Florence and the Machine

Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine at Brixton Academy in London, 13 December 2009
Background information
Origin	London, England
Genres	Indie pop, indie rock, art rock, baroque pop, soul, experimental
Years active	2007–present
Labels	Moshi Moshi, IAMSOUND, Island
Members	Florence Welch Robert Ackroyd Christopher Lloyd Hayden Isabella Summers Tom Monger Mark Saunders
Website	florenceandthemachine.net

Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) is the recording name of English musician Florence Welch and a collaboration of other artists who provide backing music for her voice. Florence and the Machine's sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including rock and soul. The band's music received praise across the music media, especially from the BBC, before they gained mainstream success. Specifically, the BBC played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of BBC Introducing.

The band's debut album, Lungs, was released on 6 July 2009, and held the number-two position for its first five weeks on the UK Albums Chart. On 17 January 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for twenty-eight consecutive weeks. The album has been in the top forty in the United Kingdom for sixty-five consecutive weeks, making it one of the best-selling albums of 2009 and 2010.

Lungs won the MasterCard British Album award at the 2010 BRIT Awards. At the 53rd Grammy Awards, Florence and the Machine was nominated for Best New Artist. Additionally, the band performed at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards and the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert.

Members

Florence Welch

Florence Leontine Mary Welch (born 28 August 1986 in South London) is the daughter of Evelyn Welch, a Harvard-educated Professor of Renaissance Studies and Academic Dean of Arts at Queen Mary, University of London, and Nick Welch, an advertising executive. Evelyn is also the niece of the satirist Craig Brown. Nick contributed a "rock and roll element to the family mix"; in his 20s he used to live in the West End squat and attended the Squatters' Ball organised by Heathcote Williams where The 101ers played regularly. Himself a self-confessed "frustrated performer", if Nick, as he put it, "nudged Flo in any way it's only been to listen to The Ramones rather than Green Day". Evelyn had an equally strong, even if completely different influence on her daughter. A visit to one of her mother's lectures left teenage Florence deeply impressed. She explained, "I aspire to something like that but with music. I hope that my music has some of the big themes—sex, death, love, violence—that will still be part of the human story in 200 years' time."

Florence was educated at Thomas's London Day School then went onto Alleyn's School, South East London, where she did well academically. Welch often got in trouble in school for impromptu singing. Welch has been diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia. Following her meteoric rise to fame, she suffered a bout of depression. Upon leaving school, Florence studied at Camberwell College of Arts before dropping out to focus on her music. Welch's fascination with terror and doom was intensified by the death of her grandparents within a few years of each other. At the age 10 Welch witnessed her grandfather's deterioration, and her maternal grandmother, also an art historian, committed suicide when Welch was 14. When Welch was 13 years old, she and her mother moved in with their next door neighbour and his three teenage children. According to Welch: "We get on brilliantly now, but it was a nightmare then. I just used to stay in my room and dance around."

Welch contributed vocals to David Byrne and Fatboy Slim's 2010 album Here Lies Love, an album about Imelda Marcos. Welch has been dating boyfriend Stuart Hammond since 2008; their temporary split provided inspiration for much of the Lungs album. When discussing her fashion style, Welch said that, "For the stage, it's Lady of Charlotte [sic] meets Ophelia...mixed with scary gothic bat lady. But in real life I'm kind of prim."

As of January 2011, Welch was working with Drake on material slated for his upcoming record.

Backing band

Florence and the Machine performing at Terminal 5 in New York City, 1 November 2010

The Machine is the name attributed to her teenage collaboration with Isabella "Machine" Summers. Welch and Summers performed together for a time under the name Florence Robot/Isa Machine. Later, this was shortened to Florence and the Machine as it was felt to be too cumbersome. Welch continued using this name for her band even when Summers parted company with her for a time, although Summers later returned to become her regular keyboard player.

