CONTENTS UNDER PRESSURE ISSUE 2: PLATFORM

THE TUTS
“As a three-tone
band, we also
want our audience
to look threetone.”
standing of what to represent and
what needs a platform, because
they haven’t felt it,” Nadia points
out. Bev agrees: “Then that
doesn’t get the word out about
certain things that need to be
highlighted.” Behind the scenes is
something that’s harder to control,
though. Subconscious prejudice
and institutionalized racism and
misogyny is still rampant. “People
come up to us and start talking in
an Ali G accent,” Bev says, “and
that is just… what are you doing?
Assuming that’s what we’re into.”
Not only do The Tuts fight the battle
of being women in music, but
have to fight the battle of being
women of color as well. “It’s not
just about being girls,” Nadia says.
“It’s about taking into account our
race, our religion, our culture, our
class, all that.” It’s at the highest
levels of corporate greed in the
music industry that these considerations
(for the worse) are seen: by
not being hired, by being fired, by
being paid less or not at all.
That’s one of the many reasons
The Tuts pride themselves on being
completely DIY, managing all
admin work for the band on their
own, a decision taken, understandably,
after the inspiration for one
of their songs. “1982” was written