Florence Machine (Florence Welch)
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Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band formed in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
in 2007 by lead vocalist
Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch
(born 28 ...
, keyboardist
Isabella Summers Isabella Janet Florentina Summers (born 31 October 1980) is an English Emmy-nominated film composer, songwriter/producer and musician. She is best known as the architect of the sound of the six-time Grammy nominated indie rock band Florence and ...
, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, drummer Christopher Lloyd Hayden and harpist Tom Monger. The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
played a large part in their rise to prominence by promoting Florence and the Machine as part of ''
BBC Music Introducing BBC Music Introducing is BBC Radio's platform supporting unsigned, undiscovered, and under-the-radar UK music talent. The backbone of that network consists of 32 BBC local radio shows on stations across England and the Channel Islands, various ...
''. At the
2009 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2009 was the 29th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court in London, and was broadcast live on ITV on 18 February at 8pm (GMT). Duffy became the first femal ...
, they received the Brit Awards "Critics' Choice" award. The band's debut studio album, ''
Lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...
'', was released on 3 July 2009, and held the number-two position for its first five weeks on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
. On 17 January 2010, the album reached the top position, after being on the chart for twenty-eight consecutive weeks. As of October 2010, the album had 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. The group's second studio album, ''
Ceremonials ''Ceremonials'' is the second studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 28 October 2011 by Island Records. The band started working on the album in 2010 and finished it in 2011. The standard edition of ...
'', released in October 2011, entered the charts at number one in the UK and number six in the US. The band's third studio album, ''
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful ''How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'' is the third studio album by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released on 29 May 2015 by Island Records. After her year-long break from music, the lead vocalist, Florence Welch, returne ...
'', was released on 2 June 2015. It topped the UK charts, and debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, their first to do so."Florence + the Machine scores third No 1 album in the UK"
. ''The Guardian''. Retrieved 27 July 2015
The album reached number one in a total of eight countries and the top ten of twenty. Also in 2015, the band was the headlining act at
Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
, making Welch the first British female headliner of the 21st century. The band's music features dramatic, eccentric production and Welch's powerful vocals. Their sound has been described as a combination of various genres, including
rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
and
soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
. ''Lungs'' (2009) won the Brit Award for Best British Album in 2010. Florence and the Machine have been nominated for six
Grammy Awards The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...
including
Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...
and
Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...
. Additionally, the band performed at the
2010 MTV Video Music Awards The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MTV ...
and the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Concert.


History


2007–2010: Formation and ''Lungs''

