DIDO

DIDO REVEALS STYLE ICONS
ADDED: 10.10.02. SOURCE: TEENHOLLYWOOD

Dido respects Madonna and Gwen Stefani's fashion sense, reports Teenhollywood.com.

The singer, currently dating music producer Ferdy Unger-Hamilton, loves Stefani's outrageous style and cites Madonna as the ultimate icon of fashion.

She says, "Madonna is the obvious one, but I also like Gwen Stefani (right) because she always manages to get away with it. She's a really beautiful girl, I think."

"I admire people who have their own thing going on. Sophie Ellis Bextor looks really cool [errr...] and she always has an identity of her own." BACK TO THE TOP

NATURAL WINNER
ADDED: 02.10.02. SOURCE: DAILY EXPRESS, 17.09.02

Dido topped a Top 20 list for natural beauty, beating off competition from Kate Winslet and Natalie Imbruglia. Heading the list of the most over-made celebrities were EastEnders' Jessie Wallace, Jordan and Liz Taylor.

The top 20 natural beauty list in full:

1. Dido, 2. Kate Winslet, 3. Natalie Imbruglia, 4. Jennifer Aniston, 5. Angelina Jolie, 6. Halle Berry, 7. Nicole Kidman, 8. Cate Blanchett, 9. Joely Richardson, 10. Isabella Rossellini, 11. Gwyneth Paltrow, 12. Kate Moss, 13. Jennifer Lopez, 15. Kate Beckinsale, 16. Yasmin Le Bon, 17. Cat Deeley, 18. Uma Thurman, 19. Catherine Zeta Jones, 20. Anna Kournikova BACK TO THE TOP

DIDO THANKS HER EX
ADDED: 05.06.02. SOURCE: DAILY EXPRESS, 24.05.02

Double Brit award winner Dido has spoken for the first time about her split with fiance Bob Page. The singer had been due to marry the entertainment lawyer later this year but called it off in April. Speaking yesterday as she won Songwriter of the Year at the Ivor Novello music awards, Dido, 30, said: "The song Thank You still sums up that relationship." And she added: "Being single might make my album more psycho this time." BACK TO THE TOP

DIDO ADMITS TO SHOP LIFTING

20.03.02 - Dido admits she once shoplifted from a chemist when she was in a hurry to catch a train.

The singer says she also walked out of a hotel with an ironing board to use on her tour bus.

In an interview with Sister Bliss from Faithless, she also confesses to dabbling with drugs.

Dido told Mixmag: "I wasn't reall into the whole drug scene. I'd tried things and not really liked them.

"I used to be out clubbing nearly every weekend a few years ago but whent he fashion in music changed to being more rhythmic than song-led I'd still go and have a dance but I got bored very quickly."

When asked if she had ever broken the law, she said: "I once shoplifted a lipstick from Boots. The queue was really long and the till people were being really dumb. And I had a train to catch.

"Does taking an ironing board from a hotel count? I walked straight out with it and pillows too. I had my reasons. The pillows on the tour bus were awful and the venue for that night didn't have an ironing board. It was practical."

Dido adds that at the start of her career she used to suffer from panic attacks, after witnessing a stabbing in the audience at a Faithless gig.

"It was a really nasty period," she says. "I couldn't do a thing. I'd try and then my heart would speed up. I'd be clammy and shaking and utterly in a state."

She says she eventually visited an acupuncturist to reduce her heart race. Source: Ananova. Back to the top

MORE AWARDS SUCCESS

09.03.02 - Dido has followed up her Brit Awards success with yet more music prizes over the last week or so.

On Thursday she was named the most successful rock/pop artist at the Echo Awards in Germany. She also performed for 5,000 at the event, which met she missed the World Music Awards in Monaco on the same night. There she picked up three awards for best selling British artist, pop female and adult contemporary, but lost out to Enya as the world's best selling female. Back to the top

THE MEN WHO MADE DIDO

09.03.02 - If you are going to make a serious play to be the Queen of Pop these days, you want an uncomplicated name.  The simpler the better - Madonna, say, or Kylie.  Florian Cloud De Bounevialle Armstrong doesn't really cut it.  So it's perhaps just as well Florian Cloud etc is more commonly known by a far catchier moniker - Dido.  And on Wednesday [Feb 20], in front of some 5,000 industry bigwigs and assorted hangers on, Dido Armstrong capped what has been the most remarkable year of her life by winning Brit Awards for Best British Female and Best British Album.  In receiving these awards, she proved she really does deserve her title of the new Queen of Pop, albeit a rather unlikely one.

