{{short description|British-Indian musician and producer (born 1966)}} {{About|the British-Indian musician|the American ghost town|White Town, Ohio}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}} {{Infobox musical artist | background = person | image = | name = White Town | caption = | image_siz = | occupation = Musician | birth_name = Jyoti Prakash Mishra | birth_place = Rourkela, India | birth_date = {{birth date and age|30 July 1966|df=y}} | origin = Derby, England | genre = {{hlist|Indie pop|electronic|alternative dance|alternative rock|trip hop}}{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} | instruments = {{hlist||Vocals|guitar|keyboards}} | years_active = 1989–present | label = {{hlist|Satya|Parasol|Chrysalis/EMI||Elefant|Bzangy}} | website = {{URL|whitetown.co.uk}} }}
'''Jyoti Prakash Mishra''' (born 30 July 1966), better known by his stage name '''White Town''', is a British-Indian singer, musician, and producer.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /><ref>{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p200682}}</ref> He is best known for his 1997 hit song "Your Woman".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2015/09/10-greatest-british-one-hit-wonders|title=10 Greatest British One-Hit Wonders|last=McAlpine|first=Fraser|publisher=BBC America|access-date=8 December 2016}}</ref>
==Early life== Jyoti Prakash Mishra was born in Rourkela, India, on 30 July 1966, and emigrated to England with his family at the age of three. He grew up in Derby, England.<ref name="Larkin90">{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|page=425}}</ref>
==Career== White Town was originally the name of a band formed by Mishra in 1989, inspired by a Pixies concert he had attended. Initially, there were other members on guitar, bass, and drums; they played support gigs for various bands, most notably Primal Scream.<ref name=":0" /> In 1990, the project released its first self-financed record, ''White Town EP'', on 7" vinyl. This featured Nick Glyn-Davies on drums and Sean Deegan on bass, with Mishra on guitar and vocals. Sean Phillips, who is credited as a guitarist on the EP, joined the band shortly before the release. In time, Deegan and Glyn-Davies left and were replaced live by a drum machine and Leon Wilson on guitar. The rest of the band drifted away in 1990, and Mishra continued with the project as a one-man band from then on, occasionally collaborating with musicians such as Gary Thatcher of the Beekeepers on guitar.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
The lead single from White Town's second album, ''Women in Technology'', titled "Your Woman", reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1997.<ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums" /> It also peaked at No. 1 in Spain and Iceland; No. 2 in Australia; No. 4 in Canada, Denmark, and Finland; and No. 23 on the U.S. Pop Airplay chart.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}} After a troubled working relationship with EMI, Mishra was dropped from the label in 1997.<ref name="Larkin90" /> Since then, he has gone back to working with indie labels such as Parasol Records. In 2006, he contributed the song "The PNAC Cabal" to the charity album ''Voyces United for UNHCR''.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}
The EP ''A New Surprise'' was released in September 2006 by Swedish indie label Heavenly Pop Hits, and was followed by the album ''Don't Mention the War'', which launched Mishra's own Bzangy Records label. A 7" White Town single titled "I Wanna Be Your Ex", with the B-side "Rainy Day", was released by Golly Jane Records in November 2014. Mishra released the albums ''Deemab'' and ''Polyamory'' in 2019. As of March 2020, he accumulates over 500,000 Spotify streams per month; his work received a boost in popularity in 2020 when Dua Lipa sampled the same trumpet hook White Town sampled in "Your Woman" in her song "Love Again".<ref name="Sample 2020">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/white-town-dua-lipa-sample-your-woman-love-again-9346247|title=White Town's Jyoti Mishra on Dua Lipa Lifting 'Your Woman' Hook For 'Love Again': 'There's Magic in Old Samples'|magazine=Billboard|last=Jefferson|first=J'na|date=30 March 2020|access-date=31 March 2020}}</ref>
