Adele’s album ‘21’ is one of the highest selling albums ever released. Her songs ‘Rolling In The Deep’ and ‘Someone Like You’ remain on radio playlists years after they were released and the world is eagerly awaiting her third record in 2014. Many people have heard about Adele’s heartbreak but not as much about her childhood being raised by single mum Penny Adkins.
Penny was 18 and a half when she gave birth to Adele in Tottenham. Penny held three jobs to support her daughter whilst also finding the time to encourage Adele to explore her creativity. She took Adele to her first concert, The Cure, when she was 3 and enrolled her at the prestigious BRITS school to study the music industry. Penny and Adele were supported by Penny’s family, with Adele describing them as “… Massive. All brilliant. Dominated by women and all really helping each other out, so even though she brought me up on her own, it was kind of a team effort.”
Adele’s relationship with her father, Mark Evans, is not as brilliant. Adele had a distant yet consistent relationship with Mark in her youth, spending summer vacations with him. When Mark became an alcoholic, their relationship completely disintegrated. When she eventually made it big, Mark started selling stories about her to the press, causing Adele to respond “If I ever see him I will spit in his face”. Consequently, they have not spoken in a number of years.
Adele has since found love and had a baby boy, but still considers her mum to be her closest friend and ally, “She’s the calmest person, really strong and clever and beautiful.’ When Adele won an incredible 6 Grammys in one night, she was quick to thank Penny: “”I just want to say, Mum, your girl did good!”
(Credit to Us Weekly, Vogue and The Guardian for quotes)
