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Michael Clifford (musician)

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Michael Gordon Clifford (born 20 November 1995) is an Australian musician, best known as the lead guitarist of the pop rock band 5 Seconds of Summer. Since 2014, 5 Seconds of Summer have sold more than 10 million albums, sold over 2 million concert tickets worldwide, and the band's song streams surpass 7 billion, making them one of the most successful Australian musical exports in history.[1][2][3][4]

Michael Clifford
Clifford in 2014
Clifford in 2014
Background information
Birth nameMichael Gordon Clifford
Born (1995-11-20) 20 November 1995 (age 28)
Quakers Hill, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Guitar
  • vocals
Years active2011–present
Member of5 Seconds of Summer
Spouse
Crystal Leigh Clifford
​
​
(m. 2021)​
Children1
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2014–present
Followers191K

Early life

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Michael Gordon Clifford was born on 20 November 1995 and raised in the Quakers Hill suburb of Sydney, New South Wales which is northwest of the city.[5] He is the only child of parents Karen and Daryl Clifford, who ran a computer business based near Quakers Hill.[6] Michael Clifford attended Norwest Christian College where he befriended future band-mate Calum Hood in the third grade.[7] For his high-school education, Clifford attended Norwest Christian College where he met band-mate, Luke Hemmings in Year 7. He later said that he initially "hated" Hemmings for "a solid year"; they became friends and formed the band.[8] Clifford met future band-mate Ashton Irwin through mutual friends in Year 9. In a People magazine interview he reflected that he "spent a lot of time away from school". Clifford's irregular attendance resulted in him leaving high school when he was in year 10 instead completing a course at TAFE.[9][10]

Growing up, Clifford took both singing lessons and piano lessons before quitting because he "hated" them. At the age of eleven, his parents bought him an acoustic guitar and Clifford began taking guitar lessons.[5] In high-school, Clifford joined his school's church band as a guitarist.[11]

Career

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Main article: 5 Seconds of Summer

In 2011, Clifford, Hood, and Hemmings began posting song covers on Hemmings' YouTube channel. The trio eventually added mutual friend Irwin to their videos, forming the current 5 Seconds of Summer lineup.[12]  After months of posting song covers together, the band began attracting interest from major music labels and publishers and initially signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.[13] Clifford has since released five studio albums with the band, each met with worldwide success: 5 Seconds of Summer (2014), Sounds Good Feels Good (2015), Youngblood (2018), Calm (2020), and 5SOS5 (2022).

At the NAMM Show in January 2019, Clifford, in collaboration with Gibson, introduced the Michael Clifford Signature Melody Maker guitar. The guitar was released for purchase in May 2019, with Clifford citing his main inspiration for the guitar being his own first guitar, Joan Jett's Melody Maker.[14] He said that the goal of the Melody Maker was to "be an homage to the Joan Jett Melody Maker" and that he hoped the guitar would "inspire" someone, just as Jett inspired him. Clifford is the youngest guitarist to ever receive a custom guitar in his name.[14]

In June 2019, it was revealed Clifford had partnered with Nightfood Ice Cream in developing a custom chocolate flavor for the brand.[15]

Apart from the band, Clifford has expressed interest in gaming.[16] His Twitch account, which he uses to live-stream game sessions, has amassed over 150,000 followers.[17][18] During the Australian Bushfires of January 2020, Clifford held a charity Twitch live-stream, in which all proceeds were donated to Australian Red Cross.[19]

Personal life

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Clifford has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression.[20][21] Since the beginning of his career, Clifford has used his platform to raise awareness and be an advocate for mental health.[22][23][24] In June 2015, Clifford suffered minor face, hair, and shoulder injuries from a pyrotechnics accident during the band's Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour at the SSE Wembley Arena in London.[25]

In January 2019, Clifford posted on his Instagram account announcing his engagement to his girlfriend Crystal Leigh, a talent manager. On January 11, 2022 the couple announced their one-year anniversary, saying that they had gotten married in a private ceremony.[26][27] On June 12, 2023, Clifford and his partner announced they are expecting their first child.[28] Their daughter, Lua Stevie Clifford, was born on October 30, 2023, though her birth wasn't announced until December 7.[29]

