come and then he didn't. And then if he did come, we'd only go and like go out for like half hour and then he'd drop me home. You know, he was he had a disease. He had he was a an alcoholic. He was a really big alcoholic and he had loads of demons.

Adele10:18

But I didn't really understand that when I was younger. And, you know, I didn't need that conversation with him when I was like seven, eight, nine, ten, whatever. And then I decided to stop seeing him.

Speaker 110:22

You know, with

Adele10:28

When I was like 12, because I'd gone to Panaph to surprise him.

Adele10:32

for Father's Day and he and and you know my my nana was you know said come and stuff and he didn't come

Adele10:38

So I stopped seeing him. I saw him very briefly when I was about 15, when my great grandma died, so his nana. And he did apologise then, but I was fifteen. I didn't want to hear it then. Do you know what I mean? I was like, yeah, yeah, just a teenag I was just a teenager as well, like, you know.

Adele10:52

Yeah, and then when I found out that he was ill a few years ago I went I got the call and I drove straight there. It was hard, but it was definitely one of the biggest moments of my life in a good way.

Adele11:03

when I went to go and see him, like, you know?

Presenter11:04

He had cancer and very sadly died last year. Were you able to make your peace with him?

Adele11:09

Yeah. Well I made the piece of him when I found out he was sick.

Adele11:12

And we really got on, which was amazing, but also sad because we the missed time. Yeah, and just he was really bloody funny. He's really funny and I don't remember that when I was little. But it was really nice. We laughed and we gossiped and, you know, we cried and it was it was great for both of us.

Presenter11:31

It's time for some more music, Adele. What have you got for us, and why are you taking it with you to the island?

Adele11:36

I've got Shola Amma's You Might Need Somebody. She has this vibrato in her voice. It's insane. It's like a hummingbird in her voice. Like, it's so stunning. And I love the brass and just the attitude. And it was so soulful. I love the video. Like, she's got the cat in the video. Like, you know, and she's like thinking about life and stuff like that. And I believed her. And I remember when I heard it, and I remember being like, oh, oh, she means it. I didn't really know about many American artists until a bit later. So, you know, for me, it was like, oh my God, another British girl. Like, it felt touchable. Like, I might see her walking down the street.

Speaker 212:14

My faith somebody

Speaker 212:16

You might need somebody too

Speaker 212:21

Ooh, you might need somebody too.

Speaker 212:25

You might need somebody, you might need somebody too.

Speaker 212:36

Yeah yeah.

Speaker 212:38

Oh wow

Presenter12:42

You might need somebody. Shola Amma. Adele, you were born in Tottenham, but growing up you lived in Brighton for a while and then West Norwood, where you wrote your debut single, Hometown Glory. Do you remember writing it?

Adele12:52

Yeah.

Adele12:54

Oh yeah. Um I remember I used to always sit in the kitchen with my guitar late at night and um

Adele13:01

Couldn't really work my way around the guitar. Like, I can't really do bar chords, it hurts my fingers too much. So, I always just sort of play the guitar like a bass and pick it. I was with my friend Olivia at the time.

Adele13:12

And my mum and we were at a flat in West Norwood and we were going to the march the following day against the Iraq war down by Parliament. And we were making these our signs. I felt like such a sense of power in that, you know, and me and Olivri were like fifteen, sixteen.

Adele13:29

And we went and I just I just was mesmerized by everyone. Like I was really like soaking it all in. Um and that night when when we got back and I got home and stuff, I I wrote it, yeah. But it was just it was it was very profound and I was very I was very proud and to walk those streets with

Adele13:46

A million other people. And that was the first proper song I wrote that I finished, and I knew it was good. So I was like, it's my breakthrough here, like, you know.

Adele13:55

Yeah.

Presenter13:56

And songs always have been, I think, a place for you to put your feelings. You were obviously writing from a young age and working on your own material. You're known for your very raw and heartfelt writing. Is it a case that you kind of put in songs what you're feeling, perhaps even if you can't say it?

Adele14:13

Oh 100%. I definitely realised that more on this album, 30.

