La Roux ( ) is an English

synthpop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s a ...

act formed in 2008 by singer Elly Jackson and record producer Ben Langmaid. The act's debut album '' La Roux'' (2009) was a critical and commercial success, winning a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

and producing hit singles such as " In for the Kill" and "

Bulletproof Bulletproofing is the process of making an object capable of stopping a bullet or similar high velocity projectiles (e.g. shrapnel). The term bullet resistance is often preferred because few, if any, practical materials provide complete protecti ...

". Recording of a follow-up album was marred by unsuccessful collaborations, the cancellation of two planned release dates, and reported conflict between the duo. Langmaid ultimately left the group in 2012, and Jackson released a second album, '' Trouble in Paradise'', in 2014, maintaining the former duo's name as her stage persona. The album was a critical, but not a commercial success, and La Roux subsequently parted ways with

Polydor Records Polydor Records Ltd. is a German-British record label that operates as part of Universal Music Group. It has a close relationship with Universal's Interscope Geffen A&M Records label, which distributes Polydor's releases in the United States. ...

. She released her third album, ''

Supervision Supervision is an act or instance of directing, managing, or oversight. Etymology The English noun "supervision" derives from the two Latin words "super" (above) and "videre" (see, observe). Spelling The spelling is "Supervision" in Standard E ...

'', independently in 2020.

History

2006–2011: Beginnings and self-titled album

Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid were introduced by a mutual friend in 2006. Initially, they performed largely

acoustic music Acoustic music is music that solely or primarily uses instruments that produce sound through acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means. While all music was once acoustic, the retronym "acoustic music" appeared after the adv ...

under the moniker Automan due to Elly's great admiration of acts like

Nick Drake Nicholas Rodney Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter known for his acoustic guitar-based songs. He did not find a wide audience during his lifetime, but his work gradually achieved wider notice and recognit ...

and

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan "Joni" Mitchell ( Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian-American musician, producer, and painter. Among the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitchell became known for her st ...

. Their style later shifted to

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

and the name was changed to La Roux which referred to both the act and Jackson's stage persona; the name alludes to the singer's

red hair Red hair (also known as orange hair and ginger hair) is a hair color found in one to two percent of the human population, appearing with greater frequency (two to six percent) among people of Northern or Northwestern European ancestry and ...

and tomboyish appearance, mingling the masculine ("le roux") and feminine ("la rousse")

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

terms. La Roux's debut single, " Quicksand", was released by French independent record label Kitsuné in December 2008 to minor chart success. The duo then signed to

in order to release an album. The second single, " In for the Kill", was released on 16 March 2009 and subsequently

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

ed by two prominent dubstep producers, Skream and Skrillex. "In for the Kill" debuted at number 11 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

on 22 March 2009, peaking at number 2 four weeks later. "

", their third single, was released on 21 June 2009 and debuted at number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also topped the

Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart, peaked at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and went on to sell over 2 million copies in the United States. The band's debut album, '' La Roux'', was released on 26 June 2009 to generally favourable reviews. It peaked at number 2 in the UK and number 70 on the ''Billboard'' 200, among others. The fourth single, " I'm Not Your Toy", was released on 29 September 2009 and reached number 27 on the UK chart. "As If by Magic" and "Tigerlily" were mooted as next singles, but the release plans were later cancelled. La Roux Eleanor Elly Jackson

In order to promote ''La Roux'', the band was the supporting act on Lily Allen's UK tour of March 2009. La Roux then headlined the ''NME'' Radar Tour alongside

Magistrates The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...

and Heartbreak, performed at the

Glastonbury Glastonbury (, ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town, which is in the Mendip district, had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbur ...

and

Reading and Leeds The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Fest ...

festivals as well as London's Scala. In July and August 2009, La Roux toured North America. The eight-city tour included performances at

Osheaga Festival The Osheaga Music and Arts Festival (french: Festival musique et arts Osheaga) is a multi-day indie music festival in Montreal, Quebec, that is held every summer at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Île Sainte-Hélène. The festival takes place on six stages ...

