The Ting Tings is one of the breakout European bands that hit the world like storm. With their unique indie pop tunes and unusual name, the group has swept the world over with songs like That's Not My Name, Shut Up and Let Me Go, and Fruit Machine. As the two-man band of Katie White and Jules de Martino gains more popularity, a lot of the Ting Tings fan sites, pictures and videos, and song downloads have also been widely searched in the internet. It just goes to show that the world just can't get enough of their head-bopping beats, whimsical lyrics, and post-punk sound revival.

The Beginning

Before the formation of the Ting Tings, Katie played with a female punk band, Total Knock Out, while Jules was doing gigs with his band, Babakoto and Mojo Pin. When Jules moved to Manchester after the break up of his band, he met Katie and formed the Dead Eskimos, together with a DJ friend. The band was already signed up for a major label, but the band's career was cut short after the 3rd member quit. Not long after, Katie White and Jules de Martino started experimenting on a combination of different musical genres. After finally actualizing the sound they want to work on, the two decided to form the band we now know as the Ting Tings.

The Origin of the Band's Name and their Shot to Fame

The band name was conceptualized by Katie White through the help of her Chinese college buddy. ‘Ting' in Chinese means listen, and the ting tings translated into an old Chinese band stand. With a unique sound and an even more unique name to boot, the band decided to pursue their passion for music and started playing in local bars and private parties in Islington Mill in Salford. Soon enough, their jam-packed gigs and performances created a hype among fans and music producers which led to TV exposure in BBC Introducing and other UK TV shows.

With Katie White on vocals and guitars, and Jules on drums and bass, the two-man band was finally taken in by Columbia Records UK. This marked the released of their debut album, We Started Nothing.

Songs from the album like Fruit Machine, That's Not My Name, and Shut Up and Let Me Go became favorite radio tunes in local UK stations. Eventually, their smashing new sound reached the US and other countries all over the globe. Their songs were soon featured in famous US TV shows like Gossip Girl and 90210. This needed exposure boosted the popularity that the Ting Tings is already garnering. The success of these ear candy songs instantly sky-rocketed the band as one of the best UK acts of 2008.

Awards and Milestones Ting Ting's music video for Shut Up and Let Me Go was nominated for Video of the Year and bagged the Best UK Video award at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The band was also nominated in the Best UK Act category in the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards.

Current Musical Endeavors The band is currently on their European tour performing in countries like Germany, France, Italy, and Spain among others. The tour commenced Nov, 2008 and is expected to end on March of 2009.