Adele14:18

I am very articulate, but I don't my communication skills aren't always great. Like, you know, and I'm still working on that today because I just I get so defensive. So I like explode rather than have an adult conversation and stuff like that. You know, and looking back on like nineteen and twenty one and twenty five is there's so many

Adele14:35

I I get so many answers out of out of my songs for myself.

Presenter14:40

So it was in two thousand two when you were fourteen, Adele, that you auditioned for a place at the Britz School for Performing Arts and Technology in Croydon. How much was riding on you getting a place there?

Adele14:50

I really wanted to go, and you know, a lot of my friends started getting pregnant, you know, and

Adele14:57

I wasn't worried that I would, but I I we weren't as close anymore'cause they couldn't come to school all the time and stuff like that. And I was like I think my mum was a bit more worried about that that side of it and she wanted to give me real focus. And my audition was great.

Adele15:12

I nailed it.

Presenter15:14

What did you say?

Adele15:14

What did you perform? I sang Free by Stevie Wonder. Oh yeah.

Adele15:18

And then um I played the Tumble Down Blues on my clarinet.

Adele15:22

And I had the time of my life there. It's not a stage, stage school, but of course there's kids doing like pirouettes and the hallways and stuff like that. Like it is like that, but it's not, it's the only non-fee-paying performing arts school in the UK, or at least it was at the time. And it was such a melting pot of every single type of teenager.

Adele15:43

You know, it's like you got people doing like amazing, like new soul, you got people doing rock, you got people writing amazing pop songs. I was like, I'm gonna play my guitar and see what happy feelings.

Adele15:51

It was absolute heaven. It's time for your next piece of music. What have you got for us to tell? It's called He Needs Me by Nina Simone. My mum used to always have Nina Simone playing in the house, especially in West Norwood. Or maybe I was just old enough at that point to realize how amazing the music was. And I must remember hearing this song, it made me stop in my tracks. I cried my eyes out. Just that undying love, waiting for somebody because he needs me. It was a real moment in my life. The emotion in her voice.

Speaker 116:23

Image ma

Speaker 116:28

He doesn't know it.

Speaker 116:30

But he needs me.

Speaker 116:35

And so no

Adele16:36

No matter where he goes

Adele16:40

Though he doesn't care.

Adele16:46

He knows

Speaker 116:47

Oh, that I'm there.

Presenter16:52

Nina Simone and He Needs Me. You drifted away during that track, Adele.

Adele16:56

Where were you? I just I was in my living room in West Norwood.

Presenter17:01

Yeah.

Presenter17:03

So Adele, do you think your potential was recognised early on at the Brit School?

Adele17:07

I was always chosen third by the teachers and stuff like that. There were two other singers that were always chosen for everything. It also I don't really feel like I put myself forward all the time like I could have, just like I don't now. And what was that about?

Presenter17:19

What was that about? Where was that coming from?

Adele17:23

I just you know, you'd have to audition for like, you know, one time we did, um, Dark Side of the Moon as a whole, you know, strand.

Adele17:32

I remember my mum being like, you should go and audition for Great Gig in the Sky. Because that's got a huge vocal line in it. But there were three massive vocalists in my year and stuff like that.

Presenter17:36

Yeah.

Speaker 117:38

Uh

Speaker 217:38

Red

Adele17:43

I didn't want that pressure that comes with, okay, I'm going to put myself forward and what if I don't get it? It's not about disappointment, but how I feel leading up to it.

Adele17:51

I could just do without.

Adele17:54

You know, and so angry.

Presenter17:56

But I can't enjoy it. In your final year at Brit School, a friend of yours uploaded your demo online, and that got record companies very excited. Now one of the people who contacted you was Nick Huggett from Xcel Recordings. How quickly did everything happen for you?

Adele18:11

The next day, I went in. I'd never heard of Excel at the time. And my guitarist, well, my friend at the time, Ben, who's now my guitarist, so he used to play guitar when I sang at school, and he's still my guitarist today. I was like, Will you come with me? I'm scared. What if it's a weirdo? And then.

Adele18:27

So we got on the tube.

Adele18:29

Went from Brixton to like we swapped over and went to Nottinghill Gate and we saw the little Muse house, you know, because it's not like a big corporate building. Yeah. So you can imagine I wasn't that impressed. I was like, this? I was like, what is this? I was like, it's going to be oh. Anyway, and then I got inside and the water. Oh, it's magical, that place. I haven't been there for years.