The name of Florence and the Machine is attributed to
Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch
(born 28 ...
's teenage collaboration with Isabella "Machine" Summers. Welch and Summers performed together for a time under the name Florence Robot/Isa Machine. According to Welch, "The name Florence and the Machine 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 Is A Machine', before realising that name was so long it'd drive me mad." In addition to Summers (keyboards), the current band members include musicians Robert Ackroyd (guitar), Chris Hayden (drums, percussion and backing vocals), Mark Saunders (bass guitar and percussion) and Tom Monger (harp). In the past, Welch has praised her band 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." 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 "Kiss with a Fist" is the debut single by indie rock band Florence and the Machine, taken from their debut studio album ''Lungs'' (2009). The single was released through Moshi Moshi Records on 9 June 2008 in the UK and was then released four mo ...
", which at this point was titled "Happy Slap". Florence and the Machine released their first album ''
Lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...
'' in the Netherlands and Ireland on 3 July 2009. The album was produced by James Ford,
Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...
,
Steve Mackey Stephen Patrick Mackey (10 November 1966 – 2 March 2023) was an English musician and record producer best known as the bass guitarist for the Britpop band Pulp, which he joined in 1989. As a record producer, he produced songs and albums by ...
,
Isabella Summers Isabella Janet Florentina Summers (born 31 October 1980) is an English Emmy-nominated film composer, songwriter/producer and musician. She is best known as the architect of the sound of the six-time Grammy nominated indie rock band Florence and ...
and Charlie Hugall. The album was officially launched with a set at the
Rivoli Ballroom The Rivoli Ballroom is the only intact 1950s ballroom remaining in London, England. It is famed for its original decor and interior fittings, including red velvet, flock wallpaper, chandeliers, glitter balls and oversized Chinese lanterns. The ...
in
Brockley Brockley is a district and an wards of the United Kingdom, electoral ward of south London, England, in the London Borough of Lewisham south-east of Charing Cross. It has been named the best area of London to live in. It is an area rich in Vi ...
, 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 more than 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 entered the charts at number seventeen on the ''Billboard''
Heatseekers Albums The Heatseekers charts were "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. The Heatseekers Albums and the Heatseekers Songs charts were introduced by ''Billboard'' in 1991 with the purpose of highlighting the sales b ...
chart, ultimately peaking at number one. The album was released physically in the US on 20 October by
Universal Republic Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...
. "
Kiss with a Fist "Kiss with a Fist" is the debut single by indie rock band Florence and the Machine, taken from their debut studio album ''Lungs'' (2009). The single was released through Moshi Moshi Records on 9 June 2008 in the UK and was then released four mo ...
" was released as the album's
lead single A lead single (or first single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. A similar term, "debut ...
on 9 June 2008. The track was featured on the soundtrack to the films '' Wild Child'' (2008), ''
Jennifer's Body ''Jennifer's Body'' is a 2009 American comedy horror film directed by Karyn Kusama and written by Diablo Cody. Starring Megan Fox, Amanda Seyfried, Johnny Simmons, J. K. Simmons, Amy Sedaris, and Adam Brody, the film follows Jennifer Chec ...
'' (2009), and '' St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold'' (2009), as well as in the television series '' 90210'', ''
Community A community is a social unit (a group of people) with a shared socially-significant characteristic, such as place, set of norms, culture, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given g ...
'' and '' Saving Grace''. Follow-up single "
Dog Days Are Over "Dog Days Are Over" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their debut album ''Lungs'' (2009). It was originally scheduled for release on 24 November 2008 through Moshi Moshi Records in the UK as the album's second ...
", 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 ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'', ''
Covert Affairs ''Covert Affairs'' is an American action drama television series filmed in Toronto, Canada, starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham that premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. On January 6, 2015, USA Network canceled ''Covert Affairs'' afte ...