, All Points West Music & Arts Festival and

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

. The group returned to North America for a seven-date tour in October. Their two Australian dates sold out within minutes forcing an upgrade in venues. In November, the duo embarked on an eleven-date UK and Ireland tour. La Roux gained fifth position on the BBC Sound of 2009 poll. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

'' website featured La Roux on the New Band of the Day column, having previously featured them as one of the Best New Acts of 2009. The album has been nominated for a

Mercury Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the ...

, and was eventually certified platinum in the UK and Ireland, and gold in Australia. Sales of "In for the Kill" spiked 600 percent when Skream's "Let's Get Ravey" remix of the song appeared on the HBO show '' Entourage'' in August 2010. A remix EP of the song was released in tandem with the November US tour. In October, a new music video for the song was released, shot at New York's landmark Hotel Chelsea. Also in 2010, Jackson contributed vocals to

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

's album '' My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy'' and to West and

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

's collaborative album ''

Watch the Throne ''Watch the Throne'' is a collaborative studio album by American rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West, collectively known as The Throne. It was released on August 8, 2011, through Roc-A-Fella Records, Roc Nation, and Def Jam Recordings. Prior to t ...

'', on the track "That's My Bitch". She also performed on

Chromeo Chromeo is a Canadian electro-funk duo from Montreal, formed in 2002 by musicians David "Dave 1" Macklovitch and Patrick "P-Thugg" Gemayel. Their sound draws from blue-eyed soul, dance music, rock, synth-pop, disco and funk. , the band has relea ...

's third album '' Business Casual'', providing chorus vocals for the track "Hot Mess" which was released as a single in early 2011. In February 2011, at the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, La Roux won the

Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album The Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards — a ceremony that was established in 1958 — to recording artists for quality albums in the dance music and electronica genres. Honors in several cate ...

for their self-titled debut album and "In for the Kill" was nominated for Best Dance Recording.

2012–2017: Departure of Langmaid and ''Trouble in Paradise''

In a January 2012 interview, the second La Roux album was described as "a lot cheekier" and "sexier". The material, which the duo had been working on intermittently for over two years, was said to draw more on acoustic sounds and instruments. It had been reported that La Roux were writing the second album with an

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

band whose members are friends of Jackson. Langmaid left La Roux at some point later in 2012, although his departure was officially confirmed two years later. La Roux started a low-key comeback tour on 28 March 2013 in

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

during which she premiered four new songs. Early reactions to the new material were positive. In April 2014, La Roux announced that her second studio album, '' Trouble in Paradise'', would be released in the UK on 21 July. It was preceded by the song " Let Me Down Gently", which premiered on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...

on 12 May, and the first official single " Uptight Downtown", released on 28 May 2014. The latter was a moderate success in the UK, peaking at number 63. On 9 June, " Tropical Chancer" was released as another promotional single. During the promotions for the album, Jackson revealed that she and Langmaid had parted ways, and she was now the sole member of La Roux. Langmaid responded that he was "truly saddened" by the split. ''Trouble in Paradise'' met with favourable critical reception, but did not repeat the commercial success of the predecessor, peaking at number 6 in the UK, where it stayed on the chart for only four weeks, and failing to enter the top 10 anywhere else. " Kiss and Not Tell", released as a single on 20 October 2014, failed to make an impact on the charts. La Roux toured North America in July 2014, including two opening shows for New Order in San Francisco and Los Angeles. She then continued the tour alternating between Europe and North America, before embarking on the Australian leg at the end of the year. In early 2015, the tour proceeded to South America. La Roux then performed additional dates in Europe, including Croatia's INmusic Festival, UK's

, and Germany's Melt! Festival. Her touring band consisted of four musicians, including keyboardist and backing vocalist Mickey O'Brien. Jackson provided joint lead vocals for the tracks " Tutti Frutti" and "People on the High Line", along with backing vocals on "Plastic", for New Order's album ''

Music Complete ''Music Complete'' is the tenth studio album by English rock band New Order. It was released on 25 September 2015 by Mute Records, their debut on the label. The album features guest vocals from Elly Jackson of La Roux, Iggy Pop and Brandon Flow ...

