‘Adele was so hurt. The comments really left a mark’: Friends tell OLIVIA KEMP what’s behind ‘unrecognisable’ star’s return to UK
It is hard to believe that a woman who has sold more than 120 million records – and boasts 16 Grammys and an Oscar to her name – might still be troubled by a few unkind words spoken more than a decade ago.
Yet, according to friends, one particularly cutting verdict on Adele’s music has never entirely faded from her mind.
The singer has spent the past month quietly slipping back into Britain, making a series of under-the-radar appearances that, at first glance, seem entirely unconnected – but which, I shall explain, are linked by one key theme.
An evening at Lola Young’s concert in Brixton was followed by a euphoric night at Bad Bunny’s London stadium show, then a surprise visit to McLaren’s Formula One headquarters ahead of the British Grand Prix.
Now sources close to the star have explained to the Daily Mail what’s behind it all.
After a long spell out of the spotlight and almost two years into her self-imposed musical hiatus, Adele is, I’m told, rediscovering the things that first made her fall in love with music – and trying to find the confidence to record it again.
The mission, say those close to her, has been fuelled in no small part by one man: Noel Gallagher.
The former Oasis star has spent the better part of a decade dismissing Adele’s work in the crudest terms, suggesting it’s ‘music for f***ing grannies’ and ‘bland’. His withering verdict, say those close to the singer, stung far more than many realised.
Adele made an appearance in the paddock during the Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone Circuit in Northampton
After Lola Young’s concert in Brixton, Adele was pictured with the young singer-songwriter
‘Adele was so hurt by Noel’s comments,’ one friend tells me. ‘They really left a mark on her. She is going back to her young Tottenham roots and has been immersing herself in “young, trendy” music. She’s going back to her own youth to write something that she hopes people will love.’
All of which might explain why the notoriously private singer has quietly been popping up at gigs all over London – seemingly happy to be spotted there.
Brixton’s O2 Academy has long been a proving ground for the capital’s most exciting new talent – so it was telling that Adele chose to go there first to support local star Lola Young.
At Bad Bunny’s sold-out concert, meanwhile, she appeared to have abandoned her usual anonymity by wearing an England football shirt and a straw pava hat. The star was filmed throwing her hands in the air and singing along with the crowd – while alongside her was Rob Stringer, 63, the chairman of Sony Music Group and one of the most influential executives in the business.
Their choice to attend together inevitably reignited speculation that new music from the star may finally be on the horizon.
Adele’s fiancé, the sports agent Rich Paul, 45, has also been by her side during the trip, with the couple making one of their rare appearances together in Britain.
Friends of the singer tell me that these sightings are about more than Adele simply enjoying a few nights out.
Instead, they’re part of her attempt to reconnect with music after years of privately being wounded by Noel’s brutal verdict.
The Oasis rocker first turned his sights on Adele in 2015, declaring: ‘If someone wants to know what I think of Adele, I’ll f***ing tell them… I just don’t see what all the fuss is about. I don’t like her music. I think it’s music for f***ing grannies.’
Asked whether he enjoyed listening to the London songstress, he branded her music as a ‘sea of cheese’ and lamented that industry had ‘nosedived into f***ing blandness’.
Eight years later, he was still at it. Asked by the podcaster Matt Morgan in 2023 whether he liked any of Adele’s songs, Noel replied: ‘F**k off, f****ng hell. Name one.’
He later revealed that his irritation had been sparked by Adele asking to meet him – but sending an intermediary to make the introduction rather than doing it herself.
‘She sent someone over to f***ing ask, “Did I want to meet her?” That’s what riled me,’ Gallagher told Morgan. ‘I’m not one for causing a scene, I just stick it in the vault and just think revenge is a dish best served cold.’
If those comments did indeed hurt, then Adele’s quiet return to Britain’s music scene suddenly feels all the more significant.
Noel Gallagher has spent the better part of a decade dismissing Adele’s work in the crudest terms, suggesting it’s ‘music for f***ing grannies’ and ‘bland’
Since stepping away from music, Adele has devoted herself to life with her fiancé, the sports agent Rich Paul, and her 13-year-old son, Angelo
The Hello singer famously said goodbye at the end of her Las Vegas residency in 2024, telling her audience through tears: ‘I have spent the last seven years building a new life for myself and I want to live it now. I want to live my life that I’ve been building and I will miss you terribly.’
She warned fans that they would not see her again for ‘an incredibly long time’.
Since stepping away from music, Adele has devoted herself to life with Rich and her 13-year-old son, Angelo, whom she shares with former husband Simon Konecki.
But there are signs that the creative itch is beginning to return.
In April, reports emerged that the singer had quietly returned to the recording studio, almost five years after the release of her last album, 30.
And over the weekend, Adele – looking almost unrecognisable from the fresh-faced singer who burst onto the charts with 19 almost two decades ago – offered another glimpse into the life she has built away from the stage as she made a surprise appearance at Silverstone.
Dressed in a T-shirt paying tribute to Formula One world champion Lando Norris and wearing a necklace spelling out ‘Mummy,’ she spoke candidly about the unlikely obsession that now dominates her household.
‘My son is really into karting,’ she revealed.
‘I don’t know many teenagers who have a passion so I’m really trying to encourage it. He’s obsessed but I’m also obsessed.’
It was a rare candid moment from a woman who has spent much of her adult life wrestling with the burden of fame.
Asked by 2025 F1 World Champion Lando whether she still enjoyed singing, she replied: ‘I don’t sing very often any more’ and later opened up about her ‘struggles with fame’.
Now, friends say, she is stepping into the limelight again – listening to new music, revisiting old influences and reconnecting with the London that shaped her.
Whether that process ultimately leads to a new album remains to be seen.
But after two long years, it seems Adele, however hurt she remains by Gallagher’s unkind comments, may be prepared to sing again – and fans will be thrilled that her self-imposed exile from the music industry may soon be over.
