They’re the first Russian pop sensation to top music charts worldwide, but Moscow police weren’t having any of it.
Authorities barred the Russian pop duo t.A.t.U. Thursday from filming their new video on Red Square.
Several hundred fans – many dressed in the skimpy schoolgirl uniforms favored by the duo – turned up to act as extras in what was supposed to be the band’s video for the Eurovision song contest. But instead, Lena Katina and Yulia Volkova, both 18, barely emerged from their trailer.
“It looks like Russia does not care for t.A.t.U. representing its country,” said their producer, Ivan Shapovalov, after failing to get permission to let the filming go ahead.
The duo, whose skimpy outfits and flirtation with lesbianism made headlines around the world, had an international hit with “All the Things She Said,” and became the first Russian band to break through the tough British singles chart.
Shapovalov created t.A.t.U. in 1999 to be deliberately provocative and fill what he saw as a gap in the teenage band market.
Russia chose the duo to represent the country at the Eurovision Song Contest later this month in Riga, Latvia.
