The Tuts were an English
DIY pop punk
Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...
, "three-tone" band from
Hayes,
Greater London
Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...
. They received extensive coverage from alternative music radio, most notably
Amazing Radio,
and from music websites such as
Louder Than War
''Louder Than War'' is a music and culture website and magazine focusing on mainly alternative arts news, reviews, and features. The site is an editorially independent publication that was started by the English musician and journalist John R ...
which published multiple articles on the group,
calling them "one of the
UK's most exciting bands".
The band, particularly frontwoman Nadia Javed, were the subject of a feature in the
ITV series ''Young, British and Muslim'' in April 2018.
Initially influenced by contemporary
indie and
alternative rock
Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
, their back-to-basics sound and
feminist
Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...
politics led to comparisons with older genres such as punk,
C86
''C86'' is a Audio cassette, cassette compilation released by the British music magazine ''NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, ''C86'' quickly evolved into shorthand for a g ...
and
riot grrrl
Riot grrrl is an underground feminist punk movement that began during the early 1990s within the United States in Olympia, Washington, and the greater Pacific Northwest, and has expanded to at least 26 other countries. A subcultural movement ...
.
By 2022, Javed had become a solo artist.
Origins
The Tuts were formed by teenagers Nadia Javed (guitar) and Beverley Ishmael (drums) in the mid-2000s while still at school. The bass guitarist, Harriet Doveton (also of
Colour Me Wednesday
Colour Me Wednesday are an English indie pop/pop punk band from West London (sub region), West London, England, built around sisters Jen and Harriet Doveton. The band are noted for their melodic guitar pop music, pop, politicised lyrics and DIY ...
), joined in late 2010 and this line up played its first gig in early 2011.
The band self-released their first
EP, ''The Tuts'', in 2012, and the download single "Tut Tut Tut" early the following year, picking up radio support from
Billy Reeves
Billy Reeves (born 7 June 1965) is an English songwriter, musician, record producer and broadcaster.
In 1996 he formed the London-based indie-band Theaudience, (featuring Sophie Ellis-Bextor on vocals). Theaudience quickly established themselv ...
,
Gary Crowley,
Ruth Barnes,
Steve Lamacq
Stephen Paul Lamacq (born 16 October 1964), sometimes known by his nickname Lammo (given to him by John Peel), is an English disc jockey, currently working with BBC Radio 6 Music.
Lamacq was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire ( ...
and
Gideon Coe
Gideon Jon Quantrill Coe (born 22 September 1967) is a radio DJ, presenter, sportscaster, voiceover artist and journalist.
Early career
He began his broadcasting career in 1976 as a child presenter on the BBC One TV programme '' Why Don't You? ...
.
A 2013 tour with
Kate Nash
Kate Marie Nash (born 6 July 1987) is an English musician and actress from North Harrow. Her singles "Foundations (song), Foundations" (2007) and "Do-Wah-Doo" (2010) charted at numbers 2 and 15 on the UK singles chart and her albums ''Made of Bri ...
led to a track on Nash's ''Have Faith This Christmas'' EP later that year; the band also made their first appearance at
Indietracks
Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway – Butterley, Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, England. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction railway station, Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variet ...
, and released two more download singles, "Dump Your Boyfriend" and "Worry Warrior", the artwork for the latter a playful nod to
X Ray Spex.
In 2014, the band released a second EP, ''Time to Move On'', and played on the Leftfield stage at
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...
at the invitation of
Billy Bragg
Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...
.
In 2015, they launched their single 'Do I Have to Look For Love?' and toured with
The Selecter
The Selecter is an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...
and
Sonic Boom Six
Sonic Boom Six (often shortened to SB6) are an English five-piece band from Manchester, United Kingdom. Their eclectic sound combines different elements of several genres and has been described by ''Kerrang!'' as "taking ska, pop, grime, du ...
, returned to
Indietracks
Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway – Butterley, Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, England. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction railway station, Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variet ...
and appeared at the
Tolpuddle Martyrs festival
The Tolpuddle Martyrs' Festival and Rally is an annual festival held in the village of Tolpuddle, in Dorset, England, which celebrates the memory of the Tolpuddle Martyrs. The event is a celebration of trade unionism and labour politics organised ...
.
Album and after
Having built a fanbase solely through touring and DIY/social media promotion, in spring 2016 The Tuts started a
PledgeMusic
PledgeMusic was an online direct-to-fan music platform, launched in August 2009. It was started to facilitate musicians looking to pre-sell, market, and distribute projects, such as recordings and concerts. It bore similarities to other artist pa ...
campaign to finance their debut
album
An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
. It reached its target within a week.
The band's album ''Update Your Brain'' was released in September 2016 to universally-positive reviews, including national press.
In July, they had released a new download single, "Let Go of the Past", with an accompanying video. Their video to follow-up single "1982" was premiered on ''
Vice
A vice is a practice, behaviour, Habit (psychology), habit or item generally considered morally wrong in the associated society. In more minor usage, vice can refer to a fault, a negative character trait, a defect, an infirmity, or a bad or unhe ...
'' magazine's Noisey channel in October 2016.
In September 2016, they embarked on an album release tour, including a sold out show at The Lexington, London and a run of dates co-headlining with anti-folk Manchester based band
Crywank.
The same year the band played with
The Undertones
The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...
,
Thee Faction
Thee Faction are a British garage rock/ garage punk band from Surrey, England, noted for their explicit socialist agenda. They refer to their music, which incorporates elements of garage rock, pop and rhythm and blues as "Socialist RnB". Thei ...