Presenter18:38

Building

Speaker 118:42

Is this

Adele18:50

Prodigy, like MIA, Dizzy Rascal, White Stripes. I was like, Oh, hang on a minute. And I met Nick and he was like, All right, mate. And we got on. He was like, Who's your manager? And I was like, Oh, Pat at the Gap. So I was working at the Gap on High Street Clint at the time.

Speaker 119:01

Yeah.

Adele19:03

And he was like, oh, I don't know who is that? What's their surname? And stuff like that. And I couldn't believe that. You know, he was like, we want to sign you. And I thought I always had a really good, like, top eight on MySpace. And I was like, I bet they want me to be a scout. So this is.

Presenter19:16

So, this is your topic, favourite songs that you'd kind of shared. So, a little playlist. Top artists. Maybe you could do your favourite on MySpace, your favourite pages.

Adele19:20

Top artist. Maybe you could do your favorite.

Adele19:22

And when did the penny drop that they they wanted to sign you as an artist? Well, you said how much you love my songs. And um that's it. That's that that's how it works.

Presenter19:24

And when did the penny drop that they

Presenter19:34

What happened? Down the rabbit hole. We'll find out what happened next in a minute. I think we'd better have some more music first. What's it going to be? Yeah.

Presenter19:41

Yeah.

Adele19:41

Yeah.

Presenter19:41

Bells, bells, bells

Adele19:41

ILS by Destiny Child. I was in year six. They had a C D Waltman.

Adele19:48

My friend, and her name was Cara. She was listening to it and singing along, and I was like, What's this? I know this song, what song, what song is that? So she put the headphone in my ear, and my life changed for.

Speaker 219:57

Ever I was like

Adele19:57

I was like, who is this? I was obsessed. And I still am obsessed with them, like, you know, and again, like, it was an introduction to someone that has.

Adele20:07

Been a soundtrack to my entire life, every single day, ever since. This is Beyonce, the artist of your life, you've called her. Yes, she really is the artist of my life, consistent.

Presenter20:09

Every single

Presenter20:11

This is beyond the

Presenter20:13

Yes.

Adele20:16

So yeah, I remember hearing this and I was like, hold on, dear life.

Speaker 220:32

Yeah.

Adele20:38

Bill dictated on a

Presenter20:50

Bills, Bills, Bills, Destiny's Child. Adele, you signed a deal with Xcel and your debut album 19 was released in January 2008. One of the tracks on it, Chasing Pavements, helped you crack America and you performed it on the TV show Saturday Night Live. It's a song about heartbreak, yes, but in true Adele style. There's a really gutsy backstory behind the lyrics. Where did the inspiration come from?

Adele21:13

I was seeing this guy and um he was at Frog.

Adele21:18

Like an indie club night called Frog. And I went there and he was in there kissing this girl, but I got so angry and just fed up and I slapped him around the face. And then I ran out because security came after me because they saw me do it. And I was running down Tottenham Court Road, you know, down onto Regent Street and Oxford Street and stuff like that. And I remember being like, you're not even doing it if you're just chasing the pavement. And I was like.

Adele21:40

went to studio the next day to pick up my guitar. I'd been I'd done it like a you know, a five day session with Egg Wyatt, and then I went to pick up my guitar'cause I'd left it there. And then we wrote Chasing Pavements that day.

Presenter21:51

And you won your first two Grammys for that album. That must have been quite a night for you.

Adele21:55

I had no shoes on. I had gum in my mouth. I thought Duffy was going to win it. I was so.

Adele22:02

I was like I was l I was like you two were there, Cold Play were there, like Kanye was there, all these people were there, and I'm like, oh and they called my name. I had bright blue gum in my mouth, I had a blue plaster on my finger'cause I pulled off my acrylic the night before having a tiggling fight with my boyfriend.

Speaker 122:14

Put off

Adele22:17

And then, you know, no shoes, and it was just anyway, it it was all crazy.

Presenter22:23

You said you had terrible stage fright when you first performed in front of an audience. Is that the same for you today?