'', in the British television series '' Skins'', and in the theatrical trailer for the 2010 comedy-drama film ''
Eat Pray Love ''Eat Pray Love'' is a 2010 American biographical romantic drama film starring Julia Roberts as Elizabeth Gilbert, based on Gilbert's 2006 memoir of the same name. Ryan Murphy co-wrote and directed the film, which was released in the United ...
'', starring
Julia Roberts Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American actress. Known for her leading roles across various genres, she has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and three Golden Globe Award ...
. "Dog Days Are Over" was also featured in the ''
Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...
'' episode "
Special Education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...
", where it was covered by
Jenna Ushkowitz Jenna Noelle Ushkowitz (; born April 28, 1986), Korean given name Min Ji (), is an American actress, singer, producer and podcast host. She is known for her performances in Broadway musicals such as ''The King and I'' and ''Waitress'' and in th ...
and
Amber Riley Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) sometimes known mononymously as Riley (stylized in all caps), is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series ''Glee'' (2009 ...
. "
Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up) "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their debut studio album ''Lungs (album), Lungs'' (2009). It was released as the album's third Single (music), single on June 21, 2009, by Island Re ...
" was released on 22 June 2009 as the third single from the album. After the release of ''Lungs'', "
Drumming Song "Drumming Song" is a song by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. The song was released on Island Records on 13 September 2009 in the UK as the fourth single from the band's first album ''Lungs''. The song was the band's secon ...
" and a cover of
the Source The Source may refer to: Film and television * ''The Source'' (1918 film), 1918 American drama directed by George Melford * ''The Source'' (1999 film), a 1999 documentary film about the Beat generation * ''The Source'' (2002 film), a 2002 scienc ...
and
Candi Staton Canzetta Maria "Candi" Staton (, ) (born March 13, 1940) is an American singer–songwriter, best known in the United States for her 1970 cover of Tammy Wynette's " Stand by Your Man" and her 1976 disco chart-topper " Young Hearts Run Free". In E ...
's 1986 song "
You've Got the Love "You Got the Love" is a song by British songwriting team the Source featuring American singer-songwriter Candi Staton. Originally released in 1986, the song was remixed and re-released in 1991, 1997, and 2006. It has reached number three on the ...
" were released as singles. "
Cosmic Love "Cosmic Love" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their debut studio album ''Lungs'' (2009). The song was written by the band's lead singer Florence Welch and keyboardist Isabella Summers, and produced by Paul Epw ...
" 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 ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'', ''
The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...
'', '' V'', ''
Nikita Nikita may refer to: * Nikita (given name), people with the given name, including variants * Nikita, Crimea, a town in Ukraine * Nikita the Tanner, a character in East Slavic folklore Film and television *''Little Nikita'', a 1988 film * ''La Femm ...
'' and ''
So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and has ...
''. The band also made a guest appearance on 7 February 2011 episode of ''
Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...
'', 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 "Heavy in Your Arms" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 14 November 2010 as the third single from the The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (soundtrack), soundtrack of the 2010 film ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse ...
" for the soundtrack to ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'', the third film of '' The Twilight Saga''. ''
Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...
'' 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. An exclusive remix of "I'm Not Calling You a Liar" is featured in the 2011 video game ''
Dragon Age II ''Dragon Age II'' is a 2011 Action role-playing game, action role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts (EA). It is the second major game in the ''Dragon Age'' series and the successor to ''Dragon Age: Origins ...
'' as "I'm Not Calling You a Liar (Dragon Age II: Varric's Theme)", produced by the game's composer
Inon Zur Inon Zur (, ) is an Israeli-born American composer of soundtracks for film, television, and video games. He has composed soundtracks for over 80 video games, which include '' Dragon Age'', '' EverQuest'', '' Fallout'', '' Prince of Persia'', ''S ...
.


