Elly Jackson

Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid were introduced by a mutual friend in 2006.

Initially, they performed largely acoustic music under the moniker Automan due to Elly's great admiration of acts like Nick Drake and Joni Mitchell.

Their style later shifted to electronic music 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 and tomboyish appearance, mingling the masculine ("le roux") and feminine ("la rousse") French terms.

La Roux is an English synth-pop act formed in 2008 by singer Elly Jackson and record producer Ben Langmaid.

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 Polydor Records in order to release an album.

The act's debut album La Roux (2009) was a critical and commercial success, winning a Grammy Award and producing hit singles such as "In for the Kill" and "Bulletproof".

Recording of a follow-up album was marred by unsuccessful collaborations, the cancellation of two planned release dates, and reported conflict between the duo.

The second single, "In for the Kill", was released on 16 March 2009 and subsequently remixed by two prominent dubstep producers, Skream and Skrillex.

"In for the Kill" debuted at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart on 22 March 2009, peaking at number 2 four weeks later.

"Bulletproof", 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 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.

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 and Heartbreak, performed at the Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds 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, All Points West Music & Arts Festival and Lollapalooza.

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 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, and was eventually certified platinum in the UK and Ireland, and gold in Australia.

Sales of "In for the Kill" spiked 600 per cent 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's album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy and to West and Jay-Z's collaborative album Watch the Throne, on the track "That's My Bitch".

She also performed on Chromeo'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 for their self-titled debut album and "In for the Kill" was nominated for Best Dance Recording.

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.

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 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 during which she premiered four new songs.

She released her third album, Supervision, independently in 2020.