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Rollo Armstrong

Rollo
A man singing into a microphone.
Rollo in 1987
Background information
Birth nameRowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong
Also known asR Plus
The OT Quartet
Dignity
Born (1966-05-08) 8 May 1966 (age 58)
Kensington, London, England
OccupationRecord producer
Instrument(s)Keyboards, synthesiser
Years active1991–present
LabelsCheeky Records/BMG
Member ofFaithless

Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong[1] (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English DJ and music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding, non-touring, member of the electronic music group Faithless. He has produced and remixed many tracks for Dido, Rob Dougan, Pet Shop Boys, Simply Red, R. Kelly, U2, Moby, Grace, Tricky and Suede. He is also known for producing the UEFA Euro 2008 theme,[2] which is also used as UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Women's Championship, and youth tournaments theme since 2017.[citation needed]

Early life

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Rollo was born to an Irish publisher[3] and a French-English poet. His younger sister is singer Dido. He studied at the University of York and was an active member of the student radio station URY. Later bandmate Sister Bliss has claimed that Rollo experiences synaesthesia, seeing "music as colours".[4]

Career

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Rollo has appeared on a large number of music projects, both within groups and solo, using various monikers, including Faithless (which he formed in 1995 with Sister Bliss, Jamie Catto and Maxi Jazz), Rollo Goes ..., Our Tribe (with Rob Dougan), and Dusted.

In late 1991, Rollo founded Cheeky Records, releasing two singles before the label folded.[5] In 1992 Champion Records stepped in to help with funding and advice, and the label was restarted, with Reverence by Faithless its first album release (it has since been bought out by BMG).[5] In 1992, Rollo co-wrote and co-produced Felix's hit single "Don't You Want Me", which reached number 1 in Finland, Italy, Spain and Switzerland, as well as reaching number 6 on the UK Singles Chart.[6]

In the United States, Rollo is known for his production work on Dido's albums: No Angel (1999), Life for Rent (2003), Safe Trip Home (2008), Girl Who Got Away (2013) and Still on My Mind (2019). Rollo was also a producer on singer-songwriter Kristine W's debut album, Land of the Living.

In 2008, Rollo composed the official melody of the UEFA Euro 2008 competition.[7] and UEFA Euro 2012. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category of Best Original Song for his work with A.R. Rahman and Dido on "If I Rise", featuring in the 2010 Danny Boyle film 127 Hours.[8]

R Plus

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On 11 October 2019, Rollo released his first solo album, The Last Summer under the alias "R Plus".[9][10] It charted at No. 96 on the UK Album Sales Chart[11] and at No. 55 on the UK Album Download Chart.[12] On 19 July 2020, The Last Summer (Deluxe Edition) was released, and credited as by both R Plus and Dido.[13]

After moving record labels to Armada Music, Rollo (as R Plus) released a cover of Joy Division's 1980 hit "Love Will Tear Us Apart" on 7 May 2021, and features singer Amelia Fox. Rollo spoke of the remake: "[The song] meant the world to me when I was teenager, and it still does. I stole my first Joy Division T-shirt from a shop in Camden Market, and got to fleetingly meet guitarist Peter Hook years later at a party at the Hacienda in Manchester. It took a long time before I felt brave enough to cover this song, before I felt I knew what I was doing as a producer [...] To introduce Amelia Fox and the new R Plus album to the world, we thought it would be good to start with this cover. We wanted our version to sound like a piece of music found in a time capsule buried under the now empty DJ booth at the Hacienda, and wanted to capture both the sadness of the song and the late-night euphoria of that legendary club."[14][15] In July 2021, R Plus released "Hey Lover" again featuring Fox.[16]

On 13 May 2022, R Plus released WeDisappear, a collaboration album with Amelia Fox.[17][18][19] "Makes Me Feel Good"[20] and an edited version of "Let's Really Have Some Fun", released 28 April 2023, were released as singles.[21] On 24 November 2023, R Plus released the album For Lovers, Not Killers, alongside Fox.[22] Some streaming services erroneously list Faithless as a collaborative artist on R Plus releases, due to Armstrong's involvement in both projects.[23]

