Adele, 25, album review: 'pop doesn't come more perfect than this'

Adele is back, in case anyone has failed to notice. After a three-year absence, the BRIT school graduate sang a tentative “Hello, it’s me” on her comeback single and clocked up a million digital sales and a billion video hits in a week. Her previous album, 21, sold over 30 million copies, the only release this century to scale such dizzy heights. The ailing music industry is desperate for her to pull off the same trick again. The rest of us are just hoping for another great album full of heartfelt songs delivered with a warm, powerful voice that makes us want to sing along, punch the air and shed a tear.

The first thing to say is I don’t think anyone will be disappointed. Covering much of the same kind of musical and emotional terrain, 25 is certainly the equal of its predecessor. What it sacrifices in youthful rawness it makes up in maturity and sheer class. Adele Adkins has taken her time over her third album and it shows.A lot is said about Adele’s fantastic singing but the key to her global success is surely that she gives herself material worth wrapping her chops around. 25 is crammed top to bottom with perfectly formed songs – elegantly flowing melodies, direct and truthful lyrics and richly textured production – all sung as if her life depends on it.There are deep, resonant piano ballads (Remedy, Love In The Dark and All I Ask), a brace of slinky, playful pop belters (Send My Love (To Your New Lover) and Sweetest Devotion) and some spooky, thunderous, big production dramas (I Miss You, Water Under The Bridge).The highlight has to be River Lea, a blast of North London gospel that improbable locates the source of Adele’s musical soul in the waters of Chingford, Walthamstow and Tottenham. “When I was a child I grew up by the River Lea / There was something in the water and now that something’s in me.”
Now 27, and a mother of one in a settled relationship, the album looks back a couple of years to a more transitional phase (hence the title). It is a collection of torch songs, filled with longing for lost love and mourning her own faded innocence, filtered through more emotional distance than the raw, hurting ballads and blues of 21.She has worked with some of contemporary pop’s leading writer-producers, including Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin and Max Martin. These are names that turn up everywhere in the charts, so the album’s very organic, old-fashioned flavour comes from Adele herself. Musically, she stands squarely in the middle of the road, and it is only her earthy personality and soulful honesty that lends her any kind of cutting edge. For a contemporary pop star, she never ventures much further forward in musical eras than the Eighties. You can detect nods to Lionel Richie, Phil Collins, Carole King, Burt Bacharach and even the chanson of Charles Aznavour, with a hint of Enya’s Orinoco Flow in the rhythm and melody of Sweetest Devotion. But it would be churlish to carp when pop doesn’t come much more perfect than this.

The beauty of Adele’s singing is how effortless it is. The depth of her notes is luxurious with the slightest of croaks in her upper range lending a twist of soul. She gives herself space, words falling neatly with music and rhythm, albeit she has the advantage of being able to stretch vowels and add syllables apparently at will. “It’s so co-oo-oo- old out here-ee-eer in your weel-de-er-ne-ess” looks ridiculous in print but sounds like the truth when Adele puts her heart into it. There’s real joy in her vocal, even when she is grappling with private pain. She loves to sing, and the world loves to hear her.

A private plane for all?

America’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) created the Light Sport Aircraft category in 2004 in an effort to make private air travel more accessible, and in so doing gave a legislative green light to developers who wished to design and build easy-to-fly and (relatively) affordable two-person airplanes.

Founded in response to the ruling, the California-based manufacturer ICON Aircraft has now launched its first plane, the A5. An amphibious sport aircraft that can take off and touch down on both land and water, the vehicle is cleared to fly at lower altitudes and in less congested airspace than conventional aircraft so should offer its privileged passengers peerless panoramas of the landscapes beneath.Though the company is unlikely to achieve its mission of bringing "the freedom, fun and adventure of flying to all", at a cost of $189,000 (£124,000) per unit the A5 is farmore accessibly priced than other private jets and planes which typically cost tens of millions of pounds. And for those who can afford the aircraft, a sense of freedom and fun seems near certain.

With a take-off weight of up to 686kg (1510lbs) the A5 can be easily transported from one location to another by trailer – its wings fold up easily so it remains compact when on the road - and it requires a take-off distance of just 710 feet on land or 920 feet on water so can be used with a reasonable degree of spontaneity.

As the plane is aimed at novice pilots it is simple to use too. Its developers describe the A5 as akin to a “well-mannered sports car with wings” and in the US owners will need a Sport Pilot Licence (SPL) to operate the aircraft. The licence restricts flying for sports pilots to day time, good weather and uncongested air space, meaning it isn’t necessary to be aware of or proficient in the more demanding aspects of flying, such as flying at night or flying in inclement weather.

Since the first customer took ownership of his A5 in July, feedback has been good. Jack Pelton, former CEO of Cessna Aircraft, described it as “incredibly easy to fly, safe, forgiving, and ridiculously fun.” To date more than 1,500 additional customers (from Google chairman Eric Schmidt to NASCAR driver Carl Edwards) have paid $5,000 deposits towards A5s of their own. That’s such a significant response to the launch that, at current rates of production, new customers who order an A5 today may not receive their own aircraft until 2019. However, steps are being made to speed up the development process and ICON expects to announce new efficiency-improving initiatives soon.

