Richard Madeley & Judy Finnigan, a well known pair of daytime television presenters on UK Channel 4, are the epitome of Middle England sensibilities, not to mention falling hook line and sinker for whatever PR hype is trawled in front of them. When they saw the music video for All The Things She Said by the teenage Russian lesbian couple called TATU, they were so shocked that they are demanding not just a boycott but that the TATU single be banned.
So yet again we here are told by the self-appointed guardians of ‘morality’ that things which they find distasteful or threatening should be suppressed by force of law. I can almost hear Ivan Shapovalov, TATU’s creator and promoter, chuckling as these idiots take the bait and provide his winsome couple with a whirlwind of free publicity.
Disturbing to some, it seems!
Well given that TATU’s single looks like topping the UK charts, I guess not all that many people agree with these statist prigs.
For those of you who are not upset by lesbian schoolgirls in really short skirts singing infectiously catchy tunes, check out their live gig at the 2002 MTV Europe Music Awards (in English) or their rather splendid little OTT video in Russian (fast connection recommended for both links).
TATU singer Julia signs petition to ban Richard & Judy
A lot of people in the West are not quite ready for East Europeans, I’ve noticed. I bet Middle England is most cross about the two girls in this nine-day wonder being prepared to do anything to make money and being very pretty.
Prudes are now able to laugh off dikes who look dikey as acceptably comic. But dikes who look pretty and feminine – or worse [!] normal pretty girls who are prepared to pretend to be dikes for a couple of years if it makes them money…. now that is most unsuburban. Ban it at once!!
Oh be still my beating heart! 🙂
Oh be still my beating heart! 🙂
They don’t watch many music videos do they? From a purely sexual poitn of view tatu is not only harmless, it’s not worth mentioning, compared to some of the other stuff (yeha!).
No, let’s be honest, the fact that they are lesbians is what caused the fuss. Not just that but the effectively positive message the video attaches to that as well.
I think this whole Tatu lesbian thing is a marketing gimmick. The video was on TV a few minutes ago, and it seemed to me that the whole thing was simply a use of lesbianism to titilate men, they were in minishirts, makeup, white shirts on what went see-through in the rain, kissing in public for no particular reason, I mean puuhlez.
In response to Mark (above) that dykey lesbians are accepted and feminine lesbians not. I think you have got that reveresed. Dykey lesbians have a hard time. I was at a car place last week and there were two fairly butch lesbian customers, and what suprised me, was that when they left a (male) member of staff loudly called them “bastards” for no particular reason I could see. I am bisexual and feminine, I very occasionaly get anti-lesbian remarks but never ever as bad as that. (The staff were very nice to me when I left).
Della: Oh I am sure it is a marketing gimmick, hence my remarks about ol’ Ivan laughing at all the fuss and probably marvelling at how gullible people are. That said, I gather the girls really may be bisexual as rumours of them being seen with boyfriends & Julia and Lena having been spotted snogging off-camera can be found on various Russian gossip sites if you can be bothered to look.
My guess is that they are all having a big laugh whilst crying over what the mean old critics say about them… leaving a trail of tears all the way to the bank.
What’s this? Attractive teen lesbians parading about in ultra-brief clothing for the masses? This is an outrage and MUST be banned. Unfortunately for the trollops in question, only the closest scrutiny via intense video monitoring will adequately squelch this sort of threat to public morality. I, selfless individual that I am, hereby volunteer my services to this end.
Sorry Della, I know what you mean. Close up, butch lesbians may get a lot of unpleasantness on the street. Feminine lesbians can hide, as it were.
But on television, is there not a corny niche for dikes [dykes? (I’m not sure how to spell this: ‘dykey’ looked odd to me when I wrote it], rather in the way that for a long time camp gay men were stock figures of comedy and partly accepted/tolerated as such, while gay men who seem heterosexual were regarded as more sinister somehow?
Does that make any sense?
Um, I’m afraid I’ll need quite a few more photos before I can render an informed opinion. Do please feel free to continue posting them.
I have worked in the music business for 23 years now. Tatu is nothing new.
Wendy & Lisa (bass & keyboards) in Prince & the Revolution were doing this stuff in 1993 – 1996.
If you want to see the real Mc Coy please visit the REAL THING at http://www.rockbitch.co.uk/
This band have been doing it for real un-manufactured for three years now and have been banned from nearly everywhere that they play.
BEWARE, VERY EXPLICIT!
ENJOY!
BEST
SIMON AUSTIN
Music & TV Pundit!
they’ve now hit number one!
http://www.nme.com/charts/uk/singles.htm
Talk is cheap.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007MAZP/
Lesbians or straight, these girls are sometimes explicitly sexual on stage, especially in provincial Russian cities, where it’s all rather new. They were 16 first time they got too high and started stripping on stage, provoking the same reaction from public. But their message is not lesbianic or even sexual, it’s just plain old adolescent rebellion. Sex is form.
Speaking of dyke-style lesbians, we’ve got ‘The Night Snipers’. Initially, it was a guitar-and-violin duet, now it’s a more traditional electric rock band. Nevertheless, they are enormously popular here, constantly rising despite managerial mishaps. One of the first their songs which made big on FM is as dyke-lesbian as it could be, but it hasn’t turned off public.
To Mr. Simon Austin:
Much as I hesitate to dis our fellow Ally, I’m afraid that in the Tatu vs Rockbitch catfight your naked Brit Thelemites lose out. Let’s take it one at a time:
1. On the one hand, the Rockbitchites show a lot more skin. On the other hand, the Tatu girls still manage to be more sexy.
