Dido

Dido Armstrong is an English singer-songwriter from London, born in 1971. She is known for pop-oriented work that also spans alternative rock, dance-pop, downtempo, electropop and folktronica, and she is identified with the British singer-songwriter tradition.

Early life and training

She is born in London and grows up there with her poet mother and publisher father. Her full name is Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong. As a child she reads widely and plays tennis against the garden wall. At six she is accepted into the Guildhall School of Music in London, and by the age of ten she plays piano, violin and recorder. During her teenage years she tours the UK with a classical ensemble and works as a waitress at Cafe Flo in Islington. She leaves school to help pay her way through university and later studies law at Birkbeck University. At sixteen she becomes interested in jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and in her brother’s record collection.

Faithless and early collaborations

Her brother Rollo is a member of Faithless, and Dido features on the group’s debut album Reverence in 1995 on “Flowerstand Man”, which she co-writes, and “Salva Mea”. She later appears on Faithless’ 1998 album Sunday 8pm on “Postcards” and “Hem of His Garment”, both of which she co-writes. She also features on the Faithless track “One Step Too Far”, released as a single in 2002, and on “Dub Be Good to Me” for the War Child charity album 1 Love. Another Faithless recording, “Dub Be Good To Me”, is a cover of the Beats International song.

Solo breakthrough

After Clive Davis hears demos of her own material in 1997, she is signed to Arista and begins work on her debut album No Angel. The album is released in the United States in 1999 and in the UK in 2000, later appearing in special and limited editions with enhanced videos, bonus tracks, mixes and live recordings. It includes “Here With Me”, “Thank You”, “Hunter”, “All You Want” and “Christmas Day”. “Here With Me” becomes a hit and also serves as the theme tune to the US television series Roswell. “Thank You” later appears in the film Sliding Doors.

No Angel becomes a major international success, reaching number one in multiple countries and selling more than 12 million copies worldwide. It is the best-selling album of 2001 and is reworked and re-released in 2005. Dido’s profile rises further when Eminem uses “Thank You” in the single “Stan”.

Awards and chart success

Dido wins the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act in 2001. In 2002 she receives BRIT Awards for Best British Female Solo Artist and Best British Album for No Angel. At the BRIT Awards in 2004 she wins Best British Female Solo Artist again, along with Best British Single for “White Flag”.

Life for Rent and later work

Her second album, Life for Rent, is released in 2003 and enters the chart at number one. It becomes the best-selling album of that year, sells more than 2.2 million copies during the year and reaches number one in 20 countries. Its singles include “White Flag”, her biggest solo hit, “Life for Rent”, “Don’t Leave Home” and “Sand in My Shoes”. She also appears with Rufus Wainwright on “I Eat Dinner (When the Hunger’s Gone)” from the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason soundtrack, and takes part in the Band Aid 20 version of “Do They Know It’s Christmas?” in 2004.

Her third album, Safe Trip Home, is dedicated to her late father. Around its release, “Look No Further” is made available and “Don’t Believe in Love” is issued as the lead single. Dido chooses not to tour for the album. In 2013 she releases The Girl Who Got Away, which moves toward electronica, folk-pop and folktronica and includes the promotional single “Let Us Move On”, featuring Kendrick Lamar, and the lead single “No Freedom”. She gives birth while the album is being produced and does not tour it.

Return with Still on My Mind

After a five-year break from releasing new music, Dido announces Still on My Mind and issues the promotional track “Hurricanes”, which appears on the Spanish version of the television series Skam. The album is released in 2019 and she undertakes her first tour in 15 years, including her first shows in Latin America. Its singles include “Give You Up”, “Take You Home” and “Friends”; “Give You Up” appears in Locke & Key. The album reaches number one on the UK Independent Album Chart.