Discography

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See also: Faithless discography

Albums

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Singles

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Dusted
all produced with Mark Bates
Rollo & Rob D productions
all produced with Rob Dougan
Rollo Goes...
Other aliases
R Plus
List of singles as lead artist, showing year released and originating album
Title Year Album
"Summer Dress"
(featuring Dido) 		2019 The Last Summer
"Those Were The Days"
(featuring Dido)
"My Boy"
(featuring Dido)
"Together (In These Times)"
(featuring Dido) 		2020 Non-album singles
"Love Will Tear Us Apart"
(featuring Amelia Fox) 		2021
"Hey Lover"
(featuring Amelia Fox) 		WeDisappear
"Hold On To Your Heart"
(featuring Amelia Fox)
"This Girl Is Gone"
(featuring Amelia Fox) 		2022
"Makes Me Feel Good"
(featuring Amelia Fox)
"U Disappear"
(featuring Amelia Fox)
"Love Makes Me Feel Good"
(featuring Amelia Fox)
"It's Enough (The Last High)"
(featuring Amelia Fox) 		2023
"Let's Really Have Some Fun"
(featuring Amelia Fox)
Single production for other artists
Album production for other artists

References

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  1. ^ "Songwriter/Composer: ARMSTRONG ROWLAND CONSTANTINE O MALLEY". BMI Repertoire. Broadcast Music Incorporated. Retrieved 29 September 2008.[permanent dead link‍]
  2. ^ UEFA.com (27 June 2008). "Official melody in tune with EURO | UEFA EURO". UEFA.com. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
  3. ^ Patrick Janson-Smith (17 January 2007). "William Armstrong — Publisher at Sidgwick & Jackson". Obituaries. London. Archived from the original on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 8 October 2008.
  4. ^ Faithless: how we made Insomnia. The Guardian. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 25 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music, Virgin Books, ISBN 0-7535-0252-6, p. 54
  6. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 197. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  7. ^ "The official UEFA EURO 2008 music" (PDF). UEFA EURO 2008: 100 days to go. UEFA. 28 February 2008. pp. (page 5). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2008. For the first time ever, the European Championship has an official melody...composed by Rollo Armstrong of Faithless on behalf of UEFA.
  8. ^ "Winners for the 83rd Academy Awards | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
  9. ^ Wong, Miranda (October 2019). "Dido Joins Rollo and Sister Bliss of Faithless as R Plus, Debut Album The Last Summer Announced for October 2019 Release". MXDWN. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  10. ^ Petridis, Alexis (3 October 2019). "Rollo and Dido: return of the 50m-selling siblings who blundered into stardom". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  11. ^ "Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100 18 October 2019 – 24 October 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 18 October 2019 – 24 October 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 February 2021.
  13. ^ "R Plus and Dido - The Last Summer (Deluxe Edition)". Spotify. 19 May 2023. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
  14. ^ Gelevski, Alex (10 May 2021). "Faithless' Rollo Armstrong debuts on Armada with new R Plus single: 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'". Rave Jungle. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  15. ^ "R Plus Love Will Tear Us Apart". iTunes Store. Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Hey Lover". Retrieved 26 September 2021.
  17. ^ "R Plus WeDisappear". Apple Music. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  18. ^ "Rollo Armstrong redefines storytelling with second R Plus album: 'WeDisappear'". Front View Magazine. 16 May 2022. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  19. ^ "R Plus - We Disappear". Spotify. 13 May 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
  20. ^ "R Plus, Faithless & Amelia Fox - Makes Me Feel Good". Spotify. 18 March 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
  21. ^ "R Plus, Faithless, Amelia Fox - Let's Really Have Some Fun". Spotify. 28 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  22. ^ "For Lovers, Not Killers". Spotify. 24 November 2023. Retrieved 9 December 2023.
  23. ^ "R Plus". Armada Music. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
  24. ^ a b c Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 468. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
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