Florence Welch made her debut at the BBC Proms at the iconic Royal Albert Hall alongside Jules
Buckley and his Orchestra in London on September 11th, 2024. This exquisite and spellbinding
performance celebrated 15 years of her seminal debut album Lungs. The show received 5 star reviews
across the board with the audience left entranced by the glorious on stage spectacle from Florence
herself and the wealth of talented performers that accompanied her.
As the performance is due to be aired in full on BBC Two and iPlayer tomorrow night (October 19th),
Florence & Jules Buckley announce that the Symphony of Lungs (BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall) live album will be available digitally on Friday, October 25th and on vinyl and CD on Friday, March 14th, 2025.
The grandeur of the Royal Albert Hall was of course the perfect setting in which to witness such a
performance, the resplendent and lavish setting offset Florence’s opulent and commanding stage
presence whilst dressed in blood red Rodarte perfectly, while orchestra and choir were dressed by Allen & Adcock. 80,000 fans scrambled for tickets as soon as they went on sale with a further 20,000 trying to snap up one of the few floor seats that are made available on the morning of the show – many were left disappointed as they sold out in 7 minutes.
“I always thought maybe I would give my first album a long title. Under Heaven Over Hell (‘uh oh’ for
short) was one idea. But, when I thought of ‘Lungs’, I knew it had to be that. This album is truly an
exhalation and a gasp – a cacophony of ideas and influences. For things to get so big so fast on a debut album is both an unknowable blessing and a curse. You never know if the record (or the person) will survive it. To be able to go back to it, 15 years and five albums later, and have it still be so loved is the most extraordinary thing. Re-imagining it with Jules Buckley and his Orchestra was an act of enormous catharsis.”
The BRIT award winning Lungs celebrated its 15 year anniversary this July. A debut album that set
the tone for the sound of the following decade in British music; a sound that is still hugely influential
in the current climate of popular music. A female fronted band that powerfully embraced the
theatrical in songwriting and performance, transported by the formidable vocal prowess of Florence
Welch. Lungs entered the charts at Number 1 in multiple countries, was nominated for countless
awards and has gone on to garner 4.7 Billion streams globally including being 6 x Platinum in the UK alone.