I'm scared of fame - Singer Adele

 British singer Adele Photo: Courtesy

Adele has said that watching the tragic decline of Amy Winehouse left her frightened of fame.

The singer, who has just smashed the record for first-week album sales with her third release 25, is one of the biggest stars in the world.

But the 27-year-old is also one of the most private – and has now revealed that troubled Amy’s death in 2011 at the same age drove home the dangers of living in the spotlight.

"Watching Amy ­deteriorate is one of the reasons I’m a bit frightened. We were all very entertained by her being a mess.

 “I was sad about it but if someone showed me a picture of her looking bad, I’d look at it. That level of attention is frightening.”

Writing in a blog, the singer – full name Adele Adkins – also said the late jazz singer inspired her to pick up a guitar.

And she credits Amy, whose hits included Rehab and You Know I’m No Good, for one of her own biggest hits, Someone Like You.

Adele, who was born in Tottenham, released albums 19 and 21 – the latter scooping six Grammys – then kept fans waiting four years for material.

During that time she shunned the red carpet, preferring to stay at home with partner Simon Konecki, 41, and their three-year-old son Angelo.

Speaking about motherhood, she said: “I was so all over the place after having a child, my chemicals were hitting the roof.

"It’s hard. But it’s the greatest thing I did. It used to be my world revolved around me but now it has to revolve around him.”

Earlier this week Adele’s comeback single, Hello, became the most downloaded track in history – with four million plays on Spotify in one day.

Now ‘25’ has sold 803,307 copies to beat the previous opening week record, set by Oasis in 1997 with ‘Be Here Now.’

The album has already gone platinum twice.