'', released in September 2015. She also filmed a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

for the film '' Absolutely Fabulous'', released the following year, in which she performed "Sexotheque" and "Uptight Downtown". In 2016, La Roux's live lineup comprised

Seye Adelekan Seye Adelekan (born 15 May 1988), sometimes known mononymously as Seye ( ), is a Nigerian British bassist, musician and singer-songwriter, best known as the live bassist for Gorillaz since 2017. Early life Seye Adelekan was born in Nigeria to ...

Olugbenga Adelekan Olugbenga Adelekan, also known as Olugbenga, is a Nigerian-born music producer. Olugbenga performs as a solo artist and as the bass player of the Mercury Music Prize Award-nominated band Metronomy. Biography Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Olugbenga m ...

from Metronomy and Jay Sharrock from Miles Kane's band. During that time, La Roux was recording new music, but decided to scrap the entire material in 2017.

2018–present: ''Supervision''

In 2018, La Roux provided vocals for Whyte Horses' "The Best of It". The following year, she featured on their cover of " Mr. Natural" and provided background vocals for Tyler, the Creator's track "Thank You" on his album ''

Igor Igor may refer to: People * Igor (given name), an East Slavic given name and a list of people with the name * Mighty Igor (1931–2002), former American professional wrestler * Igor Volkoff, a professional wrestler from NWA All-Star Wrestling * ...

''. In the meantime, she composed and recorded material for her third studio album, ''

'', which was her first recorded entirely as a solo act. It was released on 7 February 2020 through Jackson's own independent label Supercolour Records. The album was preceded by the singles "International Woman of Leisure" on 31 October 2019, "Gullible Fool" on 5 December 2019, and "Automatic Driver" on 23 January 2020. None of the singles made impact on the charts and the album met with mixed to positive reviews upon its release. Commercially, the record achieved only moderate success, reaching number 20 in the UK and number 85 in Germany. La Roux announced a concert tour in Europe in February and North America in March 2020 to support ''Supervision'', having recruited new touring musicians. The American leg of the tour was postponed until November and eventually cancelled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. La Roux featured on Boulevards' single "Too Far" and CASisDEAD's single and video "Park Assist". In 2021, she released a cover of

Gang of Four The Gang of Four () was a Maoist political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) and were later charged with a series of treasonous crimes. The gang ...

's " Damaged Goods" which was included in the compilation ''The Problem of Leisure: A Celebration of Andy Gill & Gang of Four''. She also appeared in the Sky Arts documentary ''Blitzed: The 80's Blitz Kids' Story'' in which she discussed the cultural effects of the

New Romantic The New Romantic movement was an underground subculture movement that originated in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s. The movement emerged from the nightclub scene in London and Birmingham at venues such as Billy's and The Blitz. The New ...

movement on younger performers like herself.

Artistry

Elly Jackson's first interest was in

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

. She was particularly interested in

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

and

whose music she discovered in her parents' record collection. Jackson's early musical material consisted of folk ditties influenced by

. Her taste in music changed during her mid-teens when she became involved in the

rave A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mu ...

scene. She lists Gerry Rafferty,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in Basildon, Essex, in 1980. The band currently consists of Dave Gahan (lead vocals and co-songwriting) and Martin Gore (keyboards, guitar, co-lead vocals and main songwriting). Depech ...

Eurythmics Eurythmics were a British Pop music, pop duo consisting of Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart (musician and producer), Dave Stewart. They were both previously in The Tourists, a band which broke up in 1980. The duo released their first studio alb ...

, Jenny Wilson, and The Knife as her influences. She made her performing debut at the Half Moon Pub in

Herne Hill Herne Hill is a district in South London, approximately four miles from Charing Cross and bordered by Brixton, Camberwell, Dulwich, and Tulse Hill. It sits to the north and east of Brockwell Park and straddles the boundary between the borough ...

, London, at the age of 17. In July 2010, La Roux curated and mixed a volume of ''Sidetracked'', a compilation series from

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ide ...

that allows artists from the electronic field free rein to showcase their musical interests. The eclectic mix featured the likes of

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, Heaven 17, Joyce Sims, Fever Ray (lead singer of The Knife), Doris Troy,

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...

, Gerry Rafferty and many more of her influences. It also includes an exclusive recording of

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically dr ...

