Welch stated, “I’m so sorry to say that after an X ray it seems I was dancing on a broken foot last night. It is not in my nature to postpone a show, and certainly not a UK tour, but I’m in pain and as dancers know, dancing on an injury is not a good idea. And have been told not to perform to avoid further damage.”

Her remaining shows were postponed to fans’ disappointment, but on Saturday she kicked (well… not quite) off the tour again at the same venue the injury occurred. She will continue the UK/Ireland tour in Nottingham, Glasgow, Manchester, Leeds, Bournemouth and finish in Dublin, after which she will tour Australia and New Zealand. She returns to the UK in August for Boardmasters Festival.

Dance Fever is a vulnerable and fantastical album reminiscent of Welch’s earlier work. She took inspiration for the name and concept from the idea of ‘choreomania’, a social phenomenon that involved groups gathering to dance manically, thought to bring relief from shared stress and trauma – something that seems to strike a chord in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. She began to collaborate with producer mogul Jack Antonoff (known to mingle with other high-flyers in pop, namely Lorde, Lana Del Rey, and Taylor Swift) in February 2020, just before the pandemic broke out.

Joining her on the tour is Willie J Healey, a singer-songwriter from Oxford. He is set to release his third studio album, Bunny, in March of this year. In his own words, it is going to be a departure from his previous work, and will take inspiration from “funk, Philadelphia soul and R&B”. The lead single, “Dreams”, was released at the end of last year, and last week Healey dropped ‘Thank You’ featuring indie legend Jamie T.

Although tickets officially sold out for all dates, there are fan-to-fan resale tickets still available for the last dates of the UK tour available here.

Remaining UK Tour Dates:

31/1/23 – Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
01/02 – OVO Hydro – Glasgow
03/02 – AO Arena – Manchester
04/02 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
06/02 – International Centre – Bournemouth
08/02 – 3Arena – Dublin

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Speaking to OfficialCharts.com on their recent win, front-woman Florence Welch has given the following statement, “I’m so grateful and moved to be Number 1 in the UK. There were so many moments when I nearly gave up on this record. When it seemed impossible that it would ever get done. So to have it out in the world and be so embraced is an incredible feeling. Sending so much love and thanks to everyone.”

The group’s new album marks their fifth studio album and was released via Polydor Records on 13th May 2022. Along with its positive commercial reception, Dance Fever has also sired great critical acclaim upon its release. The recording and production of the album was originally scheduled to take place in New York during 2020 but due to Covid-19 the work was delayed. The city that never sleeps can be heard throughout the record; many musical elements associated with New York are incorporated within Dance Fever, the album also sees the band experiment with many different influences including genres such as disco, dance, classic pop and baroque music.

The promotion for the album began earlier this spring when Welch posted the release’s cover art on social media, and information concerning the album’s presale was also included within the post. The first track to be taken from the album was released on 23rd February 2022, “King” was the lead single and was co-written and produced by Welch and American multi-instrumentalist Jack Antonoff. The album’s second and third singles were released the following month and the fourth single “Free” recently dropped on 20th April 2022.  The melodic rock group took to Instagram today to announce the release of “Restraint“, a new track taken from Dance Fever.

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Elsewhere within the UK album charts, Kendrick Lamar’s fifth studio album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, has placed at number two. The new release has been named this week’s most streamed album and is also the artist’s fourth album to place within the top 10 within the UK album charts. Lamar first gained a high chart placement with his third studio album To Pimp a Butterfly, which was released in 2015 the album placed at number one and was a huge critical success. The 34-year-old rapper next placed at number seven with his 2016 compilation album Untitled Unmastered, and again in 2017 with DAMN. which positioned at number two.

In support of their new album, Florence And The Machine will embark on their Dance Fever tour; the huge tour will include dates in North America, the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The worldwide concert series is set to begin after the group’s collection of European festival appearances, the band’s festival season includes sets at Orange Warsaw Festival 2022 and Madrid’s famed Mad Cool Festival. The group’s new tour will come to the UK this winter and is scheduled to include two London dates on 18th and 19th November 2022 at The O2.

Florence And The Machine UK tour dates

16/11/2022 – Motorpoint Arena Cardiff – Cardiff
18/11 – The O2 – London
19/11 – The O2 – London
21/11 – Bournemouth International Centre – Bournemouth
22/11 – AO Arena – Manchester
24/11 – Utilita Arena Birmingham – Birmingham
25/11 – First Direct Arena – Leeds
27/11 – Ovo Hydro – Glasgow
28/11 – Motorpoint Arena Nottingham – Nottingham
30/11 – 3Arena – Dublin

Click here to purchase tickets.

