Adele and The Good Ship, Kilburn

There has been considerable publicity recently about Adele who is performing 10 shows in Munich in August 2024.

Announcing the idea in January on Instagram, Adele said:
‘So a few months ago I got a call about a summer run of shows. I’ve been content as anything with my shows in London’s Hyde Park and my residency in Vegas, so I hadn’t had any other plans. … However, I was too curious to not follow up and indulge in this idea – a one-off, bespoke pop-up stadium designed around whatever show I want to put on? Why, Yes!! I haven’t played in Europe since 2016’.

The £102M stadium has a 200 metre semi-circle stage with a 93 metre catwalk, so Adele can get close to the 75-80,000 fans in the audience. Behind her is a huge projection screen reported to have cost another £34M. Around the stadium is an ‘Adele World’ themed park.

Photo of the stadium and theme park

In the publicity for the show, Adele praised small venues which gave her a start early in her career, and she specifically mentioned The Good Ship in Kilburn.

Adele Laurie Blue Adkins was born on 5 May 1988, and lived with her mother Penny Adkins in Shelbourne Road Tottenham (probably at No.104, but we can’t verify the address). After a few moves, Adele started secondary school at Chestnut Grove School in Balham.

She was not happy here and when she was 13 applied for a place at the BRIT (British Recording Industry Trust) School, in Croydon. She was successful and began her course in September 2002. While there, Adele and her mother moved to No.296 Norwood Road in Southeast London. The college encouraged students to write and record their own music. Other musicians from the BRIT school include Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, Katie Melua, Jessie J and many others.

Adele posted demos of three of her songs on MySpace and they were seen by Nick Huggett of XL Recordings who invited her to their office in Ladbroke Grove.

She began playing at pubs and clubs, and performed at The Good Ship in Kilburn on 12 August 2006. The following month Adele signed her first contract with XL Recordings, who released the album 19 on 28 January 2008. The songs included, Hometown Glory, Chasing Pavements, and Make You Feel My Love. It became a global multi-million selling success.

The Good Ship Kilburn
John McCooke, who was born and grew up in Kilburn, opened The Good Ship at No.289 Kilburn High Road in 2005. It provided music and comedy for new bands until it closed in October 2017.

Musicians who played here include Kate Nash, London Grammar, Eliza Doolittle, Marina & the Diamonds, The xx, and Years &Years. Comedians have included Stewart Lee, Josie Long, Sara Pascoe, Richard Herring, Nick Kumar, Reginald D Hunter and Romesh Ranganathan.

Gigs at The Good Ship (John McCooke)

In 2017, John was refused a late-night license by Brent and decided to close The Good Ship on 30 October, as it was simply not a viable concern.

When he heard about the Munich gigs, John told me he was very pleased that Adele named The Good Ship as one of the venues supporting her early career.

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History of Kilburn and West Hampstead

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