Adele22:29

Yeah.

Adele22:30

I think it was def it's definitely the same. It's definitely the same as it was then. I think my nerves and anxiety with my stage fright and the pressure and being like, I don't know if I can do it, means I care. And I think a lot of people actually don't care anymore. And my like it breaks my heart when I go to a show.

Adele22:48

or I hear an album or something and I'm like, I don't think they're in it anymore. I don't think they're bothered. I don't think that they care about what they're doing anymore. It breaks my heart. And so I'm even when I do get that wild rush of like terrifying adrenaline,

Adele23:04

I'm like, okay, I've got this. I'm excited. My adrenaline means I'm excited. My nerves means I want to go and do a great show. And that's my measure of when I don't feel like that.

Adele23:15

Then I'm done.

Presenter23:16

Yeah.

Adele23:16

I won't do it anymore.

Adele23:17

Disc number six. What have you gone for? I'd Rather Go Blind by Etta James. I got to see her when I was in New York.

Adele23:26

Touring twenty one, she played at BB King's in Times Square, which is like it's it's a small like theater, like, you know, like a jazz club. And she must have been in her seventies. She was holding that mic, being sexual, singing all those, like, sexual songs. She was a firecracker.

Speaker 223:44

I would rather, I would rather go

Adele23:53

Then to see you walk away from me, child

Adele24:02

So you see, I love you so much.

Adele24:05

Then I don't wanna watch it leave me, baby

Adele24:11

Most of all, I just don't I just don't want her

Presenter24:14

Etta James and I'd rather go blind. So Adele, your second album, Twenty One, came out in twenty eleven. By that point you'd won two Grammys, you'd achieved stratospheric record sales and a level of fame that must have seemed exhilarating, but also, at times, I'm sure, a bit scary too. How did you feel round about that time?

Adele24:35

Um, it was really intense. And at times, it was really hard to enjoy because I couldn't keep up with the pace. Like, you know, and it definitely got to the point where sometimes I didn't even know I was. You know, I didn't know where I was and what day it was and

Adele24:50

It was intense, but it was incredible.

Presenter24:53

Or at the same time. And the media interest, of course, was intense too. Did you find that difficult to handle?

Presenter24:59

I think

Adele25:00

Uh

Adele25:01

Sometimes I feel like I've fueled it in the past by being such a recluse. You know, because sometimes I used to it used to be two years and I wouldn't be seen.

Adele25:10

anywhere. What were you doing? Where were you? I was just hanging out at home, but also like, you know, I have a whole setup of how I move and no one ever knows. Like, you know, just so I can go out and like be like completely carefree.

Presenter25:10

Like images.

Speaker 225:17

Hmm.

Adele25:23

But you know, I think now my you know, the relationship that I'm in

Adele25:27

He's like, if you want to go to that restaurant, you should go and try the food at that restaurant. And if you want to go to this birthday party, then you should be going. Like, you know, not you can't miss out on these things. What's the worst that could happen?

Presenter25:40

Lately there's been a lot of press and social media curiosity about your recent weight loss and I was actually very touched by what you had to say about the effect that you felt your changing appearance had on some of your fans. What's it like to have to deal with that scrutiny while at the same time explaining changes that you've chosen to make in your own life?

Adele26:03

I understand why the press are fascinated by it, and they want to know because I didn't share my journey like everyone else does. Like, most other people would have a DVD out by now, or like, you know, a video of how I did it.

Speaker 126:10

You know, a vid

Adele26:12

And I did it on on the quiet for myself, but I I felt terrible for some people that felt like other people's comments.

Adele26:21

Meant that they weren't looking good or that they weren't beautiful. So people who were kind of congratulating.

Presenter26:24

So people who were kind of congratulating you, you felt like that would be interpreted negatively by people who were bigger.

Adele26:27

Yeah.

Adele26:30

For some people it was. Yes, for some people it was. And I felt terrible. And some of the ones I saw were young. They were like 15, like, you know. And there were some other people that felt very betrayed by me, being like, oh, she's given in to the pressure of it. And which didn't really bother me because like, you, you ain't holding my hand at night at 4 a.m. when I'm crying my heart out with anxiety and like needing a distraction and stuff like that.

