Florence Welch

At 37 years old, Florence Welch has this physical status:

Florence Welch (born 28 August 1986) is an English singer and songwriter.

Florence and the Machine's singer and primary songwriter are both from the indie rock band Florence and the Machine.

Lungs, Florence and the Machine's debut album, was released in 2009; the album debuted on January 17, 2010, securing the top spot in the United Kingdom after being on the charts for 28 weeks.

In 2010, Lungs received the British Academy Award for Best British Album.

Ceremonials, the company's second studio album that came out in October 2011, debuted at number one in the United Kingdom and number six in the United States.

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, the band's third album, received rave reviews from critics and topped the UK and US charts in 2015.

In 2018, the band's fourth album, High As Hope, was released. Welch's collection of lyrics and poems, as well as illustrations, was published in 2018.

Family and early life

Florence Welch was born in Camberwell, London, on August 28, 1986, to parents Nick Russell Welch, an account 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 a Professor of Renaissance Studies, Provost, and Senior Vice President (Arts & Sciences) at King's College London, and the new Vice Chancellor of Bristol. Welch's mother has both British and American citizenship.

Welch's niece, and aunt of Welch, Frances Welch, is a former deputy editor of The Daily Telegraph and former political sketch writer born in Cambridgeshire, and nephew of Colin Welch. John Stockwell, actor and director of Welch, is his maternal uncle. Grace is also a sister who inspired Welch's song by the same name.

Welch's childhood friend, Cybil Welch (née Russell), urged her to pursue her acting and singing abilities. On Florence and the Machine's debut album Lungs (2009), Welch's deceased grandmothers inspired a number of songs. Welch performed at family weddings and funerals as a child. At Colin Welch's memorial service, she performed the song Yum-Yum from The Mikado by Gilbert and Sullivan at ten years old.

When she was thirteen, Welch's parents divorced, and her mother eventually married Professor Peter Openshaw, their next-door neighbor. Her maternal grandmother, who suffered with bipolar disorder, died of suicide around this time.

For the first time in Florence and the Machine's 2018 album "Hunger," she opened up about a teenage eating disorder. She has also talked about being a very creative and fearful child. "I learned how to handle the fear — alcohol, opioids, and controlling food."

Welch was educated at Thomas' London Day School, Battersea, and then moved to Alleyn's School, South East London, where she did well academically. However, Welch was often suspended in school for impromptu performance and for singing too loudly in the school's choir.

Despite a childhood love of reading and literature, she was also diagnosed with mild dyslexia as a result of spelling problems, as well as dyspraxia, a developmental coordination disorder that does not influence her reading skills, but caused problems with organization. She was given a reprieve from what she felt made her different from others by music and books. "I read reading as a method of escape." I was shy and sensitive, and reading gave me a safe space.

Welch studied illustration at Camberwell College of Arts before moving to concentrate on her music after leaving secondary school and "just bumming around Camberwell, where I lived, working in a bar, and thought that I should start doing something with life." She had intended to wait a year out of school to "see where the music would go and then it went, but [she] never went back."

Personal life

Welch is an introvert who is passionate about reading and literature. Between Two Books, her fan-run book club, has held several events. "I'm sure there are a few extroverted bookworms out there, but for me, it's nice to know people of similar interests come together in a social manner and discuss something that is inherently solitary."

Although many of her songs have Christian themes and elements, Welch has stated that she does not adhere to any particular faith. "I went to Catholic school, and hymns were among the first songs I remember liking at school. With the massive themes, I find it's enjoyable to blend the mundane and the magical, the dull and the obnoxious. Sex, love, death, marriage, and regret: whether you're going for a walk or flipping the page of a book, you're likely to find a lot. The daily grind and the feeling that you're going to die are affecting your life.

Welch has talked openly about her bouts with anxiety and depression, as well as with alcohol. Many of her songs refer to these topics. Sinéad Burke, who talked to her in 2019, discussed her panic attacks. "My hands go tingly, and my lips go tingly," she said. I'm going to die, and I'm going to die, so I'm pretty sure I'm having a panic attack. But I do still want someone to admit me to the hospital."

Welch broke her foot after leaping off the stage at the Coachella Festival in 2015. "I'm quite shy, really—that's probably why I used to drink a lot," she told Billboard: "I'm quite shy, really—that's probably why I used to drink a lot." But I don't any more. I had time to grow when I finally took time off to make this new record. And when I first came back to the sport, I really didn't want to lose it. I thought I could go dive-bomb back to it, but look what happened. "I leapt into it and broke myself."

Welch was granted and received an honorary fellowship from the University of the Arts London in 2022.

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Career

"Florence + the Machine," a band name, had "started off as a personal prank that was out of place," Welch said. I made music with my sister, Isabella Machine, to which I was Florence Robot. I was about an hour away from my first performance, so I didn't have a name, so I thought, 'I'll be Florence Robot/Isa Machine,' before realizing that the term was so long it'd make me mad. Welch's appearances with Isabella Summers in small London venues under the joint name Florence Robot/Isa Machine began in 2006. Welch performed with Ashok, a band from Filthy Lucre/About Records, in 2007. This album featured the early version of her daughter "Kiss with a Fist," which was titled "Happy Slap" at the time.