But behind every pop matriarch there's usually a man or two - and Dido is no exception.  Even Madge has a string of super-trendy producers, including William Orbit and Mirwais.  So who are the men shaping Dido's extraordinary success?  One is the one-time "most dangerous man in America" - a chap called Eminem - who brought her to international fame.

He may have provoked the headlines but it [is] her brother Rollo - an eccentric honours graduate in philosophy who claims not to be able to play an instrument or even dance - who is the real force behind her success.

Dido and Rollo Armstrong were brought up in a firmly upper-middle-class, bohemian household.  Their father William is a renowned literary publisher, their mother an eccentric poet.  TV was banned ("We did smuggle one in once," Dido remembers, "and it got thrown out of the window.  I was very sad.") and friends were discouraged from visiting.

Aged five, she stole a recorder and discovered music.  A year later, she went to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and by the age of nine was playing in a touring recorder orchestra.  By 11, she had added violin and piano to her repertoire and was practising six or seven hours a day.

Rollo, six years her elder, was eschewing classical music in favour of angrier sounds.  While his little sister mastered Chopin and Vivaldi downstairs, he stayed in his room with his stereo, drowning her out with The Clash.  When he wasn't around, Dido used to steal his records, stowing her violin in a corner of her room to pogo along to White Riot and I Fought The Law.

It was only a matter of time before her brother's altogether cooler tunes were to influence Dido's musical direction.  She started going to gigs when she was 13 - "I used to see Spandau Ballet and all those people, and to reggae gigs.  I went to classical concerts as well, but I don't think my mum realised the difference..." and by her mid-teens, she gave up the classics altogether.

Although she worked in a publishing house and studied law at night school, the same sibling admiration that prompted the young Dido to filch her brother's Clash LPs was to resurface when he formed a band, Faithless.

As he and fellow members Maxi Jazz and Sister Bliss began recording, Dido used to hang around the studio "more than was entirely necessary", making cups of tea and badgering her brother to let her sing backing vocals.  But Rollo was at first rather embarrassed by having a younger sister shadowing him and discouraged her.

"Every time you went to the studio, certain people were always there," says Maxi.  "Dido was one of them.  I remember Rollo telling her, 'With a voice like yours, you'll never have a hit.'  He didn't want her to be disappointed, but he hasn't got a quality control filter on his mouth."

But Dido refused refused to go away and eventually her brother let her sing backing vocals on Salva Mea.  This was to become Faithless's first hit and propel them onto the world stage, notching up 1.5 million sales of the debut album.  Her payment was a takeaway curry.

"I'm sure there's an element of sibling rivalry," Dido says of her brother's discouragement, "but he's also six years older than me and he's always been my protector.  He couldn't see why I would want to give up a perfectly good job.  He would see struggling singers coming into the studio, so why would I be any different?"

Nevertheless, Dido packed in her job and law studies and concentrated on music. As she struggled to put together a demo tape, the idea of one day earning £10 million a year and hobnobbing with celebrities seemed as unrealistic as her brother thought. Indeed, she has confessed that the over-riding theme of her Brit-winning album No Angel is laying around in bed: "What can I say? I like it there. Also, when I was writing this album I was living in one room and most of the songs were written sitting in bed."

It all changed when Rollo, aware that his sister might make it after all, let his protective side kick in again and acted as co-writer and producer on her first album.

Her demo was picked up by a scout from Arista Records in America, who offered her a record deal. But, faithful to her brother, she signed in this country with Cheeky, the new label Rollo had established, effectively turning down a fortune.

"I was missing the family vibe and I wanted to work with Rollo as a producer," she says. "In retrospect, it wasn't a good move because there was no money in the deal, but I really wanted to be with people I knew." So it was that No Angel was realised in America, but suffered from a delayed release over here.