==Artistry== Mishra has said, "I'm a mediocre singer, I'm a terrible guitarist, I'm a pretty good keyboardist, I'm a good producer, not amazing, but good."<ref name="Sample 2020" /> Noting his status as a one-hit wonder, he said it is "better than a no-hit wonder" and elaborated, "To be a professional musician and to be entertaining people twenty years after my biggest hit, I feel like I'm the luckiest person alive. Just to have one song that connects with people—most musicians dream their entire lives of having that."<ref name="Sample 2020" />
Mishra's musical influences include Michael Nesmith, Sonic Youth, My Bloody Valentine, the Wedding Present, Pixies, Dinosaur Jr., and Devo. He has also cited electronic influences such as Kraftwerk, Depeche Mode and Heaven 17, and recorded a cover version of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark's "Messages".<ref>{{cite web|last=Daniel|first=Sherryn|date=11 December 2013|url=https://sherryndaniel.wordpress.com/2013/12/11/exclusive-interview-with-jyoti-mishra-from-the-band-white-town/|title=Exclusive Interview with Jyoti Mishra from the band White Town|website=Sharing the Details|access-date=13 February 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Grant|first1=Steven|last2=Robbins|first2=Ira|last3=Reno|first3=Brad|url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/orchestral-manoeuvres-in-the-dark/|title=Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark|website=Trouser Press|access-date=13 February 2026}}</ref>
==Personal life== Mishra became straight edge at the age of sixteen<ref>{{cite web |last1=Kuhn |first1=Gabriel |title='Why Is Your Band Called White Town?': Indie Pop, Dialectical Materialism, and Straight Edge |url=https://diyconspiracy.net/jyoti-mishra-interview/ |website=DIY Conspiracy |date=13 December 2021 |access-date=13 December 2021}}</ref> and is a radical Marxist;<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Lester|first=Paul|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/jan/21/devo-white-town-babybird-what-happens-when-your-cult-pop-band-gets-huge|title=Devo, White Town, Babybird: what happens when your cult pop band gets huge?|date=21 January 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=28 April 2020|issn=0261-3077}}</ref> he has been outspoken about his beliefs.<ref name="dazed">{{cite web|access-date=26 March 2018|magazine=Dazed|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/34617/1/white-town-your-woman-number-one-1997|title=Remembering one of the UK's unlikeliest number one singles|publication-date=8 February 2017|first=Selim |last=Bulut|date=8 February 2017}}</ref>
==Discography== ===Albums=== {| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center; !rowspan="2"| Year !rowspan="2"| Information !colspan="3"| Chart positions |- !width="35"|<small>UK</small> !width="35"|<small>US</small> !width="35"|<small>US Heatseekers</small> |- | 1994 |align="left"| ''Socialism, Sexism & Sexuality'' * Released: 1994 * Label: Bzangy / Parasol | — | — | — |- | 1997 |align="left"| ''Women in Technology'' * Released: 25 February 1997 * Label: Chrysalis / EMI UK | 83 | 84 | 4 |- | 2000 |align="left"| ''Peek & Poke'' * Released: 23 May 2000 * Label: Bzangy Groink | — | — | — |- | 2006 |align="left"| ''Don't Mention the War'' * Released: 23 October 2006 * Label: Bzangy | — | — | — |- | 2011 |align="left"| ''Monopole'' * Released: 13 October 2011 * Label: Bzangy | — | — | — |- |2019 |align="left"|''Deemab'' * Released: 1 January 2019 * Label: Bzangy | — | — | — |- |2021 |align="left"|''Fairchild Semiconductor'' * Released: 19 May 2021 * Label: Bzangy | — | — | — |- |2023 |align="left"|''Philogrammetry'' * Released: 9 September 2023 * Label: Bzangy | — | — | — |}
===EPs=== {| class="wikitable" style=text-align:center; !rowspan="1"| Year !rowspan="1"| Information |- | 1990 |align="left"| ''White Town'' * Released: 1990 * Label: Satya |- | 1991 |align="left"| ''Alain Delon'' * Released: 1991 * Label: Parasol |- | rowspan="2"| 1992 |align="left"| ''Bewitched'' * Released: 1992 * Label: Parasol |- |align="left"| ''Fairweather Friend'' * Released: 1992 * Label: Elefant |- | 1996 |align="left"| ''>Abort, Retry, Fail?_'' * Released: 1996 * Label: Parasol / Chrysalis |- | 2015 |align="left"| ''The Barren Seas EP'' * Released: 2015 * Label: Bzangy |- | 2019 |align="left"| ''Polyamory'' * Released: 2019 * Label: Bzangy |- |2024 |align="left"|''Marx, Engels, Lenin, Trotsky'' * Released: 2024 |}
