The White Stripes

• Jack White - vocals, guitar
• Meg White - drums

Hailing from Detroit as one of a new breed of back-to-basics rock acts, the White Stripes comprises enigmatic bass-free duo Jack White (guitar and vocals) and Meg White (drums).

The White Stripes are assumed by some to be brother and sister and by others as ex-man and wife, both theories have been denied but they still keep the press on their toes by acting elusive about their real relationship.

Jack had previously played guitar in garage rock band The Go, but in the White Stripes his musical output is influenced by blues predominately and an eclectic mix of folk, punk and broadway show tunes all wrapped up in a blanket of childlike innocence.

The duo released 1997's debut 7-inch single, "Let's Shake Hands", on the Italy Records imprint. After one further single ("Lafayette Blues") for the label, they relocated to the leading independent Sympathy For The Record Industry. They have since signed to XL Recordings for a reported £1 million.

Their most recent album, White Blood Cells, has proved the most popular with singles such as 'Fell in Love with a Girl' getting much airplay and even scooping three awards at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. The two previous albums (The White Stripes and De Stijl) are still very much acclaimed but White Blood Cells, brought the White Stripes to the attention of pretty much everyone.

Their fourth LP, Elephant, brought them global megastardom and plaudits, not least because of the hugely popular 'Seven Nation Army' single which preceded it. They followed it up with 2005's Get Behind Me, Satan, which experimented with the group's core sound and met with generally positive reviews. A new record, Icky Thump, is due in June 2007.

Dressing in only red and white, Jack and Meg, are both striking in turn and refused a $1 million offer from The GAP to star in a special Christmas commercial. The duo claimed not wanting to be involved with anything so corporate. Then Jack went and wrote a song for a Coke ad, which admittedly might complicate things a bit.

Jack and Meg both ooze effortless cool and are highly respected within the music industry. Jack has many side projects, most notably producing the Von Bondies album and more recently filming in Romania alongside Jude Law and Nicole Kidman in romantic war/love saga, Cold Mountain.

Renowned for their electric live sets, the White Stripes were once described by Ryan Adams as 'music that makes you wanna eat crack pipes and dance with the voodoo bones of the dead'. The Stripes use no setlist when performing live and Jack claims if he doesn't feel like playing a particular song he will change halfway through to another. The duo have in the past notoriously covered such songs as Dolly Parton's 'Jolene' and Blind Willie McTell's 'Boll Weevil'.