Florence Welch has spoken out about her sobriety.
The Florence + The Machine singer, who has been sober for eight years, reflected on her current life without alcohol in a new interview on the Spotify podcast The Way We Are With Munroe Bergdorf.
“In terms of navigating being in the public eye, I think sobriety is the best thing I ever did,” she explained.
“It took me a long time to come to terms with the fact that I had a problem with drinking because I was one of those drinkers where it was all or nothing. If I enjoy my drinking, I can’t control it and if I control my drinking, I don’t enjoy it.”
Welch went on to say that around the time of the release of her 2011 album ‘Ceremonials’ was the point that her relationship with alcohol needed controlling.
“It was like the glamour and the grandeur of ‘Ceremonials’ that created this shield of how chaotic it was behind the scenes which is why I think that record is so dark,” she said.
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Welch added: “Sobriety was really lonely. I had got into music to drink, you know, these two things that I loved the most. Singing, partying and alcohol are the things I was good at.”
She went to say “if anyone is out there and struggling, it does get easier”.
Meanwhile, Welch recently received an honorary fellowship from London’s University of the Arts.
The singer was a student at the university but dropped out after her foundation year to pursue her music with Florence + The Machine.
Earlier this year, Florence + The Machine scored their fourth Number One album with ‘Dance Fever’.
Reviewing ‘Dance Fever’, NME said: “And for a moment / When I’m dancing / I feel free”, she sings, over a whirl of buzz and shimmer. By repeating that mantra throughout the track’s sumptuous choruses, Welch sounds energised from the thrill of this feeling – and the possibilities afforded by it. Much like the majority of ‘Dance Fever’, it feels like a joyous, slowly unfurling epiphany. It’s a gift to be able to listen in.”