Jules De Martino:
Katie and I were performing frequently in Manchester with our band, Dear Eskiimo. We had secured a deal with Mercury Records, who had promised to release an album, but then they replaced all their top executives and dropped us. I remember thinking, “Bastards.” No one would even answer our calls. We felt invisible and cast aside. Those feelings inspired the lyrics to “That’s Not My Name”: “They call me Stacey / They call me Her / They call me Jane / That’s not my name.”
To recover and heal, we started throwing parties. We lived in Islington Mill Studios in Salford, an old cotton mill where students worked on textile designs. At the time, we only had three songs—”That’s Not My Name,” “Shut Up and Let Me Go,” and “Great DJ”—so we’d perform live, DJ poorly with CDs, and blast music. I’d hop on the drums with a loop pedal, Katie would grab my Stratocaster, and we’d unleash this art-punk energy that felt incredible.
The song took off unexpectedly—even toddlers and grandparents were singing along. A girl living at the mill told us, “I love what you’re doing. Can I release a record?” She ran a small label called Switchflicker, and we split the £2,000 cost to press 500 vinyl records of “That’s Not My Name” and “Great DJ” as a double A-side.
She helped us get the record into Piccadilly Records in Manchester by sneaking it onto the shelf. She was also involved in the lesbian club scene and began inviting people to our parties, saying, “They’ve got this great song, ‘That’s Not My Name’…” Our gatherings grew from 20 friends to 40, 60, 80, and more.
One copy reached John Kennedy at XFM, and I recall Mark Radcliffe exclaiming, “Strike a light!” when he played it on BBC Radio 6. We were also on Myspace, amazed when someone from Australia liked us—it felt unbelievable at the time. We continued our monthly Friday parties, but the atmosphere shifted as industry folks—labels and publishers wanting to sign us—started showing up, and they weren’t there to have fun. Just three weeks later, we were in London’s Sanderson hotel negotiating a deal with Sony.
Katie and I have always written together in our own creative space. We produce and write everything ourselves in our home studio and have been doing so for 22 years. We never imagined a song would take us around the world six times.
Katie White:
I’m a working-class girl from near Wigan. I grew up listening to the Spice Girls and all the ’90s boy and girl bands. I didn’t really finish school and ended up at the mill, which was like a crash course in appreciating different cultures. People there discussed Andy Warhol, Talking Heads, Gossip, and Le Tigre. My vocal style in “That’s Not My Name” blends the energy of the Spice Girls with the edge of Le Tigre, full of performance and expression.
This song was unusual for us. It went through five or six versions before becoming “That’s Not My Name.” It started as a beat and kept evolving until the verses changed so much it became a completely different track.
It didn’t quite fit the indie nu-wave/nu-rave scene of the time. NME championed us briefly but seemed unsure what to do with us once the song appealed to both young kids and grandparents. It soared in popularity but carved out its own unique space. It’s an evergreen song, like “My Sharona,” that doesn’t sound tied to any particular decade.
The song is used constantly worldwide—in a major Starbucks ad, numerous films, and it went viral on TikTok three years ago. We’re often asked to write for other artists who want that same kind of hit. It’s definitely…Technology has finally allowed us to keep creating the music we love. We’ve been a couple from the start, but we kept it quiet back then because we thought it might take attention away from our work. With few duos around and being quite private, it felt right. Now we have a daughter who’s almost five. For the first few years, we were constantly on the road, performing three or four times a week. We toured nonstop for four years to promote our first album. Usually, having a family means slowing down at some point, but we kept embracing every opportunity, saying, “Yes, we’ll tour South America!” and “Yes, we’ll go to Japan again!” It was all incredibly thrilling. The Ting Tings’ new album, Home, is now available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Of course Here is a list of helpful and clear FAQs about The Ting Tings and their hit song Thats Not My Name
FAQs The Ting Tings Thats Not My Name
BeginnerLevel Questions
1 Who are The Ting Tings
The Ting Tings are an English pop duo consisting of Katie White and Jules De Martino
2 What is the song Thats Not My Name about
Its a song about the frustration of feeling invisible and being repeatedly ignored or called by the wrong name inspired by real experiences the band had early in their career
3 When was Thats Not My Name released
It was released in 2008 as the lead single from their debut album We Started Nothing
4 Was the song a big hit
Yes it was a massive global hit It reached 1 on the UK Singles Chart and became a top 10 hit in over 10 countries
5 What does travel the globe six times over mean
This is a fun metaphorical way of saying the song was played an incredible number of times worldwideso many times that if each play was a journey it would have circled the Earth six times
Advanced InDepth Questions
6 What inspired the specific lyrics of the song
The lyrics were directly inspired by a period when record labels and industry people would consistently forget Katie Whites name or call her Katie Ting Ting treating the duo as an afterthought
7 What is the musical style of this song
Its a blend of dancepunk and new wave with a very catchy repetitive chorus a driving drumbeat and shouty assertive vocals
8 How did the success of this single impact their career
It catapulted them from an unknown indie duo to international stars overnight but it also created enormous pressure to replicate that success which they have discussed as being both a blessing and a challenge
9 What are some common misconceptions about the song
A common misconception is that its just a simple angry pop song In reality its a cleverly crafted anthem about selfassertion and the struggle for recognition in a dismissive industry
