The Ting Tings Ban Lights

BRITS nominees The Ting Tings have put a ban on fancy lighting for health reasons.

Drummer Jules De Martino suffers with an eye problem which can cause fits similar to epilepsy.

Singer Katie White told me: “We don’t have strobe lighting any more because Jules has been having fits.

“That’s the reason he wears sunglasses all the time, to prevent dizzy spells.”

The 34-year-old sticksman’s swollen right eye has been a long-running problem but the duo’s chart-topping exploits have only made it worse.

Katie, 25, said: “It gets worse if he’s tired or if the lights are too bright, or with flash photos. We’ve done hundreds of shows in the last year, which takes its toll after a while.”

The Salford twosome, who will perform at this year’s Isle Of Wight Festival, have devised a stage show with screens rather than extravagant lighting.

Jules explained: “We’re using screens to highlight what we do on stage because there’s only two of us up there.”

One of the bonuses of wearing shades is that nobody recognises Jules without them. Katie added: “He can go out wherever he wants and nobody bothers him.”

The duo release new single We Walk on February 23 before heading out on a seven-date UK tour.
Photo:latimes