It's not that Dido hasn't done her bit. After all, you don't make £10 million on the back of a multi-platinum album just because you have a clever sibling. And to be fair, she did spend 18 months slogging it around America, "getting up at 4.30 every morning and doing breakfast shows...sitting in cafes playing for men in suits, performing in lobbies of radio stations because you can't get on air..."

But then it seems every time one reads about the girl from North London who last year was catapulted from obscurity to become Britain's highest-earning female pop star, the success is attributable to someone else. And, after Rollo, it's Eminem, whose sample of her song Thank You (written about missing her fiance, lawyer Bob Page, but used by the American rapper as a paean to twisted hero worship on his Number One single, Stan) first drew Dido to the attention of a world audience.

Dido had been promoting No Angel with little success in America when she got a phone call from the rapper's record company. Not only did he want to use her song, but he was also keen for her to appear in the video (as a pregnant girl trussed up in the trunk of a car by her suicidal boyfriend) and tour with him.

Suddenly, Dido was everywhere Stateside, outselling the Spice Girls, and providing music for the hit teen dramas Dawson's Creek and Roswell High, When Eminem's tour came to Britain at the end of 2000, it heralded the arrival of another talent - a girl from North London. And all before No Angel was even released in her home country.

But in reality, Eminem's was just the final push. Dido had been relentlessly promoting the album and the girl who was only ever trying to be as cool as her brother, was on the road to this week's crowning.

Oddly, after Wednesday's gala, it was neither Eminem nor Rollo for whom Dido reserved the most thanks. After the ceremony, the breathless 30-year-old told reporters that her success was largely down to her fiance of seven years.

"I'm thrilled to have this recognition," she said, "but the person who really deserves this is Bob. He has been such an incredible inspiration to me and totally supportive of everything I've done."

But you can be nobody was cheering louder than the man who once told his sister she could never have a hit record.

"Rollo and I make a perfect team," she says, "because he does all the things I'm not fussed about doing and vice versa. When we write together, no one can tell the difference. We both know exactly what each other is getting at and we forget who has written what line. We had one big fight making the album. It was over a drum loop. I shouted a lot and in the end I got the one I wanted."

Typical little sister in other words. Source: The Daily Express, 22 February. Back to the top

DIDO EXPECTED TO PLAY BUCK HOUSE CONCERT

26.02.02 - Dido is expected to be confirmed as one of the stars of the Golden Jubilee concert on 3 June.

It will take place in the grounds of Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Queen's 50th year on the throne.  Sir Elton John, Sir Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton are also likely to perform, although the full list of performers is being kept secret.

There will be 24,000 free available to order by telephone (0900 1952 2002) and online.

Simon Walker, royal communications secretary told the BBC's Breakfast that details of the artists appearing would be drip-fed to the public over coming weeks and months.

"I can't confirm any names yet and it wouldn't be sensible to confirm all the names at once," he said.

"It will be a very big and spectacular cast.  British music has been dominant internationally throughout the Queen's reign so picking some of the biggest stars of that period, but also some of the current pop idols of the day, seems a very good way to do it."  Back to the top

DIDO SCOOPS BRITS DOUBLE

21.02.02 - Dido picked up two awards at last night's Brits - Best British Female and Best British Album for No Angel.

Picking up her first award of the night, she told Radio 1: "I couldn't believe it!  I wasn't listening properly when they read out the names."

She also rubbished reports about her wealth: "I'm not aware I've made that much money.  It made me realise how wrong they are about everyone else's money."

The free Brits magazine contains the following article about her:

Thankful for her British success

In terms of female singer/songwriters, 2001 belonged to Dido

Her debut album No Angel hasn't been out of the British charts since it was released in October 2000.  It has now sold over two million copies, making it not only the biggest selling album of 2001, but also the biggest-selling debut album from a UK female of all time.

Collaborations with Eminem and songwriting for Britney Spears (she co-wrote a track, Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman for her latest album, Britney) have done little to harm her reputation as the girl of the moment.  But despite her current worldwide success, there was a time when Dido felt like she would never get the opportunity to be successful in her own country.

