Sam Sparro

b. Sam Falson, 8 November 1984, Sydney, Australia. The son of a gospel minister, Sparro played piano as a child and sang in his local church choir. He moved to America at an early age and spent some time working as a child actor, appearing in television advertisements and landing bit parts in series such as General Hospital. In his late teens Sparro spent time in London, England, before returning to Los Angeles in 2003 when his visa expired. Inspired to make music by his exposure to the English club scene, Sparro spent the next few years struggling to make an impact. It was after teaming up with producer Jessie Roog that he began to make progress, with the mixtape Drop Songs Not Bombs and the Black & Gold EP (released via Modus Vivendi Music) both earning cult status for the slick fusion of dance and funk and Sparro's white soul boy vocals. A contract with the UK label Island Records followed in the late 00s, with the catchy electro pop of "Black And Gold" helping propel Sparro to the upper reaches of the UK charts in April 2008. His self-titled debut album was released at the same time.