Presenter26:56

And getting into exercise, that's been hugely helpful for your anxiety.

Adele26:59

Your anxiety by the sound of it.

Adele27:01

100%. It gave me focus, it gave me somewhere to get rid of all my energy, good or bad.

Adele27:06

And made me feel like I was getting stronger mentally by getting stronger physically.

Presenter27:09

Mentally.

Presenter27:12

In January, you postponed your Las Vegas concerts at the last minute, and that left some fans very disappointed and upset. Your relationship with your fans is a very personal one for you. How did you balance their disappointment with your own creative decision that the concerts just couldn't go ahead? And do you think you got it right?

Adele27:30

I don't know. I definitely felt everyone's disappointment.

Adele27:34

And I was devastated. And I was frightened about letting them down. And I thought I could pull it together and make it work, and I couldn't. And I stand by that decision. I don't think any other artist would have done what I did. And I think that's why it was such a massive, massive story.

Adele27:51

Was like, I don't care, and like, you know, and things like that. And you can't buy me. You can't buy me for nothing. I'm not going to just do a show because.

Adele28:01

I have to, or because people are going to be let down, or because you know, we're going to lose loads of money. Like, I'm like, the show's not good enough. You know, of course, I could be someone on TikTok or Instagram Live every day being like, I'm working on it. Like, of course, I'm working on it. Of course, I'm working. I'm not going to update you if I ain't got nothing to update you with. Like, you know, because that just leads to more disappointment. And, you know, maybe that ain't been well balanced either. Maybe my silence has been deadly. I don't know. But it was horrible. And it was, it was, the, the reaction was brutal.

Adele28:29

Brutal. I was a shell of a person for a couple of months. How did you get through that?

Adele28:36

I just had to wait it out. I had to wait it out and um

Adele28:40

and just g grieve it, I guess, just grieve the shows and

Adele28:45

you know, get over the guilt. Um, yeah, but it was brutal.

Presenter28:49

It's time for disc number seven. What's it going to be and why are you taking it with you to your island today?

Adele28:55

Maps by Yeez. Yeah Yeez, especially on on that um Fever to Tell album, was like it was a wild album. It was like well I don't know, it was like chaos, it was like throwing everything against the wall and obviously she's a bloody superstar and all these things and to have her, this like dragon, have this tender moment

Adele29:12

Blew me socks off. I met her actually when I moved to LA. Karen La. And like, my 15-year-old self was like, she is, like I'm saying, like, dragon on stage.

Speaker 129:16

Yeah.

Adele29:22

And so chill. So chill in real life. It's so weird. And just that guitar that is.

Adele29:29

All the way through the whole song.

Adele29:32

Just phenomenal. The way it builds, the way it's just, yeah, love it.

Speaker 229:36

Okay.

Speaker 229:37

I'm a straight

Adele29:38

Uh

Speaker 229:41

Oh say, say, osay, oh sei, say sei, say say, oh sei, say, say, oh sei, say, say Way

Speaker 229:54

We don't wanna be my time with you

Presenter30:06

Maps by the AAS. So Dell, your son Angelo was born in twenty twelve. Did becoming a mother change you, affect you in in ways that you weren't expecting?

Adele30:17

Every single way. Every single way, yeah. Good, bad, strange. I love being a mum. Like, Angelo is just.

Adele30:27

Fallen in love with music, you know, because he's been into video games for the last few years, which is very much his dad's area, not mine.

Adele30:33

And we sit down and have the most intense conversations about music. But it's not like I'm like, well, did you know, obviously, like we sit down and we listen to these songs together and we pick them apart, you know, and we're talking about it. He's like, what do you think this means? And I'm like, well, I don't know. But like, it could mean this, it could mean that. And it's just heaven.

Presenter30:50

And Lee.

Adele30:51

Yeah.

Presenter30:51

You mentioned his dad, you know, your your ex husband Simon, he lives very close and is obviously very much kind of involved and and you're raising him together. Of course, there's a huge amount of press interest in that relationship and in the two of you breaking up. That must have been a tough period for all of you.

Speaker 130:58

Yeah.

