As the Florence + the Machine frontwoman preps to release her band's third album "How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful" on May 29, the singer is leading a different life. Billboard spoke to Florence Welch about drinking less, seeing more of Taylor Swift, and making longtime dreams come true.
There's Less Booze...
“I used to drink before every performance,” Welch tells Billboard. "I’m quite shy, really -- that’s probably why I used to drink a lot. But I don’t anymore." But wait, what about that crowd-dive at Coachella that gave her a broken ankle? "I wasn’t even drunk," she says.
...And More Taylor
Welch is known for her famous fans and Taylor Swift is not only among them, the two have become close friends. "What sets Florence apart? Everything,” Swift tells Billboard. “Every time I’ve been around her, she is the most magnetic person in the room -- surrounded by people who are fascinated by the idea of being near her. But when she meets people, she pays them a warm compliment and immediately disarms them. There are very few people I’ve met in my life who are truly electric, and Florence is one of them.”
On 'Facing your own chaos'...
“Without the structure of touring, you have to face your own chaos,” says Welch. “I was playing gigs nonstop since I was 21. When I was left to my own devices, I realized I was f---ing everything up. I was in and out of a relationship, in and out of drinking too much. It was like constantly picking yourself up and then dropping yourself, picking yourself up and dropping yourself. And that was exhausting.”
On Glastonbury ...
“I remember being 20 at the Glastonbury festival. And I had been invited to come and play the Sunday Tea Tent, and I was in my anorak and I had no Wellies, and it was one of the muddiest Glastonburys of all time. I remember looking at the Pyramid Stage and thinking, ‘I wish I could perform there just one time.’ ” And in fact, Welch will play the Pyramid this June, as one of her first sets after her foot is healed. “It’s hard to imagine that you think about something you’d like to have happen in your life and it happens,” says Welch.
