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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Kate Finnigan

‘They said I’m a badass and Hollywood needs me’: how Florence’s Machine took Tinseltown

Machine Florence Welch Hollywood Cy Twombly Beyoncé Jennifer Hudson Ed Ruscha Larry Gagosian Netflix Sam Levinson
Hasn’t told Florence she’s left … Isabella Summers.
‘I miss playing stadiums and dressing up’… Isabella Summers. Photograph: Jimi Herrtage

On her Instagram account in 2020, Isabella Summers posted a screenshot of a question from the quizshow Pointless: “What is the nickname of Florence Welch’s musical collaborator, Isabella Summers? A) Magician B) Machine C) Maestro.” Underneath, Summers supplied her own answer: “All three, mother****ers”.

She wasn’t wrong. As the co-founder and keyboardist alongside Welch, she was the Machine. Still is, in fact. Despite her absence from this year’s Dance Fever album and tour, she hasn’t officially left the band – nor, it seems, officially explained her absence to Welch, but more on that later. Magician? Well, she may have written, produced and remixed tracks for Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson and Juliette Lewis, among many others, but Summers is able to move through the world invisibly.

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