Like most solo singers, Welch relies on a regular line up of musicians to support her in live shows. The current line-up includes musicians Robert Ackroyd (guitar and backing vocals), Chris Hayden (drums and percussion), Isabella Summers (keyboards and backing vocals), Mark Saunders (bass guitar) and Tom Monger (harp). In the past, Welch has praised the Machine for understanding her creative process, claiming, "I've worked with most of them for a long time and they know my style, know the way I write, they know what I want."

Biography

Early years

According to Welch, "The name Florence and the Machines 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 realising that name was so long it'd drive me mad." In 2006, Welch's performances with 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". She signed a contract for Ashok with a manager, but feeling that she was "in the wrong band" she resigned, which cancelled the contract. Florence and the Machine are managed by Mairead Nash (one half of the DJ duo Queens of Noize), who decided to manage the singer when an inebriated Welch followed Nash into the toilets at a club and sang Etta James' 1962 song "Something's Got a Hold on Me".

2008–10: Lungs

Florence and the Machine released their debut album Lungs in the United Kingdom on 6 July 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 6 August 2009, the album had sold over 100,000 copies in the UK and by 10 August it had been at number two for five consecutive weeks. Following its 25 July 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. Much of the material on the album was written as reaction to what turned out to be a temporary break-up with Welch's current boyfriend. Welch says, "He prefers me not to talk about it. It's funny then singing about it."

"Kiss with a Fist" was released as the album's lead single on 9 June 2008. The track was featured on the soundtrack to the films Wild Child, Jennifer's Body, and St. Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold, as well as in the television series 90210 and Saving Grace. Follow-up single "Dog Days Are Over", released on 1 December 2008, was recorded with no instruments in a studio the "size of a loo". The song was used in the American television series Gossip Girl, Community and Covert Affairs, in the British television series Skins, and in the theatrical trailer for the 2010 comedy-drama film Eat Pray Love, starring Julia Roberts. "Dog Days Are Over" was also featured in the Glee episode "Special Education", where it was covered by Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley. "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" was released on 22 June 2009 as the third single from the album. Part of the song's melody, as well as the lyric "How quickly the glamour fades", were lifted from New York band Gang Gang Dance's 2008 song "House Jam" without credit on the Lungs liner notes. Members of group noticed this and brought it to the attention of Florence and the Machine's label. Island Records acknowledged infringement and agreed to pay Gang Gang Dance a share of the song's publishing royalties. Welch agreed that she erred and said her intent was to pay homage.

After the release of Lungs, "Drumming Song" and a cover of The Source and Candi Staton's 1986 song "You've Got the Love" were released as singles, the latter of which also went on to become part of a mashup titled "You Got the Dirtee Love" between Welch and English rapper Dizzee Rascal. The two performed the mashup together at the 2010 BRIT Awards on 16 February 2010 and the recorded performance was subsequently released as a single the following day.

On 5 January 2010, "Hurricane Drunk" was originally announced as the next single from the album. However, on 3 March a re-release of "Dog Days Are Over" was announced on the band's website; it was released digitally on 11 April 2010 and on 7" vinyl the following day, coinciding with the release of a brand-new video. "Cosmic Love" was released on 5 July 2010 as the sixth and final single from Lungs, with a music video having already been shot. The song was featured in several American television shows, including Grey's Anatomy, The Vampire Diaries, V, Nikita and So You Think You Can Dance. The band also made a guest appearance in the 7 February 2011 episode of Gossip Girl, titled "Panic Roommate", where they performed an acoustic rendition of "Cosmic Love". On 12 May 2010, it was announced that Florence and the Machine would provide a track called "Heavy in Your Arms" for the soundtrack to The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, the third film of The Twilight Saga. Eclipse was released in cinemas on 30 June 2010, with "Heavy in Your Arms" playing during the end credits. The music video followed on 7 July 2010.

