Adele announces tour

Adele has announced her first major tour of the U.K. and Europe, admitting she has been "bluffing" about her plans while promoting her new album 25.

The Rolling in the Deep singer's disc has been smashing sales records on both sides of the Atlantic since its release on Friday (20Nov15), and in the run-up to its unveiling, she admitted her fears about completing a large global tour, telling interviewers her team "haven't made any firm plans".

Adele has now confessed she was telling a white lie as she announced her first tour dates since 2011 on Twitter.com on Thursday (26Nov15).

In a video, she quoted her new single Hello, and told fans, "Hello it's me, Adele (laughs). God, I can't even say that anymore... I have been bluffing this whole time and I'm so relieved to finally tell you that I am, of course, coming on tour and I can't wait to see all of you there so see you all very, very soon!"

The 36-date run of gigs is scheduled to begin at the SSE Arena in Belfast, Northern Ireland on 29 February (16) and finish in Antwerp, Belgium in June (16), with a four-night stay at London's O2 Arena in March (16).

She has not announced any further dates.

Adele has had a troubled history with touring. She scrapped shows in 2008 to spend more time with her then-boyfriend, and again in 2011, when she developed a chest infection. She then cut her 2011 North American tour short due to a vocal cord hemorrhage, which required surgery.

Speaking of her tour plans in recent weeks, Adele said to BBC Radio 1, "I'm definitely going to do as many shows as I've done before, it's not that many... and I would love to go on tour and I would love to think I have it in me to do one of those global tours. Whether I do or not I don't know."

25 has become the fastest-selling album in the U.K. and achieved the most first-week sales in the U.S.