2011–2013: ''Ceremonials''

The first demo session occurred in January 2010 with Welch and
Paul Epworth Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member of th ...
at a small London studio. Numerous producers expressed an interest in working on the album but Welch rejected the offers because she wanted ''Ceremonials'' to be a better version of ''Lungs'' with a "more dark, more heavy, bigger drum sounds, bigger bass, but with more of a whole sound". For the rest of the year work on the album continued only intermittently as the band concentrated on an extensive tour of the US, where ''Lungs'' had become popular. The majority of the writing for the album was done between January and April 2011, with recording taking place in April at
Abbey Road Studios Abbey Road Studios (formerly EMI Recording Studios) is a music recording studio at 3 Abbey Road, London, Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of ...
. Refinement took place at Epworth's own London studios while Welch recorded vocal tracks in various US studios, during days off from touring. The final recording session took place in July at Epworth's studio. Epworth co-wrote seven tracks. Several other British writers share credits on the album, including Summers,
Kid Harpoon Thomas Edward Percy Hull (born 20 April 1982), known professionally as Kid Harpoon, is a British songwriter, record producer, and musician. In 2023, he won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the Brit Award for Songwriter of the Year for ...
, James Ford and composer
Eg White Francis Anthony "Eg" White (born 22 November 1966) is a British musician, songwriter and producer. He started his career in the cowpunk band Yip Yip Coyote in the 1980s and then formed Brother Beyond with his brother, David White, in the late ...
. In June 2011, a cover of the
Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer, songwriter, and musician who was a central and pioneering figure of rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texa ...
song " Not Fade Away", which Florence and the Machine recorded for the tribute album '' Rave On Buddy Holly'' tied to Holly's seventy-fifth birthday year, was released and they performed ''Ceremonials'' setup track " What the Water Gave Me" at the
Greek Theatre A theatrical culture flourished in ancient Greece from 700 BC. At its centre was the city-state of Athens, which became a significant cultural, political, and religious place during this period, and the theatre was institutionalised there as par ...
in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
. In August 2011, the single "What the Water Gave Me" was released on
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
along with an accompanying video on the band's website and YouTube channel. The video drew 1.5 million
YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...
views in two days and the track received play on US alternative radio with strong support from
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
radio station
KROQ KROQ-FM (106.7 MHz) is a commercial radio station licensed to Pasadena, California, serving Greater Los Angeles. Owned by Audacy, Inc., it broadcasts an alternative rock format known as "The World Famous KROQ" (pronounced "kay-rock"). The sta ...
. The single "
Shake It Out "Shake It Out" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released as the first official single from their second studio album, ''Ceremonials'' (2011). It was written by Florence Welch and Paul Epworth, while production was ...
" was released over the internet in September 2011, with standard release 11 October. In Australia, the song was playlisted at
Triple J Triple J is an Australian government-funded national radio station founded in 1975 as a division of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). It aims to appeal to young listeners of alternative music, and plays far more Australian conten ...
and
Nova A nova ( novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. All observed novae involve white ...
radio networks and received strong airplay in Scandinavia, Italy and Canada. The band's second studio album, ''
Ceremonials ''Ceremonials'' is the second studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 28 October 2011 by Island Records. The band started working on the album in 2010 and finished it in 2011. The standard edition of ...
'', was released on 28 October 2011. It reached number one on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and number six on the US ''Billboard'' 200. On 12 January 2012, Florence and the Machine were nominated for two Brit Awards, Best British Female Artist and British Album of the Year, with the
awards ceremony An awards ceremony is a type of ceremony where awards are given out. The ceremony may be arranged by a government organization, a society, a school, a trade association or even a company that specializes in running awards ceremonies. Typically a m ...
taking place on 21 February 2012 at
the O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as The O2, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of The O2 entertainment district on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London, England. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the third-highest seat ...
, London. On 26 April 2012, the band released " Breath of Life", a song that was recorded as the official theme song for the film ''
Snow White and the Huntsman ''Snow White & the Huntsman'' is a 2012 American fantasy film, fantasy action film, action-adventure film, adventure film based on the German fairy tale "Snow White" compiled by the Brothers Grimm. Produced by Roth/Kirschenbaum Films, Roth Films ...
''. On 5 July 2012, a remix of "
Spectrum (Say My Name) "Spectrum" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their second studio album ''Ceremonials'' (2011). It was written by lead singer Florence Welch and Paul Epworth with production being handled by Epworth. The band pre ...
" by Scottish musician
Calvin Harris Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...
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 studio album after the band finishes touring at the end of September 2012. Welch collaborated for a second time with Harris on the song " Sweet Nothing", released on 12 October 2012 as a single from Harris's third studio album ''
18 Months ''18 Months'' is the third studio album by Scottish DJ and musician Calvin Harris. It was released on 26 October 2012 by Deconstruction, Fly Eye and Columbia Records. It marked Harris's first album to not feature him on vocals, instead focusing ...
'' (2012). The song entered at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming their second collaborative number-one single. In mid-2012, it was announced that Universal Republic Records was going defunct, moving all artists including Florence and the Machine to
Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...
making the label itself revived. In late August 2012, Welch told ''
Style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...
'' magazine that she plans to take a twelve-month hiatus before starting work on the band's next studio album, stating, "There's a big 'take a year off' plan. The record company have put no pressure on me for the next album. They've said I can have as long as I want." In December 2012, Florence and the Machine were nominated for
Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...
for ''Ceremonials'' and
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this categ ...
for "Shake It Out" at the
54th Annual Grammy Awards The 54th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 12, 2012, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles being broadcast on CBS honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2010 through September 30, 2011. LL Cool J hosted ...
. On 4 April 2013, it was announced that Florence and the Machine had written a song for
Baz Luhrmann Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music, and the recording industries. He is regarded by ...
's film rendition of ''
The Great Gatsby ''The Great Gatsby'' () is a 1925 novel by American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald. Set in the Jazz Age on Long Island, near New York City, the novel depicts first-person narrator Nick Carraway's interactions with Jay Gatsby, a mysterious mi ...
'' (2013), titled " Over the Love", which was released on 17 April 2013 on
SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
.