Ahead of the announcement, Florence Welsh and her band have also been unveiling song titles via slowly turning playing cards on their official website. As well as the previously released singles, six song titles out of the 15-song tracklist were uncovered – “Free”, “Choreomania”, “Back In Town”, “Girls Against God”, “Dream Girl Evil” and “Prayer Factory” – with the full album tracklist dropping yesterday (April 14). The record was Produced by Welch alongside Jack Antonoff and Glass Animals‘ Dave Bayley, the album was largely recorded in London over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic as Welch anticipated the return of clubs, live music and dancing at festivals. You can check out the social media announcement below:

A fairytale in fourteen songs
Dance Fever, May 13th.
Pre-order: https://t.co/eI39aoJEXg pic.twitter.com/dmSr7AkQu2

— florence welch (@florencemachine) April 14, 2022

Alongside the exciting news fans will get to see the band showcase their latest material at a trio of intimate UK shows later this month before then embarking on a full arena tour in November. The gigs, which will be their first in the UK since the COVID outbreak in 2019 and will see the singer and her band “play music from the new album for the first time, along with some favourites from previous albums”.

A huge North American tour will also take place later this year, with support from other big acts such as Arlo Parks, Sam Fender, King Princess, Yves Tumor, Japanese Breakfast and Wet Leg on select dates. The full tracklist can be found below as well dates for the band’s UK shows, tickets for said shows can be found here.

Florence And The Machine ‘Dance Fever’ Tracklist:
1. ‘King’
2. ‘Free’
3. ‘Choremania’
4. ‘Back In Town’
5. ‘Girls Against God’
6. ‘Dream Girl Evil’
7. ‘Prayer Factory’
8. ‘Cassandra’
9. ‘Heavn Is Here’
10. ‘Daffodil
11. ‘My Love’
12. ‘Restraint’
13. ‘Time Bomb’
14. ‘Morning Elvis’

Florence And The Machine UK Dates:

15/04 Newcastle, City Hall – Newscastle
16/04 King George’s – Blackburn
19/04 Theatre Royal – London
16/11 Motorpoint Arena – Cardiff
18/11 The O2 – London
19/11 The O2 – London
21/11 BIC – Bournemouth
22/11 AO Arena – Manchester
24/11 Utilita Arena – Birmingham
25/11 First Direct Arena – Leeds
27/11 OVO Hydro – Glasgow
28/11 Motorpoint Arena – Nottingham
30/11 3Arena – Dublin, Ireland

The description included on the official website reads, “The #ILoveLive memorabilia prize draws were arranged to support the unsung heroes of the live music industry – the people behind the scenes that make the magic happen, the crew and the technicians. Most of these people are self employed and no shows means no income. Although Government support has helped, there are still many that have slipped through the cracks and need our support.”

Artists who donated prizes for fans to win via donation include Sam Smith, Radiohead, Robbie Williams, Melanie C, FKA Twigs, Foals, The Cure’s Robert Smith and many more. Prizes were incredible memorabilia such as Smith’s Schecter ‘Fibonacci Sequence’ UltraCure guitar, hand-painted lyrics by Florence and the Machine, Melanie C’s jacket worn on the Spice World Tour in 2019, and even FKA Twigs’ Commedia dell’Arte masks.

Friday I’m in love … https://t.co/RaA2vjgl84

— Stagehand (@StagehandFund) December 12, 2020

The founder of Stagehand Andy Lenthall told NME, “There are people who have been able to get alternative work, and there are people can survive on self-employment income support, and there are people who have been furloughed – but we’ve lost  lot of people due to redundancies and 20% of our self-employed crew have fallen through the cracks and had nothing.” As well as the money raised, GiftAid gave an additional £10,882 (estimated), bringing the total up to £546,722.

The festival is returning for its seventh year, to Hyde Park, between the 5th of July and the 14th of July 2019. The event will see music lovers enjoy performances from the biggest names out there today to handpicked rising-stars from the heart of the nations capitol. Tickets will go on sale, on Friday the 29th of March 2019, at 9am, with general admission tickets starting at £69.95.

Speaking about his performance, and what can be expected, Stevie, said: “We’re living in a time where there’s so much is going on in the world. But the one thing that we know for sure that we can celebrate is life, love and music. I’m very thankful that you all have been so wonderful to me, giving me your life and allowing me to share my music with you since I was 11 years old, which was just a little ago. So, we’re just going to play and have fun.”