' " Under My Thumb", a cover La Roux had been featuring in her then-recent live sets. Jackson is unhappy with what she perceives as a "normality" fashion trend among a majority of today's musical acts. Her androgynous clothing and hair style has been compared to the 1980s group A Flock of Seagulls. Jackson strongly opposes stylists who try to make her appearance more classically feminine.

Members

* Eleanor Kate "Elly" Jackson (born 12 March 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and the sole member of La Roux, formerly a

duo. Jackson is known for having reddish toned hair and

androgynous Androgyny is the possession of both masculine and feminine characteristics. Androgyny may be expressed with regard to biological sex, gender identity, or gender expression. When ''androgyny'' refers to mixed biological sex characteristics in ...

style. She has a

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...

vocal range. She was born in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to actors Trudie Goodwin and Kit Jackson, and has an older sister named Jessica. Jackson's great grandfather was

Anthony Bernard Anthony Bernard (25 January 18916 April 1963) was an English conductor, organist, pianist and composer. Early life Anthony Bernard's birth was registered as Alan Charles Butler in West Ham, then classified as Essex, in early 1891. His mother was ...

, founder of the London Chamber Orchestra and first musical director of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre in

Stratford-upon-Avon Stratford-upon-Avon (), commonly known as just Stratford, is a market town and civil parish in the Stratford-on-Avon district, in the county of Warwickshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is situated on the River Avon, north-we ...

. Jackson attended Pimlico School,

Sydenham High School Sydenham High School is an independent school for 4- to 18-year-old girls located in London, England. Sydenham High School was founded by the Girls’ Public Day School Trust in 1887. Since then, the original school roll of 20 pupils has grown ...

, and

Royal Russell School Royal Russell School is an independent school in the Shirley area of Croydon, South London. It is a co-educational day and boarding school. The motto of the school is ''Non sibi sed omnibus'' meaning "Not for one's self but for all". The sch ...

. She was frequently bullied in school because of her appearance and weight. She has expressed discomfort with revealing her sexuality to the public. * Ben Langmaid was a member of La Roux from its inception until 2012, as songwriter and producer. He did not participate in the music videos or live performances with Jackson. Langmaid, a London-based producer and composer, has been involved with various other music projects in the past. He was a DJ throughout the 1990s. He has a close association with

Rollo Armstrong Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong (born 8 May 1966), known professionally as Rollo, is an English music producer. He is one half of the remix/production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss and is a founding member of the electronic music group Faith ...

Faithless Faithless are an English band that formed in 1995, with its core members being Rollo, Sister Bliss and Maxi Jazz. Their first album, '' Reverence'', was released in 1996 and their most recent, ''All Blessed'', in 2020. They have sold milli ...

; the two musicians went to the same school and later collaborated as Huff & Puff in the mid-1990s, releasing the

house A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

single "Help Me Make It" in 1996. Langmaid also recorded as Atomic and was one half of Huff & Herb, before contributing as a songwriter to

band Kubb's debut album ''

Mother ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of ...

'', released in 2005. This project was again linked to Rollo Armstrong; Kubb's frontman Harry Collier was introduced to Langmaid after Collier sang " Happy Birthday to You" to Armstrong whilst working as a waiter in a North London organic café. Langmaid turned down the offer of a permanent position in Kubb. In 2011, Langmaid wrote material for the early 1990s R&B-styled girl group War of Words.

Touring members

* Michael Greene – keyboards; left the band in 2012 to release music as Fort Romeau * Mickey O'Brien – keyboards and backing vocals (2008–2016) * William Bowerman – percussion (2009–2016) * Ed Seed – bass (2013–2016) * Matthew "Matty" Carroll – bass (2013–2016) *

– bass (2016) *

– bass (2016) * Jay Sharrock – percussion (2016) * Fernando Sanchez – bass (2019–2020) * Louis Sommer – bass (2020) * Karl Bossche – percussion (2020)

Discography

* '' La Roux'' (2009) * '' Trouble in Paradise'' (2014) * ''

'' (2020)

Awards

References

External links

*
Official La Roux channel
at

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

* {{Authority control English electronic music duos English synth-pop groups English women in electronic music Grammy Award winners for dance and electronic music Interscope Records artists Kitsuné artists LGBT musicians from England Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups from London NME Awards winners Polydor Records artists