Adele, singer and songwriter

07/31/22 • 36 min

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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’s Birthday Honours for services to music. Adele’s 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’s Child DISC SIX: I’d 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

Adele lives in Los Angeles with her son.

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

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Bono, singer and songwriter

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Bono is a singer, songwriter and the frontman of U2, one of the most recognisable and successful bands in music history. They have sold over 170 million albums, won 22 Grammys – more than any other band – and two Golden Globe Awards. Bono is also known for his work as an activist, especially in Africa where he has played a prominent role in campaigns which tackle poverty and HIV/AIDs.

Bono was born Paul Hewson in Dublin in 1960. A schoolfriend named him Bono after a hearing aid shop in Dublin called Bono Vox, and the name stuck. When he was 16, Bono saw a poster on his school noticeboard posted by Larry Mullen Jr asking for people to form a rock band. He responded with enthusiasm and before long was rehearsing with his future bandmates Larry, who played the drums, guitarist the Edge and bassist Adam Clayton.

The band’s debut album Boy came out in 1980 and five years later they made an impact at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium when Bono disappeared from the stage for two minutes to get up close to the audience. One newspaper later described this incident as one of the 50 key events in rock history. U2's subsequent albums, including the Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum and Achtung Baby, cemented their status as global superstars, filling arenas around the world.

In 2004 Bono co-founded One, an international campaigning organisation which was set up with the aim of ending extreme poverty and preventable disease by 2030.

Bono met his future wife, Ali, at school when they were both teenagers. They married in 1982 and have four children.

DISC ONE: Show Me The Way by Peter Frampton DISC TWO: Every Grain Of Sand by Bob Dylan DISC THREE: Abide With Me by Emeli Sande and The Fron Choir DISC FOUR: Dead In The Water (Live At RTÉ 2FM Studios, Dublin) by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds DISC FIVE: Ice Cream Sundae by Inhaler DISC SIX: Agolo by Angelique Kidjo DISC SEVEN: Verdi: La traviata Prelude to Act 1, composed by Giuseppe Verdi and performed by Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, conducted by James Levine DISC EIGHT: Someone Somewhere in Summertime by Simple Minds

BOOK CHOICE: Ulysses by James Joyce LUXURY ITEM: A Spanish guitar CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Every Grain Of Sand by Bob Dylan

Presenter: Lauren Laverne Producer: Paula McGinley

Next Episode

Andrew Ramroop, tailor

Andrew Ramroop is a Savile Row tailor, whose international client list has included film stars and royalty.

Andrew grew up in a remote village in Trinidad and sewed his first garment at the age of nine, creating a simple pair of trousers from a pillowcase. He left school at 13 and was apprenticed to a local tailor who told him tales about the pinnacle of sartorial excellence, Savile Row – the place where James Bond’s suits were cut.

Inspired by this vision, Andrew saved up for a ticket to sail to the UK: he emigrated at the age of 17, only the second person to leave his village. He found work on Savile Row, went on to complete a degree at the London College of Fashion, and then gained a job at Maurice Sedwell, eventually taking over the business when Maurice retired.

In recent years, Andrew has been closely involved in training the next generation of tailors. He was awarded an OBE in 2009, for his work in tailoring and training, and was the UK’s Black Business Person of the Year in 2017.

DISC ONE: Portrait of Trinidad by The Mighty Sniper DISC TWO: Another Brick In The Wall, Pt. 2 by Pink Floyd DISC THREE: Time Will Tell by Jimmy Cliff DISC FOUR: The Boxer by Simon & Garfunkel DISC FIVE: It's a Man's Man's Man's World by James Brown & The Famous Flames DISC SIX: Desiderata by Les Crane DISC SEVEN: Maria La O by Neil Latchman DISC EIGHT: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel BOOK CHOICE: Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace LUXURY ITEM: A tenor steel pan drum CASTAWAY'S FAVOURITE: Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel

Presenter Lauren Laverne Producer Sarah Taylor