About Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982. They scored a number of hits on the UK charts and around the world in the 1980s and 1990s. They are best known for their 1994 cover of the Troggs' 1960s hit "Love Is All Around", which was used on the soundtrack to the film Four Weddings and a Funeral. The song was an international success, and spent 15 weeks at the top the UK Singles Chart. The band is currently composed of founding member Graeme Clark and lead vocalist Kevin Simm, who replaced founding member Marti Pellow in 2018 after he left during the previous year. Graeme Duffin has also been with the band as a touring musician since 1983. The band were named Best British Newcomer at the 1988 Brit Awards.
The quartet formed at Clydebank High School in Clydebank, Scotland, in 1982, under the name "Vortex Motion", mostly playing covers of The Clash and Magazine. "It was either crime, the dole, football, or music — and we chose music," said Tommy Cunningham. The original line-up consisted of Neil Mitchell , Tommy Cunningham , Graeme Clark , Mark McLachlan and Lindsey McCauley .
"At the time it was Duran Duran, Talk Talk – double-barrelled names; we just added on another to confuse people. And we would look outside and see the rain coming down. It did seem quite relevant to Glasgow."
Clark and Cunningham met on the school bus and became close friends. Mutual friend Neil Mitchell, prompted by his pals' positive attitude, promised to supply keyboards when he could scrape together enough money from his paper round. To complete the quartet, Clark approached Mark McLachlan, who at the time was training to be a painter and decorator. He said, "At break we all went behind the kitchen for a fly smoke, and there in the corner was this quiet kid who said very little, but when he sang, everyone listened." It was sometime in 1983 that Graeme Duffin joined Wet Wet Wet, after the departure of co-founder Lindsey McCauley. Duffin had previously been in a Glasgow-based band called New Celeste and recorded two albums with them High Sands and the Liquid Lake in Holland on the Universe label and On the Line in Berlin on the Hansa Records label. The band combined folk, rock and jazz players.
With the line-up complete, rehearsals took place in Mrs. Clark's kitchen. They rehearsed for about two years, working on song producing and writing skills. They eventually made their live debut at Glasgow's Nightmoves venue. At this gig they met Elliot Davis, who would become the band's manager. The band name Wet Wet Wet was chosen from a line in the 1982 Scritti Politti song "Gettin' Havin' & Holdin'" , and McLachlan changed his name to stage name "Marti Pellow". Their first professional gig was a New Year's Eve show at Glasgow's Barrowlands.
David Bates signed the band to PolyGram in 1985. One of the first demo songs they did was "Wishing I Was Lucky". When the band took the demo to Bates in late 1986, he discarded it as a poor effort. The band decided at this point that they could no longer work with him. Six months later, the band and their new A&R Manager, Nick Angel, released the single, and it reached number six in the UK singles chart. "I was in a queue in a fish and chip shop in Glasgow when it came on Radio Clyde," Cunningham remembers. "I felt like shouting to everybody, 'That's me and my mates!' It was an incredible feeling I've not forgotten." The parent album, Popped In Souled Out, also became a hit and produced three more hit singles, namely "Sweet Little Mystery", "Temptation", and "Angel Eyes". They supported Lionel Richie on his UK tour.
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