peta2 // United Kingdom // Adele Bethel of Sons and Daughters

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Adele Bethel of Sons and Daughters

Listen to Sons and Daughters’ dark Scots country punk, and you’ll be forgiven for thinking that singer and guitarist Adele Bethel – she of the wildcat vocals and pine-woods good looks – would be a bit of a handful in real life. Thus peta2 approached our interview with some trepidation: What if Miss Bethel was as fearsome in person as she sounds on record? The North Country rock ’n’ roll onslaught of Sons and Daughters may be exhilarating, but it can sound pretty scary, too, at times.

We were wrong. Not just because Adele was one of the most welcoming interviewees we’ve ever had the pleasure to meet, but also because she was one of the most articulate and sincere. We talked to her about vegetarianism, fur and the place of politics in music – and she was the epitome of compassionate, clued-up cool. Read on for an insight into the mind of one of the most exciting rock ’n’ roll talents to come out of the UK in years – and check out fellow band member Scott Paterson as he pretty much goes veggie in front of our eyes!

peta2: How long have you been a vegetarian, and what first inspired you to make the switch?

Adele: I’ve been a vegetarian for, God, it must be about 15 years now – since I was about 13. My grandma was a vegetarian, which I thought was kind of cool, and I’m kind of embarrassed to say it, but a big factor in my going vegetarian was that I was in love with this band, The Smiths, and they released the album Meat Is Murder. I thought they were so cool. So that’s probably the main reason that I went vegetarian. It’s such a cliché!

peta2: When did animal rights start to become important to you?

Adele: I think back then, when Morrissey was telling you to challenge what you thought you knew. I started to think that it was quite odd, really, that people wanted to mass-slaughter all these animals just for food, when it wasn’t really necessary. The degree of suffering that it involved turned me right off.

peta2: Do you find it strange now when some otherwise thoughtful or intelligent people don’t seem to care about what humans do to animals for food?

Adele: Yeah, but I think that a lot of denial goes on. People want to keep things as they are because they’re comfortable. They don’t want to make an effort to change, which is weird because nowadays, it’s really takes no effort. It’s so easy to go vegetarian – if you’re willing to give it a try.

peta2: Do you think it’s a shame that some young people who have branched out musically – who have broken away from the mainstream and engaged with the alternative – don’t do the same with the food they eat or the clothes they wear, i.e., they don’t consider the cruelty to animals that their lifestyle might endorse?

Adele: To be honest, I think it’s better in America. There are a lot of straight-edge kids and a lot of vegans over there. It seems like more bands [in America] are interested in not eating meat and not wearing animal products. It’s just really a shame that they seem a lot more political-minded than we do at the moment – I think that’s really the core of it. Probably because, you know, I think their politics are even worse than ours. I think they kind of have to get involved in these issues. It’s weird that fur to some people seems OK on a level that you wouldn’t think it would be and where it never used to be. There was always the Smiths-fan thing of being anti-fur and anti-meat.

I think that a lot of denial goes on. People want to keep things as they are because they’re comfortable.

peta2: We have a campaign against KFC at the moment …

Adele: Excellent!

peta2: We want them to implement a more humane slaughter procedure. They routinely allow birds to be slaughtered or dropped into vats of scalding-hot water when the birds are still conscious and able to feel pain, and what we’re saying to them is, “If you have to murder 850 million chickens a year, can you at least introduce a more effective stunning technique to reduce the suffering?” We’re asking bands to lend their voices in support – is that the kind of thing you’d be interested in getting behind?

Adele: Of course! KFC are just, well, grotesque, aren’t they? I remember when Channel Four dedicated a week to programmes about animals and slaughter and animal rights, and that was the first time I’d ever seen animals be killed – actually see it. And I was just horrified for weeks after it!