2011–present: Lungs

In the NME magazine issue dated 22 March 2010, Welch revealed further details about the band's second album. She confirmed she had been in the studio for "a two-week stint" with producer Paul Epworth. She claims that much of the inspiration for the second album has been scientific because "a lot of her family are doctors or trying to become doctors, so much of her conversations are fixated on medical stuff." The stint in the studio resulted in two tracks being completed and a new sound being discovered. She revealed that one track that will feature on the album is called "Strangeness and Charm", which she describes as "about seven minutes long and pretty relentless". She debuted the song on 2 May 2010 at the Olympia Theatre in Dublin, Ireland, during their Cosmic Love Tour. Welch described the new sound as "dancey, but it's also dark as well", and explained that it also featured "relentless drums and heavy, droning bass."

In an interview with the Gibson website on 17 February 2011, guitarist Rob Ackroyd stated, "Work on the second album has begun with Paul Epworth and there is talk of booking out Abbey Road for a month in April/May to record." In June 2011, Epworth told BBC 6 Music that the album would probably be finished "by the end of July" and described the sound as "a lot less indie and lot more soulful". He also indicated that there were sixteen songs up for inclusion on the album, but that this would be reduced upon the time of release.

The group recorded a cover of Buddy Holly's classic "Not Fade Away" for Rave On Buddy Holly, a tribute album tied to Holly's seventy-fifth birthday year, which was released 28 June 2011.

American R&B singer Beyoncé cited Florence and the Machine as an influence for her fourth studio album 4.

During their North American tour, Florence and the Machine debuted a new song titled "What the Water Gave Me" at the Greek Theatre in Berkeley, California on 12 June 2011. On 23 August 2011, "What the Water Gave Me" was released on iTunes as the lead single from the band's second album, along with an accompanying video on their VEVO channel on YouTube. The album, which is yet to be titled, will be released on 7 November 2011.

The music video for "What The Water Gave Me", the first single off of Florence and the Machine's second album Lungs, was released on August 23, 2011 via their Youtube Vevo channel.

Performances

See also: Lungs Tour

Florence and the Machine performing at the O2 ABC Glasgow during their Lungs Tour

Florence and the Machine burst onto the London scene playing a handful of gigs in and around London for the likes of The Lock Tavern, Blue Flowers and Filthy Fews. In August 2007, the band performed at the debut year of the 1-2-3-4 Shoreditch Festival, performing alongside LightSpeed Champion on the MySpace Main Stage which was hosted by manager Nash's DJ double act, Queens of Noize. In May 2008, they supported MGMT on tour in Europe. The BBC played a large part in Florence and the Machine's rise to prominence by promoting her as part of BBC Introducing. This led to them playing music festivals in 2008, including Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds and Bestival. Florence and the Machine were also part of the Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2009 in January and February.

The group played the Concerts for Teenage Cancer Trust charity event at the Royal Albert Hall in March 2009. Florence and The Machine supported Blur for their 26 June comeback performance at the M.E.N. Arena in Manchester. They played at the Lovebox Festival on 18 and 19 July. In July 2009, the group was supporting Duran Duran. They performed at the Glastonbury Festival 2009, the Reading and Leeds 2009, Electric Picnic 2009 and T in the Park 2009.

Florence and the Machine played at Australia's Splendour in the Grass music festival in July 2010. The group drew one of the biggest crowds of the three-day festival. They performed in the natural open-air amphitheater, which had to be closed off by security due to safety concerns as an unprecedented number of festivalgoers rushed to see the performance. It is estimated that 28,000 people of the 33,000 people that attended the festival crammed in to see Florence and the Machine. The amphitheater was reopened shortly after the start, once the safety fear was over. In October 2009, the band's equipment and instruments were caught in a trailer fire during their European tour, forcing the band to use rented instruments to complete their remaining shows. Welch stated, "You could hear the harp's strings ping in the fire. Strange sound. We recorded it and I want to use it in a song."

On 27 October 2009, Florence and the Machine played their first official New York City gig at the Bowery Ballroom, and performed "Kiss with a Fist" on The Late Show with David Letterman. On 5 November, the band performed "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Welch stated although she would like to tour the United States, she is fearful of becoming homesick due to the time it would take to tour the country.

