Desmond & The Tutus have been scare-crowing across the world’s stages with their unique, some might call it niche, brand of kwela-indie-punk for just on ten years. But to call it niche would be entirely missing the point, the Tutus are more shape-shifters than niche, their sound slotting comfortably between Thandiswe Mazwai and Hugh Masekela, as it did at the Soweto Heritage Fest in 2013, or between surf rocker’s Beach Party and synth mavens Gateway Drugs during the Puma Happy Holiday in summer 13/14.
The Tutus’ have also toured extensively internationally, opening on their 2009 UK tour for The Vivian Girls, The Soft Pack and Women. They played at one of the last, and legendary Optimo parties at The Sub Club in Glasgow and somehow managed to sell out their first European headliner at Vanner och Bekanta in Stockholm. They’ve also played among Johnny Clegg, The Mahotella Queens, and Blk Jks at the South African themed Rio Loco in Toulouse, France in 2010. As an intern trying to put together a blurb on deadline you could probably just say something like “Desmond & The Tutus have sold out shows all over the globe, including Japan, France, Sweden and the UK”, I mean if you don’t want to go into the whole how-do-I-trim-that-mass-of-info-down panic.
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