 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia.(October 2024) |
 |
Kristian Leontiou | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 1982 (age 42) London, England |
| Genres | Pop, adult contemporary |
| Occupation | Singer |
| Years active | 2004–present |
| Labels | Polydor |
Kristian Leontiou (born February 1982) [1] is an English singer. Formerly a solo artist, he is the lead singer of indie rock band One eskimO.
Kristian Leontiou was born in London, England and is of Greek Cypriot descent. He went to Hatch End High School in Harrow and worked several jobs in and around London whilst concentrating on music when he had any free time. In 2003 he signed a major record deal with Polydor. At the time, Leontiou was dubbed "the new Dido" by some media outlets. [2] His debut single "Story of My Life" was released in June 2004 and reached #9 in the UK Singles Chart. His second single "Shining" peaked at #13 whilst the album Some Day Soon was certified gold selling in excess of 150,000 copies.
Leontiou toured the album in November 2004 taking him to the US to work with L.A Reid, Chairman of the Island Def Jam music group. Unhappy with the direction his career was going, on a flight back from the US in 2004 he decided to take his music in a new direction. Splitting from his label, he went on to collaborate with Faithless on the song "Hope & Glory" for their album ‘'To All New Arrivals'’. It was this release that saw him unleash the One eskimO moniker. It was through working with Rollo Armstrong on the Faithless album, that Rollo got to hear an early demo of "Astronauts" from the One eskimO project. Being more than impressed by what he heard, Rollo opened both his arms and studio doors to Leontiou and they began to co-produce the ‘'All Balloons’' album.
It was at this time that he paired up with good friend Adam Falkner, a drummer/musician, to introduce a live acoustic sound to the album. They recorded the album with engineer Phill Brown (engineer for Bob Marley and Robert Plant) at Ark studios in St John's Wood where they recorded live then headed back to Rollo's studio to add the cinematic electro touches that are prominent on the album.
Shortly after its completion, One eskimO's "Hometime" was used on a Toyota Prius advert in the USA. The funds from the advert were then used to develop the visual aspect of One eskimO. He teamed up with friend Nathan Erasmus (Gravy Media Productions) along with animation team Smuggling Peanuts (Matt Latchford and Lucy Sullivan) who together began to develop the One eskimO world, the first animation produced was for the track ‘Hometime’ which went on to win a British animation award in 2008.
In 2008 Leontiou started a new management venture with ATC Music. By mid-2008 Time Warner came on board to develop all 10 One eskimO animations which were produced the highly regarded Passion Pictures in London.
Leontiou released a cover version of Tracy Chapman's "Fast Car", which was originally released as a single in 2005. Leontiou's version was unable to chart, however, due to there being no simultaneous physical release alongside the download single, a UK chart rule that was in place at the time. On 24 April 2011, the song entered the singles chart at number 88 due to Britain's Got Talent contestant Michael Collings covering the track on the show on 16 April 2011. [3]
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK [4] | |||
| 2004 | Some Day Soon
| 14 | BPI: Gold [5] |
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK [6] | CIS [7] | |||
| 2004 | "Story of My Life" | 9 | 3 | Some Day Soon |
| "Shining" | 13 | 13 | ||
| "Some Say" | 54 | 20 | ||
| 2005 | "Fast Car" [A] | 88 | — | |
| "—" denotes items which were not released in that country or failed to chart. | ||||
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong, known professionally as Dido, is an English singer and songwriter. She attained international success with her debut album No Angel (1999); hit singles from the album include "Here with Me" and "Thank You". It sold over 21 million copies worldwide, and it won her several awards, including two Brit Awards; additionally, she won Best British Album and Best British Female as well as the MTV Europe Music Award for Best New Act. The first verse of "Thank You" is sampled in "Stan", a critically acclaimed collaboration with American rapper Eminem. Her next album, Life for Rent (2003), continued her success with the hit singles "White Flag" and "Life for Rent". In 2004, Dido performed with other British and Irish artists in the Band Aid 20 version of the charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?".
Faithless are an English dance music 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 millions of physical records, and their catalogue was uploaded to streaming sites in 2018. They average almost 3 million listeners a month on Spotify. Faithless' records have charted at No. 1 in numerous countries and they were voted the 4th greatest dance band of all time by Mixmag.
Rowland Constantine O'Malley Armstrong, 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, which is also used as UEFA Super Cup, UEFA Women's Championship, and youth tournaments theme since 2017.
Ayalah Deborah Bentovim, better known by her stage name Sister Bliss, is a British keyboardist, record producer, DJ and songwriter. In the studio, she is best known for her work with Rollo Armstrong as one half of the production duo Rollo & Sister Bliss, and particularly as part of Faithless.
Some Day Soon is the debut and only solo album by singer-songwriter Kristian Leontiou. He subsequently formed a band, One Eskimo. The album was originally released on 31 May 2004 and then re-released on 4 April 2005 with new artwork and bonus track "Fast Car" - a single and cover version of Tracy Chapman's song, that Leontiou had previously played at different venues and had proved to be a favourite amongst fans.