Negotiations regarding the sale of her original record label Cheeky early on in her career meant that she was unable to release No Angel in Britain until late 2000.  So, as she explains, she had no choice but to head stateside and try her luck with the tough American market.

"The whole process of the record company being sold took over a year, so I thought I might as well go to America and make a start and wait until everyone sorted themselves out and the record company got sold.  I released the album in America in June 1999 and things went brilliantly, so I was really happy.  I was enjoying actually getting to sing my songs to people.  That's all you really want, to be able to make more records and have an audience when you're singing them instead of singing them in the mirror or something.

"But I was also frustrated as everything seemed to be taking forever to sort out in Britain and I thought I was never going to have my album out in my own country.  It was so weird because I would call up my friends and say, 'I'm a pop star' and they'd be like, 'Sure you are.  Well I haven't heard of you.'  So when the album eventually came out in Britain it was amazing.  I can't tell you how excited I was when I could go and buy it in [a] British shop!"

Although Dido found the fact she had to wait so long to unleash No Angel onto the British public frustrating, she admits that in retrospect everything has worked out perfectly.  "I'm so lucky because I ended up having a year and a half to devote entirely to America.  Breaking America is one of the hardest things to do because you have to spend a long time over there, and if you've got a really big festival or a tour to do somewhere else, why would you [be] going to shlep around America for nine months?  I think Craig David has done it really well because he's gone over and spent quite a chunk of time there.  It was a brave decision and it's worked for him, which is brilliant.  But looking back I'm really thankful I did it when I did."

Even before No Angel was released in Britain, Dido's records and reputation had filtered through from the US, meaning that as soon as it hit UK shops it started selling stacks.  But it was her collaboration with Eminem on the super-hit Stan, on which he sampled her hit Thank You, that made her a household name when it was released in December 2000.  It was one of the most unlikely collaborations of the year, and the most unforgettable.  So how did Dido find the Eminem experience?  "He was totally charming and fun to work with," she smiles.  "I liked being around him and we had a laugh together.  It was a really nice moment in my career - to do a collaboration that worked so well - and we were both really proud of it."

Dido says that she jumped at the chance to work with Eminem, as she was already a huge fan.  "He's amazingly talented and a total perfectionist.  I've got so much respect for him.  I remember when I first heard My Name Is... I went running into the studio where I was recording going, 'Has anyone heard that song about Spice Girls and sticking nine inch nails in your eyelids?'.  We were all talking about it and were really excited that there was something so new and funny and refreshing out there.

"I wouldn't say some of the things he says in my music, but that's my choice, and I really respect him for saying whatever he wants.  I think you need people like him that come along and throw a spanner in the works and make music exciting."

Dido plans to start work on the much-anticipated follow up to No Angel any day now.  But despite feeling pressure to release another album, she is determined to take things easy and enjoy the process.  "Obviously everyone's keen to get the second album out as quickly as possible because you don't want people to forget who you are.  But I'm going to enjoy doing it.  I love making music, I love writing songs, and I'm not going to rush.  I want to travel a bit, do a bit of writing, and have a bit of time out from getting dressed up and tarting around on stage!"

With an album that's already sold over 11 million copies worldwide under her diamante belt, and another in the pipeline, Dido says she feels proud to be doing her bit for the British music scene.  "I think there are some really good people out there - Craig David is doing brilliantly, and so are David Gray, Coldplay and Travis, and I'm proud to be a part of that group of people because they're writing really beautiful songs.

"It seems like good songs are doing really well, and they deserve to, which is brilliant.  I definitely think British music is in a good place right now, and I'm loving being a part of it."

And now her friends have no choice but to believe that she's a fully-fledged pop star.  "Yes," she laughs, "they finally believe me!"  Back to the top

"US FANS ARE FRIGHTENING"

18.02.02 - Dido says she has to hire security guards to protect her from over-enthusiastic fans when she's in America.

She has just finished a sell-out tour of US arenas.

The singer says it can be frightening being pursued by American fans.

"In America it is always more hectic.  I can't go shopping without security and it can be very difficult and that's intimidating," she told the Sun

"The autograph hunters are a different breed there and they're very aggressive.  They'd kill for a signature.