2014–2016: ''How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful''

On 4 June 2014, Welch told ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' that the band's third studio album was in the works. In January 2015, a fansite posted a photo showing Florence and the Machine's upcoming album being mixed in a recording studio. On 9 February, the band played all the songs from the new album in full, among them "Ship to Wreck", "Caught", "Delilah" and the album's first single, " What Kind of Man" in a private London show. The next day, on 10 February, the band released a short music video for the title track of their 20215 studio album, ''
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful ''How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'' is the third studio album by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released on 29 May 2015 by Island Records. After her year-long break from music, the lead vocalist, Florence Welch, returne ...
'', which also acted as the official album teaser, directed by
Tabitha Denholm Tabitha Denholm (born 14 January 1975) is a British director of music videos, documentary shorts and commercials. Denholm was a member of DJ duo Queens of Noize and later became art director for Florence and the Machine. Her work has been nominate ...
and Vincent Haycock and shot in Mexico. The single and album were available to pre-order subsequently on all popular online music stores. The music video is just under three minutes as compared to the five minute album version of the track. On 12 February, the album's lead single " What Kind of Man" was revealed on Zane Lowe's BBC Radio 1 show, followed by the release of music video later that day on band's
Vevo Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...
channel via YouTube. The band released a music video of another track called "St. Jude" on 23 March. The video was choreographed by
Ryan Heffington Ryan Heffington (born June 7, 1973) is an American dancer and choreographer based in Los Angeles. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards for choreographing the music videos for Arcade Fire's "We Exist" (2013) and Sia's "Chandelier (song), Chandel ...
and directed by Vincent Haycock; it continues the narrative from the previous video of "What Kind of Man". On 8 April, the album's second single titled " Ship to Wreck" premiered on
Huw Stephens Huw Meredydd Stephens (born 25 May 1981) is a Welsh radio and television presenter, currently broadcasting on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 6 Music. Stephens founded the Sŵn music festival with John Rostron and the yearly s ...
' show on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
. The accompanying music video was released a week later on 13 April, continuing the storyline of past two videos. On 19 May, DJ
Annie Mac Annie Macmanus (born 18 July 1978), known professionally as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, includ ...
revealed another new song from the record on her BBC radio show, namely "Delilah". The album was released on 29 May in Germany, 1 June in the UK and 2 June in the US. A deluxe version of the album containing five additional tracks was released on 13 May 2015. The album became their third number one on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, and debuted at number one on the US ''
Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...
''. The album earned five nominations in the
58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...
. The band were confirmed for numerous European festivals in summer 2015 including Way Out West (festival), Way Out West in Sweden, Super Bock Super Rock in Portugal and Rock Werchter in Belgium, among others. In June 2015, it was announced that the band would headline the
Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
in Pilton, Somerset due to the withdrawal of previous headliners Foo Fighters, after lead vocalist Dave Grohl fractured his leg on stage in Sweden. Florence and the Machine's Glastonbury set was critically acclaimed by numerous outlets."Florence and the Machine pay tribute to Dave Grohl at Glastonbury"
. ''Gigwise''. Retrieved 27 July 2015
Welch thanked Grohl for his support following their choice as a replacement and wished him a speedy recovery, before performing a cover of the Foo Fighters' "Times Like These (Foo Fighters song), Times Like These". On 7 December 2015, the band received five nominations for the
58th Annual Grammy Awards The 58th Annual Grammy Awards was held on February 15, 2016, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. The ceremony recognizes the best recordings, compositions and artists of the eligibility year, which was from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 201 ...
to be held in 2016. These nominations included "Ship to Wreck" for
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this categ ...
, ''How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'' for
Best Pop Vocal Album The Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality vocal pop music albums. Awards in several ...
and Grammy Award for Best Recording Package, Best Recording Package, and "What Kind of Man" for Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Performance and Grammy Award for Best Rock Song, Best Rock Song. In 2016 Florence and the Machine recorded a classical music, classical cover of Ben E. King's 1961 song "Stand by Me (Ben E. King song), Stand by Me", which was featured as the main theme to the video game ''Final Fantasy XV''. It was premiered during the "Uncovered: Final Fantasy XV" event on 30 March 2016, and the full version was released on 12 August 2016. Alongside their "Stand by Me" cover, they also composed two original songs for ''Final Fantasy XV'', entitled "I Will Be" and "Too Much Is Never Enough", which were also released on 12 August 2016. In April 2016, the band released ''The Odyssey'', a short film by Vincent Haycock and Welch that consisted of all music videos shot within the ''How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'' (2015) era, together with some interconnecting sung and spoken scenes. The premiere took place at London's Rio Cinema (Dalston), Rio Cinema on 20 April 2016, and was followed by an unrecorded Q&A. The online world premiere on 21 April 2016 was delayed to the 24th due to Prince (musician), Prince's death. The band contributed a song to the 2016 Tim Burton film ''Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (film), Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children'' titled "Wish That You Were Here", released as a single on 25 August 2016.


