Wet Wet Wet

Formation

The band formed in 1982 and consisted of friends Marti Pellow (born Mark McLaughlin; frontman, vocalist), Tom Cunningham (drummer), Graeme Clark (bassist) and Neil Mitchell (guitarist). Graeme Duffin, who started out as a session guitarist with the other four, later became the band's unofficial fifth member. The five music lovers became Wet Wet Wet in Clydebank, Scotland, in an attempt to create a more successful life for themselves rather than resorting to living on the dole in what was once one of Scotland's most thriving industrial areas. Their name came from the lyrics of a song by Scritti Politti, 'Getting, Having and Holding'.

First Steps

After a couple of years of tuning up, Wet Wet Wet signed a record deal with Phonogram in 1985. This started their musical career as they worked on their first single, 'Wishing I Was Lucky', a subtle dig at the UK's political situation at the time. It was released in early '87 and was met with much attention from the public, who liked what they heard, resulting in a chart position of number 6 and a growing eagerness for the release of their debut album. 'Popped In Souled Out' was released towards the end of '87 and entered the charts at number 2, featuring 'Angel Eyes', 'Sweet Little Mystery' and 'Temptation', which managed to push the album to the number 1 spot. Marti's unique vocal abilities and surprising range enhanced by some stunning, fresh sounding instrumental work captured the attention of thousands of fans and resulted in the album hitting platinum status five times over!

Continuing Success

The boys were on a roll. The success of their very first album surprised them all and led them to release a short compilation of songs recorded during a trip to the US that they had put on the shelf, unsure of how they would initially be received. 'The Memphis Sessions' came out in 1988, featuring some smooth instrumental works and mellow vocals resulting in a number 3 position and platinum status. Later that year, Wet Wet Wet recorded a cover version of The Beatles' 'With A Little Help From My Friends' for the charity Childline, hitting number 1 in the charts.

1989 saw the release of 'Holding Back The River', an album demonstrating the development of the band and a maturing of their music into an amalgamation of blues, pop and rock. 'Sweet Surrender', a single from the album, made it into the top 40.

The band's success went from good to better upon the release of 'High On The Happy Side' in 1992, which featured the number 1 hit single 'Goodnight Girl'. The best was yet to come in the form of their following single, released in 1994 for the film 'Four Weddings And A Funeral'. It was, of course, 'Love Is All Around', a song of such delicate simplicity that it won the hearts of their followers and resulted in it dominating the number 1 spot for a whopping 15 weeks, topped only by Bryan Adams' 'Everything I Do'.

Up And Down

Wet Wet Wet began winding down as their albums 'Picture This' (1995) and '10' (1997) didn't achieve as much success as previous albums. Marti quit the band and went into rehab to fight his long addiction to heroin, while the others went their separate ways, picking up on their personal lives.

The band reunited again in 2004 and discovered that they all felt they had unfinished business as far as their music was concerned. They got themselves back into the recording studio and sparks started flying again, resulting in the release of the single 'All I Want' and, subsequently, the 'Greatest Hits' album that November.

Wet Wet Wet appeared at Edinburgh's setup for the Live8 performances, where they played that best known hit 'Love Is All Around' in July of 2005. There are rumours of the boys working on some new material that is to be released sometime during 2006, as the band remains determined to keep the magic going.

Albums

• Greatest Hits: End Of Part One
• Part One
• High On The Happy Side
• Holding Back The River
• 10
• Popped In Souled Out
• Picture This
• Greatest Hits

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