British singer Florence Welch admits breakdown: 'I wasn't stable'

Independent

18 Feb, 2015 07:00 PM2 mins to read

Singer Florence Welch says there's a good reason why she took a year off. Photo/Getty

Florence Welch has spoken candidly about her "chaotic" battle against an "on and off relationship with drinking".

In an interview with Kiwi radio DJ Zane Lowe on his BBC Radio 1 show, the Dog Days singer said she suffered from "a bit of a nervous breakdown".

"Ceremonials and Lungs all blurred together, we didn't take any time off," the Florence + The Machine singer told Lowe.

"It was a decision to have a year off. [I had] a bit of a nervous breakdown ... It was a bit of a crash landing in a sense ... In the year off, I was still going out and going to events but something wasn't quite right, I was spiralling a bit. I wasn't making myself happy. I wasn't stable.

Welch appeared on Radio 1 to discuss her new album, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful.

"It was a really vulnerable time for me when we first started making the record and because of that it's the most personal record I've ever made."

The interview came in the week Lowe revealed he would be leaving Radio 1 for "exciting times" at Apple.