The launch of the A5 coincides with the release of proposals to launch new supersonic aircraft (among them is the proposed Skreemr plane, which would fly between New York and London in 30 minutes) and comes at the same time as plans are being made to recommence Concorde flights by 2019. Whatever product delays ICON Aircraft might face the expectation is that many more people will be able to boast of flying privately in the near future, and it seems that a number of other aviation innovations are set to be revealed in the years to come.

Why supermodels, soulful jazz and sublime beaches set St Kitts apart

No really. International supermodels do not, in the usual run of things, make a beeline for me across crowded bars. So when a six-foot vision in blue does just that I’m reduced to jabbering inanity (to her credit she doesn’t miss a beat). “Hi, I’m Damaris…” she says.

“Amazing heels," I stammer.

“… and I’ll be hosting the festival on Saturday night.”

This is my first encounter with Damaris Lewis, Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, dancer, actress and bestie of Prince, but I will see plenty more of her over the next three days. As she has just intimated, not only is she one of the hosts of the St Kitts Music Festival, which I’ve flown 4,000 miles to attend, but she is also a committed ambassador for the tiny Caribbean island of St Kitts, where it happens, and loves bigging the place up to foreign media.

On the 10-hour direct flight from Gatwick (there are two a week) I have already genned up on the basics. St Kitts and Nevis is a federation of two islands (though I confine myself to the former, the main island, on this trip) that would fit comfortably inside the old English

county of Rutland, with a population of around 50,000.

Shaped on a map like pieces of fried chicken – respectively, a drumstick and a nugget – in the Leeward chain of the West Indies, it is a former British colony with a rich cultural history to go with its more obvious Caribbean charms of sun, sand and affable people. This is the festival’s 19th year and while it may not have the recognition factor of, say, Glastonbury – which always takes place simultaneously, at the end of June – the cognoscenti know where they’d prefer to be.

The English jazz saxophonist, Courtney Pine, for instance, is unlikely to be found in a muddy field in Somerset for as long as St Kitts is on the calendar. “I’d rather be here than getting rained on,” he tells me on the first morning of the festival, when I run into him in the Marriott Resort where we are both staying.

Earthquake kills two on the Greek island of Lefkada

Lefkada, a popular spot for holidaymakers, was hit by an earthquake on Tuesday morning.A strong earthquake registering 6.0 on the Richter scale struck the Greek island of Lefkada on Tuesday, killing two people and damaging roads and buildings, local authorities have said.

The island is a popular spot for holidaymakers, with large bays and consistently blustery winds attracting droves of sailors and windsurfers.

The coastal towns of Vassiliki, close to where the two deaths occurred, and Nydri, are among the most visited spots.

A woman in her sixties was killed by a falling rock caused by a landslide near her home in the village of Ponti, the island's deputy mayor Christos Kaliforis told Vima radio.

Another woman was killed in the village of Athani, he said.

Greek news agency Ana said four people had been taken to hospital with minor injuries.

Roads in the south-east of the Ionian island, closest to the earthquake's epicentre in the sea, and several stone houses, have been damaged, Kaliforis said. A church has also collapsed.

An aftershock registering 5.2 on the Richter scale hit the island just before 11:00 am (0900 GMT), two hours after the original earthquake struck.

“We have had almost continuous aftershocks all day," Karen Bennett, a yoga teacher living in Ponti, told Telegraph Travel. "Some feel almost as strong but much shorter than the original quake. It's quite difficult to relax this evening.

“The roads around Vassiliki Harbour have substantial damage but the harbour is still standing, as far as we could see none of the harbour has subsided into the sea. There is damage to older buildings but all the newer buildings have to meet rigorous safety requirements so they structurally seem OK - although generally there is a lot of damage to household contents. A lot of businesses around the harbour and throughout the village (including restaurants and shops popular with tourists in summer) have suffered substantial damage to stock."

The weirdest hotel guests ever - as revealed by staff

From porcupines in the lobby to pie all over the room, hotel staff reveal the odd - and disgusting - guests they have to put up with.

Spare a thought for the hotel staff whose job it is to make your stay as enjoyable as possible, because it’s not just a few nagging guests, the occasional spilt glass of red wine or a lost phone charger they have to deal with.

A recent thread on Reddit asked those who work in hospitality to spill the beans on the weirdest experiences they have had on the job – and they did not disappoint.

Topping the pile was a user who told of a guest the hotel staff nicknamed “Pie Guy” who would regularly visit the hotel, pay for his room in cash as well as a $100 deposit, then leave the next day without checking out. When staff checked his room, the bathroom was always covered in the remnants of “several expensive pies”.He never came to the desk for his deposit, as he knew he wouldn’t be getting it back. We added his name to our ‘do not rent’ list but he kept coming back and using different names,” the user wrote.

