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Florence Welch

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Florence Welch
Welch in 2024
Born
Florence Leontine Mary Welch

(1986-08-28) August 28, 1986 (age 38)
Camberwell, London, England
Occupation(s)Singer, songwriter
Years active2006--present

Florence Leontine Mary Welch (born 28 August 1986)[1] is an English singer who is part of Florence and the Machine.

Early life

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Welch was born Florence Leontine Mary Welch on 28 August 1986 in Camberwell, London, England.[2] Her mother, Evelyn Welch, is a Professor of Renaissance Studies and Academic Dean for Arts at Queen Mary, University of London[3] and author and formerly a Studio 54 regular. Her father, Nick Welch, works in advertising. Since her mother is American and her father is British, Welch is a citizen of both the United States and England.[4] She has two younger siblings: Grace and J.J.[5] Welch was raised as a Catholic.[6]

When Welch was 13, her parents divorced. Her mother quickly got remarried to their neighbor, Professor Peter Openshaw.[7] Welch subsequently gained three stepsiblings: Maddie, Sam, and John. She also has a stepbrother named Nick through her father.[5] When Welch was 14, her maternal grandmother, who had bipolar disorder, committed suicide by jumping from her New York apartment.[7]

Around this time, Welch found comfort in the music of Hole, Nirvana, Green Day, Kate Bush, Annie Lennox, The Velvet Underground and Celine Dion.[8] She also enjoyed reading and music,[9] frequently exploring her talent as a singer.[10] While in middle school, she and her friends started a witch coven, creating spells and trying to cast them on people. One time, Welch used the name of a boy in her class and a drop of blood to try and get him to fall in love with her.[9] At the age of 17, Welch became anorexic, which she wrote about in her 2018 song "Hunger".[11]

Career

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Welch performing on the Ceremonials Tour in 2012

As a teenager she was the frontwoman for the bands Toxic Cockroaches and Ashok, though she did not stay in either band for long.[1] Around this time, Welch met Isabella Summers. They became friends and formed a band with the name as a practical joke: Florence and the Machine (formally styled Florence + the Machine), as Summers and Welch had nicknamed each other "Isa Machine" and "Florence Robot".[12] The band released its debut album, Lungs, in 2009, with several singles, including "You've Got The Love" (a cover of The Source's "You Got The Love")[13] and their top hit "Dog Days Are Over".[14] The album was highly successful: within a month, over 100,000 copies had sold in the United Kingdom.[15] The band was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 53rd Grammy Awards.[16]

In 2011, their second album, Ceremonials, was released.[17] The album was successful, reaching no. 1 in the United Kingdom.[1] It earned more Grammy nominations, for Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album and Grammy Award for Best Pop/Duo Group Performance (for the album's single "Shake It Out").[16] In 2012, Florence and the Machine performed for a sold-out crowd at Coachella, an annual music festival.[18] Along with releasing an MTV Unplugged album,[19] the band wrote a song called "Breath of Life" for the Disney film Snow White And The Huntsman.[20]

Their third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, released in 2015. It became the number one album in the United States.[21] Once again, it nominated them for Grammys, for Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Pop/Duo Group Performance (for "Ship To Wreck"), and Best Rock Performance (for "What Kind Of Man".[16] That year, Florence and the Machine performed at Coachella for the second time. While singing "Dog Days Are Over", Welch told the audience to strip down. Getting overexcited after removing her shirt, she jumped off the stage and tried to crowd surf, but broke her foot instead and had to be carried away.[7][22]

2018 marked the release of their fourth album, High As Hope.[23] On the song "Hunger", Welch detailed her struggles with anorexia nervosa. None of her family had known of her condition until the song was released.[7] Meanwhile, on another song called "Grace", Welch laments not being a better sister to her younger sister, Grace.[23]

In 2022, Florence and the Machine released Dance Fever, their fifth album.[24] The song "King" was nominated for Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance.[16] In addition, they released Dance Fever (Live at Madison Square Garden), a live concert album.[25]

In 2024, Florence and the Machine collaborated with American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift on "Florida!!!", a song from Swift's album The Tortured Poets Department. Welch joined Swift when The Eras Tour stopped in Miami, Florida to perform the song.[26] In September of that same year, Florence and the Machine performed a concert with Jules Buckley and His Orchestra, Symphony of Lungs, at the Royal Albert Hall as part of BBC Proms. The album, which received praise from critics, released digitally on October 25, 2024, and will release physically on March 14, 2025.[27]

Personal life

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Welch says she is prone to "falling into severe holes” that leave her crying on the floor and has been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysmetria.[8] In addition, she has struggled with alcoholism, panic attacks, anxiety. and depression.[7][28]

