Marcus Mumford

Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford (born 31 January 1987) is an American-born English singer, songwriter, musician and producer best known as the lead singer of the band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group, including guitar, drums and mandolin.

Marcus was born on 31 January 1987, in Orange County, California, to English parents. As a result, he has held both British and US citizenship from birth. Mumford has an older brother, James. His aunt is also an academic in law at the University of Bristol.

Mumford's family moved back to their native England when Marcus was six months old. He grew up in Wimbledon Chase, southwest London, and attended King's College School in Wimbledon. There he met future fellow band member Ben Lovett. He returned to London to focus on his music career after his first year of study at the University of Edinburgh.

It was in Edinburgh that he penned most of Mumford & Sons' debut album, Sigh No More. He began his musical career playing drums for Laura Marling on tour, along with the other current members of Mumford & Sons. It was through touring with Marling and gaining experience playing gigs, as well as experimenting with his early writing that they decided to form the band in 2007.

Mumford was included in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list of music stars in December 2012 for his achievements with Mumford & Sons. Forbes commented of the list which also included acts such as Adele and Rihanna: "In sum they represent the entrepreneurial, creative and intellectual best of their generation. Individually, they are engaging, surprising and incredibly hardworking."

Mumford sang a cover of "Dink's Song" with Oscar Isaac for the 2013 Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis. Although Mumford is not seen in the film, he voices the protagonist's musical partner, Mike, who has committed suicide before the starting point of the film.

Mumford is featured on the 2014 collaborative album Lost on the River: The New Basement Tapes, with other artists including Elvis Costello, Rhiannon Giddens, Taylor Goldsmith, Jim James, Jay Bellerose, and T Bone Burnett. Mumford takes co-writing credits on tracks, "Kansas City," "When I Get My Hands on You," "The Whistle Is Blowing," "Stranger," and "Lost on the River #20."

On 23 September 2014, the video for "When I Get My Hands on You" was released and features Mumford on lead vocals.

The band's third album, Wilder Mind, was released on 4 May, 2015.

In 2014 Mumford produced Hold Fast by Christian Letts (Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros), released February 2015. Mumford co-wrote 4 tracks from the record - "Copper Bells", "La Mer", "Emeralds" and "Matches".

Mumford produced the album Gamble for a Rose by King Charles, released January 2016.

Mumford's parents, John and Eleanor (née Weir-Breen), are former national leaders of the Vineyard Church in the UK and Ireland.

Mumford formerly dated Laura Marling from whom he separated in late 2010. In April 2012 Mumford married English actress Carey Mulligan in Somerset, England. They were childhood pen pals who lost touch and reconnected as adults. They married a few weeks after wrapping production on the Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis, in which they were both involved. They had a daughter, named Evelyn Grace Mumford, in September 2015.