Adele regrets working with Damon Albarn on 25: 'It was one of those 'don't meet your idol' moments'

The Blur frontman branded Adele 'insecure' and described her songs as 'very middle of the road'

Adele found greater inspiration in Madonna's first album after having a child, Ray of Light

Adele has admitted regretting working with her one-time hero Damon Albarn after he called her “insecure” and branded her new songs “very middle of the road”.

The British singer-songwriter asked the Blur frontman to collaborate with her on upcoming album 25, but the pair failed to create any material worth putting on it.

Albarn said at the time that he did not believe “any of the stuff” would be used, telling The Sun: “The thing is, she’s very insecure, and she doesn’t need to be, she’s still so young.”

Asked by Rolling Stone about her sessions with Albarn, Adele described the experience as “one of those ‘don’t meet your idol’ moments”.

“The saddest thing was that I was such a big Blur fan growing up,” she said. “But it was sad and I regret hanging out with him. None of it was right. None of it suited my record.”

Adele also wishes she had not shared her fears about returning to the limelight with a child with Albarn. “He said I was insecure, when I’m the least insecure person I know,” she said. “I was asking his opinion about my fears, about coming back with a child involved - because he has a child - and then he calls me insecure?”

Adele wishes she had not teamed up with Blur idol Damon Albarn

In the end it was Madonna who proved a greater inspiration. Adele connected with her 1998 album Ray of Light as it was the first record she wrote after having her first child.

“I was so all over the place after having a child, just because my chemicals were just hitting the f**king roof and s**t like that,” she said.

“I was just drifting away and I couldn’t find that many examples for myself where I was like, ‘F**k, they truly came back to themselves,’ until someone was like, ‘Well, obviously, Ray of Light’.”

Adele’s 25 is released on 20 November and follows up 2011’s bestselling 21. First single “Hello” has already dropped, becoming the biggest UK number one in three years.