Laura Marling facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Laura Marling
Marling performing at the Sydney Opera House in February 2012
Background information
Birth name	Laura Beatrice Marling
Born	(1990-02-01) 1 February 1990 (age 35)
Genres	Folk folk rock indie folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass piano ukulele
Years active	2006–present
Labels	WayOutWest, Virgin, Ribbon, Chrysalis Records
Associated acts	Noah and the Whale The Rakes Mystery Jets Johnny Flynn Mumford & Sons Ed O'Brien

Laura Beatrice Marling (born 1 February 1990) is an English folk singer-songwriter. She is known for her unique voice and thoughtful songs. Laura has won a Brit Award for Best British Female Solo Artist. She has also been nominated for this award several other times.

Many of Laura's albums have been nominated for important music awards. Her first album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, and her second, I Speak Because I Can, were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize. Her fourth album, Once I Was an Eagle, and her seventh, Song for Our Daughter, also received Mercury Prize nominations. Her sixth album, Semper Femina, and Song for Our Daughter were nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album. In 2024, Laura released her eighth solo album, Patterns in Repeat. Her songs often explore themes like growing up, relationships, and what it means to be a woman today.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

Laura Marling is the youngest of three daughters. Her mother was a music teacher. Her father, Sir Charles William Somerset Marling, ran a recording studio. He introduced Laura to folk music and helped shape her musical taste. Laura learned to play the guitar when she was five years old.

She grew up on a farm in Eversley, a small village in Hampshire, England. When she was a baby, the famous band Black Sabbath even recorded music at her father's studio!

Laura went to Waverly Primary School and Leighton Park School. She wrote her first song, "Failure," when she was 14. This song later appeared on her first album, Alas, I Cannot Swim.

Music Career Journey

After finishing her school exams at age 16, Laura moved to London to live with her older sisters. She soon became part of a group of bands that played acoustic instruments and traditional-sounding melodies. This style of music was called "nu-folk" by the British press.

Laura joined the band Noah and the Whale for a short time. She sang background vocals on their first album. She also worked with other bands like The Rakes and Mystery Jets. Early in her career, she performed with members of the band Mumford & Sons.

First Albums: 2008–2011

Marling in 2011

Laura was invited to tour with musician Jamie T after he saw her perform. She also toured with Adam Green. She played at big music festivals like the O₂ Wireless Festival and the Underage Festival in 2007. After these shows, she released her first collection of songs, called an EP, titled London Town.

Her first full album, Alas, I Cannot Swim, came out on 4 February 2008. It was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize, a very important music award in the UK.

Laura Marling performing at Glastonbury in 2010.

Laura appeared on TV shows like The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and Later With Jools Holland. She even once performed on the street because she was too young to get into one of her own shows!

Her second album, I Speak Because I Can, was released on 22 March 2010. This album had a more grown-up sound and lyrics. It explored themes about what it means to be a woman. The album was also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 2010.

Laura's third album, A Creature I Don't Know, was released on 12 September 2011. It also received good reviews and was popular on the music charts.

Once I Was an Eagle: 2012–2013

In October 2012, Laura finished a tour in the US where she performed by herself. She announced that her fourth album, Once I Was an Eagle, was ready. It was released on 27 May 2013.

The first song from the album, "Master Hunter," came out in April 2013. Once I Was an Eagle reached number 3 on the UK music charts.

Laura shared that she listened mostly to music from 1969 to 1972 while writing this album. She wanted a very simple sound for this album. She recorded all the songs without a band, which was different from her previous two albums.

Once I Was an Eagle was Laura's third album to be nominated for the Mercury Prize.

Short Movie and Semper Femina: 2014–2017

Marling in 2017

On 16 December 2014, Laura announced her fifth album would be called Short Movie. The main song from the album, also called "Short Movie," was released on the same day. The album came out in March 2015.

Laura started recording songs for this album after her solo tour for Once I Was an Eagle. She wrote many of the songs while living in Los Angeles. She later finished the album with her band in London.

The second song from the album, "False Hope," was released in January 2015. Both "False Hope" and "Short Movie" were praised by music critics. They noticed the bigger sound and Laura's confident singing.

In October 2015, Laura announced a short tour in the US. She played new songs from her upcoming sixth album during this tour.

In November 2016, Laura announced her sixth album, Semper Femina, would be released in March 2017. The first song from it was "Soothing." The album received great reviews. Semper Femina was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.

Laura also sang cover versions of "Red Right Hand" by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan. These songs were used in the TV show Peaky Blinders in 2017.

Lump and Recent Albums: 2018–Present

In 2018, Laura Marling announced a new music project with Mike Lindsay from the band Tunng. They formed a duo called Lump. Before releasing their album, they put out two songs: "Curse of the Contemporary" and "Late to the Flight." Their first album, Lump, was released on 1 June 2018. Laura wrote the lyrics and sang, while Mike played most of the instruments.

Laura also sang on the song "Cloak of the Night" with Radiohead guitarist Ed O'Brien. This song was on his first solo album, Earth, released in 2020.

On 5 April 2020, Laura announced her seventh solo album, Song for Our Daughter. She released a song called "Held Down" at the same time. The album was originally planned for August but was released early on 10 April. This was partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which also caused Laura to cancel many of her 2020 concerts.

Laura Marling performs at The Independent in San Francisco in December 2021.

Laura performed songs from Song for Our Daughter in several online concerts during the pandemic. These included Live at the Union Chapel and The Lockdown Sessions. In March 2021, she announced a UK tour to perform these songs live for the first time.

On 5 May 2021, Laura announced a second album with Lump, called Animal. It was released on 30 July 2021.

After her daughter was born in 2023, Laura began writing and recording her eighth album, Patterns in Repeat, in London. This album explores themes of motherhood and family. It was released on 25 October 2024.

Acting Roles

Laura Marling acted in a short film called Woman Driver. It was filmed in Marfa, Texas. Laura won "Best Actress" at the 72-Hour National Film Challenge for her role. The film was shown at the London Short Film Festival in January 2015 and later released online. It also featured new music by Laura.

Personal Life

Laura Marling was in a relationship with Noah and the Whale singer Charlie Fink until 2008. She also dated Marcus Mumford of Mumford & Sons for a few years. In 2013, she moved to Silver Lake in Los Angeles, California. She moved back to London in December 2014.

Laura has described herself as a private person. She enjoys quiet moments but also loves being around people.

As of 2020, she lives in Stoke Newington in London with her boyfriend, musician George Jephson, and her older sister. In 2020, Laura started studying for a master's degree in psychoanalysis, which she completed in 2024.

In February 2023, Laura announced that she had given birth to a daughter named Maudie. In November 2024, she shared that she was expecting her second child. She is now a full-time stay-at-home mother, alongside her music career.

Discography

Solo Albums

• Alas, I Cannot Swim (2008)
• I Speak Because I Can (2010)
• A Creature I Don't Know (2011)
• Once I Was an Eagle (2013)
• Short Movie (2015)
• Semper Femina (2017)
• Song for Our Daughter (2020)
• Patterns in Repeat (2024)

Albums with Lump

• Lump (2018)
• Animal (2021)

Awards and Nominations

Laura Marling has received many awards and nominations for her music.

See also

In Spanish: Laura Marling para niños