,
Adam Ant
Stuart Leslie Goddard (born 3 November 1954), known professionally as Adam Ant, is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK ...
and
Senseless Things
Senseless Things were an England, English pop punk band, formed in 1986 in London. The band released four studio albums and achieved two UK Singles Chart, UK Top 20 hit singles before splitting up in 1995. Senseless Things reformed in 2017 to p ...
and performed at several summer festivals in 2016, including
Bearded Theory, Glastonwick, Camden Rocks, Indiefjord, Godiva and Rebellion. In 2017 The Tuts supported
Feeder, toured with
The Skints, and played the
Bestival
Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...
and
Indietracks
Indietracks was an annual indie pop music festival at the Midland Railway – Butterley, Midland Railway in Butterley, Derbyshire, England. The main site was located at Swanwick Junction railway station, Swanwick Junction. Bands played in variet ...
festivals.
In May and June 2017, The Tuts embarked on their own "Give Us Something Worth Voting For" tour, with reference to the
impending UK general election and their eponymous anti-
Conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
album track. Later the same year the band collaborated with
Girli on a new version of the song "Mr 10pm Bedtime", previously released on her ''Hot Mess'' EP.
Javed and the band received TV coverage as part of the
ITV series ''Young British and Muslim'' in April 2018. The feature contained interview footage of Javed on life as a young female
Muslim
Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...
musician in Britain as well as rehearsal footage of the full band.
In March 2019, the band announced that they would be supporting
The Specials
The Specials, also known as the Special AKA, were an English 2 tone and ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry. After some early changes, the first stable lineup of the group consisted of Terry Hall and Neville Staple on vocals, J ...
on their ''
Encore
An encore is an additional performance given by performers at the conclusion of a show or concert, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford Universi ...
'' tour.
In June 2019, The Tuts supported
Bikini Kill
Bikini Kill is an American punk rock band formed in Olympia, Washington, in October 1990. The group originally consisted of singer and songwriter Kathleen Hanna, guitarist Billy Karren, bassist Kathi Wilcox, and drummer Tobi Vail.
The band pio ...
at O2 Academy Brixton alongside
Big Joanie
In December 2019 Javed launched a live version of her song "I Hate Boris" on YouTube ahead of the general election.
In 2020 the band's debut album ''Update Your Brain'' featured in
James Acaster
James William Acaster (; born 9 January 1985) is an English comedian, presenter, podcaster and actor. As well as the stand-up specials ''James Acaster: Repertoire, Repertoire'' and ''Cold Lasagne Hate Myself 1999'', he is known for co-hosting ...
's book and (with comedian
Suzi Ruffell)
podcast
A podcast is a Radio program, program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an Episode, episodic series of digital audio Computer file, files that users can download to a personal device or str ...
''Perfect Sound, Whatever'' as one of his favourite albums of 2016.
Breakup
After a lengthy silence from the band, Javed re-emerged as a solo artist in 2022, playing the
Godiva Festival.
Controversies
A dispute arose between the band and management of the Undercover Festival in 2016, following clashes between security staff and band members, during the performance of the headline act
The Selecter
The Selecter is an English 2 tone ska revival band, formed in Coventry, England, in 1979.
The Selecter featured a diverse line-up, both in terms of race and gender, initially consisting of Arthur 'Gaps' Hendrickson and Pauline Black on lead ...
.
The band cited, as a precedent for the above, an incident in 2012 The Windmill, Brixton where Javed (and eyewitnesses) reported an assault on her by staff. Police were called but no further action was taken. There was no CCTV footage. The promoter, who had not been present but had discussed the incident with the staff involved, released a statement.
In January 2019, The Tuts claimed to have turned down the opportunity to represent the UK at the
Eurovision Song Contest 2019
The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...
due to it being held in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
. The band was not mentioned in the shortlist for the preliminary contest for UK entry, ''
Eurovision: You Decide'', which preceded the competition in February.
In July 2019, it emerged that Javed is one of several musicians being sued by the singer/rapper
Jonny "Itch" Fox, seeking aggravated damages and an injunction for alleged libel. The defendants were fundraising towards their legal costs.
Members
*Nadia Javed – guitar, vocals (2007-2019)
*Beverley Ishmael – drums (2007–2019)
*Harriet Doveton – bass, vocals (2010–2019)
Timeline
Discography
Album
*''Update Your Brain'' Dovetown, LP/CD/DD, 2016
Singles/EPs
*''The Tuts'' EP
CD/
DD, 2012
*"Tut Tut Tut" DD, 2013
*"Dump Your Boyfriend" DD, 2013
*"Worry Warrior" DD, 2013
*"Christmas Is In The Air" DD, 2013
*''Time to Move On'' EP CD/DD, 2014
*"Do I Have To Look For Love" DD, 2015
*"Let Go of the Past" DD, 2016
*"1982" DD, 2016
*"Do I Have To Look For Love"/"Lying Lover" 7"/DD, 2017
*"Mr 10pm Bedtime" (
Girli vs. The Tuts) DD, 2017
Compilation appearances
*"I Call You Up" on ''MC12'',
HHBTM Records, Cassette, 2012
*"Do I Have To Look For Love" on ''Don't Be Left Without Us'', 2CD, 2016
References
External links
Bandcamp2015 Rookie interview2015 Indietracks interview2016 Louder Than War interview2016 Bristol Live interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tuts, The
2013 establishments in England
All-female punk bands
British feminist musicians
English feminists
English indie pop groups
English musical trios
English pop punk groups
English punk rock groups
Indie rock groups from London
Musical groups established in 2013
Musical groups from the London Borough of Hillingdon
Riot grrrl bands