The Ting Tings' Katie White: I'd rather write songs than get my boobs out

The Ting Tings’ Katie White is taking a well-earned break from the duo’s frantic schedule.

This year, alongside musical partner Jules De Martino, Katie’s long-held dream of pop success came true with the No 1 hit single That’s Not My Name and chart-topping debut album We Started Nothing.

Making the most of their new-found fame, the pair’s summer has been a whirlwind of TV and live appearances.

Today, Katie’s back at The Ting Tings’ rehearsal space at Islington Mill Studios in Salford, Greater Manchester, preparing a tasty steak and salad.

"I haven’t cooked in months," admits the 25-year-old blonde. "I’m not amazing in the kitchen or really healthy or anything, but I am getting sick of motorway service station food. It was really bad when we had to fly early every morning.

"We couldn’t sleep properly, but that’s changed since we got a tour bus. We’re feeling more alive than we did a couple of months ago."

Prior to The Ting Tings’ success, Katie, who started out doing dance routines in the school playground, had been in a girl group TKO.

When they flopped, she met De Martino, 35, an aspiring songwriter and musician. Pooling their forces they formed Dear Eskimo, a group that folded after differences with their record company.

"I was 22 at the time and felt totally disheartened and frustrated," says Katie. "I thought it was all over – at 22! No one wanted to know or return a single phone call.

"We had given up thinking we were ever going to be successful. So we decided to write the songs that we liked, not really caring what a record company or anyone else thought. That was a turning point."

The Ting Tings’ defiant songs underline a determination to assert their individuality. But in Dear Eskimo Katie had been shocked by record company suggestions that, to promote the band, she should "get her kit off’ in men’s magazines.

"I really wasn’t provocative at all," she laughs. "I felt insulted. I just thought, ‘When I get old, do I want to look back and think I got my boobs out?’ No, I don’t. Madonna did it in a way that empowered her. I’d rather write songs and do art."


Original article here