Tatu girls to go out on their own

Tatu are to dump their name and their manager who they say is interested only in orchestrating scandals and not in developing their artistic talent.

The pair believe their fans would rather hear new songs and new albums, rather than new scandals.

Ivan Shapovalov is credited with dreaming up the idea of portraying the girls as lesbian lovers and was last year arrested after arranging for hundreds of schoolgirls to turn up in Moscow's Red Square to star in a video. They were told to kiss each other in front of Lenin's tomb and St Basil's Cathedral for the video.

However, Tatu will also have to dump their name as their manager holds the copyright.