After the success of Lungs topping the UK Albums Chart in January 2010, seven months after the album was released, Florence and the Machine announced an eleven-date UK and Ireland tour called The Cosmic Love Tour in May 2010. Support acts include Babe Shadow and The Drums. Florence and the Machine performed at Oxegen 2010, T in the Park 2010, the Isle of Wight Festival 2010, Roskilde Festival 2010, V Festival 2010, and the San Miguel Primavera Sound 2010. In March 2010, it was that confirmed that the band's first headlining festival would be Latitude 2010, having been booked the previous September before achieving mainstream success.

The Cosmic Love Tour kicked off at Dublin's Olympia Theatre on 2 May 2010—where the group debuted a new song called "Strangeness and Charm"—and ended at London's Hammersmith Apollo on 15 May 2010. On 25 June, the group played the Glastonbury Festival 2010, where they performed "Strangeness and Charm" and a cover of Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain" during their ten-song set. Their performance drew one of the biggest crowds of the day and one of the biggest in the Other Stage's history.

Welch and Dizzee Rascal's performance of a mashup version of the band's single "You've Got the Love" and Dizzee's single "Dirtee Cash", titled "You Got the Dirtee Love", at the 2010 BRIT Awards on 16 February 2010 was described as "a definite highlight of the evening". This collaboration was released as a charity single the following day, peaking at number two on the UK Singles Chart. She reprised the performance when she joined Dizzee on stage during his performance at the Glastonbury Festival 2010. Florence and the Machine opened for U2 on the North American leg of their U2 360° Tour in June and July 2011.

International appearances solo and as a group

Florence and the Machine performing at Terminal 5 in New York City, 1 November 2010

In an interview with New York Post's PopWrap, Welch revealed that, in the weeks and months prior to her 12 September performance at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards, was so nervous she lost sleep and cried. In addition, she struggled during the pre-show rehearsal with a move that required her to stand up. The performance was directed by So You Think You Can Dance choreographer Travis Wall and had Welch performing with a host of hyperactive dancers. It was described as "both ethereal and downright joyous". After the performance, Lungs rose to number two on the iTunes albums chart and "Dog Days Are Over" rose to number nine on the iTunes singles chart. In addition, Florence and the Machine became the number-one search on Google and received 1,700 tweets per minute and Twitter. Florence and the Machine performed "Dogs Days Are Over" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on 15 October 2010. On 20 November 2010, the band performed "Dog Days Are Over" and "You've Got the Love" on Saturday Night Live. They performed an online-only concert at New York City's Ed Sullivan Theater on 16 December 2010 as part of the Live on Letterman concert series. Welch and a number of other female singers opened the 53rd Grammy Awards on 13 February 2011 with a tribute to an ailing Aretha Franklin. On 27 February 2011, Welch replaced a 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. An exclusive remix of "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" is featured in the 2011 video game Dragon Age II as "I'm Not Calling You a Liar (Dragon Age II: Varric's Theme)", produced by the game's composer Inon Zur.

Response from critics

Florence and the Machine won the Critic's Choice Award at the 2009 BRIT Awards after coming third in the BBC's Sound of 2009 poll. As well as attention from the BBC, the band received significant support from NME magazine, who included them on their annual Shockwaves NME Awards Tour for 2009, along with Glasvegas, Friendly Fires and White Lies.

The Sunday Times described Welch as "the most peculiar and most highly acclaimed female singer of the moment" and "the latest in a line of great English pop eccentrics". Allmusic referred to Lungs as "one of the most musically mature and emotionally mesmerizing albums of 2009". Spin magazine rated Lungs eight out of ten and wrote, "You've gotta hand it to the girl: She always makes you feel something." The magazine named it the eighth best album of 2009. In December 2010, Florence and the Machine appeared on one of Spin's three holiday issue covers as Artist of the Year.

Florence and the Machine won the MasterCard British Album award for Lungs at the 2010 BRIT Awards, having also been nominated for British Female Solo Artist and British Breakthrough Act. On 19 February 2010, Florence and the Machine won Best International Band at the 2010 Meteor Awards. The group led the nominations for the 2010 MOJO Awards, with four nods. They received a nomination for Best New Artist at the 53rd Grammy Awards. In April 2011, Florence and the Machine were ranked number fifty-one in the 2011 Time 100 poll, which annually lists the 100 most influential people in the world.

