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Music runs deep in Adele Pickvance’s family. Her grandfather played violin in dance orchestras in the north of England, while her father, Bill Pickvance, worked as a professional musician in the clubs of Manchester, playing organ in a trio backing passing vocalists. Every Friday and Saturday night was gig night.

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That musical life continued when the family moved from Bury in Lancashire to Brisbane, where teenage Adele swapped the four strings of the violin for the four strings of the bass guitar.

“Dad was picking up duo work, so I’d stand behind him reading the charts over his shoulder. I followed his left hand playing the bass notes on the keyboard, and I think that’s where I learnt how bass can work with melody and harmony while still holding the rhythm and intertwining with the groove.”

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Brisbane’s fertile music scene of the 1990s quickly immersed Adele in the city’s vibrant alt-electric-folk community, where she became a constant presence on stage.

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In 1995, she began playing with Robert Forster and drummer Glenn Thompson of Custard as Forster developed material for his 1996 solo album Warm Nights. The group toured extensively throughout Australia and internationally, including a one off performance with Grant McLennan, as The Go Between in Paris for Les Inrockuptibles celebration n 1996.

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Soon after, Adele joined the short-lived but highly regarded Far Out Corporation alongside Ian Haug from Powderfingerand Grant McLennan, Forster’s songwriting partner from The Go-Betweens. The band released its self-titled album in 1998. Adele and Glenn Thompson also worked closely with McLennan on his final solo album In Your Bright Ray, rehearsing and demoing the material regularly.

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Adele later moved to Melbourne to record and tour with The Dave Graney Show, recording four albums with the group and immersing herself in Melbourne’s music scene for eight years.

When Forster and McLennan reformed The Go-Betweens, McLennan invited Adele to join as bass player. She performed on The Friends of Rachel Worth (2000) and Bright Yellow Bright Orange (2003). The band toured internationally, and their final album, Oceans Apart (2005), became a five-star classic, winning the ARIA Award for Best Adult Contemporary Album.

Following Grant McLennan’s death in 2006, Adele played on Robert Forster’s album The Evangelist, which featured the last songs McLennan had written, marking the end of an era for both the music and friendship at the heart of The Go-Betweens.

Over the years, Adele has also recorded and performed with artists including Clare Moore, Billy Miller of The Ferrets, Scott Spark, Ranger, and The Mumps.

In 2012, while living in Sydney, Adele and Glenn Thompson released Carrington Street, a self-produced album later picked up by the German label Glitterhouse Records. The album received glowing reviews in both Europe and Australia.

In 2016, Adele released her first solo home recordings, My White Rabbit EP, recorded in Marrickville, NSW. The EP was warmly embraced by Australia’s independent community radio network and reached the top of several independent charts.

Back in Brisbane, Adele formed Adele and the Chandeliers in 2018 with guitarist Scott Mercer and drummer Ash Shanahan — a three-piece post-punk band with a strong pop sensibility.

Adele & The Chandeliers released their debut single German On My Mind, featuring guest vocals from longtime friend Karin Bäumler Forster, followed by their debut album First Date in late 2020 through Orange Carpet Records in Australia and on vinyl through the Spanish label Pretty Olivia Records.

During the COVID pandemic, Adele, Scott Mercer and her brother Jonny Pickvance joined forces on drums, rehearsing and recording whenever possible.

“As with everyone, it was a bumpy stop-start process recording and playing shows during COVID, but we got there.”

The band later released the four-track EP Still Thinking through 121 Projects — a limited white vinyl pressing screen-printed in blue, green and orange.

In 2022, Adele joined rehearsals and recordings with Robert Forster, Karin Bäumler Forster and Louis Forster for the critically acclaimed album The Candle and the Flame.

That same year, Adele joined Brisbane surf-pop favourites The Double Happiness, later recording Space Time in 2025, released through 4000 Records to critical acclaim within Australia’s independent grassroots music community.

Also in 2025, Adele was invited to join acclaimed Brisbane band Halfway as guest vocalist on their ninth album, The Styx.

In 2026, Adele joined David McCormack’s new three-piece band TRS-80, with a new EP scheduled for release later in the year. She also continues to perform with Halfway, Robert Forster and Dave Graney, alongside her own solo performances and recordings.

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