"There have been incidents where the police have had to shut down an entire freeway so we can get away from cars chasing.  It can be frightening."

Dido says she doesn't have the same problems in the UK.

"In Britain I do everything on my own.  It's just different.  Maybe I blend in more here and people seem to accept me.  They just say hello and are very polite," she said.  Back to the top

DIDO NEWS ROUND-UP

16.02.02 - A round-up of recent Dido news stories:

Jogging fan wants to run a "proper race"

Dido says she has ambitions to be a runner and has hired a personal trainer to help her prepare for a "proper race."

And she's not been put off by the unflattering photos of her jogging behind published.

"I've started running, which is painful beyond belief," she told the Daily Express Saturday magazine.

"There were these horrific pictures of me jogging in the papers at Christmas.

"What was so funny was they [think] I'm so bad at running that they must have been really quick off the mark to actually catch me in action.

"I want to get good enough to run in a proper race."

Dido will perform at the Brit Awards on Wednesday, where she is nominated in three categories (see below).

Dido soars into pop rich list

Dido has rocketed into pop's rich list little over a year after finding fame, according to a survey in Heat magazine.

According to the figure, she raked in around £12 million in just 12 months to make her Britain's highest earning female singer.  She is now earning more than established acts like the Rolling Stones and Robbie Williams.

Dido was the highest new entry in the annual list of pop's rich list, which was once topped by The Beatles whose back catalogue earned an estimated £65 million in 2001.  The band's sales were buoyed by the huge success of the greatest hits collection, called simply 1.

No Angel worldwide no. 1

No Angel narrowly beat Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory as the most popular album in 2001, according to a survey carried out by Billboard.

The figures show that 8.6 million copies were sent out to retailers while Hybrid Theory was 100,000 behind.  Billboard uses the shipment information as it is the only globally consistent figure available allowing a like-for-like comparison between countries.

A spokesman said: "So many territories do not have the kind of retail-based sales data that is available in the US and the UK."

Both the top albums were debut releases, and six of the top eight were female acts.  Survivor by Destiny's Child came theory, while Madonna is the only act to have two entries in the top 20 with GHV2 at 14 and Music at 19.

Brit nomination dropped

Dido has been dropped from the Brits' Best Newcomer category after bosses admitted they had wrongly included her because she was included in the best female category last year.

The Official UK Charts Company apologised for its mistake, made when compiling the list of eligible entrants.

Those names then go forward to a panel of industry figures who vote on who should make the shortlist.  The executive producer of the Brits decided her name should be immediately withdrawn.  Dido has been replaced in the category by singer songwriter Tom McRae.

The Official UK Charts Company - which compiles the top 40 album and singles charts - said it was sorry for the upset and inconvenience caused to Dido, her record company, the Brits and BBC Radio 1 listeners who vote on the winner from the list of nominations.

Dido is still shortlisted for best British album, video and female solo artist.

Speaking to Radio One, she said, "I think it's quite funny, it's so silly.  You just don't question it, if you're given a nomination, you don't think 'oh am I eligible?'  You just don't know the rules.  I don't know if anyone knows the rules.

"My manager called me and asked me 'do you want to hear a very funny story?' and then we both giggled a lot and then sorted it out." 

She also told Billboard, that "I don't want, or need, four nominations."

"I mean, it's lovely to be nominated once.  Four is ridiculous, and three is brilliant."  Back to the top

WEDDING ABLUM ON HOLD

21.01.02 - From the Daily Express, 16 January:

Dido, who was relatively unknown in Britain a year ago, is now one of our highest selling pop exports.

But yesterday, as she celebrated her four Brit Awards nominations, she said success won't change her.  It has, however, meant she's had to put her marriage to long-term boyfriend, entertainment lawyer Bob Page, on hold.

"It has been a hectic year and the big day will be when the interest has died down a bit," she explained.  "My whole world has turned upside down but I'm really just the same as I ever was."

