(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Florence Welch couldn't perform to the best of her ability during her first few times on stage because she was too drunk.

The British songstress lead singer of Florence + the Machine says experimenting with alcohol in her late teens coincided with her initial attempts at breaking into the music industry.

The 24-year-old singer, who is best known for her hit song You've Got The Love, has revealed she used to sing anywhere she could, and would often turn up intoxicated.

Florence admits she often improvised when she got on stage.

"For a lot of my first gigs I was really drunk and would just stamp my feet and clap and sing a cappella," she confessed.

Florence got her first taste of life on the road when she dated a guy in a band called The Ludes. The star says the relationship was intense because of the mix of alcohol and emotions.

"I would get dropped off at school straight from the tour bus. It was so heady!" she recalled in an interview with Nylon magazine. "That combination of first love, first getting drunk ... it was just like, There's life outside school!' It was so exciting." (C) Cover Media