- Born Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O’Malley Armstrong, in London England, in 1971.
- In her teens, she learned to play the piano, recorder and violin. Later, she learned the guitar. She began her music career in 1995 when she recorded 10 demo tracks, and also collaborated with her brother Rollo, the leader of a UK based dance act called Faithless. This got her exposure with record companies, and she released her first studio album, No Angel, in 1999.
- Five singles were released from this album. The biggest hit, Thank You, got a huge boost when rapper Eminem used the first verse as part of his hit rap song Stan. No Angel went on to become the biggest selling album in the world in 2001, and it is estimated to have sold over 21 million copies worldwide since its release.
- Despite her over 25 years in the music industry, Dido has only released five studio albums. Life For Rent was released in 2003 – its biggest hit was White Flag. Safe Trip Home, released in 2008 and Girl Who Got Away, released in 2013, had modest success. They have a similar sound to the first two albums – I think they are terrific. Her most recent studio album is 2019’s Still On My Mind. She also released an album as a collaboration with her older brother Rollo. The 2020 album titled The Last Summer (Deluxe Edition) featured Dido on 17 tracks.
- Her music is melodic, introspective and down tempo – definitely in the “soft rock/soft pop” category. The songs are well produced, sometimes ethereal in style. Her songs are written and produced by her and her brother Rollo. I’m pleased that I discovered Dido 20 years ago. I think you’ll like her too – enjoy her video for White Flag.