The 29-year-old Londoner whose debut album No Angel has sold 12 million copies worldwide, is working on her follow-up.  "It sounds corny but one of the great pleasures in my life is making music and it doesn't really feel like I'm going back to work," she said.  Back to the top

DIDO PENS SONG FOR BRITNEY ALBUM

18.11.01 - Dido might be working on her next album, but she will still be heard literally by millions thanks to her contribution to the new Britney Spears album, Britney.  Dido co-penned the track, I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman, with behind-the-scenes teen-pop kings Max Martin and Rami.  She can also be heard on A Very Special Christmas 5, released last week by A&M Records.  Back to the top

DIDO WINS MTV EUROPE AWARD

09.11.01 - Dido won the Best New Act award at last night's MTV Europe Music Awards in Frankfurt.  You might have heard about the ceremony if you've watched MTV UK recently due to the channel's oh-so-subtle promotion of it (technically known as a whopping huge bug in the corner of the screen).

And from Reuters:

Dido happy to put low paying jobs behind her

Dido Armstrong had worked in a lot of different low-paying clerical jobs while struggling to make ends meet, but said on Thursday nothing beats her current line of work: being a pop star.

The British singer known around the world as "Dido" said that because she made such a belated breakthrough into the industry that is infamous for devouring young talent before their prime, she isn't going to let her career be squandered.

"I just know this is the best job I've ever had because I have had so many other jobs," said Dido, 29, one of Britain's biggest-selling female recording artists, in an interview with Reuters Television.

"My lyrics are about pretty normal things because I've had another whole life before this," said the singer whose music career took off only two years ago after rapper Eminem took part of her song Thank You in Stan, his hit about a deranged fan.

"Personally, I prefer it that way," she added in an interview at the MTV Europe Music Awards, where she has been nominated for four awards.  "It means I know how good this life is and I will never try to ruin it," she said.

But Dido said at least she has something to fall back on.

"I could always go back to temping," she said.  "Maybe you could call it 'Celebrity Temps'.  Oh - that would be a nightmare!"

Her debut album No Angel started slowly but surged in popularity after Eminem used part of her song.  It has now sold some six million copies.  She said she wrote the song Thank You on a soggy piece of paper while sitting in a bathtub.

Born as Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong on Christmas Day in 1971, she is the child of an Irish book publisher and French poetess.  She grew up in London.

She worked in a variety of lowly jobs, including the publishing industry.  She had been to Frankfurt five times before as a lowly worker at the Frankfurt book fair.

Dido went to law school for a while as well, but turned to singing in 1996, when her older brother Rollo, 34, was putting together the band Faithless and they needed a backup vocalist.  She got the job and sang on Reverence, their breakthrough album.

Some critics have compared Dido's haunting, soulful voice to Cranberries' singer Dolores O'Riordan [and that's supposed to be a good thing?]

Dido, who has been engaged for six years to a recording industry lawyer, said like many other performers at the MTV awards they at first considered cancelling tour performances following the September 11 attacks in the United States.

"I was actually about to get on a plane to Australia for a tour there," she said.  "I was a little jumpy at first.  But I thought it was important to do the tour, to give people a little relief.

"If you stay in and watch CNN all day you'll just go mad," she said.  "I do this to entertain people and it's nice to chill things out a bit and think smaller."  Back to the top

DIDO TO PLAY AT MTV EUROPE AWARDS

10.08.01 - Dido has been announced as one of the performers at the MTV Europe Music Awards later this year.

Speaking of the acts lined up to perform - which also include Destiny's Child and Janet Jackson, Brent Hansen, president and chief executive of MTV Networks Europe said, "the high calibre of the artists illustrates the importance of the event and reinforces its position as Europe's premier awards show."

The awards will be held at the Festhalle in Frankfurt on November 8 and will be shown live on MTV UK.  Channel 4 will also be screening recorded highlights.  Back to the top

DIDO IN Q

30.06.01 - Dido, or to give her full name Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle Armstrong (!), is interviewed in the August issue of music mag Q (you can read the feature here).  Minus marks for the article claiming Dido's US popularity derives from Here With Me being used as the "theme tune to teen soap Roswell High", but on the plus side, there are some great pictures of her to accompany it.  Back to the top

DIDO TALKS TOUR, BRITNEY

09.06.01 - On her North American tour, which kicks off next week in Vancouver, Dido will offer fans a preview of her next album.  In addition to performing material from No Angel, she'll introduce three new songs into her set, See the Sun, Don't Leave Home and Do You Have a Little Time.  Although she has most of the new material written for her sophomore effort, fear of having them exposed via the Internet will keep her from debuting any more of the tracks on the Stateside jaunt.