Discography

Main article: Florence and the Machine discography

• Lungs (2009)

Awards and nominations

Year	Organisation	Nominated work	Award	Result
2009	BBC Sound of 2009	Florence and the Machine	Sound of 2009	Nominated Third place
	BRIT Awards		Critic's Choice Award	Won
	Mercury Prize	Lungs	Mercury Prize	Nominated
	Studio8 Media International Music Award	Florence and the Machine	Female Voice of July 2009	Won
		"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"	Song of July 2009	Won
	MTV Europe Music Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best UK and Ireland New Act	Nominated
	Q Awards	Lungs	Best Album	Nominated
		"Drumming Song"	Best Video	Nominated
		Florence and the Machine	Breakthrough Artist	Nominated
	UK Festival Awards		Best Breakthrough Act	Won
		"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"	Anthem of the Year	Nominated
		Florence and the Machine	Festival Fitty of the Year – Girls	Nominated
	UK Music Video Awards	"Drumming Song"	Best Pop Video	Nominated
			Best Styling in a Video	Won
		"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"		Nominated
2010	South Bank Show	Florence and the Machine	South Bank Show Award	Won
	BRIT Awards		British Female Solo Artist	Nominated
			British Breakthrough Act	Nominated
		Lungs	MasterCard British Album	Won
	Glamour Women of the Year Awards	Florence and The Machine	Band of The Year	Won
	Meteor Music Awards	Lungs	Best International Album	Nominated
		Florence and the Machine	Best International Band	Won
			Best International Live Performance	Nominated
	Elle Style Awards		Musician of the Year	Won
	Shockwaves NME Awards		Best Solo Artist	Nominated
		"Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)"	Best Track	Nominated
		"You've Got the Love"	Best Dancefloor Filler	Nominated
		Florence Welch	Best Dressed	Nominated
	MOJO Awards	Florence and the Machine	Breakthrough Act	Nominated
			Best Live Act	Nominated
		"You've Got the Love"	Song of the Year	Nominated
		Lungs	Best Album	Nominated
	MTV Video Music Awards	"Dog Days Are Over"	Video of the Year	Nominated
			Best Rock Video	Nominated
			Best Art Direction in a Video	Won
			Best Cinematography in a Video	Nominated
	BT Digital Music Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Female Artist	Nominated
		"You've Got the Love"	Best Song	Nominated
	Q Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Female	Won
		"You've Got the Love"	Best Song	Won
	UK Music Video Awards	"Dog Days Are Over"	Best Pop Video	Nominated
			Best Styling in a Video	Nominated
	UK Festival Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Anthem of the Year	Won
		Florence and the machine	Feel-Good Act of the Summer	Nominated
	4Music Video Honours	"Dog Days Are Over"	Best Video of 2010	Nominated
	European Festival Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Anthem of the Year	Nominated
		Florence and the Machine	Best Newcomer	Won
2011	Grammy Awards		Best New Artist	Nominated
	Virgin Media Music Awards		Hottest Women	Nominated
		Florence and the Machine with Dizzee Rascal	Best Collaboration	Nominated
		"Dog Days Are Over"	Best Video	Nominated
		Florence Welch	Best Live Act	Nominated
			Shameless Publicity Seeker	Nominated
	BRIT Awards	"You've Got the Love"	Best British Single	Nominated
	Shockwaves NME Awards	Florence and the Machine	Best Solo Artist	Nominated
	International Dance Music Awards	"Dog Days Are Over" (Yeasayer Remix)	Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track	Nominated
		Florence and the Machine	Best Break-Through Artist (Group)	Nominated
	Glamour Women of the Year Awards		Best Band	Nominated
	Billboard Music Awards	"Dog Days Are Over"	Top Rock Song	Nominated
			Top Alternative Song	Nominated

External links

• Official website
• Florence and the Machine at AllMusic
• Florence and the Machine at IMDb