How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - 4 years on

June 1, 2019 Florence and the Machine Fan Club

Florence + the Machine’s deeply personal, firestorm on an album How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful turns 4 years old this week. It was an album written during one of the lowest points of Florence Welch’s life, detailing a journey of heartbreak, through disbelief and anger, bargaining, and finally to release.

That’s what makes the album to special. The meandering journey of heart-ache and toxicity, and the struggle for something higher is a universal one; one we can all somehow relate to, whether it being experiences with a lover, a friendship, or just a rough patch in one’s life. It’s why this album has undoubtably been one of the best received from the band’s portfolio thus far, and to celebrate its cultural and personal significance to fans across the globe, we asked you to share with us the ways in which it has changed you, and we were moved by all of your stories and revelations. Whilst we couldn’t feature them all, here’s a selection:

It's actually pretty difficult to put into words how important HBHBHB is to me. It's honestly one of the most important things I've ever had in my life. It helped me recognize and deal with the trauma of an abusive relationship. Every song on the album matched my experience perfectly. It's helped me forgive and be more kind to myself. To love myself. To love the fire within me but to also love my sensitivity. It's gotten me through a lot of loss and heartache. It's the source of my first tattoo. It's helped me realize there is something beyond the pain of whatever I'm experiencing at the moment. To survive my circumstance. It made me feel understood and helped me find strength within myself when I thought I had nothing left to give. It gave me hope and determination. Very few things have had as much of an impact on my life as this album. I'll be forever indebted to Florence for the honesty and wisdom she puts into her songs. I've even told my therapist about it, how these particular songs continue to impact my life and teach me valuable lessons. If I could only listen to one record for the rest of my life, HBHBHB would definitely be my choice.

Heather

It all started with Wish That You Were Here in 2016. As a big fan of Tim Burton, I watched one of my most awaited film in 2016. It's Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children. As the end credits goes by, I was definitely captured or hooked by the melody of the ending song credits. I waited it until the rolling credits then I saw the name Florence and The Machine. I searched and played it in Youtubr and it was definitely catchy and beautiful to listen with. Then I decided to download the band's whole discography for being amazed by Florence's powerful vocals. From Ceremonials, Lungs, How Big How Blue How Beautiful, Songs from Final Fantasy XV, High As Hope her singles Breath of Life, Over the Love, and some covers like Tiny Dancer, Halo and many more. What caught me was Welch's captivating, beautiful, melodious and powerful vocals. And special thanks to HBHBHB full music video. It definitely helped my depression by listening to her songs in the album. Third Eye really helped a lot as one of her most beautifully written, sung and delivered. It helped me to live and continue my life.

"Horrid Henry"

Thank you to everyone who wrote in to us, sharing their personal thoughts and stories. Feel free to leave your story in the comments below.

If you’d like to feature in one of our fan-feature posts, simply drop us a line using our submissions form.