2. The Tatu girls just wanna have fun, it looks like. The Rockbitches insist on serving up long, preachy condescending socio-political screeds on their website. They even have a safesex page! Ick. One more point for Tatu.
3. The Rockbitches, despite piercings. pentagrams. oral sex with skulls, etc. are just soft Westerners. When anything goes wrong, they whine and moan at endless length. (“Male stagehands sabotaged our sound system…”) When Russian girls get annoyed they don’t whine on their website – they go out AND STEAL A FUEL TRUCK, and race it down a Siberian highway while standing on the top of the cab! (At least, that’s what they do in their video.) Another point for the Slavic sisters.
4. Musically, I suspect Tatu are a lot more fun. (No examples of the Rockbitch sound seem to be available) If Mr. Ivan Shapovalov is reading this, I would suggest that he get Tatu to cover the old Archies hit – SUGAR, SUGAR. Can’t you just see it? It would be adorable!
(Actually, a Rockbitch cover of Sugar, Sugar would probably be kind of interesting too.)
John Sabotta
I’ve heard Rockbitch and TATU on MP3 and video, and TATU have more musical talent and better singing tone precision. Rockbitch have a talent level approximately in the “fairly listenable amateur band” range.
I suspected as much – if you arn’t all that good, then strip down and bring out the fog machine and the skull. And take yourself very, very seriously.
The Goat of Mendes/Pentagram symbol on a traffic sign should be the international symbol for “warning – pretentious amateur rock band ahead.”*
TATU are still cute as a button, though.
John Sabotta
*Or, alternatively, “Aleister Crowley in road – slow down.”
Dear Julian & John
I actually wholeheartedly agree with you and your sentiments regarding the musical & visual aesthetic content.
However for shock value, Rock Bitch wins hands down.
On a more sinister note, it would be interesting to find out whether these girls wrote the song (they probably didn’t), whether they are on a “production deal” (they probably are).
In these circumstances, there is real exploitation going on.
Best
Simon
http://www.taty.universalmusic.ru/eng/biography.htm
quote: ” He made us to sign contracts with him, and according to these contracts we didn’t have any rights to even speak. We just had to do whatever he was telling us to. For example, for ‘Ya Soshla S Uma’ video shoot, I, Lena Katina, had to lose almost 10 kilos, and I, Julia Volkova, had to cut my hair really short and dye it black. And for the next video shoot Shapovalov made us both shave our eyebrows!
However, we admit, that for us to sign a contract with I.Shapovalov was an act of free will. We always wanted to sing together, and now our dream came true.”
They know they’re “being exploited”, they are willing to accept that to achieve their goals, rather than whining about it like some bolshie westerner.
http://www.petitiononline.com/backtatu/petition.html
Online petition for R&J to bugger off and mind their own business, and quit hassling TATU.
Oh, just another stupid manufactured band, Manudfactured lesbian scoolgirls, it isn’t even a new idea it was done years ago in Bon’s video for the single “Boys” and the girls in that video were better looking too, the song’s not that great either!
Oh, just another stupid manufactured band, Manudfactured lesbian scoolgirls, it isn’t even a new idea it was done years ago in Bon’s video for the single “Boys” and the girls in that video were better looking too, the song’s not that great either!
They rock! They are great cause they really show who they are and don’t give a fu.. what others think! Why should we pretend to be something else because people don’t like us for who we really are!Because they are AFRAID of people who are gay or differrent colour or nation or because they have diffrent style of life or imige!WE’RE ONLY HUMAN!That’s all!Get it!HUMAN!!!
Look, now, I seriously don’t see why t.A.T.u is BAD.
I mean they might be a homosexual, BUT! They are seriosly making a BIG HIT in the music charts.
Music is what t.A.T.u decided to do, is doing, and love doing. Their lives has nothing to do with us. What right do you people have to object, and BAN them for doing something different, and making good music??
There’s no need for jealousy, and t.A.T.u shouldn’t be replaced, cut-off, or BANNED for doing what they want! I mean, kids these days know EVERYTHING without anyone telling them, but that’s not my point. My point is that t.A.T.u hasn’t done anything BAD enough to make a big influence on kids, or people. Not enough to make ANYONE become lesbians, even is a pair or more women are lebians and ALSO like t.A.T.u it doesn’t mean that the women are INFLUENCED, it means that they just didn’t seem to have ANY ‘feeelings’ for men.
It’s not wrong to be a lebians, they are the same as everyone else, is just that lebians or gay people like/love people taht are the same sex/gender as them.
t.A.T.u doesn’t make videos like PORN, and they were and NOT naked in the hit video clip ‘All the things she said’
All they did was kiss, sing a brilliant song, and most of all they both have a strong bond of friendship, they love music and their music is what some fans and people LOVE too!
PLEASE DO NOT BAN, CUT-OFF OR REPLACED t.A.T.u WITH OTHER PEOPLE.
ALL THE BANDS AND SINGERS ARE THE SAME LATELY, WHY not HAVE A BAND THATS DIFFERENT??
THEY SERIOUSLY HAVEN’T DONE ANYTHING WRONG CEPT KISS, AND THATS NO BIG INFLUENCE, COMPARE TO REAL PORN AND SERIOUSLY SICK HOMOSEXUALS!!!
i really luv tatu they are great you shouldnt ban them big deal iv they snog on there videos they are still great id love to meet them because they are the best please keep tatu luv ther biggest fan ever lana xxxxxluv you julia and lena
Ever had a feeling that this thread is irelevant?
All i can say,Julia and Lena looks great together!!!!!!!