Storm over Sapphic pop

last updated 8 January 2015

London

The BBC said this week it would not air the video for the No. 1 single in the country, by Russian pop duo Tatu, because the clip features two teenage girls kissing in wet, see-through schoolgirl uniforms. The band’s promoter, Ivan Shapovalov, said he came up with the idea for a lesbian girl group after visiting pornographic Web sites, and his detractors say he was aiming for the “dirty old man” market. His idea has caught on: Tatu’s debut single, “All the Things She Said,” is a hit all over Europe. But in Britain, TV presenter Richard Madeley called the video “sick” and said he was worried about rumors that “these girls actually have underage lesbian sex in real life.” The singers, Julia Volkova, 18, and Lena Katina, 17, say they are really a couple.