Main content

Adele, singer and songwriter

Adele, singer and songwriter, shares the eight tracks, book and luxury item she would take with her if cast away to a desert island. With Lauren Laverne.

Adele is a singer and songwriter who has achieved record-breaking sales and global recognition for her four albums which document her life from the age of 19 onwards. Her cache of awards includes 15 Grammys and nine BRITs. She also won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for the James Bond theme Skyfall which she co-wrote.

She was born Adele Laurie Blue Adkins in London in 1988. In 2002 she won a place at the BRIT School for Performing Arts where she studied music and developed her performing and song writing skills. In her final year a friend posted her three-song demo online which attracted the attention of several record companies.

In 2006 Adele signed to XL Recordings and the following year she released her first single, Hometown Glory. In 2008 she released her debut album, 19, and the following year she won Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Her next two albums 21 and 25 consolidated her superstar status. In 2013 she was appointed an MBE in the Queen鈥檚 Birthday Honours for services to music. Adele鈥檚 fourth album, 30, was released in 2021. The songs addressed how she was adjusting to life post-divorce and her feelings about her new role as a co-parent.

Adele lives in Los Angeles with her son.

DISC ONE: Roam by The B-52's
DISC TWO: Dreams by Gabrielle
DISC THREE: Need Somebody by Shola Ama
DISC FOUR: He Needs Me by Nina Simone
DISC FIVE: Bills Bills Bills by Destiny鈥檚 Child
DISC SIX: I鈥檇 Rather Go Blind by Etta James
DISC SEVEN: Maps by Yeah Yeah Yeahs
DISC EIGHT: For All We Know by Donny Hathaway

BOOK CHOICE: The Sun and Her Flowers by Rupi Kaur
LUXURY ITEM: A self-inflating mattress
CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Dreams by Gabrielle

Presenter: Lauren Laverne
Producer: Paula McGinley

Available now

35 minutes

Last on

Fri 8 Jul 2022 09:00

Clip

Music Played

  • The B鈥52s

    Roam

    • Cosmic Thing.
    • Reprise Records.
    • 6.
  • Gabrielle

    Dreams

    • Dreams Can Come True - Greatest Hits Volume 1.
    • Polydor Limited.
    • 1.
  • Shola Ama

    Need Somebody

    • Now That's What I Call Music 37.
    • Virgin EMI.
    • 12.
  • Nina Simone

    He Needs Me

    • Little Girl Blue.
    • Bethlehem Records.
    • 3.
  • Destiny鈥檚 Child

    Bills, Bills, Bills

    • Big Hits '99.
    • Sony Music Entertainment UK Ltd.
    • 13.
  • Etta James

    I'd Rather Go Blind

    • At Last: The Best Of Etta James.
    • Universal Music Operations.
    • 3.
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs

    Maps

    • Fever To Tell.
    • Polydor Limited.
    • 9.
  • Donny Hathaway

    For All We Know

    • A Donny Hathaway Collection.
    • Atlantic.
    • 6.

Broadcasts

  • Sun 3 Jul 2022 11:15
  • Fri 8 Jul 2022 09:00

Featured in...

The Desert Island Discs podcast

The Desert Island Discs podcast

Subscribe or download individual episodes.

Listen to over 2,000 programmes

Click above to browse castaways, from 1942 to today.

Articles

Read the surprising things we've learned about some stand-out castaways.

Podcast