The Tuts are an English DIYpop punk, "three-tone" band from Hayes, London. They have received extensive coverage from alternative music radio, most notably Amazing Radio, and from music websites such as Louder Than War who have 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, their back-to-basics sound and feminist politics have led to comparisons with older genres such as punk, C86 and riot grrrl.
Origins
The Tuts were formed by teenagers Nadia Javed and Beverley Ishmael in the mid-2000s while still at school. The bass guitarist, Harriet Doveton, 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, Gary Crowley, Ruth Barnes, Steve Lamacq and Gideon Coe. A 2013 tour with Kate Nash led to a track on Nash’s Have Faith This Christmas EP later that year; the band also made their first appearance at Indietracks, 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 at the invitation of Billy Bragg. In 2015, they toured with The Selecter and Sonic Boom Six, returned to Indietracks and appeared at the Tolpuddle Martyrs festival.
Album and after
Having built a fanbase solely through touring and DIY/social media promotion, in spring 2016 The Tuts started a PledgeMusic campaign to finance their debut album. It reached its target within a week. The band's first 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 magazine's Noisey channel in October 2016. The band have played with The Undertones, The Saints, Thee Faction, Adam Ant and Senseless Things. The Tuts performed at several summer festivals in 2016, including Bearded Theory, Glastonwick, Camden Rocks, Godiva and Rebellion. In 2017 The Tuts supported Feeder, toured with The Skints, and played the Bestival and Indietracks 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 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 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 on their Encore tour.
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. In January 2019, The Tuts claimed to have turned down the opportunity to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 due to it being held in Israel. The band was not mentioned in the shortlist for the preliminary contest for UK entry, , 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 are fundraising towards their legal costs.