"God Is a DJ" is a song by British group Faithless, written by Maxi Jazz, Rollo, Sister Bliss, and Jamie Catto. It was released on 24 August 1998 as the lead single from their second studio album, Sunday 8PM (1998). The single reached number six in the United Kingdom and also reached number one on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in September 1998. The title and core lyric originated from words on a T-shirt worn to rehearsal by the band guitarist Dave Randall.
Dusted is the joint venture of two record producers, Rollo Armstrong and Mark Bates. Their best-remembered track is "Always Remember to Respect and Honour Your Mother Part One" in 2001, which reached No. 31 on the UK Singles Chart. The song featured vocals from 12-year-old schoolboy Alan Young.
"One Step Too Far" is a song by British electronic music group Faithless. The track features member Rollo Armstrong's sister Dido on vocals and was remixed for single release. "One Step Too Far" was released on 8 April 2002 as the fourth and final single from their third studio album, Outrospective (2001). The song peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the US Dance Club Play chart, and number 21 on the Australian Singles Chart.
Cassandra "Cass" Fox is an English singer and songwriter. She is best known for writing and singing the 2001 number one hit single "Touch Me", which she co-produced with Rui Da Silva.
"Baggy Trousers" is a song by English ska/pop band Madness from their 1980 album Absolutely. It was written by lead singer Graham "Suggs" McPherson and guitarist Chris Foreman, and reminisces about school days.. The band first began performing the song at live shows in April 1980.
"Insomnia" is a song by British musical group Faithless. Released as the band's second single, it became one of their most successful. It was originally released in 1995 and reached number 27 on the UK Singles Chart, topping the UK Dance Chart in the process. When re-released in October 1996, the song achieved a new peak of number three in the United Kingdom and topped the charts of Finland, Norway, and Switzerland, as well as the American and Canadian dance charts. It also featured on Faithless's 1996 debut album, Reverence.
"Salva Mea" is a song by British electronic band Faithless, written by members Rollo, Sister Bliss, and Maxi Jazz. The female vocals on all versions are performed by Rollo's sister Dido. "Salva Mea" was released in July 1995 by Cheeky Records as the group's first single from their debut album, Reverence (1996), and became a hit on the UK Dance Singles Chart; following a re-release in 1996, it peaked at number nine on the UK Singles Chart. The single topped the US Hot Dance Club Play chart twice—during its first chart run in 1996 and again in 1997 when the track was remixed and reissued. A black-and-white music video was produced to promote the single, directed by British director Lindy Heymann.
"We Come 1" is a song by British electronic band Faithless from their third studio album, Outrospective (2001). The song was issued as the album's lead single on 4 June 2001, two weeks before Outrospective was released. The remixes by Wookie and Dave Clarke that appear on the single releases are included on the bonus disc of the album Reperspective: The Remixes.
"Muhammad Ali" is a song recorded by British dance band Faithless. It was released in the UK as a single on 23 September 2001, and was the second single release from the group's third studio album Outrospective. The German release was a DualDisc containing a CD audio side and a DVD side. Muhammad Ali reached #29 in the UK singles chart.
Mass Destruction is the first single from the fourth album by British electronic music band Faithless, No Roots (2004). It was released on 31 May 2004 and reached number seven on the UK Singles Chart. In Australia, the song was ranked number 41 on Triple J's Hottest 100 of 2004.
"Deliver Me" is a song originally released by The Beloved in 1996. In 1998, Sarah Brightman covered the song for her album Eden. It was a European only single. A second version was released as a charity single in aid of the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake victims.
The discography of Dido, a British pop singer, consists of six studio albums, one demo album, two extended plays, 31 singles, and one video album. She debuted in 1993, performing and touring with trip hop group Faithless. In 1997, she began composing solo material and signed a recording contract with Arista Records in the United States.
The discography of Faithless, a British electronic band, consists of nine studio albums, four remix albums, three compilation albums, thirty-seven singles and a number of other appearances. They are perhaps best known for their 1995 hit single "Insomnia"; it was voted by Mixmag readers as the fifth greatest dance record of all time in 2013, was certified triple platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) in 2023, with sales of over 1.8million.
"Story of My Life" is the debut single of British singer Kristian Leontiou, written by Leontiou, Sarah Erasmus, and Pete Wilkinson. The song was produced by Ash Howes and Wilkinson and features backing vocals from Wilkinson and Erasmus. Taken from Leontiou's debut studio album, Some Day Soon (2004), it reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart in May 2004 and also charted in Germany, the Netherlands, and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), where it reached number three on the region's airplay chart.
"Don't Leave" is a song by English band Faithless, co-written by Jamie Catto, Rollo, and Sister Bliss and produced by the latter two. Catto provides the lead vocals on the song while Pauline Taylor and Rollo's sister Dido perform several backing vocals. A downtempo soul ballad, the track was included on Faithless's debut album, Reverence (1996), and was released as its third single in March 1996, reaching number 34 on the UK Singles Chart.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
