Life & Style
Florence Welch - My London
Amy Grier, ES Magazine
31.07.09
Home is...
Camberwell in South London. It's where I grew up and went to art college. I still live round there with my sister. It's a very creative and eclectic place.
Have you been away recently?
I went to Malibu with my boyfriend where we stayed in my uncle's Airstream trailer; and I went to Aldeburgh in
Suffolk for the weekend to visit my auntie and uncle who live by the beach, but I don't have time for holidays really.
What was the last gig you saw?
Beirut at The Forum. It was such a beautiful show. I have covered their songs before. I love them.
What are your secret London addresses?
Rough Trade in
Notting Hill for great old and new music. Beyond Retro in
Bethnal Green for amazing vintage clothes. Riverside Bookshop at
London Bridge because my boyfriend works there, so I just go and hang out. Scope, the charity shop near where I live, is great for the odd bargain, and I love Columbia Road Flower Market.
What's the best meal you've had in London?
Sushi at Ten Ten Tei on Brewer Street. It's a tiny place in Soho and does the best Japanese food in London. Me and my best friend always go there for sashimi and green tea when we're trying to be healthy.
What is your earliest London memory?
Climbing the trees in my local park, Myatt's Fields, when I was about nine years old. The willow tree was the evil tree and the mulberry tree was the good tree. It was great for climbing, and you could eat the mulberries in summer. I spent a lot of time in that tree.
What would be on your tombstone?
Without hope, and without despair.
What are you most afraid of?
Death, or the death of a loved one.
What are your guilty pleasures?
Commercial dance music. I love old Madonna songs - 'Over and Over' is amazing - but also Calvin Harris, Eric Prydz and
Dizzee Rascal. I love that track 'Bonkers', it's really good for dancing around my bedroom to.
What would you do as Mayor for the day?
Throw random street parties all over town.
What is your life philosophy?
Jump into things headfirst.
What animal would you most like to be?
A tiger - it was my favourite animal when I was a kid - but maybe I should be a nightingale who sings in the dark and flies away. I would love to have wings, but I also like tigers because they are the only big cats that like to swim, and I love swimming.
What was the last album you bought?
Merriweather Post Pavilion by Animal Collective - it's amazing.
What would you save from a fire?
My notebooks. They have all my lyrics in them and all my drawings and things I have collected. They are so personal I would be devastated if they were lost.
What makes you laugh?
The Mighty Boosh. It's so bizarre, but it cracks me up.
What makes you cry?
A lot of things. I cry all the time.
What are you up to at the moment?
Touring my album Lungs.
Which London street do you like to shop on?
Brick Lane. It's always nice to wander down there on a Sunday and see all the kids selling on the clothes they bought the other day; the whole street basically turns into a gigantic swap shop.
Who's your hero?
Grace Slick, who was the lead singer of Jefferson Airplane. She had such an amazing voice; her song 'White Rabbit' changed my life.
What do you like to wear?
My clown suit. I wore it all last
Glastonbury and it reminds me of fun times.
What's the best place for a romantic date in London?
Loungelover bar in
Shoreditch. It's all velvet and subtle glamour. It's next to Les Trois Garçons, which I also like to go to. Loungelover is an amazing place filled with taxidermy and loads of handbags hanging from the ceiling, very ornate but quite like a junk shop.
What's your favourite London club?
Smash & Grab at Proud
Camden on a Thursday. I've played there and it's a really good night out.
Have you ever stolen anything?
Erm... not recently, I've lost loads of stuff, though.
). Support from The Temper Trap as well!
there will always be next time, I doubt she's going anywhere.
