Rollo Armstrong Explained

Rollo
Image Upright:1.2
Birth Name:Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong
Birth Date:1966 5, df=yes
Birth Place:Kensington, London, England
Current Member Of:Faithless
Alias:R Plus
The OT Quartet
Dignity
Occupation:Record producer
Years Active:1992–present
Label:Cheeky Records/BMG
Associated Acts:Sister Bliss,Maxi Jazz,Faithless,Dido,Amelia Fox,Dusted,All Thieves,One eskimO,Rob Dougan

Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong[1] (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as both Rollo and R Plus, is an English 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 UEFA Euro 2008 theme,[2] which is also used as UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Women's Championship, and youth tournaments theme since 2017.

Early life

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

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). 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

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

See also: Faithless discography.

Albums

Singles

Dusted
  • all produced with Mark Bates
    Rollo & Rob D productions
  • all produced with Rob Dougan
    Rollo Goes...
    Other aliases
    R Plus
    Title! scope="col"
    YearAlbum
    "Summer Dress"
    (featuring Dido)    		2019The Last Summer
    "Those Were The Days"
    (featuring Dido)
    "My Boy"
    (featuring Dido)
    "Together (In These Times)"
    (featuring Dido)    		2020Non-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

    External links

    Notes and References

    1. Web site: Songwriter/Composer: ARMSTRONG ROWLAND CONSTANTINE O MALLEY. BMI Repertoire. Broadcast Music Incorporated. 29 September 2008.
    2. Web site: UEFA.com . 2008-06-27 . Official melody in tune with EURO UEFA EURO . 2024-01-22 . UEFA.com . en.
    3. News: William Armstrong — Publisher at Sidgwick & Jackson. Patrick Janson-Smith. Obituaries. 17 January 2007. 8 October 2008. London. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20071214191642/http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2160041.ece. 14 December 2007.
    4. https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/oct/19/faithless-how-we-made-insomnia-sister-bliss-maxi-jazz Faithless: how we made Insomnia
    5. Larkin, Colin (1998) The Virgin Encyclopedia of Dance Music, Virgin Books,, p. 54
    6. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited. London. 1-904994-10-5. 197.
    7. Web site: The official UEFA EURO 2008 music . UEFA EURO 2008: 100 days to go . (page 5) . 28 February 2008 . . 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. . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20081003075031/http://www.euro2008.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/PressConference/Competitions/MediaServices/66/52/88/665288_DOWNLOAD.pdf . 3 October 2008 .
    8. Web site: Winners for the 83rd Academy Awards | Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences . Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences . 24 April 2012.
    9. Web site: Dido Joins Rollo and Sister Bliss of Faithless as R Plus, Debut Album The Last Summer Announced for October 2019 Release. Wong. Miranda. MXDWN. October 2019. 26 September 2021.
    10. Web site: Rollo and Dido: return of the 50m-selling siblings who blundered into stardom. The Guardian. Petridis. Alexis. 3 October 2019. 26 September 2021.
    11. Web site: Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100 18 October 2019 – 24 October 2019. Official Charts Company. 28 February 2021.
    12. Web site: Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 18 October 2019 – 24 October 2019. Official Charts Company . 28 February 2021.
    13. Web site: R Plus and Dido - The Last Summer (Deluxe Edition). Spotify. 19 May 2023. 19 May 2023.
    14. Web site: Faithless' Rollo Armstrong debuts on Armada with new R Plus single: 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. Rave Jungle. Gelevski. Alex. 10 May 2021. 30 April 2023.
    15. Web site: R Plus Love Will Tear Us Apart. iTunes Store. 26 September 2021.
    16. Web site: Hey Lover. 26 September 2021.
    17. Web site: R Plus WeDisappear. Apple Music. 13 May 2022. 12 December 2022.
    18. Web site: Rollo Armstrong redefines storytelling with second R Plus album: 'WeDisappear'. Front View Magazine. 16 May 2022. 30 April 2023.
    19. Web site: R Plus - We Disappear. Spotify. 13 May 2022. 12 December 2022.
    20. Web site: R Plus, Faithless & Amelia Fox - Makes Me Feel Good. Spotify. 18 March 2022. 27 April 2023.
    21. Web site: R Plus, Faithless, Amelia Fox - Let's Really Have Some Fun. Spotify. 28 April 2023. 28 April 2023.
    22. Web site: For Lovers, Not Killers. Spotify. 24 November 2023. 9 December 2023.
    23. Web site: R Plus . 2023-12-16 . Armada Music . en.
    24. Book: Roberts , David . 2006. British Hit Singles & Albums. 19th. Guinness World Records Limited. London. 1-904994-10-5. 468.

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