Background and Release
"Dog Days Are Over" was recorded with no instruments in a studio the "size of a loo". The song was inspired by a giant text installment titled "Dog Days Are Over" by artist Ugo Rondinone, which lead singer Florence Welch used to see every day, riding her bike over Waterloo Bridge. The song was produced and mixed by James Ford of Simian Mobile Disco and The Last Shadow Puppets, who is also famous for producing for the likes of Bloc Party and the Arctic Monkeys. He is also credited as playing piano and guitar on the record. Florence co-wrote the song with Isabella Summers who is also credited as the song's co-producer, and played piano on the record. Welch and Summers also teamed up for the percussion on the track, together with Charlie Hugall. "Dog Days Are Over" also features musicians Tom "Moth" Monger (harp), Bruce White (viola), Everton Nelson (violin), Christopher Lloyd Hayden (drums) and Rob Ackroyd (guitar). Jimmy Robertson, extensively involved in the recording of Lungs recorded and mixed "Dog Days Are Over" as well.
An acoustic version of the song was performed live on BBC's Radio 1 Big Weekend. The track has been performed at a great number of high profile festivals through 2008 and 2009, including the Reading and Leeds festivals. The band also performed the song on the Mercury Prize 2009 awards show and BBC Introducing.
A six-minute, forty-second-long Optimo remix of "Dog Days Are Over" has also been made available.
The song was used in an advertisement for programming on RTÉ and in an episode of BAFTA Award-winning teen drama Skins. In 2010 it was used in an advertising campaign for the television premiere of Slumdog Millionaire on Channel 4. It was used in a promo for the first series of CBBC series, Deadly 60. It was also heard in the NBC medical drama Mercy, and used during a promotional video for the show. In addition the song was used in Episode 3.8 of Secret Diary of a Call Girl. It also featured in Gossip Girl Season 4 Episode 14. In March 2010, the song was used in the theatrical trailer for Eat, Pray, Love. The song was used in July 2010 for a commercial for Covert Affairs and was used in the pilot of the series. The song was used extensively in Australia during winter in 2009, for advertising for the latter half of the 2009 AFL season. This song was covered by Amber Riley (Mercedes) and Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina) from Glee on the second season episode "Special Education" in November 2010. The song has also been used extensively in a series of television advertisements by Telus in Canada.
The background music of the song is also featured in a promotional video for the 1GOAL Education for All campaign called "2 girls born on the same day".
Florence and the Machine performed the song at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in December 2010. They performed it on the 21 June 2011 episode of The Colbert Report.
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