Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford is an American-born British singer, songwriter, musician, record producer and lead singer of the band Mumford & Sons. He also plays a number of instruments with the group, including guitar, drums and mandolin.
Early life and career
Mumford was born on 31 January 1987 in Yorba Linda, California, to English parents, John and Eleanor Mumford, former national leaders of the Vineyard Church. As a result, he has held both British and US citizenship from birth. Mumford has an older brother, James. Mumford's family moved back to their native England when Marcus was six months old. He grew up in Wimbledon Chase, southwest London, and was educated at King's College School in Wimbledon, where he met future 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, where he collaborated on 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 commits suicide before the beginning of the film. Mumford is featured on the 2014 collaborative album , 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. Mumford & Sons' third album, Wilder Mind, was released on 4 May 2015. Mumford & Sons' fourth album, Delta, was released on 16 November 2018, featuring appearances from Maggie Rogers, Yebba and Gill Landry.
Production work
In 2014, Mumford produced Hold Fast by Christian Letts, released February 2015. Mumford co-wrote four tracks from the record - "Copper Bells", "La Mer", "Emeralds" and "Matches". Mumford produced the albumGamble for a Rose by King Charles, released January 2016.
Personal life
In April 2012, he married Carey Mulligan in Somerset. They were childhood pen pals who reconnected as adults. They married a few weeks after working together on the Coen brothers film Inside Llewyn Davis. They have two children, daughter Evelyn Grace, born in September 2015, and son Wilfred, born in August 2017. Mumford is a supporter of AFC Wimbledon.