2017–present: ''High as Hope'' and ''Dance Fever''

Welch confirmed on 27 May 2017 that a new studio album was in the works. On 28 February 2018, the band's drummer, Christopher Hayden, announced that he had left the band. The first single from the album, "Sky Full of Song", was released on 12 April 2018, followed by "Hunger (Florence and the Machine song), Hunger" in May. Titled ''High as Hope'', the band's fourth studio album was released on 29 June 2018. A third single, "Patricia", was released on 10 August 2018. On 24 January 2019, Florence and the Machine released a new single, "Moderation (song), Moderation", which had been previously performed live during the Australian leg of the High as Hope Tour. It was accompanied by a B-side, "Haunted House". On 21 April 2019, Florence and the Machine had a song featured in the ''Game of Thrones'' episode "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms (Game of Thrones), A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" which was composed by Ramin Djawadi. The song is entitled "Jenny of Oldstones". On 17 April 2020, Florence and the Machine released the song "Light of Love" in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom, COVID-19 pandemic. The band announced that all proceeds from the song, which was originally recorded for ''High as Hope'' (2018), would go to the Intensive Care Society. In early 2022, Florence and the Machine were confirmed to be headlining a series of summer music festivals, including the Madrid's Mad Cool. Towards the end of February 2022, fans of the band started to receive letters with a print titled, "King - Chapter 1", as well as a billboard in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
displaying the visual of the work. Speculation indicating that a new single was about to be released were confirmed on 22 February by Welch herself through her Instagram account. The single, titled "King (Florence and the Machine song), King" was digitally released the next day along with its accompanying music video. Soon after, the single "Heaven Is Here" was released on 7 March. On 9 March 2022, Welch announced ''Dance Fever (album), Dance Fever'', the band's fifth studio album in a post to her Instagram account also revealing the album cover and pre-order date. She described the album as "a fairytale in 14 songs" in the same post. The announcement was followed up with the release of the third single "My Love" on 10 March. On 20 April, the fourth single "Free (Florence and the Machine song), Free" was released. The album was released on 13 May. It debuted at number one in the UK and number two in Australia. In 2022, keyboardist Hazel Mills and drummer Loren Humphrey left the band. On 16 March 2022, Sam Doyle (drummer from The Maccabees (band), the Maccabees) was confirmed as joining the band on tour for this era. However, Humphrey rejoined the band in summer of 2022.
Isabella Summers Isabella Janet Florentina Summers (born 31 October 1980) is an English Emmy-nominated film composer, songwriter/producer and musician. She is best known as the architect of the sound of the six-time Grammy nominated indie rock band Florence and ...
, a founding member of the band and a long-time songwriting contributor for the band's previous records, did not participate in writing or producing Dance Fever (album), ''Dance Fever''. She also did not join the band for the Dance Fever Tour. In 2025, Florence and the Machine collaborated with singer The Weeknd on the track "Reflections Laughing" from his album ''Hurry Up Tomorrow'', which also featured rapper Travis Scott.