“One time we found a torn up list in his room with the words ‘pie’ and ‘pants’ scribbled over and over again.”

Some revelations were a little more sanitary, with another user explaining how a lady asked staff to open up the gym at 11pm. The member of staff obliged, assuming she was a night owl when it came to fitness. However, that wasn’t the case.

“I went back in around 3am to close it up again, and she had set up a bed for herself on the treadmill,” the user explained. “[I] ended up giving her our last room after she had a fight with her husband and was refusing to sleep with him.”

Another tale, which we will truncate for decency’s sake, involved an alleged hotel critic smearing faeces over a bathroom stall then threatening to write a bad review of the establishment when presented with the cleaning bill the next day.

One user who was working on the front desk of a hotel told how a woman had rung up to complain the water in her toilet was full of bubbles. Before the member of staff could not stop her, she proceeded to take a sample with a wine glass and bring it downstairs. By the time she reached reception, the bubbles had gone. “Well, it was bubbly a minute ago,” she said.

England 2 France 0: We need to stand tall and stand together, says Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney said that France and England had delivered a global statement of unity last night after playing at an emotionally charged Wembley Stadium just four days after the terror attacks in Paris.
The matches between Germany and Holland as well as Belgium and Spain were postponed last night amid security fears but the Football Association was able to deliver their tributes to the victims of Friday’s tragedy in Paris and also stage their fixture against France.“This will be shown around the world and will show unity,” said Rooney, the England captain. “Football is a global game. It is not about religion or race. We need to stand tall and stand together in these tough times.
"It was always going to be a difficult night. For ourselves to be involved in this occasion was tough. The young players were excited but it was a difficult game for them. I thought both teams handled it extremely well. The fans were brilliant.”
Roy Hodgson, the England manager, felt that the additional security measures and concern over traffic may have deterred some ticket holders although a crowd of more than 71,000 was still at Wembley last night to deliver a public show of solidarity with the French.
“It was a very poignant game: everything I expected it to be,” said Hodgson. “All the things we wanted to achieve were achieved. 71,000 is a great crowd. They played their part.“I've seen a few text messages from people I know and have worked with from France. They have been quick to point out that they thought the occasion was a very good one for their country. We can be rightly proud we were able to put this event on.
"The French football Federation were the ones who decided the game should go ahead. As far as we're concerned an act of defiance is more important than the other alternative. Then people had to put that aside and play a game of football between two good teams.”
In terms of the football, Hodgson was especially enthused by the performance of 19-year-old Tottenham midfielder Dele Alli.“The first half was as good as I've seen us play here for a long time,” he said. “It was close to a faultless performance. ​I didn't think at any moment that he [Alli] was anything other than top class.
​“It is amazing at t​his age and with so little experience except for a 10-minute substitute appearance to go in and do what he did was outstanding. I wasn't terribly surprised. If I didn't believe he had the capacity to play like he did I wouldn't have chosen him. I have seen him do it for Tottenham. It's a bold choice, a bold decision to bring a guy who has hardly played for the under-21s and put him in the first team.“But I've done it in the past – I've done it with Barkley, Sterling, Stones, Shaw. We've got some history that when we give these players we believe in a chance, we think they can remain important figures. But he's still 19, played a handful of international games, he's still learning the game. It would be nice if he gets the chance to learn without publicity or glare.”
Hodgson said that the FA had been aware of the problems in Germany but were always confident in what was an enhanced security information around Wembley.

Zayn Malik: 'I wanted to quit One Direction from the beginning'

Zayn Malik has revealed he thought about leaving One Direction "from the beginning".

The 22-year-old pop star also denied rumours he split up with Little Mix singer Perrie Edwards via text message.

Malik shocked fans when he quit the boy band earlier this year, saying he wanted to be a "normal 22-year-old", before vowing to show fans"who I really am" with his own music.

In an interview with the Sun, he said of his five-year stint with the band: "I just wanted to go home from the beginning. I was always thinking it. I just didn't know when I was going to do it."

• The rise and fall of One Direction

He also said 1D's songs were "not music I would listen to" and revealed he had only spoken to ex-bandmate Liam Payne since his departure, hinting the pair could collaborate in the future.Malik had previously remained quiet on the break-up of his relationship with Edwards, 22, who in a US TV interview last month called Malik a "bell---" and hinted that the break-up inspired Little Mix's single Hair.

But he hit back at reports that he ended their engagement by text.

He told the paper: "I love her a lot and I always will, and I would never end our relationship over four years like that.

"She knows that, I know that, and the public should know as well. I don't want to explain why or what I did, I just want the public to know I didn't do that."

While Malik signed a solo recording contract with RCA Records, One Direction have announced they are to take a hiatus from March next year.

The band said they would be taking a "break" in August and Payne accidentally revealed on BBC Radio 1's Live Lounge last week that it could last two years.