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Dido Armstrong was born in London (England) on Christmas day in 1971, she was christened Florian Cloud De Bounevialle Armstrong. Dido lived with her poet mother and publisher father in London.
One day she looked up the story of her nickname. "I thought it was strange that I was called after a woman who killed herself in ancient literature. It's great for me now but there's no denying that I hated it. That was just another thing that made me stand out". Young Dido enjoyed reading and playing tennis against the garden wall and when she was just 6 she was accepted into the Guildhall School of Music in London and by 10 she could play the piano, violin and recorder. Some of her teenage years were spent touring the UK with a Classical Ensemble and being a waitress at Cafe Flo in Islington. She left school to pay her way through university, and eventually enrolled as a law student at Birkbeck University. At 16 she became enthralled with the music of jazz singer Ella Fitzgerald and her brother's music collection. Her brother Rollo, played in the group Faithless and she appeared on the groups five million selling debut album 'Reverence' in 1995 on the tracks 'Flowerstand Man' and 'Salva Mea'. Dido later appeared on another Faithless album 'Sunday 8pm' in 1998 on the tracks 'Postcards' and 'Hem of his Garment'. In between recording those two albums Dido met producer Clive Davis in 1997 after he had heard demos of some of her own tracks. Dido was later signed to the record company Arista and began recording her debut album 'No Angel'. The album was released in the USA in 1999 and about a year later in October 2000 in the UK. Two tracks off the album have appeared in a TV show and in a film. 'Thank You' appeared in the film 'Sliding Doors' and 'Here With Me' was the theme tune to 'Roswell' a hit TV show in the USA and which has been doing well in the UK. Dido really shot to fame when Eminem incorporated 'Thank You' into the massive number 1 hit 'Stan'. For the 'Stan' video Dido agreed to wear a padded pregnancy suit and lie in the boot of a car before being dumped in a river. "I did that for an adventure and a laugh. I'd just done a really glammy video for 'Here With Me' and suddenly I was on set choosing boxer shorts with Dr Dre while wearing this massive bump. I looked so pregnant I had to jump about on a sofa to flatten my stomach down". Dido said of Eminem "He's been nothing but properly nice to me. He's polite, funny and charming, nothing like his media image at all. If he was such an arsehole I wouldn't have played with him, would I? I had no contract to do that. I chose to". A special edition of 'No Angel' was released in January 2001 with enhanced videos of 'Here With Me' and 'Thank You'. It also included a bonus track 'Take My hand' and a picture gallery. The album went to number 1 and stayed there for a number of weeks. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Her debut single 'Here With Me' was released in February 2001 and became a hit getting to number 4. The follow up 'Thank You' was released in May 2001 and got to number 3. The following month Dido appeared on another Faithless album 'Outrospective' on the track 'One Step Too Far'. The third single, 'Hunter' was released in September 2001, it didn't do as well as the previous two singles, only reaching number 17. A further limited edition of 'No Angel' was released in November 2001 with extra enhanced videos of 'Hunter' and live versions of 'All You Want' and 'Honestly OK'. It also included mixes of 'Here With Me', 'Thank You', 'Hunter' and 'Take My Hand' and an extra track 'Christmas Day'. Also in November 2001 Dido won the Best New Act Award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. A fourth and final single from the 'No Angel' album, 'All You Want' backed with 'Christmas Day' was released as a limited edition 3" CD single in December 2001, it didn't enter the charts due to it being a limited edition. 'No Angel' was the best selling album of 2001 and sold more than two million copies during the year. It got to number 1 in thirteen countries and was the best selling album in the world. In February 2002 Dido won Best British Female and Best British Album for 'No Angel' at the Brit Awards 2002. In April 2002 'One Step Too Far' the track which Dido recorded with Faithless was released as as single, it reached number 6. Also in April 2002 the track that Dido co-wrote for Britney Spears, 'I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman' was released, it reached number 2. In October 2002 Dido featured on the War Child charity album '1 Love'. It featured the track she recorded with Faithless, 'Dub Be Good To Me' which was a cover version of Beats International's number 1 from 1990. She also featured on Santana's album, 'Shaman' on the track 'Feels Like Fire'. The new 'Life For Rent' will be released shortly preceded by 'White Flag' the new single. Dido's ascent has been rapid and she has become a huge star and has a very bright future ahead of her. |
