Florence Welch Tears Up As She Reveals Regrets Over Sister

3 July 2018, 17:45 | Updated: 3 July 2018, 17:54

Florence + The Machine's Florence Welch. Picture: Raphael Dias/Getty Images

The singer opened up to Radio X's John Kennedy about her Grace track, which is a tribute to her younger sister.

Florence Welch has opened up about her Grace track, which is named after and written for her younger sister.

Speaking to Radio X's John Kennedy in an emotional track-by-track album playback of Florence + The Machine's new album, High As Hope, the singer-songwriter talked about her past issues with drugs and alcohol, and how it affected her relationship with her sibling.

Asked about the song's title and its opening lines, "Sorry I ruined your birthday," she revealed: “It’s my sister, it’s my little sister and I’ve ruined several of her birthdays."

Florence + The Machine - High As Hope artwork. Picture: Press

She added: “I played it to her, I didn’t tell her ‘cause you know we’re English and we don’t really tell each other we love each other. We make jokes.

“But I played it to her and she cried. And we had a really chaotic upbringing and I had a lot of problems with booze and drugs and everything that you could name.

The Dog Days Are Over singer added: “And having had some time from that you look back and you see, she’s my little sister and she didn’t even get the chance to be a little sister because she had to be an older sister for a lot of the time.

“And A big regret of mine is not being able to be there as a big sister and I really love her so much.”

Listen to the emotional track here:

Florence also recalled one of the first times she saw Adele perform, remembering the time she shared the bill with the Hello singer in their early days.

Florence + The Machine's Florence Welch and Adele. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Spotify & Phil Walter/Getty Images

“There was so many bands playing at that point," recalled the Hunger singer. "Even Adele you could say came from that little scene that was going on of people putting on club nights and gigs.

“There was a gig at the Lock Tavern [in Camden] where it was like Kate Nash was headlining, supported by Adele, then me and Emmylou Harris. That was the line-up."

She added: “I was on first I think and I just was so drunk and I just yelled and fell over. And then I remember watching Adele play and I’d never head a voice like that.

"I remember being like: ‘Shit. This is Incredible. Gimme a drink' (laughs)”.