"I'm always writing and trying out the new one lives," Dido says.  "But I'm not gonna try them [all] 'cause they end up on MP3 too quickly.  It doesn't bother me they end up there, but I wouldn't want every new song previewed live for the second album."

She plans to return to Britain later this year to record her next album with hopes of an early 2000 release.  "I've got a great little family at home of people I love writing and working with," she says.

Although the songstress has spent a lot of time writing the follow-up, she has also penned a few numbers for other outfits, including British dance act Faithless (which includes her brother Rollo) and reigning pop queen Britney Spears.

Dido has been sworn to secrecy about the latter project, but does say that she enjoyed the experience.  "I did some lyrics for a song of hers for a film," Dido says.  "I was given a specific brief for the Britney song.  She was really sweet, and she called me to say thank you."  Back to the top

UK CHART NEWS

05.06.01 - In Sunday's UK charts, No Angel inched back up one place to number two, and maintained its position as the biggest selling album of the year.

In the singles chart, Thank You fell to number eight after debuting at number three last week, Dido's highest singles placing to date.  Back to the top

US CHART NEWS

03.06.01 - In Billboard's 9 June issue, Thank You continues its slow descent, with another one place fall to number 9.  In the album chart, No Angel fell three places to number 28.  Back to the top

D&G CREATE THREADS FOR DIDO

02.06.01 - Dolce and Gabbana announced yesterday that their ready-to-wear label, D&G, would be designing the touring threads of Dido and boy band *NSync.

A spokeswoman for the label promises there will be two completely different looks for each tour.

"The wardrobes couldn't be more different.  Dido has a very London understated, cool, street style," she said.  "*NSync, on the other hand, are very theatrical and their wardrobe is patch-worked, rhinestoned, ripped, embellished and fabulous."

D&G threads were featured prominently in the video for Here With Me and its label is available in stores across in the US, including Bloomingdale's, Nordstrom's and Jacobson outlets.

Dolce and Gabbana has an established long-standing relationship with several big-name music artists including Madonna and Mary J. Blige.  This will be the second year in a row that the fashion label will be designing Blige's wardrobe as she hits the stage this summer.  Back to the top

CANADIAN CHART NEWS

31.05.01 - No Angel continues to slide down the Canadian album chart, with another six place fall to number 25 for the chart for the week ended 7 June.

It might receive a boost from Thank You, which is a new entry at number 48 on the singles chart.  Back to the top

DIDO ON FAITHLESS ALBUM

27.05.01 - Dido appears on the track One Step Too Far on Faithless' third album Outrospective, which is released on July 17.  Back to the top

CHART NEWS

27.05.01 - No Angel was down six places to number 19 in this week's (May 31) Canadian album chart.

The album also fell heavily in the US chart published in Billboard's 2 June issue, down 11 places to number 25.  However, Thank You was only down one place to number eight in the singles chart.

New entries from REM and Bon Jovi snatched the top two places in the UK album chart, so  No Angel's single place fall to number three was a creditible performance in its 31st week on the chart.  Back to the top

CANADIAN AND US CHART/UK TV NEWS

19.05.01 - Here With Me makes a return to the Canadian singles chart this week, with a reappearance at number 66.  No Angel slips one place to number thirteen.

In the US charts (Billboard, 26 May), No Angel notches up its 52nd week on the chart with a two place fall to number 16.  Thank You falls one place to number seven and has now spent more weeks (20) on the chart than any other record in the Top 10.

UK viewers can see Dido on tonight's National Lottery Stars on BBC1 at 7.45pm.  Slapped wrists to the idiot presenter on Wednesday's programme who pronounced her name as "Deedo"!  Back to the top

UK CHART NEWS - 13 MAY

15.05.01 - In Sunday's UK album chart, No Angel retained its number two slot, and is still the country's biggest selling album of the year to date.  Back to the top