Ting Tings pop up hot after Eskiimo hell

Published on Friday 22 February 2008 16:22

A SASSY, infectious mix of shouty vocals, handclaps and looped layers of disco-infused pop, The Ting Tings come on like Blondie having a house party that's been crashed by The Gossip. Along with drummer Jules De Martino, guitarist and singer Katie White makes up The Ting Tings, and as part of the NME Shockwave tour and prominent in the BBC's Sounds of 2008 predictions they are tipped for glory.

A couple of years ago, White had thought that her chances of a musical career were dead. She had spent her teenage years in the long forgotten girl group Total Knock Out. After they were totally knocked back, she hooked up with indie band veteran De Martino to form Dear Eskiimo, a band signed by Mercury and then dropped before releasing a record. Disillusioned with the music industry, the duo retired to bohemian arts complex, the Islington Mill in Manchester, with the intention of licking their wounds. The Ting Tings were the happy but unintentional result.

"We felt like outcasts," recalls White. "We were classed as a failure and, without being overly dramatic, we thought that nobody would ever work with us again. We started writing songs just to make ourselves feel better. We didn't think anyone else would want to listen. We just did whatever the hell we wanted. It felt so free. It was such a good feeling."

First fruit was the single 'That's Not My Name', which was released on the local Swithflicker records. With lines such as "Are you calling me Darling? Are you calling me Bird? That's not my name!", the song is a righteous response to their former record company, who would ask whether or not White would be prepared to do nude shoots in order to promote her old band.

On an ad hoc basis, the duo would put on gigs for friends in their living room. By the fifth one, word had spread so rapidly that it was rammed with record company scouts and even legendary Columbia producer Rick Rubin wanted on the guest list.

It helped that their first two indie label, vinyl singles were put out with (now very collectable) hand-made sleeves that were the result of collaborations between the band and their fans. The Ting Tings can sound like the most accessible pop imaginable but there is also an art school aesthetic at work in the background.

White will happily confess that her musical tastes were, until recently, "crap". De Martino and the arty vibe at the Islington Mill switched her on to Talking Heads and The Smiths. Ironically, while she has developed a more muso appetite, De Martino has gone and got a crush on pop.

The Ting Tings ended up signing to Columbia which is putting out 'Great DJ', their first major label release, in a week's time with an as yet un-named album to follow in May.

"Good pop is amazing," beams White. "It's right to be dismissive of the real shit, but good pop makes you feel great."

• Great DJ is out on Columbia on March 3, www.myspace.com/thetingtings