Adele. Sean Smith
at the school, but specialised in theatre, in the year below. Soon after Katy joined the school, the Year 10s and the Year 11s were put together in groups for practical music classes. Adele and Katy were in the same group, although the older children would boss around the uncool newbies. When Katy was asked what she could do, she nervously said she could sing and proceeded to demonstrate that she could. ‘You can sing.’ Adele shouted to Liz, ‘Miss, she can sing!’
Adele didn’t remember The X Factor winner Leona Lewis: ‘That Leona Lewis must have been a quiet horse as I can’t remember her at all, and I know everyone there.’ In fact, Leona had already left by the time Adele arrived. Only Jessie J, of the more famous alumnae, was in the same year.
Liz Penney, who was the musical director for her end-of-year show, the musical Sweet Charity, recalls that she cast Jessica as Charity: ‘She was an incredible performer. But she was like Adele in that she wanted to learn. She would watch me do a vocal warm-up before her class and, at the end, she would be the one who came up to ask me to show her again so that she had it right. She was the consummate professional – and so was Adele.’
Both Adele and Jessie J thrived in the relaxed environment of the BRIT School. Jess is famously bisexual and there has never been any indication she hasn’t been comfortable with her sexuality. Adele has surrounded herself with many gay friends and can be camp in a theatrical way, made charming by her persona as the cheeky chapette from Tottenham.
A mutual gay friend explains, ‘It was all to do with making the space comfortable and safe. It wasn’t a big thing to come out at the school. There were just as many gay boys as there were straight boys – and gay girls as there were straight girls. For the first time, you were able to look around and think, oh, I could date you and I could date you.
‘You had the freedom to develop as a person and that is hugely important in creative arts. It was such an eclectic range with great personalities but no edge. Some of the people were suburban and some of them were real London urban kids with no money, did terribly at school but had an amazing singing voice or could draw like no one else could draw, an amazing graffiti artist or a brilliant actor.
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