ADELE is gearing up to shock the music world by making a comeback – and is already hard at work.
The elusive superstar singer vowed to take a “big break” two years ago.
Now The Sun can reveal she secretly flew into London earlier this month from her LA bolthole and has been writing and recording at Church Studios in North London over the past week.
In even more exciting news for fans, other famous musicians have been spotted there while she has been inside.
It all leads to hopes the 38-year-old may have collaborations on her next record, having never done so on the core work of her four albums.
American singer-songwriter Justin Vernon, better known as frontman of indie folk band Bon Iver, was photographed outside the studios last Wednesday.
It is not known whether he is working with Adele, although in 2016 she tweeted: “Bon Iver’s music is one of the true loves of my life. Every. Single. Time.”
Gen Z heartbreak singer Gracie Abrams also appeared to be shooting a music video outside at the same time.
The studios are owned by producer Paul Epworth, who Adele has worked closely with throughout her career, and with whom she won an Oscar for James Bond theme song Skyfall.
Church Studios are also where she made parts of her 2015 album 25.
A source said: “Adele is spending at least a fortnight in London writing and recording music.
“She was in and out of sessions last week and will be back in there this week, but she is keeping a low profile while she is here.
“She feels safe at Church Studios and it’s where Paul is based, so it made sense to travel over for the sessions, rather than work somewhere else in LA.”
The studios were previously owned by Eurhythmics great Dave Stewart, and it was where the British band recorded their 1983 album Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This).
Industry insiders believe the move is an attempt to develop a more English-sounding album, after her most recent one, 30, was made in the States.
A second music source said: “Adele has been living in LA for a decade now and although she loves it, her roots in London are very important to her.
“People close to her have been encouraging her to reconnect with where she grew up for her new music, because they believe it will help inspire something different.
“Her last album was well received but it was very Hollywood.
“People loved Adele originally because she was down to earth and relatable, so she’s trying to bring that back by drawing on inspirations in her home town.
“Coldplay, Paul McCartney, Oasis, Mick Jagger, Florence + The Machine, Culture Club, The Streets, Tom Jones, and her close friend Jack Penate have all worked at Church Studios before, so she’s in good company.”
Adele was born in Tottenham, North London, and later moved to Brixton and West Norwood in South London.
On her third album 25, released in 2015 just before she relocated to the US, she had lyrics about the capital and a song called River Lea, about the waterway running through Tottenham.
But 2021’s 30 was written about her divorce from charity entrepreneur Simon Konecki, which happened in LA, and made no mention of the UK.
After releasing the record, she performed two sell-out shows in Hyde Park, followed by her two-year Weekends With Adele residency in Las Vegas and a ten-night residency at a purpose-built stadium in Munich.
Now it is clear the mum-of-one is trying to soak up some British culture while she is here.
Adele was photographed in London nine days ago arriving at the 36th birthday party of actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson.
Then on Thursday night she attended Messy singer Lola Young’s concert at O2 Academy Brixton, and the youngster shared a selfie of them together.
Fans have also claimed Adele was in the audience at a production of Romeo & Juliet in London’s West End on Friday night.
In July 2024, Adele revealed she planned to take a break after her run of Sin City shows.
She said: “I don’t have any plans for new music at all.
“I want a big break after all this and I think I want to do other creative things just for a little while.”
But in February, she flew to Rome for her acting debut in Tom Ford’s upcoming historical drama Cry To Heaven, based on Anne Rice’s 1982 novel of the same name.
She spent several weeks there and will appear opposite Hollywood heavyweights including Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Nicholas Hoult and Thandiwe Newton.
Two months later, The Sun revealed she was being courted to record a single for the soundtrack.
But although work has brought her back to the UK, it looks unlikely that a move is on the cards.
The Rolling In The Deep singer paid £47million in 2022 for Sylvester Stallone’s former Californian home with her sports agent partner Rich Paul.
The following year Adele talked about how she would find it tough to move back to the UK.
The singer, who now only occasionally returns to London, explained: “I get really bad seasonal depression, so the weather is good for me here.
“It is strange sometimes, because I’m very British. Because it’s a bit harder for me to go out nowadays, what I love the most about LA is everyone goes to each other’s houses. I like that.
“And I actually have made a lot of really great core friends. I didn’t think I’d ever have a real friend group here. I don’t want a bunch of celebrities being my friends — well, only celebrities.
“And my friends are actually from LA, Before I moved here, I’d never met one person who was from LA.
“They’re not famous and they’re great. And having a kid at school, I’ve got great mum friends. I do like it.”
The same year, she had an emotional exchange with British actor and presenter James Corden on his final Carpool Karaoke segment on The Late Late Show, before he moved back to the UK.
James said: “It’s been a brilliant adventure but I’m just so certain it’s time for us as a family, with people getting older, people that we miss, to go home.”
A teary Adele responded: “I know. I’m just not ready to come back yet, otherwise I would come back with you.”
She also said she likes being left alone in LA, adding: “For anyone that has never been to LA, you assume it would be the opposite. But there are so many famous people here that they don’t waste their time,” she said.
“I really miss London, but I miss the London from before all of this happened in my life.”
Since releasing her debut album 19 in 2008, Adele has become one of the 21st century’s best-selling artists, and won 16 Grammys.
Her second album 21 racked up sales of 57million, while 30 sold 261,000 copies in its first week to become the fastest-selling album in four years.
Now the pressure is on for Adele to continue her streak of success.
Having named her first four albums after the ages she was when she wrote them — 19, 21, 25 and 30 — it remains to be seen whether her next record will be called 38, her age now.
When 25 came out, Adele said: “I think this will be my last age one.
“I’m sure I’m wrong with this but I feel there’s been a massive change in me in the last couple of years.”
She later decided to name her fourth album after the age she was when she got divorced, and reflected on the future of her titles in an interview at the time.
Adele said: “I am just like everyone else in the world. I can change my mind. And I haven’t got to stay true to something that I’ve said — you know, I think the age thing is a bloody good idea. And so I want to keep going with (the titles). Or I might not.”
Our music insider added: “Adele feels the pressure with her music and won’t rush anything out if it’s not up to scratch with her back catalogue.
“She has been writing for a while now but she is taking her time with it.
“She knows there are always grand expectations and she is determined to only return when the music is the best it can be.”