On July 6, 2009, Florence and the Machine's debut studio album Lungs appeared in the United Kingdom. The album was officially launched at the Rivoli Ballroom in Brockley, south-east London, with a set. It ranked at number one in the United Kingdom and number two in Ireland, and number two in Ireland. The album had sold over 100,000 copies in the United Kingdom by August 6, 2009, and by ten August, it had been at number two for five weeks in a row. Following its launch in the United States on July 25, the album debuted at number seventeen on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart, with a peak at number one. Universal Republic's record was unveiled in the United States on October 20th. James Ford, Paul Epworth, Steve Mackey, and Charlie Hugall contributed to the album.

Welch contributed vocals to David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's 2010 album On You Love, an album about Imelda Marcos. Welch was already working with Drake on a piece that was supposed to be released for his forthcoming album as of January 2011.

With A. R. Rahman, Welch replaced pregnant Dido and performed her portion of "If I Rise" (from 127 Hours) at the 83rd Academy Awards on February 27, 2011.

Ceremonials, the band's second studio album, was released on October 31, 2011. Florence's "obsession with drowning" is represented in the album by repeated water images. It debuted on the UK Albums Chart and at number six on the US Billboard 200 and at number one. Florence and the Machine were nominated for two British Awards on January 12th, 2012, with the awards ceremony taking place on February 21, 2012 at the O2 Arena in London. The band released "Breath of Life" on April 26, 2012, the band's official theme song for the fantasy film Snow White and the Huntsman. Calvin Harris' remix of "Spectrum" by Scottish musician Calvin Harris became Ceremonials' fourth single on July 5, becoming the band's first UK number one hit. When the band finished touring in September 2012, welch expressed excitement about putting new music together for a new album. During the VH1 Divas Celebrates Soul concert held in December 2011, Welch led a tribute to Amy Winehouse by performing "Back to Black" and the Annie Lennox-classic Walking on Broken Glass. The group appeared in Times Square on December 31st for the 40th annual Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve special.

In October 2012, she appeared 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 top-one. The song is Harris' third studio album 18 Months, and it is the album's fifth single. "Sweet Nothing" also ranked as number one in Ireland and number two in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, "Sweet Nothing" was rated Platinum. At the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, "Sweet Nothing" was nominated for Best Dance Recording.

Florence performed "Gimme Shelter" at the O2 Arena in London on November 29, 2012. Mick Jagger's appearance was described as "sexy" and "electrifying" in terms.

Florence and the Machine's third album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful, which was released on June 1, 2015, was released in February 2015. In several countries, including the United States, Australia, and Canada, the album debuted at number one. The record saw two top-40 hits and three Grammy nominations, as well as three Grammy nominations.

During June 2015, Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters broke his leg on stage ahead of his band's forthcoming Glastonbury Festival headline appearance, causing Florence and the Machine to be the headline band. On June 26, 2015, they headlined the festival for the first time.

Lady Gaga, an American singer, revealed that she and Florence had recorded a song together in September 2016. "Hey Girl," the track, which was later released on Gaga's fifth album Joanne, was included in the Gaga's fifth album Joanne. In Gaga's Netflix film Gaga: Five Foot Two (2017), footage of their studio session was included.

Welch appeared in Terrence Malick's film Song to Song in March 2017.

Welch's "To Be Human" was a song on the Wonder Woman soundtrack in May 2017. The song is co-written by Rick Nowels and performed on Sia and Labrinth's soundtrack.

Florence and the Machine released "Sky Full of Song" and a YouTube video accompanied by AG Rojas on April 12, 2018. On April 21, the song was released on Record Store Day, which supports brick and mortar record stores; a limited edition 7" vinyl was also available. In addition, "Hunger" was released in 2018. High as Hope, Florence and the Machine's fourth studio album, was released on June 29, 2018.

During the Rolling Stones' No Filter Tour, Florence Welch performed a duet with Mick Jagger at London Stadium on May 22nd. They sang "Wild Horses."

Welch's first book Useless Magic: Lyrics and Poetry was published in July 2018. The book features her lyrics and poetry, as well as related artwork from the time of her first album Lungs to her 2018 release High as Hope.

Welch's daughter, The Great Gatsby, will be written by and composer Thomas Bartlett, F. Scott Fitzgerald's memoir, with writer Thomas Bartlett co-writing the book and Rebecca Frecknall directing.

It was announced in January 2022 that the band would headline a few summer festivals, sparking several people's rumors that Welch's fifth studio album may not be released until the first semester of 2022.

Some lucky followers started receiving medieval-style tarot cards by the end of February, with the words "King" and "Florence + the Machine" printed on them. Welch's most recent (by Autumn de Wilde) single "King" and a accompanying music video were released on February 23, 2022.

The second single was released on March 7, 2022, with a music video directed by de Wilde.

Welch's fifth studio album, Dance Fever, will be released on March 9, 2022, and she's called "A fairytale in 14 songs" on her Instagram account.

"My Love" was the third single to be released on March 10, 2022, as well as a fall de Wilde's music video. The single premiered on BBC Radio 1's morning show "Breakfast with Greg James" where Welch was the special guest and announced the release date of their forthcoming album Dance Fever, which was released on May 13th 2022.

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