They have been strongly tipped for success without even releasing a proper single. But at their first headline gig in London, The Ting Tings took just half an hour to live up to the hype.

Singer Katie White and drummer Jules De Martino have also overcome the stigma of music industry failure. They were previously in a Scissor Sisters-inspired group called Dear Eskiimo whose record label didn't even let them release an album.

Despite an apparent fondness for dodgy band names, the Manchester duo are grabbing their second chance with total conviction. As they exploded into their new single Great DJ, it was obvious their sensational indie-pop will be equally at home at the festivals and blaring out on Hollyoaks.

Their past does raise suspicions that they have cynically alighted on a commercially viable sound. White's excitable dancing was an unfortunate reminder of her teenage years in a failed girl group, while De Martino also has a shady past in a few hopeless bands.

But they have a winning partnership with The Ting Tings. They didn't quite have the White Stripes' rawness but the rudimentary guitar on Fruit Machine ensured this was still pop with a few rough edges.

White only recently learned guitar but she was gung-ho, attacking the songs. On the tremendous Shut Up and Let Me Go, she had the sassy appeal of Debbie Harry and ended by whacking a bass drum and cowbell amid a punk-funk jam.

Other tunes were more pop, with echoes of Toni Basil's Eighties hit Mickey and even Avril Lavigne on the mid-paced Be The One.

"We're going to do our version of a slow song," White said of Traffic Light, which had traffic management metaphors for a broken relationship and proved they can write ballads.

The brief set ended with That's Not My Name, during which White ended up in the crowd a few feet away from me, screaming indignantly. A fearless finale from an exciting new band.