Adele31:10

It was, but you know, it was never really tricky because we're such good friends. And over my dead body is my kid having like a messy divorce in his life. There are no issues and there were no issues. So I guess that gave it m it was easier to make sure that didn't happen. But I was blessed with them and him. He's just the best, you know, and I definitely approached it all with grace.

Speaker 131:25

To make sure that

Adele31:35

And I think that

Presenter31:36

Really paid off. Looking beyond thirty to forty, maybe even fifty.

Presenter31:41

How do you imagine life looking? What would you like to see for yourself there?

Presenter31:45

Not just in your career, but in in general.

Adele31:48

I definitely would like a couple more kids. It'd be wonderful if if we can. If not, I've got Angelo, like, you know.

Adele31:55

I just want to be happy.

Adele31:57

I'm about to cast you away, Adele. How do you think he'll cope?

Presenter32:00

Yeah.

Adele32:00

Well, listening to all these songs, I think I'd have a right laugh. Oh, well, I'm glad to hear that. In that case, we'd better have one more before we send you there. For All We Know by Donny Hathaway.

Presenter32:04

Thanks.

Adele32:10

He likes to write songs like he's a mathematician, like he's Einstein or something. Like he finds all these crazy chord progressions that no one else would ever think A of or B to put together. And like his cadences, and then where his voice lands, and then he's like always singing just behind the beat, so like you're trying to sing along and you can't. I just love the lyrics of let's just live now. And I'm always someone that loves, you know, I love listening to songs that are about the future as well, of knowing what's going to happen.

Adele32:37

And every time I hear this song, I imagine being like 50 and like just with a glass of wine and like knowing where I'm at, and I'm like chilled.

Speaker 232:59

We may never meet.

Speaker 233:01

Eat again

Speaker 233:09

Before you go.

Presenter33:15

Donnie Hathaway, and for all we know, so Adal, it's time I'm going to send you away to the island. I will give you the books to take with you, the Bible, the complete works of Shakespeare, and another book of your choice. What will that be?

Adele33:28

Poing for the Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Corr. Every little poem is its own massive story that blows your mind and takes your brain to other places. So I feel like I could get.

Adele33:39

Endless stories out of that book. And it makes me feel strong as a woman. I love her books.

Presenter33:45

You can also have a luxury item, what will that be?

Adele33:48

I'm going to take a self-inflatable bed mattress because I love my sleep.

Adele33:54

Just the other day, Rich was like, You take sleeping so seriously. He was like, You're like the Mike Tyson of sleeping. I'm like,

Adele34:01

I have to fall asleep and when I'm in my sleep, I love it. I never used to get any sleep, so I feel like I'm catching up on all the sleep and all the insomnia that I used to have. I could sleep for 12 hours straight.

Presenter34:11

And finally, which one track of the eight that you've shared with us today would you save from the waves if you had to rush into the surf? James Byrd

Adele34:18

By Gabriel.

Adele34:20

'Cause it reminds me of being little and

Adele34:23

Just my favourite song.

Presenter34:25

Adele, thank you very much for letting us hear your Desert Island discs.

Adele34:29

Oh, thank you. I've always wanted to do it. Thank you so much. I loved it.

Presenter34:46

Hello, I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Adele. Let's leave her sleeping in her inflatable bed to the sound of the waves. We've cast away many singers and songwriters, including Lily Allen, George Michael, and Ed Sheeran. You can find these episodes in our Desert Island Discs programme archive and through BBC Sounds. The studio manager for today's programme was Emma Hart, the assistant producer was Christine Pavlovsky, and the producer was Paula McGinley. Next time, my guest will be Savile Row Taylor, Andrew Ramroop. I do hope you'll join us.

Speaker 135:24

Hello, I'm Stephen Fry and I heartily recommend you listen to the BBC's history podcast You're Dead to Me because, well, one, you can join me in learning all about Frederick the Great of Prussia. Two, it takes you on a historical grand tour from naughty nuns who became stitching sisters to a globe-trotting Maghrebi. And three, well, it's fun. And don't we all need a little bit of that at the moment? You can find it on BBC Sounds, don't you know? So subscribe to You're Dead to Me and have yourself a giggle as you learn. You've earned it.