Performances

Florence and the Machine started off by playing a handful of gigs in and around London. In November 2008 Florence played a legendarily intimate show for Get It Loud In Libraries at Lancaster Library. In May 2008, they supported MGMT on tour in Europe. The
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
played a large part in Florence and the Machine's rise to prominence by promoting her as part of ''BBC Introducing''. This led to their playing music festivals in 2008, including Glastonbury Festival 2008, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Reading and Leeds and Bestival 2008, Bestival. Florence and the Machine were also part of the NME Tours, Shockwaves NME Awards Tour 2009 in January and February. The group has supported the UK Teenage Cancer Trust, performing at a concert for the charity at London's Royal Albert Hall in March 2009. Florence and the Machine supported Blur (band), Blur for their 26 June comeback performance at the Manchester Arena. They played at the Lovebox Festival on 18 and 19 July. In July 2009, the group supported Duran Duran. During summer 2009, Florence and the Machine performed at a number of major festivals in the UK and Ireland, including the Glastonbury Festival 2009, 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 amphitheatre, which had to be closed off by security due to safety concerns as an unprecedented number of festival-goers rushed to see the performance. It is estimated that 28,000 people of the 33,000 people who attended the festival crammed in to see Florence and the Machine. The amphitheatre was reopened shortly after the start, once the safety concerns were allayed. 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!''. After the success of ''Lungs'' (2009) 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. 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 Primavera Sound, San Miguel Primavera Sound 2010. In March 2010, it was that confirmed that the band's first headlining festival would be Latitude Festival#Latitude Festival 2010, Latitude 2010, having been booked the previous September before achieving mainstream success. The Cosmic Love Tour kicked off at Dublin's Olympia Theatre, Dublin, Olympia Theatre on 2 May 2010 where the group performed 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. Florence and the Machine opened for U2 on the North American leg of their U2 360° Tour in June and July 2011. On 11 September 2024, Florence and the Machine performed as part of the 2024 BBC Proms, at the Royal Albert Hall, with Jules Buckley and his orchestra for "Symphony of Lungs", with organ by Anna Lapwood.


International appearances: Solo and as a group

In an interview with ''New York Post''s PopWrap, Welch revealed that in the weeks and months prior to her performance of 12 September at the
2010 MTV Video Music Awards The 2010 MTV Video Music Awards took place on September 12, 2010 at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. Chelsea Handler hosted the event, the first woman in sixteen years – since the 1994 MTV ...
, she 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 on a rotating platform. It was described as "both ethereal and downright joyous". After the performance, ''Lungs'' (2009) rose to number two on the
iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
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 on Twitter. Florence and the Machine performed "Dog 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 ''David Letterman, Live on Letterman'' concert series. Welch and a number of other female singers opened the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards on 13 February 2011 with a tribute to an ailing Aretha Franklin. On 27 February 2011, Welch replaced pregnant Dido (singer), Dido and sang her portion of Academy Award for Best Original Song, Best Original Song nominee "If I Rise" (from ''127 Hours'') with A. R. Rahman at the 83rd Academy Awards. Two years of Ceremonials Tour, worldwide touring had been scheduled to promote ''Ceremonials''. Welch and guitarist Rob Ackroyd held a private performance for a terminally ill 15-year-old fan, Karinya Chen, in Austin, Texas on 23 May 2016. On 29 September 2019, the band finished their High as Hope tour at the Acropolis.


