Hometown Glory: Revisiting Adele’s debut single 15 years on

Virgin Radio

22 Oct 2022, 10:03

It's hard to believe, but today (22nd October) marks 15 years since Adele landed on the scene with her very first single - Hometown Glory. 

The iconic singer has been a chart staple since 2007, making incredible waves with her first album, 19, in 2008. 

While we all know the hits like Chasing Pavements and Make You Feel My Love, Adele first dipped her toe into the musical pond with a track which is now considered a classic. 

To celebrate 15 years since Hometown Glory first made its way into our ears and minds, here’s a look back at how the powerful singer made her grand entrance. 

The creation 

Adele famously titled her albums after her age during production and release, and so her debut, called 19, demonstrated how much talent she harnessed at such a young age.

What’s even more impressive though is her debut solo track came to her while at home in West Norwood, at only 16. 

Fresh out of the BRIT School and struggling to find her own voice, a young Adele was inspired to write the tune after having a meeting with her school about going to university. 

In an early interview with Simon Mayo, Adele revealed that conversation sparked a disagreement between her and her mum, who wanted the aspiring musician to go to Liverpool, while the teen was desperate to stay in London. 

The lyrics essentially flowed out of Adele’s frustration, and after sharing the lyrics with her mother, they ended up agreeing that she should stay at home, becoming one of the most impactful decisions the star would ever make when it came to her career.

The single was released under Jamie T’s Pacemaker Recordings, with only 500 copies of a limited edition 7” vinyl made. 

The initial release failed to chart in the UK, but it wasn’t until Adele’s career started to pick up steam with the release of 19 in January 2008… 

The re-release 

As with all cult classics, it wasn’t until a much later date that fans truly appreciated the efforts of the artist. 

The same happened for Hometown Glory, which saw an uptake in downloads while 19 was hopping up the chart. 

It initially entered the UK Singles Chart at number 32 in April 2008, with a spike in sales after it was used in an episode of British teen drama, Skins (more on that later!)

After dipping back out of the charts, it then re-entered in July 2008 at number 74, before climbing up over twenty spots to 49. It peaked at 19 after the physical single release. 

19 stands as one of most triumphant debut albums, picking up the Mercury Prize and scoring Adele her Best New Artist Grammy Award. 

It would take another year for the track to get its own music video, and it didn’t stray too far from the monochrome style we’ve come to expect from the hit-maker. 

Not only that, but Hometown Glory also received a Grammy nod for Best Female Pop Vocal performance, but lost out to Beyonce’s Halo.

The pop culture 

It’s not just the charts where Hometown Glory made the biggest impact, but there was also the ripple effect felt throughout pop culture.

As previously mentioned, Hometown Glory saw a spike in popularity after featuring in super-popular gritty teen drama Skins in April 2008, allowing the track to find a new, younger audience. 

After that, the song was used in US (less-gritty) teen drama One Tree Hill later that month, and only a month after that, in May, the powerful ballad sound-tracked the final moments of the series four finale of Grey’s Anatomy. 

According to reports, Adele bagged the Grey’s Anatomy nod after high-profile music supervisor Alexandra Patsava saw the talented singer perform it at the Hotel Cafe in LA. 

Back on these shores in 2010, the heart wrenching song was the backdrop to the death of Steph Cunningham on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks. 

The list of shows Hometown Glory has been used in is quite expensive, with So You Think You Can Dance, Secret Diary Of A Call Girl, The Hills and 90210 all using the track.

It’s also been heavily sampled by other artists, mainly in rap and R&B. Big Sean used it within his single, Hometown, while Mod Sun did the same for his song, The Same Way.  

The legacy and the future

It might not be the song we all rush to think of when we remember Adele’s early work, but it is the track that helped introduce her to the world.

By 2008, Adele was already a headliner and became the very first recipient of the BRIT Awards Critics Choice prize, and since then has bagged a staggering 12 gongs. 

Chasing Pavements would be her follow-up, and landed her straight into the number 2 slot of the UK singles chart, before 19 swooped in after to take the top spot on the album charts. 

Since those early days, Adele has released three more albums - 21, 25 and 30 - all of which have made it to the top of the charts. Ten years ago, the singer set fire to the charts once again with her very own James Bond theme - Skyfall.

In 2021, Adele was named the UK’s best-selling female album artist of the 21st century, and she currently stands at only a Tony away from a prestigious EGOT prize. 

Hometown Glory might be a cult classic, and an understated one given the brilliant catalogue that followed, but we wouldn’t have the Adele we know today without it!