In addition to breaking her foot at Coachella in 2015, Welch was forced to cancel several concerts in 2022 because of a second foot injury. The injury forced her to undergo lifesaving surgery.[29]

Welch was previously in relationships with Stuart Hammond, who she dated from an unknown date to 2011.[30] Then she was in relationships with James Nesbitt (from 2012 to 2014)[31][32] and Felix White (an unknown date to 2018).[31][33] She and her current boyfriend, whose name she has kept private, live in South London together.[34][33]

Despite her Catholic upbringing, Welch is an agnostic.[6]

References

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  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Florence Welch | Biography, Albums, Songs, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 2024-11-30. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  2. ↑ "Florence and the Machine interview: sound and vision". The Telegraph. 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  3. ↑ "Staff at the Department of English, Queen Mary, University of London". Archived from the original on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  4. ↑ Varga, George (2015-10-08). "Florence Welch on music, maturing & not drinking". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Luhrmann, Baz (2011-09-24). "Florence Welch". Interview Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Mangano, Mary Grace (2022-09-02). "The Christ-haunted artistry of Florence + the Machine". America Magazine. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 Huelsbeck, Mia (2023-12-11). "Tragic Details About Florence Welch". The List. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Home Page – The TLS". TheTLS. Archived from the original on 2011-07-25. Retrieved 2022-05-08.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Weekes, Jabbari (2015-06-17). "Florence Welch Started a Witch Coven and Nobody Knew About It". VICE. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  10. ↑ Corner, Lewis (2011-05-23). "Florence Welch: 'New songs about my dead grandma'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  11. ↑ Moore, Sam (2018-11-09). "Florence Welch opens up on writing about her battle with an eating disorder". NME. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  12. ↑ Welch, Florence (2009-07-26). "A piece of my mind: Florence Welch of Florence and the Machine". The Herald. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  13. ↑ Florence + the Machine – You’ve Got The Love, retrieved 2024-12-25
  14. ↑ Harris, Alex (2023-09-20). "Dog Days Are Over by Florence and the Machine: How a Hangover Inspired a Song of Hope and Freedom". Neon Music. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  15. ↑ "INTERVIEW: Florence and the Machine - Music and Gigs - Yorkshire Even…". archive.ph. 2013-01-14. Archived from the original on 2013-01-14. Retrieved 2024-12-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 "Florence + the Machine | Artist | GRAMMY.com". GRAMMY.com. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  17. ↑ "FLORENCE + THE MACHINE - CEREMONIALS". UNCUT. 2011-11-14. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  18. ↑ Diep, Eric (2012-04-16). "Watch Florence + The Machine's Full Performance At Coache..." Complex. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  19. ↑ Battan, Carrie (2012-03-07). "Florence and the Machine Prep MTV Unplugged Album, Release New Video for "Never Let Me Go"". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  20. ↑ Goodwyn, Tom (2012-04-26). "Florence And The Machine debut new song 'Breath Of Life' – listen". NME. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  21. ↑ McIntyre, Hugh. "Florence + The Machine Claim Their First Number One Album In America". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  22. ↑ "Coachella 2015: Florence and the Machine drops new music, strips shirt off". Daily Bulletin. 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Gillett, Christ (2018-07-08). "High as Hope, Florence + The Machine's fourth album, has Flo back at her best [Review]". Young Post. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  24. ↑ Blum, Dani. "Florence and the Machine: Dance Fever". Pitchfork. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  25. ↑ "Dance Fever (Live at Madison Square Garden) by Florence + the Machine". Genius. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  26. ↑ Overhultz, Lauryn (2024-12-04). "Taylor Swift 'Eras Tour' ends: 8 moments that left fans shocked". Fox News. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  27. ↑ Fu, Eddie (2024-10-18). "Florence + The Machine announce new live album Symphony of Lungs". Consequence. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  28. ↑ "As Me with Sinéad — 11: Florence Welch". Lemonada Media. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  29. ↑ Savage, Mark (2022-11-21). "Florence Welch cancels UK tour after breaking foot on stage". BBC. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  30. ↑ Dougary, Ginny (2015-06-26). "Florence Welch: 'I am an extremes person. There is a part of me that's". The Standard. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Hanna, Aoife (2019-02-20). "Is Florence Welch Married? The Singer Is Totally Focused On Her Music & Boy, Is It Paying Off". Bustle. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  32. ↑ "Welch tells of 'girl crush' on MIA". Irish Examiner. 2012-06-19. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 Dokubo, Titi (2023-04-06). "Inside Florence Welch's Love Life That She Tries to Keep Away from the Media Spotlight". news.amomama.com. Retrieved 2024-12-25.
  34. ↑ Braidwood, Ella (2018-06-29). "Florence Welch's guide to South London – the real-life places referenced in her new album". NME. Retrieved 2024-12-25.


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