===Singles=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;" ! rowspan="2"| Year ! rowspan="2"| Single ! colspan="10"| Peak chart positions ! rowspan="2" |Certifications ! rowspan="2" | Album |- style="font-size:smaller;" !width="35"|UK<br /><ref name="British Hit Singles & Albums">{{cite book| first= David| last= Roberts| year= 2006| title= British Hit Singles & Albums| edition= 19th| publisher= Guinness World Records Limited | location= London| isbn= 1-904994-10-5 | page= 599}}</ref> !width="35"|AUS<br /><ref>{{cite web|url=https://australian-charts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=White+Town&titel=Your+Woman&cat=s|title=White Town – Your Woman|website=Australian-charts|access-date=6 November 2022}}</ref> !width="35"|CAN !width="35"|FRA !width="35"|GER !width="35"|IRE !width="35"|NL !width="35"|NZ !width="35"|SWE !width="35"|US |- | 1990 |align="left"| "Darley Abbey" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | align="left" rowspan="2" {{Non-album singles}} |- | 1991 |align="left"| "All She Said" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |- | rowspan="2"| 1997 |align="left"| "Your Woman" | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 24 | 5 | 21 | 5 | 10 | 23 | * ARIA: Platinum<ref>{{Cite web |title=ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Singles |url=https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/orr9fphn3kyhykimwm11l/ABGMc-2n1wlfWmzmM0MYe4E/1997%20Accreds.pdf?rlkey=b5et6u9n5p7f3gkxgmqhivbyf |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=ARIA}}</ref> * SNEP: Gold<ref>{{Cite web |title=French single certifications – White Town – Your Woman |url=https://snepmusique.com/les-certifications/?categorie=Tout&interprete=White+Town&titre=Your+Woman |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=SNEP}}</ref> * RMNZ: Gold<ref>{{Cite web |title=New Zealand single certifications – White Town – Abort, Retry, Fail/Your Woman |url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/singles/1997-06-20 |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=RMNZ}}</ref> * BPI: Gold<ref>{{Cite web |title=British single certifications – White Town – Your Woman |url=https://www.bpi.co.uk/award/8450-631-1 |access-date=26 June 2024 |website=BPI}}</ref> | align="left" | ''>Abort, Retry, Fail?_'' and ''Women in Technology'' |- |align="left"| "Undressed" | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | align="left" |''Women in Technology'' |- | 1998 |align="left"| "Another Lover" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | rowspan="1" align="left" | ''Peek & Poke'' |- | 2006 |align="left"| "A New Surprise" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | align="left" | ''Don't Mention the War'' |- | 2010 |align="left"| "Cut Out My Heart" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | rowspan="1" align="left" | ''Monopole'' |- | 2014 |align="left"| "I Wanna Be Your Ex" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | | rowspan="3" align="left" |''Deemab'' |- | rowspan="2"|2015 |align="left"| "I'm Giving Up" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |- |align="left"| "How I Love You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |}
==See also== * List of 1990s one-hit wonders in the United States
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{official website|whitetown.co.uk}} * {{discogs artist}}
{{White Town}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:People from Rourkela Category:English people of Indian descent Category:Odia people Category:Indian emigrants to England Category:British alternative rock musicians Category:British trip hop musicians Category:English Marxists Category:English techno musicians Category:English dance musicians Category:Musicians from Derby Category:People from Sundergarh district Category:Chrysalis Records artists Category:Parasol Records artists Category:Alternative dance musicians