Florence + The Machine

Known for a unique and dreamy blend of folk, art-pop, indie rock, and neo soul, as well as her stirring and ethereal live performances, Welch has been likened to artists such as Adele, Amy Winehouse, and Ellie Goulding.

Florence + The Machine is a band composed of Welch, pianist Isabella Summers, Robert Ackroyd (guitar), Tom Monger (harp), Mark Saunders (bass), and a rotating cast of other artists. Welch credits her bandmates with helping unlock her creative process, as they have been so tuned-in to each others’ musical abilities for so long that they naturally know what she’s hoping for in each new song.

The band’s name came from Welch’s teenage years, when she collaborated with Isabella “Machine” Summers. For a while, the two performed as Florence Robot/Isa Machine — a private joke that eventually stuck in slightly altered form.

With huge encouragement from the BBC, Florence received early critical acclaim and attention from UK audiences as BBC Music Introducing strongly promoted the band. The band’s debut album, Lungs, was released on July 6, 2009, and reached the number two slot in the UK Album Chart, retaining the position for five consecutive weeks. It finally reached the number one position on the album chart on January 17, 2010. By October 2010, Lungs had spent a total of 65 consecutive weeks in the top 40 album charts.

Notable singles from the album included “Rabbit Heart (Raise It Up),” “Kiss With A Fist,” and “Dog Days Are Over,” with the songs being featured on films and television series like Jennifer’s Body, 90210, Gossip Girl, Glee, and Skins.

Undoubtedly, the biggest hit single released from Lungs was the cover of The Source and Candi Staton’s 1986 single “You’ve Got The Love.” The track was later also released in collaboration with UK grime rapper Dizzee Rascal under the title, “You’ve Got The Dirtee Love,” following Welch and Dizzee’s 2010 Brit Award performance of the mash-up.

The band’s second studio album, Ceremonials, was preceded by a demo session in January 2010 at a small studio in London. Several producers vied for the chance to produce it, but Welch rejected their offers because she was after a new sound: something darker, heavier, more explosive, and grittier. The band had the rest of the year to work sporadically on the music, since they were out on the road touring heavily.

When the group did record, it happened between January and April 2011 at Abbey Road Studios with producer Paul Epworth, who co-wrote seven of the album’s tracks. Other co-writers included Kid Harpoon and Summers. Welch had to record many of the vocal tracks in various U.S. studios between shows on her tour.

Ceremonials featured singles “Shake It Out” and “What The Water Gave Me,” with the latter video receiving an outstanding 1.5 million views on YouTube in just two days alongside the track on iTunes in August 2011. The fourth single for the album, a remix of “Spectrum (Say My Name)” by Scotland’s Calvin Harris, became the band’s first number-one hit in the UK.

Unsurprisingly, Ceremonials reached number one on the UK Album Chart and number six on the U.S. Billboard 200. Furthermore, Florence + The Machine was honored with nominations for two Brit Awards: British Album of the Year and Best British Female Artist.

2012 was a year of rest for Florence + The Machine after having gone all out for the past half-decade. By the end of December 2012, Ceremonials had received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album.

In June 2014, Welch revealed that the band was working on its third studio album. Seven months later, the band performed the new album in its entirety to a crowd in a private London show. The next day, a music video for the title track, “How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful,” dropped, followed by another video for the song “St. Jude.”

When How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful finally dropped on May 29, it rose to the number-one spot on the UK Albums Chart — the band’s third time enjoying the honor — and hit number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. It was nominated five times for the Grammys. That year, the band headlined Glastonbury Festival, and its set received critical acclaim from a number of outlets. In 2016, Florence and the Machine released a short film called The Odyssey, which combined all of the album’s music videos into one narrative structure.

May 2017 saw an announcement of yet another studio album, High as Hope. During this period, then-drummer Christopher Hayden left the band, but the music didn’t stop: singles like “Sky Full of Song” and “Hunger” came in April and May of 2018. Florence + The Machine stayed busy with tours and song-crafting through the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, when it released “Light of Love” to support the Intensive Care Society.

By early 2022, the band was back on the road, headlining festivals like Madrid’s Mad Cool. The band’s fans began receiving letters with a cryptic print entitled “King – Chapter 1,” which led to speculation of a new single. Welch confirmed the rumors on February 22 on her Instagram account. “King,” the new single, came out the next day along with a music video. “Heaven Is Here” followed on March 7. Dance Fever, the fifth studio album, was released on May 13 and immediately shot to the number-one spot in the UK.