Florence Welch (born August 28, 1986), is the singer, main songwriter and founder of Florence and the Machine. She featured on the song "Sweet Nothing" by Calvin Harris in 2012, and one the Cosmo EP in 2013.
Family and early life[]
Florence Leontine Mary Welch was born on August 28, 1986 in Camberwell, London to parents Nick Welch, an advertising executive and Evelyn Welch (née Samuels), an American immigrant from New York City who was educated at Harvard University and the Warburg Institute, University of London. Evelyn is Vice-Chancellor of the University of Bristol. Through her mother, Welch has both British and American citizenship.
Welch is the niece of satirist Craig Brown via Brown's wife and Welch's aunt, Frances Welch, and granddaughter of Colin Welch (James Colin Ross Welch), former deputy editor of The Daily Telegraph and former Daily Mail parliamentary sketchwriter, originally of Cambridgeshire. Welch's maternal uncle is actor and director John Stockwell. She also has a sister, Grace, who inspired Welch's song by the same name.
During her youth, Welch was encouraged by her Scottish paternal grandmother, Cybil Welch (née Russell), to pursue her performing and singing talents. Welch's deceased grandmothers inspired numerous songs on Florence and the Machine's debut album Lungs (2009). In her youth, Welch also sang at family weddings and funerals. Aged ten, she performed the song of Yum-Yum from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan at Colin Welch's memorial service.
Welch's parents divorced when she was thirteen, and her mother eventually married their next-door neighbour, Professor Peter Openshaw. Around this time, her maternal grandmother, who had bipolar disorder, died from suicide.
In Florence and the Machine's 2018 single “Hunger", she opened up for the first time about a teenage eating disorder. She has also spoken of being a highly imaginative and fearful child. "I learned ways to manage that terror – drink, drugs, controlling food..."
Welch was educated at Thomas's London Day School, Battersea then went on to Alleyn's School, South East London, where she did well academically. However, Welch often got in trouble in school for impromptu singing and for singing too loudly in the school's choir.
Despite an early love of reading and literature, she was also diagnosed with mild dyslexia owing to problems with spelling, alongside dyspraxia, a developmental coordination disorder that does not affect her reading ability, but caused issues with organization. Music and books gave her a reprieve from what she felt made her different from others. "I used reading as a form of escape. I was shy and sensitive, and so reading gave me a safe space."
On leaving secondary school and "just bumming around Camberwell where I lived, working at a bar and thought that I should start doing something with life", Welch studied illustration at Camberwell College of Arts before dropping out to focus on her music. Initially, she had intended to take a year out from her studies to "see where the music would go and then it started going somewhere so [she] never went back".
Career[]
Lungs (2006-2010)
According to Welch, the band name "Florence + the Machine" had "started off as a private joke that got out of hand. I made music with my friend, who we called Isabella Machine, to which I was Florence Robot. When I was about an hour away from my first gig, I still didn't have a name, so I thought 'Okay, I'll be Florence Robot/Isa Machine', before realizing that name was so long it'd drive me mad". In 2006, Welch's performances with Isabella Summers in small London venues under the joint name Florence Robot/Isa Machine began to attract notice. In 2007, Welch recorded with a band named Ashok, who released an album titled Plans on the Filthy Lucre/About Records label. This album included the earliest version of her later hit "Kiss with a Fist", which at this point was titled "Happy Slap".
Florence and the Machine released their debut studio album Lungs in the United Kingdom on July 6 2009. The album was officially launched with a set at the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley, south-east London. It peaked at number one in the UK and number two in Ireland. As of August 6 2009, the album had sold over 100,000 copies in the UK and by August 10th it had been at number two for five consecutive weeks. Following its July 25 2009 release for download in the United States, the album debuted at number seventeen on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, ultimately peaking at number one. The album was released physically in the US on 20 October by Universal Republic. The album was produced by James Ford, Paul Epworth, Steve Mackey and Charlie Hugall.
Welch contributed vocals to David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's 2010 album Here Lies Love, an album about Imelda Marcos. As of January 2011, Welch was working with Drake on material slated for his upcoming album.
On 27 February 2011, Welch replaced pregnant Dido and sang her portion of Best Original Song nominee "If I Rise" (from 127 Hours) with A. R. Rahman at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Ceremonials (2011-2012)
The band's second studio album, Ceremonials, was released on October 31, 2011. In the album, Florence's "obsession with drowning" is represented through the use of repeated water imagery. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and number six on the US Billboard 200. On January 12, 2012, Florence and the Machine were nominated for two Brit Awards, with the awards ceremony taking place on February 21, 2012 at the O2 Arena, London. On April 26, 2012, the band released "Breath of Life", a song which was recorded as the official theme song for the fantasy film Snow White and the Huntsman. On July 5, 2012, a remix of "Spectrum" by Scottish musician Calvin Harris was released as the fourth single from Ceremonials, becoming the band's first UK number-one hit. Welch expressed excitement about putting new material together for a third album once the band finished touring at the end of September 2012. Welch led a tribute to Amy Winehouse by performing Winehouse's song "Back to Black" and the Annie Lennox-classic Walking on Broken Glass during the VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul concert held in December 2011. The group performed in Times Square on December 31, 2011 for the 40th annual Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special.
In October 2012, she was featured on Scottish singer-songwriter and producer Calvin Harris' song "Sweet Nothing", which debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, marking Welch's second number one. The song was taken from Harris' third studio album 18 Months and is the fifth single from the album. "Sweet Nothing" also peaked at number one in Ireland and number two in Australia and New Zealand. "Sweet Nothing" was certified Platinum in Australia. "Sweet Nothing" received a nomination for Best Dance Recording at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.
On November 29, 2012 Florence joined the Rolling Stones at the O2 Arena in London to sing "Gimme Shelter". Her performance with Mick Jagger was described as "sexy" and "electrifying."
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful (2015-2017 ?)
In February 2015, Florence and the Machine announced their third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, which was released on June 1, 2015. The album reached #1 in many markets including the US, the UK, Australia, and Canada. The record spawned two top 40 UK hits, and earned three Grammy nominations.
High As Hope (2018-2021 ?)
On April 12, 2018, Florence and the Machine released a song titled "Sky Full of Song" and an accompanying music video on YouTube, directed by AG Rojas. The song was released for Record Store Day on April 21, which supports brick and mortar record stores; a limited edition 7" vinyl was also released. Also in 2018 "Hunger" was released. Florence and the Machine's fourth studio album High as Hope was released on June 29, 2018.