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You are in: Berkshire > The Session > Bulletin Board > Interview: The Ting Tings

Interview: The Ting Tings

The Ting Tings shot to fame since playing the BBC Introducing stage at Glastonbury 2007, and they're set to play Reading Festival this year. But don't believe everything you read about them...

Jules de Martino and Katie White - The Ting Tings

Jules de Martino and Katie White

Glastonbury 2007 proved to be a landmark gig for one young band from Salford. In fact, the Ting Tings' gig on the BBC Introducing stage acts as a before-and-after partition - sectioning off a relatively quiet music life from the insanely intense popularity the duo Katie White and Jules de Martino have enjoyed since.

Their single That's Not My Name went straight in at number one, and their album We Started Nothing also debuted at the top spot, leading them to become the hottest and most talked-about band in the UK.

But if you're looking to find out more about them on their Wikipedia page, don't believe everything you read.

Here I chat to Katie White - listen to the full interview here or excerpts below:

So what was life like before your Glastonbury 2007 gig?

"We'd been playing house parties in our living room and getting a lot of interest but we hadn't really played many real gigs. And it's quite easy playing to drunk friends because they're going to tell you that you're good anyway!

"We'd done about three or four gigs in the 'real world' and then we'd landed on the Glastonbury Introducing stage, and straight away after performing it went everywhere.

The Ting Tings

Katie - grew up on a pig farm?

"We didn't even know it was being filmed as we had a nightmare getting into Glastonbury. We got there at 11am - on time as it was our first big show and...they wouldn't let us in!

"They kept sending us to different gates and by 7pm that evening when we should have been on stage performing we still hadn't got through the gates.

"We managed to get in ten minutes before the new stage time of 8pm. So we got all of our equipment on stage, covered in mud, we jumped on stage and played these songs - so we were quite startled by it  and we didn't realise it was being filmed.

"Two days later it went out on BBC2, late night, we had, like, thousands and thousands of messages from people that had seen it and had found it interesting. And that kick-started everything for us really."

And this year I assume you had no difficulty getting in, playing before one of the biggest crowd the John Peel stage has ever seen...

"Last year I reckon there was about 70 people watching us and so this time on the John Peel stage we peeked round the side of the stage and oh my God... We'd been told that it looked around 14,000 people and it was just filling out. It was as far as your eye could see. It was absolutely jaw-droppingly scarily exciting.

The Ting Tings

Jules - writing for George Michael?

"We could see on the footage of it that we'd walked on stage and we're literally going 'oh my God this is insane' and trying to take it in and concentrate on what we were doing.

"The guy introducing us said he'd done it for 25 years and it was the biggest crowd that they'd pulled, so obviously it was brilliant. I still can't think about it properly! It makes you feel a bit weird if you over-think stuff like that."

And you're on the road in September on your biggest UK tour so far. So how are you preparing for that?

"It's less nerve-wracking than festivals because you get to sound-check. At festivals you just plug in and play and hope for the best.

"We always get nervous, I think I've only ever done one gig where I've not been nervous because I've been so tired - and we were absolutely crap, so I think it's good to be nervous!"

And before your tour you're heading to the Reading Festival, obviously a huge festival. Does playing Reading have any different connotations to playing festivals like Glastonbury?

"Every festival is completely different. We'd been doing a lot of European ones and each one has a different atmosphere and the way it's run and the way the crowds are. We've never been to Reading Festival so we can't wait to play it because it's a brand new thing for us."

The Ting Tings

Jules - in a Christian rock band?

Now both you and Jules have had your fair share of music industry experience. You were both in a previous band, Dear Eskimo and...Jules wrote songs for George Michael?

"It's so untrue but I love that rumour though!"

I'm glad I asked you that then as it's on your Wikipedia page!

"I know and I don't want to change it because I'm finding it very funny. It says that I grew up on a pig farm and that Jules was in a Christian rock band, which I just think is hilarious. None of it is true but it's very funny! We didn't put it on there but we're leaving it on there!"

With your music industry experience, can you name any pitfalls to avoid?

"We don't even know how we got in this position to be honest so it's hard to give advice.

"The only thing we did different this time was that we stopped listening to people, stopped taking advice. If anyone said 'trust me' now, we're like 'no thank you, bye bye!'.

"It's all right being influenced by people and finding stuff inspiring but nobody knows what they're doing!

"I'd just keep doing what you're doing. Don't look for record deals. If you start by thinking you're going to be absolutely huge you'd give up straight away because 0.1 per cent of people only ever get there.

"Just do it because you love music."

last updated: 22/07/2008 at 14:54
created: 22/07/2008

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