In 2019, it was reported that Clifford bought an eight-bedroom, 4-acre mansion in Los Angeles' Valley Village neighborhood located in San Fernando Valley.[30] In July 2020, Clifford's net worth was estimated to be US$20 million.[31]

Discography

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See also: 5 Seconds of Summer discography

Songwriting credits

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List of songwriting credits, with recording artist(s), year released and album name show
Title Year Artist Album Notes
"And the sun will shine only for us" 2015 Lizard Kisses In The Morning b/w Close 7" Drums
"Wake Up"[32] 2018 Black Veil Brides Vale Composer

References

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  1. ^ "Australia's Annual Music Exports Worth $13M: Report". Billboard. 17 July 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Why 5SOS are finally feeling the love in Australia". Sunshine Coast Daily. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  3. ^ "5 SECONDS OF SUMMER: Umusic". Umusic. Archived from the original on 12 February 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. ^ "5 Seconds of Summer". Billboard. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b Summer, 5. Seconds of (2014). Hey, Lets Make a Band!. HarperCollins. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-06-236644-3.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ "Michael Clifford". People. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  7. ^ "5 Seconds of Summer on their addiction to board games (and boots)". British GQ. 3 April 2020. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  8. ^ "5 Seconds of Summer Band Members Were Once Frenemies". People.com. Archived from the original on 15 May 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  9. ^ "5SOS on leaving school to pursue music: 'We had to prove to our parents it was worth it'". Pressparty. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  10. ^ Creswell, Toby (9 March 2013). "The songs may change but the story of a hit remains the same". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 21 October 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  11. ^ Doyle, Patrick (8 January 2016). "21 Things We Learned Hanging Out With 5 Seconds of Summer". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  12. ^ "Meet 5 Seconds of Summer, Your Hosts For This Evenings Entertainment". Music Feeds. 14 May 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2018. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  13. ^ Creswell, Toby (30 July 2012). "Smells Like Teen Spirit". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 11 August 2012.
  14. ^ a b Campbell, Rachel (28 May 2019). "Michael Clifford on "the best guitar that [he's] ever played"". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Nightfood Ice Cream Partners with 5 Seconds of Summer's Michael Clifford". NOSH. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  16. ^ Vidani, Peter (29 June 2018). "My Tech: Michael Clifford". Daily 5sos Updates. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  17. ^ Serra, Maria (24 March 2020). "10 musicians streaming games and rocking out on Twitch". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on 10 April 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  18. ^ "michaelclifford – Statistics". TwitchTracker. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
  19. ^ "Michael Clifford to Host Charity Stream for Red Cross". The Honey POP. 19 January 2020. Archived from the original on 26 February 2020. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  20. ^ Campbell, Rachel (12 August 2018). ""It gets bad before it gets better:" 5SOS's Michael Clifford on mental health". Alternative Press. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  21. ^ "5SOS' Michael Clifford opens up about mental health on stage". EW.com. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  22. ^ In-Depth. "5SOS' Michael Clifford on Mental Health: Why You Should Listen". Fuse. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  23. ^ "5SOS' Michael Opened Up About Seeing A Therapist And It's A Really Big Deal". PopBuzz. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  24. ^ "Michael Clifford Proves Real Bands Really DO Save Fans". The Honey POP. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  25. ^ "Five Seconds of Summer guitarist Michael Clifford burnt on stage". BBC Newsbeat. 14 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  26. ^ "Surprise! 5SOS's Michael Clifford and Crystal Leigh Married in a Secret Ceremony a Year Ago: 'So Special'". Peoplemag.
  27. ^ Sector, Read (17 February 2020). "Michael Clifford confirms his wedding date, after revealing 5SOS will be his groomsmen". ReadSector. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  28. ^ "5SOS's Michael Clifford and Wife Crystal Celebrate Daughter at Baby Shower: 'Feeling We Will Never Forget'". Peoplemag. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  29. ^ "5SOS's Michael Clifford and Wife Crystal Welcome First Baby, Daughter Lua: 'Forever Humbled' (Exclusive)". Peoplemag. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  30. ^ "5SOS guitarist Michael Clifford nabs a mansion where he can entertain". Los Angeles Times. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  31. ^ "The Richest Bands in the World". Finance.yahoo.com. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Wake Up – Black Veil Brides". AllMusic. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
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