January 31: Lead singer of Mumford & Sons, Marcus Mumford, is 27-years-old today.

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Marcus Oliver Johnstone Mumford was born on January 31, 1987 in Anaheim, California, to British parents. In 1987, his family moved back to England when Marcus was six months old. He holds both British and American citizenship.

While attending King's College School in Wimbledon, 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 important gigs, as well as experimenting with his early writing that they decided to set up the band in 2007. Besides lead vocals, Marcus also plays guitar, drums, and mandolin in the group.

Mumford & Sons recorded an EP, Love Your Ground, and performed in small to moderate venues in the UK and the United States to build support for an eventual album. Their debut album, Sigh No More, was released in the UK and Ireland in October 2009, and February 2010 in the US.
The album reached number one in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, and eventually peaked at number two on the UK Albums Chart and the Billboard 200 in the US.

The band grew in popularity throughout 2010, performing for larger audiences and making their first network television appearances in the US. in December 2010. That year, the band received two Grammy Award nominations, one for Best New Artist and the other for Best Rock Song ("Little Lion Man.") The ensuing live performance at the Grammy ceremony in February 2011 led to increased airplay and popularity for singles from Sigh No More.

The band won the ARIA Music Award for Most Popular International Artist in 2010, and the Brit Award in 2011 for Best British Album.

The band's second studio album Babel was released in September 2012. The album debuted at number one in the UK and US, becoming the fastest selling album of 2012 in the UK, and the second-biggest selling debut in 2012 in the US.

At the 2013 Grammy Awards, they sang "I Will Wait" and Babel won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year. In 2013 the band won a Brit Award for Best British Group.

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For more about Mumford and Sons, visit their Website at –

http://mumfordandsons.com/

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