Where this was said
Babel: Overnight Success, Imposter Syndrome, and Drinking Too Much
At 37:21 · chapter starts 32:00
Babel was recorded in 6 weeks squeezed between tour dates — creatively pressurized, but it landed. Then the world opened up. Shows sold out, venues got bigger, Glastonbury beckoned. Marcus admits nobody prepares you for that level of success unless you're a Simon Cowell project. For him, the runaway fame fed a pre-existing shame narrative. [1] — Marcus Mumford "Babel turned Mumford & Sons into a global phenomenon overnight. Marcus wasn't prepared for it. The success fed a pre-existing shame narrati…" 34:55 He drank more, his friendship circle shrank, he went inward. He is candid but not self-pitying about it: 'I did use booze particularly as a bit of an escape.' Throughout it all, his marriage was the saving constant. He eventually quit alcohol 'more out of choice than necessity, although we could debate that,' and promptly replaced it with an ice cream diet. He was confused about not losing weight. Sean and Will both laugh in recognition — they've been on similar journeys.
During the peak of Mumford & Sons' Babel success, the band played approximately 250 shows a year.
Mumford & Sons took only 6 weeks off from touring to record Babel, which their producer found creatively frustrating.
There was a roughly 7-year gap between Mumford & Sons' fourth and fifth albums, including 2 years of touring and the COVID pandemic.
Babel turned Mumford & Sons into a global phenomenon overnight. Marcus wasn't prepared for it. The success fed a pre-existing shame narrative and he drank more than he should. His friendship circle shrank. His marriage saved him.
After quitting alcohol, Marcus Mumford replaced it with an ice cream-based diet until he couldn't understand why he wasn't losing weight.