NEWSFLASH: @StevieWonder headlines Saturday 6 July with VERY special guest @LionelRichie for one epic Song Party!
Barclaycard pre-sale starts NOW: https://t.co/tKaWuRK8t3
Our pre-sale starts 9am Thursday: https://t.co/2fxRPnQtwC
Tickets on sale 9am Friday

Get ready! pic.twitter.com/8L1PFchsmf

— BST Hyde Park (@BSTHydePark) March 26, 2019

Meanwhile, Senior Vice President of AEG Presents, James King, said: “There are headliners, great headliners, line ups, stellar line-ups and a thousand other adjectives we use but we will never find the one that correctly describes what will be happening in Hyde Park on Saturday July 6th. Stevie Wonder is singing his biggest hits for his very own Song Party and for good measure, and to our mutual amazement, joy and wonder, he is also bringing his good friend Lionel Richie. See you down the front.”

This year’s festival is set to include an impressive line-up with some of today’s biggest names joining the stellar headline acts Hozier, The 1975, Florence and the Machine, and The Strokes. Among the other notable names, revealed in the first series of acts is Jess Glynne, Billie Eilish, Christine & The Queens, James Blake, Jarvis Cocker, Years & Years, and Miles Kane.

Speaking about the line-up, festival Director Melvin Benn, said: “It’s the most extraordinary line-up, way way beyond anything we’ve ever done, absolutely amazing. Hozier is going to be really really special headlining the show.” While previous line-ups may not have suited everyone, he believes there’s something for everyone this time around saying: “There will always be people who are disappointed. How they’d be disappointed with this one is beyond me!”

The following acts are also on the bill and will be joining the already stellar line-up is Dermot Kennedy, Four Tet, James Blake, Róisín Murphy, The Streets, Amelie Lens, Courtney Barnett, Echo & The Bunnymen, Freya Ridings, Kölsch, Maceo Plex, Metronomy, Michael Kiwanuka, Mitski, and MØ.

Taking place across three days from the 30th of August to the 1st of September 2019, at Stradbally Hall, in Co Laois, Ireland, the 2019 festival is the biggest in Ireland with a capacity this year of 55,000. The festival boasts not only multiple stages with different genres of music but spoken word, comedy, theatre, workshops, crafts, dance, lake swimming, gourmet food and a host of other treats.

Completing the first series of acts, revealed today, is Parquet Courts, Sam Fender, Shura, Alma, Bodega, Cavetown, G Flip, Georgia, Heavy Lungs, Kero Kero Bonito, Let’s Eat Grandma, Sasami, Sea Girls, Serpentwithfeet, Songs of Kemet, and Yves Tumor, with more to be announced soon.

The wait is over. @thestrokes @flo_tweet @Hozier & @the1975 will headline EP 2019! They’ll be joined by Billie Eilish, Christine & The Queens, Dermot Kennedy, Four Tet, James Blake +many more! https://t.co/76c7yScIJw pic.twitter.com/bEHMQISILz

— Electric Picnic (@EPfestival) March 13, 2019

This year also sees the addition of a brand new area, Freetown, which sees an extra 30 acres added to the Electric Picnic site. It’s an entirely new self-contained town which will be created (by the creatives behind Salty Dog, Berlinhaus, and Trailer Park) on the site formerly occupied by the Oscar Wilde campsite. It will centre around Terminus, a new 8,000 capacity stage for electronic and dance. The town will also boast Providencia with ‘Latino life down every alley-way’ and, on the outskirts, there will be Spike Island, The Oasis, and Cirque.

Speaking about the new addition, Benn, said: “I pressed a real big refresh button with the festival. I’m not diluting anything in the existing festival – it’s a whole new area. It’s a place that will really move Electric Picnic on to another festival within itself.”

The announcement comes as festival organisers, Festival Republic, that they will soon be announcing a brand new summer festival at a new location. In the meantime, the focus is on Electric Picnic, which now faces a little competition from All Together Now, which arrived on the scene to rave reviews last Bank Holiday weekend, in August.

However, according to Been there’s room for everyone, with Benn saying: “I’ve spent my entire life creating and producing festivals and I believe festivals are an incredible release for people’s pressured lives. The fact that there are more and more of them is only reinforcing my belief that they are so important. I’m not looking at them from a point of view of worry or anything like that.  I just think the more the better.  The more people who are going to festivals the better it is.”