Style and influences

Florence Welch has been compared to other female singers such as Kate Bush, Siouxsie Sioux of Siouxsie and the Banshees, PJ Harvey, Tori Amos and Björk. During an interview, Welch cited Grace Slick of Jefferson Airplane as her influence and "hero". Florence and the Machine's style has been described as "dark, robust and romantic". Their music is a mix of "classic soul and midnight-on-the-moors English art rock". Welch stated that her lyrics related to Renaissance artists: "We're dealing with all of the same things they did—love and death, time and pain, heaven and hell." Commenting on her success, she said: "I'm lucky that there seems to be a massive revival in female performers. My icons were always women like Kate Bush, Stevie Nicks and Siouxsie Sioux. Who wouldn't be proud to carry on that tradition?". The group's musical style has been described as
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
, indie pop, baroque pop, chamber pop, art rock, art pop, neo soul, and folk music, folk.


Achievements

Florence and the Machine won the Critic's Choice Award at the
2009 Brit Awards Brit Awards 2009 was the 29th edition of the British Phonographic Industry's annual Brit Awards. The awards ceremony was held at Earls Court in London, and was broadcast live on ITV on 18 February at 8pm (GMT). Duffy became the first femal ...
after coming third in the BBC's Sound of..., 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 (band), 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 Eccentricity (behavior), eccentrics". AllMusic referred to ''Lungs'' as "one of the most musically mature and emotionally mesmerising albums of 2009". ''Spin (magazine), Spin'' magazine rated ''Lungs'' (2009) 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 The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...
at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards. In April 2011, Florence and the Machine were ranked 50 in the 2011 Time 100, ''Time'' 100 poll, which annually lists the 100 most influential people in the world. American recording artist Beyoncé cited Florence and the Machine as an influence for her 2011 album ''4 (Beyoncé album), 4''.


Band members

Current *
Florence Welch Florence Leontine Mary Welch
(born 28 ...
– lead vocals, percussion, occasional piano (2007–present) *
Isabella Summers Isabella Janet Florentina Summers (born 31 October 1980) is an English Emmy-nominated film composer, songwriter/producer and musician. She is best known as the architect of the sound of the six-time Grammy nominated indie rock band Florence and ...
– keyboards, backing vocals (2007–present) * Robert Ackroyd – lead guitar, backing vocals, bass (2007–present) * Tom Monger – harp, percussion, backing vocals (2007–present) * Cyrus Bayandor – bass (2018–present) * Aku Orraca-Tetteh – percussion, backing vocals, keyboards (2018–present) * Dionne Douglas – violin, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (2018–present) * Loren Humphrey – drums (2018–2022, 2022–present) Former * Christopher Lloyd Hayden – drums, percussion, backing vocals, rhythm guitar (2007–2018) * Mark Saunders – bass, backing vocals (2009–2018) * Rusty Bradshaw – keyboards, rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2011–2018) * Hazel Mills – keyboards, backing vocals (2018–2022) * Sam Doyle – drums (2022)


Timeline


Discography

* ''
Lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in many animals, including humans. In mammals and most other tetrapods, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory syste ...
'' (2009) * ''
Ceremonials ''Ceremonials'' is the second studio album by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine. It was released on 28 October 2011 by Island Records. The band started working on the album in 2010 and finished it in 2011. The standard edition of ...
'' (2011) * ''
How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful ''How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful'' is the third studio album by the English indie rock band Florence and the Machine, released on 29 May 2015 by Island Records. After her year-long break from music, the lead vocalist, Florence Welch, returne ...
'' (2015) * ''High as Hope'' (2018) * ''Dance Fever (album), Dance Fever'' (2022)


Concert tours

* Lungs Tour (2008–2011) * Ceremonials Tour (2011–2013) * How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful Tour (2015–2016) * High as Hope Tour (2018–2019) * Dance Fever Tour (2022–2023)


References


External links

* * * *
Music by Florence and the Machine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Florence And The Machine 2007 establishments in England Brit Award winners English art rock groups English folk rock groups English indie pop groups Female-fronted musical groups Iamsound Records artists Island Records artists Mixed-gender bands Moshi Moshi Records artists MTV Video Music Award winners Musical groups established in 2007 Musical nonets Musical octets NME Awards winners Republic Records artists Rock music groups from London