When Amy Winehouse met Adele

Suggestions circulated of a strained relationship between the two music legends, with Adele reportedly being kind and friendly towards a frosty Amy, but this wasn’t strictly true.

Many years later, Adele set the record straight during an interview with NME magazine, telling reporters, “Contrary to reports, me and Amy didn’t really know each other! We weren’t friends or anything.”

They only actually met briefly through a mutual friend, long after leaving the famous Brit School for performing arts in Croydon, which they attended at different times. Adele was a big fan of Amy’s music and was devastated when the talented Back to Black singer passed away at the age of only 27.

Amy Winehouse Back to Black

Born in Southgate, London, in September 1983, Amy grew up in a musical family: her grandmother Cynthia was a singer, several of her uncles were musicians and her father Mitch would sing Frank Sinatra songs around the house.

Cynthia recognised Amy’s potential and suggested she should attend stage school. After attending the Sylvia Young Theatre School, Amy bought a guitar at 14 and began writing her own songs.

In 1998, she joined the Brit School, but left at 16 to become a journalist for the World Entertainment Network, singing with a group called the Bolsha Band in her spare time. She became a featured vocalist with the National Youth Jazz Orchestra in 2000.

Amy’s career took off after she was signed by Simon Fuller’s 19 Management in 2002. Her debut album, Frank, released in October 2003, was loved by critics and fans. It reached number three in the UK album chart and was nominated for two Brit Awards. She had co-written nearly every song, most of which had jazz influences.

The Frank album secured her place as a talented new singer who was likened to superstar Macy Gray. It also won the Ivor Novello Award for Best Contemporary Song for Stronger Than Me.

Amy’s second album, Back to Black, released in October 2006, topped the UK album chart and boosted her career internationally. It netted two Brit Awards including Best British Album, five Grammy Awards, four MTV Music Awards, four Ivor Novello Awards and three World Music Awards.

Amy won a total of 23 awards during her career and was lauded for her deep, soulful vocals and her mix of jazz, rhythm and blues and soul.

Adele Chasing Pavements

Adele Adkins was born in Tottenham, London, in May 1988 and began singing at four years old. As a teenager, she would sing in Brockwell Park for her friends.

In interviews, she later spoke of her admiration for Amy Winehouse, whose Frank album inspired her to play guitar. Adele was a big fan of the Back to Black singer and looked up to her as a young vocalist.

Having started to write her own songs and play guitar, Adele attended the Brit School just after her idol left. While a student, she wrote Hometown Glory at the age of 16.

She recorded a demo as part of a school project, which was posted on MySpace and proved popular. After graduating in 2006, aged 18, Adele posted another demo on the Platforms Magazine. The success of both her MySpace and Platforms recordings led to her being offered a record deal with XL Recordings in September 2006.

She released her debut single, Hometown Glory, in October 2007 to critical acclaim, followed by her debut album, 19, in 2008. Having written most of the tracks herself, it rocketed to the top of the UK charts and launched her to stardom overnight.

Her Chasing Pavements single in 2008 peaked at number two in the UK and attained double platinum certification after remaining in the chart for 25 weeks.

First meeting

Although Amy and Adele were both outstanding artists in the music industry, they didn’t move in the same circles. Their first meeting took place when Amy and her father Mitch were playing pool in Camden Town.

During his appearance at the Design Museum’s Beyond the Music event in 2021, Mitch claimed Amy’s friend Catriona Gourlay had arrived at the pool hall with Adele, who had just released 19. Adele was keen to meet Amy, so Catriona took her over to introduce them. However, according to Mitch, Amy “completely ignored” Adele, adding, “She could be a bit like that.”

Mitch also suggested Adele was always “generous towards Amy”, but that this wasn’t reciprocated. However, Adele always refused to be drawn into any debate about the day she met Amy, maintaining a dignified silence regarding the snub claims.

Both women worked with renowned record producer Mark Ronson, with Amy doing so first. In an interview with Village Voice after her death, he pointed out Amy’s health was poor in 2008, when she was hospitalised with a chest infection which Mitch described as “early-stage emphysema”.

Ronson had spoken to Amy about working together again, but the star was in “a bad state” at that time. He said, “Amy liked Adele” but felt threatened by her success and was “tense”. He implied Amy’s reticence to befriend Adele stemmed not from being stand-offish, but from being in a vulnerable state health wise, mentally and physically.

The two artists never became good friends, with Adele eventually revealing this in 2015.

Amy Winehouse death

Tragically, Amy’s life came to an end on 23rd July 2011, aged only 27, with an inquest stating this was due to alcohol poisoning.

Adele has always credited Amy with inspiring her, saying in an interview she was “a million per cent” sure that if she hadn’t heard Frank, her own musical career would never have happened.

She also lauded the late star for having “paved the way” for new artists and having “made people excited about British music again” without ever realising how “brilliant and important” she really was.

Adele Las Vegas

After a sell-out residency in Las Vegas, Adele has shocked fans by revealing these are to be her final concerts for some time. Headlines declaring “Adele taking a break” have sent the internet into a frenzy after the star announced on 31st August that once her ten Vegas shows were over, fans wouldn’t see her for an “incredibly long time”.

Her final performance is set to be on 23rd November, after which her extended hiatus from music is planned. Adele, 36, reportedly said she simply “needs a rest” after being in the spotlight for so long.