Previously, we brought you the first part of our list of 15 interesting facts about Florence and the Machine. Now, we bring you part two, with eight more tidbits about the platinum-selling indie-pop band started by Florence Welch and Isabella Summers.
Number Eight: Welch’s Music and Style are Influenced by Stevie Nicks. Welch has said that she is obsessed with the way Nicks dresses, sings and presents herself on stage.
Number Seven: Isabella Summers Produces Other Artists. When she is not working on Florence + the Machine music, Summers is a producer and electronic musician. Her producing work includes working on albums with Iggy Azalea, Ella Henderson, Rita Ora and The Game.
Number Six: “Kiss with a Fist” Started as a Different Song. Before starting Florence and the Machine, Welch wrote with another band called Ashok. The band released one album together, which featured a song called “Happy Slap.” “Happy Slap” eventually became “Kiss with a Fist,” Florence and the Machine’s first single off their debut album, Lungs.
Number Five: They Had a Song Covered on Glee. Florence + the Machine have had a number of songs featured on television shows such as Gossip Girl, Grey’s Anatomy and The Vampire Diaries, to name a few. But in 2010, the band’s massive hit, “Dog Days Are Over,” was covered by Jenna Ushkowitz and Amber Riley on an episode of Glee. It is one of the most highly praised covers the show has done.
Number Four: Welch is shy. Welsh used to get so nervous that she used to drink before going on stage. She continued with this ritual until this past summer when she broke foot at Coachella by falling off the stage drunk.
Number Three: Welch’s Stage Appearance is a Disguise. Her appearance is another way Welch hides. For starters, she is not actually a redhead. Naturally a brunette, she started dying her hair at the age of 20, when she first started her career in the industry.
Number Two: Welch Lit a Hotel Room on Fire. As the story goes, one drunken night, Welch was having a bad night. Coming back to her hotel room after hanging out with Kanye West and Lykke Li, having already lost her phone, ripped her dress and chipped her tooth, she fell asleep with a tea light still burning. She awoke the next morning to singed walls and a bill costing her “a couple hundred pounds.”
Number One: Welch Inspired a Gucci Clothing Line. Gucci has used Welch as inspiration many times. In both 2011 and 2012, the fashion label designed costumes for Welch to wear during Florence + the Machine shows. Then, in 2011, Gucci decided to design a whole line inspired by the singer. The models even wore red wigs down the runway. We hope you enjoyed our list of things you didn’t know about Florence and the Machine!