How Adele turned the air blue at Glastonbury
HER reputation for slipping into strong language is well-known.
And Adele made no exception for her headline Glastonbury performance.
The 28-year-old star unleashed a series of foul-mouthed outbursts throughout her 90-minute set on Saturday night, prompting criticism from BBC viewers watching the show at home.
Opening with her recent hit Hello, the singer interrupted the song twice as she swore about the 160,000-strong crowd, telling them ‘you look f ****** amazing’ before later declaring ‘this is the best f ****** moment of my whole life’.
In total, Adele swore 33 times during her 90-minute performance, or about one swear word every 2.7 minutes.
Her performance was the mostwatched broadcast on BBC2 on Saturday, drawing in up to 3.6million viewers.
Before Adele took to the Pyramid stage at around 10.15pm, BBC presenter Clara Amfo warned viewers watching at home to expect foul language from the star.
The presenter said: ‘The thing about Adele is that she says what she thinks, we truly love her for that. So expect there to be a little bit of strong language in this performance.’
A similar warning about strong language was posted on the iPlayer coverage of her set.
During her 15-song set, which was watched by the likes of Robbie Williams and James Corden, Adele proudly told the crowd: ‘Do you know how rock and roll I am? Not very, but the BBC had to give a warning about my potty mouth before I went on.
‘I bet Muse didn’t get that, I bet Muse didn’t get a warning beforehand.’
Her performance was roundly praised for her musical performance which included a hair-raising rendition of Someone Like You, sung loudly by the crowd.
But many TV viewers were left unimpressed by Adele’s repeated swearing.
Neil Coxon wrote on Twitter: ‘Is it me or is Adele both embarrassing & rude? Stop talking so much & certainly stop swearing. Shan’t now show my daughter your show.’
Another Twitter user added: ‘Was excited to watch with my 11 yr old but was ruined by the swearing. Shame. One for later.’
Bruce Millington tweeted: ‘Wonder how many parents are this morning telling their kids the Adele gig didn’t record properly rather than expose them to her foul mouth.’
Paul Carpenter added: ‘Loved Adele at Glasto when she wasn’t out of breath & singing like she can. Great talent & some great songs. Lose the swearing, not clever’.
Wearing a flowing black sequinned dress throughout the show, Adele brought a ten-year-old girl from the crowd onto the stage for a photograph, as well as a Brazilian fan.
As she took a selfie with the Brazilian fan, the singer exclaimed: ‘Oh my God I just burped. I had a dirty burger before I came on, that’s why.’
In February, Adele embarrassed ITV bosses by swearing before the 9pm watershed in her winner’s speech at the Brit Awards, prompting complaints.