There’s so few of us in the wider industry.”
Her name might not be known but over 40 million people have seen Sarah Dattani Tucker’s work.
She is the creative director behind the music video for Lola Young’s ‘Messy’, the 2024 track that earned the singer her first UK number one.
Shot on film, the visualiser shows Lola performing in a bare room with an enormous cake, which is eventually destroyed.
Sarah said: “The concept is inspired by intrusive thoughts.
“The room is empty because it’s supposed to represent a neutral space, like your headspace.”
It was one of seven films Sarah made for the pop star to accompany tracks from Lola’s second album, This Wasn’t Meant for You Anyway.
Sarah Dattani Tucker has also worked with Arlo Parks but never imagined she could have a career in the music industry, let alone reach this level of success.
According to Sarah, part of that is due to her Gujarati heritage.
She said: “Sometimes people don’t necessarily know where to place you.
“As a South Asian in the music industry, I often feel really misunderstood. There’s so few of us in the wider industry.”
Sarah was born and raised near Manchester to a British father and a Gujarati mother, who was born in Uganda.
At school, she loved art but was never shown how it could become a career.
Sarah admitted: “I did not come from a family of creatives.
“I don’t want to stereotype in any way, but I would say most of my family are like accountants or pharmacists.”
While her family never discouraged her, they struggled to understand her career choice.
“I definitely had to keep reminding everyone that this is a real job.”
That sense of being misunderstood extended into the industry itself as Sarah explained:
“The music industry is so based on genre, and sometimes I’ve felt like people look at me and they’re like, ‘oh, you can’t really work on this or that’.
“I’ve definitely really struggled with it. It’s been really hard.”
A UK Music diversity report in 2024 found that 7.6% of people in the industry identified as Asian. While representation has increased, the report said, “barriers still exist and we must continue to seek change”.
Sarah Dattani Tucker wants better recognition for British Asians and those working behind the scenes in the music industry.
Lola Young is up for best pop act at the 2025 BRIT Awards, but music videos are no longer eligible for prizes. The British Video of the Year award was scrapped in 2019.
Major awards like the Grammys still celebrate music videos and even have a category for best recording package, which goes to a project’s artistic director.
Charli XCX and her creative director Imogene Strauss won in 2025 for Brat, a campaign that was named Collins Dictionary’s word of the year.
Sarah said: “That’s such a special moment because that campaign and the creative behind it is incredible.”
She wants to see similar opportunities at the BRITs, adding:
“It would be nice to have that kind of recognition, just because it is such a big production. There’s so many parts to a campaign, it’s so multifaceted.”
Watch Lola Young’s ‘Messy’
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