Florence Mary Leontine Welch was born in Camberwell, England on August 28, 1986. She was raised by accomplished writers and academics. Both of her parents had an influence on her career. Her mother, Evelyn Welch, is a professor of renaissance studies and academic dean of arts. Evelyn worked at Queen Mary, University of London. Evelyn's lectures had impressed Florence, and they had even inspired her to make music with big themes. Florence's father, Nick Welch, is an advertisement executive who was a musical performer in his mid 20s. Florence did end up going to school in Cambridge College of Arts. However, she decided to drop out to go after her music career.
Florence's big break wasn't exactly how everyone started out. She was drunk at the "Soho Revenue Bar" in London on December of 2006. She reportedly cornered Mairead Nash, part of Queens of Noize, in the bathroom and sang her "Something's Gotta Hold Me" by Etta James. A week later, the Queens of Noize invited Florence back to open for their club night.
The name, "Florence + The Machine", consists of Florence's name and her friend, Isabella "Machine" Summers. The name began to hold a seven people by 2009. There are only a few long-term co-workers. Those people are Rob Ackroyd who plays the guitar, Chris Hayden who plays the drums, Isabella Summers who plays the keyboards (also helped with the band name), and Tom Monger who plays the harp. After signing up with Mairead Nash, Florence + The Machine had began to rise toward stardom.
Florence says that she typically writes her music when she is drunk or hungover because she's lucid, but not really there. She says that she's floating in her own thoughts, and that she can pick out what she needs. The debut album, "Lungs", was released to the United Kingdom in July of 2009. It hit the charts in the U.K. and Ireland. When it released in the United States, it hit number seventeen on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart. London called Florence the "most peculiar and most highly acclaimed female singer of the moment.
In early 2010, Florence was offered the chance to go to Los Angeles to work with other big producers and writers. Welch was actually tempted at first. She decided against it since it would mean leaving behind everything that "Lungs" had made.
Florence + The Machine made their second album "Ceremonials", which included tracks by Summers, Paul Epworth, Kid Harpoon, James Ford, and composer Eg White.The album was released in October of 2011.
Later, in July of 2012, Welch suffered a vocal injury. Doctors said that it could develop into something permanent if it's not treated properly. She had to pull two European concerts because of this, and was told not to perform. Florence avoided surgery with vocal rest and herbal teas. She sad that the health scare was the scariest thing that had ever happened to her.
I personally think that Florence + The Machine is a great musical group! The music is upbeat and carries me throughout the day. Some people do not like them for whatever reasons they may be. I have quite a few favorite songs from the group. My recommendations would be "Between Two Lungs", "Cosmic Love", "Dog Days Are Over", "Heartlines", "Hurricane Drunk", "Kiss With A Fist", "Leave My Body", "No Light, No Light", "Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up)", "Seven Devils", "Spectrum", "What The Water Gave Me", and "You've Got The Love". I like all of her songs, but those are my top pics. I asked around to see what other people think about Florence + The Machine.
Paralaxed later goes on to tell me that he has seen her perform on television.
That's all for this week! HotTrent1, "punching" out!
Author's Note: Thank you for llyynee, Paralaxed, and pearster for their comments on the group.
Also, some of the songs that I recommended have alcohol and violence affiliated lyrics, along with swearing. I would recommend to have a parent view the song or video before you do.
http://www.biography.com/people/florence-welch-20883057
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3506828/bio
http://www.thehouseofcoxhead.com/home/tag/remix
http://florenceandthemachine.net/biography
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2175952/Florence-Welch-speaks-losing-voice-doctors-warned-permanent-damage.html
http://raisedbygypsies.blogspot.com/2012/05/cd-review-florence-machine-lungs.html
http://thewhitenoise.co.uk/reviews/18/florence-and-the-machine%E2%80%94ceremonials
